April 7, 2023
Tallahassee Community College (TCC) received the 2023 Award of Excellence for Student Success from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The award was presented during the AACC Awards of Excellence Gala in Denver.
“It is an incredible honor to receive this award on behalf of the men and women at our College who are dedicated to the success of our students,” said Dr. Jim Murdaugh, president of TCC. “This recognition is a direct reflection of the continuous improvements we have seen in our graduation and transfer rates to universities and our placement rates from our workforce programs.”
The award recognizes a community college that has demonstrated, through evidence, a sustained commitment to and proactively advances the cause of student success at a community college. Evaluation criteria can be found here. TCC received this award for its stand-out work in the area of student success out of more than 1,300 community colleges in the nation.
TCC has been deliberate in its work to redesign the student experience by uniting key stakeholders and increasing student success rates among all demographics. Through the College’s C.A.R.E. initiative, the student experience was re-imagined including a new student onboarding experience, teaching and learning framework, and re-employment plan through a collective impact framework.
The high-touch model from application to graduation has resulted in increased enrollment, narrowing of achievement gaps, and helped more than 85% of its graduates find employment or continue their education in the year they graduate. Our fall 2020 student success rates rose by nearly 9% college-wide among all First Time in College (FTIC) students. Black and Hispanic student success rates rose by 5% among all FTIC cohorts. Spring 2022 overall course success gaps closed by 4.1% due to personalized learning and faculty mentorship. Success rates in college algebra doubled to 80 percent, creating a new model for support. The just-in-time, personalized support that is a cornerstone of the model helps students to make it across the finish line.
About the American Association of Community Colleges
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) is the primary advocacy organization for the nation’s community colleges. The association represents more than 1,000 2-year, associate degree-granting institutions and nearly 12 million students. Learn more at aacc.nche.edu.