NEWS RELEASE – June 26, 2007



NORTH CENTRAL MICHIGAN COLLEGE RECEIVES MAJOR GRANT TO PLAN, LAUNCH AND
IMPLEMENT STUDENT SUCCESS STRATEGIES



North Central Michigan College has been selected to join a national
initiative to help more community college students succeed in school. The
college is one of six from Michigan, and 26 overall, joining the initiative
called, “Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count,” this year. The
initiative has grown to 84 participating institutions in 15 states.

North Central will receive a $50,000 grant to plan and launch Achieving the
Dream this year, and will then become eligible for an implementation grant
from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation worth up to $400,000 over four years.

“This represents a tremendous opportunity for North Central to do more to
meet the educational needs of our community,” said Cameron Brunet-Koch,
Ph.D., president of North Central.

Achieving the Dream provides participating colleges with support to
implement strategies designed to help more students ¾ particularly students
of color and low-income students ­­¾ earn degrees, complete certificates or
transfer to other institutions to continue their studies. Achieving the
Dream emphasizes building a culture of evidence in which colleges use data
to identify effective practices, improve student success rates and close
achievement gaps.

As part of its participation, North Central will work closely with an
Achieving the Dream coach and a data facilitator who will provide hands-on
help with the use of data.

Achieving the Dream was launched in 2004 with start-up funding from the
Lumina Foundation for Education, which continues to fund aspects of the
initiative. Nineteen additional funders have since joined the initiative,
bringing additional institutions and states into Achieving the Dream.

Eight national partner organizations work with Lumina to guide the
initiative and provide technical and other support to the colleges and
states. They are the American Association of Community Colleges; the
Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas-Austin; the
Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University;
Institute for Higher Education at the University of Florida; Jobs for the
Future; MDC Inc.,; MDRC; and Public Agenda. More about Achieving the Dream,
including a full list of participants, can be found online at
<http://www.achievingthedream.org/ > www.achievingthedream.org.

North Central Michigan College is an open-door community college based in
Petoskey. Through its University Center partnerships, students can take
courses leading to certificates, bachelor’s and master’s degrees from
participating universities. North Central’s Institute for Business &
Industry Training offers non-credit job skills training tailored to meet
individual needs. In addition to its main campus in Petoskey, North Central
offers classes, academic advising, testing and other services in Cheboygan,
Gaylord and East Jordan.

For more information:
Charles MacInnis
231-348-6839