Achieving the Dream (ATD)

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Achieving the Dream (ATD)

Achieving the Dream (ATD) is a network of 300 community colleges from across the nation that share a commitment to institutional transformation to increase the number of students who earn postsecondary credentials and access jobs with living-sustainable wages, benefits, and the potential for upward mobility. The ATD framework is built on the premise that institutional transformation is supported by identifying key opportunity areas where change is needed and building capacity across campus to manage the needed changes.  

In early spring 2023, ATD announced that Queensborough was one of only ten colleges selected nationally to participate in a three-year Accelerating Equitable Outcomes cohort. To support this effort, Queensborough developed a cross-divisional team that serves as core leadership for the initiative. 

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Core Leadership Team

  • Arthur Corradetti, Dean For Institutional Effectiveness
  • Phyllis Curtis-Tweed, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
  • Stephen Di Dio, Vice President for Division of Strategic Initiatives and Advancement
  • Victor Fichera, Principal Investigator for Academy Assessment Protocol
  • Maria Mercedes Franco, Professor, Mathematics and Computer Science Department
  • Nidhi Gadura, Professor, Chair of Department of Biological Sciences and Geology
  • Elisabeth Lacker, Director Institutional Research
  • Tanisha Mallett, Chief Content Officer and Director of Communication
  • Christine Mangino, President
  • Amaris Matos, Assistant Vice President for Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
  • Brian Mitra, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment
  • Zivah Perel Katz, Professor, English Department
  • Kerri-Ann Smith, Associate Professor, Faculty Fellow for Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity
  • Michael Verdino, Director of Academy Advisement

Timeline

Spring 2023

  • Selected for the  Achieving the Dream inaugural Accelerating Equitable Outcomes cohort
  • Core Leadership Group attended the Accelerating Equitable Outcomes Kickoff Institute 
 

Fall 2023

  • Hosted ATD coaches  for campus event that engaged over 60 members of the Queensborough community and helped identify areas where change is needed
  • Administered the ATD Institutional Capacity and Assessment Tool (ICAT)
  • Identified focal areas for change for the three-year initiative 
    • The focal areas are: First Year Experience, Integrated Career Advisement, and Low Success Courses
 

Spring 2024

  • Host ATD coaches and engage community in a Capacity Cafe
  • Host two ATD coaches for a second spring visit and plan years two and three
  • A small cohort of Queensborough faculty, staff and administrators attend Dream 2024, ATD's annual conference
  • Align ATD focal areas for change with efforts for new partnership with the Gardner Institute
  • Identify four capacity areas that need to be developed on campus to facilitate change
    • The capacity areas are: Policies and Processes, Teaching and Learning, Data and Technology, and Communications

 

Fall 2024

  • Communicate alignment between the ATD priority areas and the Gardner Institute effort
  • The Gardner Institute working groups begin developing a First-Year Experience and a plan for integrating career advisement during students' academic journey
  • A faculty working group begins to evaluate the low success courses
  • The ATD Core Leadership group develops a professional development plan to build the four identified capacities on campus

Focal and Capacity Areas Summarized

During AY2024-205 and AY 2025-2026, Queensborough will collaboratively work to strengthen the campus' work in three focal areas. To support this work, the campus will also work to develop the four key capacities.  


Focal Areas

  • First-year Experience
  • Integrated Career Advisement
  • Low-success Courses 

Capacities

  • Policies and Processes
  • Teaching and Learning
  • Data and Technology
  • Communications 

Campus Cultural Centers

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The KHC uses the lessons of the Holocaust to educate current and future generations about the ramifications of unbridled prejudice, racism and stereotyping.

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QCC Art Gallery

The QCC Art Gallery of the City University of New York is a vital educational and cultural resource for Queensborough Community College, the Borough of Queens and the surrounding communities.