Community College Completion
Corp. is lending a
hand to any student that may
need it so they have every
chance to succeed no matter
their situation.
C4 is a massive coalition
rocketing through Bucks in
the hopes of drastically increasing
graduation rates of
students without compromising
the quality of education.
The group explains that many
students fail to complete their
community college degree
because they are overwhelmed,
overextended, underfunded
and
underprepared.
C4 is essentially an awareness
campaign to get students
and faculty to connect and
work together through improvements
in advising,
study skills and more to help
more students obtain their degrees.
Roughly one in four students
drops out before completing
their degrees at a
community college. Of those
who do not drop out, only 20
percent complete their credentials
in three years- not
two, according to C4.
The group is dedicated to
supporting students and
knocking out drop-out rates
on a national scale.
Phi Theta Kappa, the largest
international honor society in
the world, is a direct advocate
to the movement. C4 is
looking to increase student’s
success even before students
decide what to do after high
school.
“There is another choice to
high school juniors and seniors
besides that four-year
college,” said Matt Kutch, a
business administration
major and president of
Buck’s PTK chapter.
The PTK international officers
explain that attending a
community college and obtaining
an associate’s degree
before transferring will ultimately
save a student money
and time. Otherwise students
are more likely to spend their
time and money taking and
retaking courses that a degree
would have made unnecessary.
C4 also wants to educate
students about FAFSA, the
Free Application for Federal
Student Aid. According to
the U.S. Department of Education,
millions of community
college students are
eligible for financial aid, but
do not apply.
The Call to Action is a
pledge to increase student
completion rates by 50 percent
over the next decade.
“As organizations representing
America’s community
colleges, we mutually commit
and pledge to promote
the development and implementation
of policies, practices,
and institutional
cultures that will produce 50
percent more students with
high quality degrees and certificates
by 2020, while increasing
access and quality,”
the Call to Action states.
Barriers such as work, family
and cost hold many students
back from obtaining
their degree. C4 wants to
conduct workshops to discuss
these barriers and come up
with solutions to overcome
them.
And there’s no catch. C4 exists
purely to boost the number
of students who graduate,
and hopefully in only two
years.
PTK and other advocates of
C4 want students to keep an
eye out for essay contests
(with a monetary prize that
goes toward tuition for the
winner), flyers with information
posted, and rallies to
support the movement.
“What is it we can do to
make our students more successful,”
asks Denise May, an
associate professor of language
and literature and the
academic success coordinator
at Bucks
C4 is a collaborative effort,
entrusted in both students and
faculty members. To join the
distribution list, give suggestions
and get involved in the
C4 movement, contact Professor
May at [email protected].