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Central Arizona College Selected for Caring Campus – Faculty Initiative

By Angela Askey, Executive Director Public Relations and Marketing

In January 2020, Central Arizona College was selected to participate in Caring Campus, an initiative of the Institute for Evidence-Based Change (IEBC) funded by Ascendium Education Philanthropy. Caring Campus improves student connectedness to their college, which leads to increased persistence and completion rates.

Over this past year, Student Services, Academic Affairs and Business Affairs staff, working in collaboration with Caring Campus coaches, have developed a stronger partnership across departments to enhance existing student success efforts to ensure they feel welcome and connected to CAC.

It was recently announced that CAC was selected as one of seven community colleges by the IEBC for the 2021 Caring Campus Initiative – Faculty. Having completed and implemented the Caring Campus – Staff in 2020, the focus for CAC this year will be on faculty and their role both in the classroom and beyond to increase student success.

This multiyear project will allow faculty to develop best practices while maintaining academic rigor to assist students in successfully completing their academic goals.

Dr. Mary Kay Gilliland, Vice President of Academic Affairs explained, “We are excited to have been chosen and given the opportunity to continue our Caring Campus work. Faculty have been engaged in developing guided pathways, addressing equity issues, and innovation in the classroom. We know there are opportunities for growth and our team looks forward to the challenge of tapping into our own practices to help us expand efforts for student success.”

About the Institute for Evidence-Based Change

IEBC is a nationally-recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to helping education stakeholders – community colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, employers and others – use coaching, collaboration and data to make informed decisions and craft solutions that improve practice and dramatically increase student success. We partner with our clients to successfully implement customized evidence-based solutions to today’s most pressing issues. Learn more about IEBC at www.iebcnow.org.

 About Ascendium Education Group

Ascendium Education Group is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to helping people reach the education and career goals that matter to them. Ascendium invests in initiatives designed to increase the number of students from low-income backgrounds who complete postsecondary degrees, certificates and workforce training programs, with an emphasis on first-generation students, incarcerated adults, rural community members, students of color and veterans. Ascendium’s work identifies, validates and expands best practices to promote large-scale change at the institutional, system and state levels, with the intention of elevating opportunity for all. For more information, visit https://www.ascendiumphilanthropy.org .