Roxbury Community College (RCC) has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious Bellwether Award in the category of Instructional Programs and Services. RCC’s selection is in recognition of the work completed by the Math Department to eliminate developmental courses from the mathematics curriculum.
The Instructional Programs and Services category of the Bellwether Awards recognizes programs and services that foster or support teaching and learning in the community college. RCC was the only community college in Massachusetts to be selected as a finalist in any category.
“I am beyond excited that the Bellwether College Consortium has recognized the hard work of our Math faculty,” said Dr. Valerie Roberson, president of RCC. “The co-requisite model for math courses is now in its second year of full implementation, and student success rates continue to improve. Our selection as a finalist for the Bellwether Awards confirms the College’s standing as a pioneering force in academic excellence.”
The co-requisite model for math courses at RCC was piloted from Spring 2016 – Spring 2018, and fully-implemented in Summer 2018. Before launching the co-requisite model, as few as 22% of students who placed into the lowest level of developmental math were progressing to passing college-level math. Now, 63% of all students who enroll in math courses at RCC are passing college-level math.
“The RCC Math Department has worked diligently to remove one of the academic barriers that was preventing our students from achieving academic success,” says Dr. Kimberly Rogers, Vice President of Academic and Student Success. “In doing so, they’ve created a model for other departments and other institutions to follow, facilitating the improvement of student outcomes on a large-scale. Being named a Bellwether Award finalist is well-earned national recognition.”
The Bellwether Awards are widely regarded as the nation’s most competitive and prestigious recognition for community colleges and the only award evaluated by practitioners in the field. All finalists will be presented at the 2020 Community Colleges Futures Assembly, and one winner will then be selected from each category by a panel of national experts.
For more information on the Bellwether Awards, visit the Bellwether College Consortium website. To view a full list of finalists, visit the Bellwether College Consortium press release
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Media Contact: Jordan Emily Smock
857-701-1234
jsmock@rcc.mass.edu