When Rita Adams, a new math professor at Central Community College, discovered that more and more students weren't progressing to the next math course, she naturally wanted to find out why. By talking to key administrators at her college, she discovered that she couldn't find the answers in the existing data. Fortunately, she learned that the college was involved in an initiative called Achieving the Dream, which would ultimately focus the data gathering process and uncover the answer to her puzzling question: Why are our students not advancing?

The question may appear small, but the implications are large. A failure to advance from one course to the next can eventually mean a failure to complete a degree or certificate program, which in turn can mean low wages for Ohioans without higher education.

That's why KnowledgeWorks Foundation and the Lumina Foundation for Education are investing in Achieving the Dream at Ohio's community colleges. Already transforming community colleges in five other states, the initiative helps colleges make lasting changes to their own practices and cultures, and uncover best practices through methods including data analysis. By collecting and analyzing student data, colleges find the answers to vital questions, including: At what stage in the process are our students dropping out, and why?

While community colleges enroll nearly half of all undergraduate students, nearly half of them will not earn their degrees within six years.

Achieving the Dream helps community colleges improve students' lives by promoting best practices within colleges; developing state policy; and securing community support, among other efforts. Ensuring that students complete courses with a "C" or higher, and re-enroll each semester, are just some of goals of colleges committed to helping students Achieve the Dream.