Achieving the Dream at PCC
Student Success Vision: Pitt Community College will foster student success through engaging, inclusive and quality instruction and by providing equitable support services that enable students to realize their academic and career goals.

What is Achieving the Dream?
Achieving the Dream (ATD) is a national reform network of more than 220 colleges in 41 states dedicated to helping more community college students, particularly low-income students and student of color, stay in school and earn a college certificate, diploma, or degree. As an ATD Network institution, Pitt Community College will work with a leadership and data coach to build institutional capacity, receive expert data analysis, and implement, align, and scale cutting-edge reforms.
Achieving the Dream is not a new initiative or student success strategy; it is the framework for organizing and sustaining student success on a substantial scale.
ATD provides…
- Coaching to create measurable and sustainable outcomes.
- Data analysis that allows us to make strategic and impactful decisions to assess and improve student success.
- Guidance to implement reforms that result in improved skills, greater graduate employment, and improved opportunities for economic and personal advancement.
Why did Pitt Community College join the ATD Network?
Pitt Community College has demonstrated its commitment to making incremental changes to strengthen student success. While graduation rates have increased over the last three years, we still need to continue to strengthen student retention, persistence, and graduation. The external guidance and connections we make as an ATD Network institution will help better focus our efforts and increase the return on our effort. As members of ATD, we can make strategic and systematic improvements that allow us to strengthen student achievements and outcomes.
Testimonial Videos
Sometimes it is best to get information and feedback from the students that we serve to gauge how well we are doing (or not doing). All of our students have stories to tell…we are fortunate to be able to share a few here through our YouTube Playlist “ATD Stories.”
ATD Brief (February 2022)
The 2021-22 academic year marks the third year of Pitt Community College’s Achieving the Dream (ATD) partnership. This collaboration has further highlighted our commitment to our students and their success. The tools and resources provided by ATD have also allowed us to identify key strategies that focus on student persistence and completion with an emphasis on low-income, first-generation, and students of color.
In this edition of “ATD Brief,” we are excited to share PCC’s 2022 Achieving the Dream outcomes, which will guide our student success work this year. The ATD Steering Team and sub-committees have worked hard to outline strategies and create measurable outcomes to implement during year three. Stay tuned for updates as we continue this transformative work!
— Dr. Katrina Arnold and Mr. Montez Bishop (ATD Co-Chairs)