Achieving the Dream, the community college advocacy nonprofit, is currently testing a new framework which it believes can help two-year institutions reestablish themselves as community engines for socioeconomic mobility—and win over declining public perception in the sector.
The Community Vibrancy Framework demands institutions move beyond current student success measures and instead analyze regional impact on industry, environment and people. As a result, students’ return on investment, economic mobility and workforce outcomes must be prioritized over the kinds of credential they’re earning.
“We must reclaim the notion that education is a public good,” said Pierce College Chancellor and CEO Julie A. White, which used the Community Vibrancy Framework to develop Pierce’s 2025–2032 strategic plan. “If we aren’t paying attention to our communities and their well-being, we’re missing the point.”
Five metrics underline Achieving the Dream’s “community vibrancy” framework: educational milestones of the community, quality employment opportunities, improved economic outcomes, improved social outcomes and long-term societal gains. The latter is highly dependent on the region the community college represents.
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Fifteen community colleges, which collectively educate over 200,000 students, have tested early phases of the framework so far. A core principle participating institutions have adopted is the “outside-in” perspective to identify new—and often ignored—cohorts of students to enroll and enrich communities.
Harper College in Illinois is using the framework and “outside-in” approach to remodel students’ first-year experience. College research identified five objectives that, if students completed by the end of their first year, would guarantee a 75% graduation rate. Leaders also developed new measures to assess institutional performance.
Western Technical College recently completed a three-year project—involving more than 400 staff and faculty members and more than 1,000 courses—to align curriculum with community- and work-based learning experiences.
“If we can connect students to the community and give them exposure to employers, they’ll stay in this beautiful community we have,” says President Roger Stanford.
The Community Vibrancy Framework is still in its early phases and is still gathering insights on its potential to help community colleges, the report concludes.
