For Immediate Release

Contact:
Debra Humphreys, Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs
202-387-3760, ext. 422
humphreys@aacu.org

Association of American Colleges and Universities Receives Grant from MetLife Foundation to Advance Academic Support for Improved Educational Achievement of Community College Students

Project Will Provide Students a Roadmap to Essential Outcomes and Builds on 2009-2010 AAC&U Convenings with Community College Leaders and Researchers

Washington, DC—April 5, 2010—The Association of American College and Universities announced today that it is expanding its initiative, Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP), to address practices that support community college students in both persistence and achievement of essential learning outcomes.   A new grant from MetLife Foundation will support this initiative, entitled Developing a Community College Student Roadmap: From Entrance to Engagement in Educational Achievement and Success. This initiative is designed to assist community colleges in creating robust and proactive programs of academic support—tied to expected learning outcomes—that engage students at entrance and teach them, from the outset, how to become active partners in their won quest for educational success.

AAC&U leaders have been conferring with community college leaders in different parts of the country about programs and practices that have the potential to be “high impact” in their support of community college students’ progress toward both degrees and transfer.  Informed by these planning discussions, the initial phase of the Roadmap Project will entail the selection of a dozen community colleges that are poised to become national models in supporting and advancing community college student success. 

“We are very pleased to expand the role of community colleges in the LEAP initiative,” said AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider.  “Our initial research for this project shows that many community colleges already have identified learning outcomes for their students that address the full array of LEAP ‘essential learning outcomes.’  This is especially heartening because community colleges educate nearly half of all undergraduate students in America and are key to meeting the nation’s ambitious goals for improving college student access and completion, and ensuring that these graduates achieve the most important outcomes of college.  Through this initiative, we will begin to build a body of research and a cohort of leading institutions with proven methods of improving student achievement and, thereby, to advance AAC&U’s primary goal of making excellence inclusive.”

In the coming months, institutions will be nominated to participate in the initiative and will undergo a rigorous evaluation process, including a written application and a site visit from an AAC&U representative.  The evaluation process for nominated campuses is taking place from April 1 through July 21, 2010.

This initiative also will build on the research sponsored as part of AAC&U’s Liberal Education and America’s Promise initiative, including the research on high-impact educational practices that are proven to increase persistence, completion, and achievement of key learning outcomes especially for students traditionally underrepresented in higher education.

About AAC&U

AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915, AAC&U now comprises 1,200 member institutions—including accredited public and private colleges and universities of every type and size.

AAC&U functions as a catalyst and facilitator, forging links among presidents, administrators, and faculty members who are engaged in institutional and curricular planning. Its mission is to reinforce the collective commitment to liberal education at both the national and local levels and to help individual institutions keep the quality of student learning at the core of their work as they evolve to meet new economic and social challenges.

About MetLife Foundation

MetLife Foundation was created in 1976 by MetLife to continue its longstanding tradition of contributions and community involvement. The goal is to empower people to lead healthy, productive lives and strengthen communities. Underlying the Foundation's programs is a focus on education at all ages and a commitment to increasing access and opportunity. The Foundation makes grants in health, education, civic affairs and culture. Learn more at www.metlife.org.