the largest number of students,” Oriano
says. “That means stop doing some things
we’ve done in the past and not being
afraid to alienate people, to upset people,
to reallocate resources. We can get there,
but it’s not going to be painless.”
By all accounts, there is no single
“right” path to college completion.
But the institutions that are making
the boldest strides share several common elements, including broad support
from trustees and teams of executives
and faculty and staff who are dedicated
to improving completion rates. These
advocates share their experiences of
what has worked, what has yet to be
accomplished, and what challenges lay
ahead.
Defining Completion
For many community colleges, just the
word “completion” stirs up controversy.
Colleges must settle on a definition
before they can achieve their goals.
