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Leader College of Distinction

A commitment to advancing student success and closing equity gaps has earned Columbus State national recognition.

Columbus State Community College has earned the Achieving the Dream (ATD) Leader College of Distinction status for closing performance gaps among African-American and Hispanic students.

The recognition follows Columbus State’s recognition by ATD in 2019 as its Leah Meyer Austin Award winner for student performance improvement, its highest honor bestowed annually. The College first became an ATD Leader College in 2015 based on its commitment to accelerating student success and moves up from that designation to become a Leader College of Distinction.

ATD recognized Columbus State as a Leader College of Distinction for four-year performance improvement rates from 2015-2018 among first-time-ever-in-college African-American and Hispanic students, including a breakout for solely African-American males.

Highlights include closing the gap between Hispanic and Caucasian students completing college-level English, and narrowing the gap for African-American males completing college-level English from 20 percent to 7 percent compared to Caucasian students.

Columbus State Leader College of Distinction status is based on the reduction in performance gaps among first-time-ever-in-college African-American and Hispanic students in:

  • Completion of college-level math.
  • Completion of college-level English.
  • Completion of college credits with a C- or higher.
  • Earning a credential within four years.

As a national leader, Columbus State is the only community college in the nation to earn ATD Leader College status, develop next-generation academic and career pathways as part of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Guided Pathways, and to be entrusted with developing a new credentialing model through the AACC Right Signals Initiative. Learn more about how Columbus State seeks out innovative ways to help students transform their lives.