BHCC President Cites Progress on Student Readiness Commitment at Obama Forum
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
President Pam Y. Eddinger was among a select group of higher education and nonprofit leaders assembled by the Obama administration on August 12, 2014, to discuss efforts to boost student readiness for college. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, White House Domestic Policy Council Director Cecilia Munoz, and other administration officials hosted the gathering in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
The meeting was a follow-up to a White House College Opportunity Summit in January 2014, also attended by President Eddinger, at which President Obama and the First Lady issued a call for commitments from the nation’s education leadership to expand access to higher education, especially among low-income and underrepresented students. At that event, President Obama cited Bunker Hill Community College’s summer readiness program as a valuable way to help incoming students catch up the summer before they enter college. At yesterday’s meeting, leaders provided an update on commitments made at the January gathering.
“Our most effective developmental education reform efforts have been faculty led, administratively supported and focused on student-centered learning,” said BHCC President Eddinger. “We have experienced success by organizing and empowering faculty to lead the change effort, while at the same time sustaining administrative leadership and guidance.”
Eddinger cited progress on major institutional commitments made at the January summit which have positively impacted student retention, course completion and progress toward degree attainment. These initiatives include expansion of college transition programs; curricular alignment with Boston Public Schools; dual enrollment programs that enable local high school students to earn college credits; new learning communities that accelerate and contextualize developmental education; curricular reforms that shorten the developmental math sequence; expansion of LifeMap, the College’s broad-ranging education and career planning effort; emergency assistance grants that address barriers to student retention; and growth of the Learn and Earn internship program that partners with local business to place students in internships with major Greater Boston firms.
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About Bunker Hill Community College
Celebrating 50 years of excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is Massachusetts' largest community college, annually welcoming a diverse community of around 16,000 students. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC extends its reach across several locations in Greater Boston. BHCC is celebrated for its diversity, boasting a student body where 65% identify as people of color and more than half are women. The College also embraces a global perspective, with over 600 international students representing 90 countries and conversing in more than 65 languages. Our commitment to diversity is further reflected in BHCC's designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).