SALISBURY — Wor-Wic Community College in Salisbury was recently named one of seven community colleges chosen from throughout the nation to participate in the Accelerating Equitable Outcomes initiative of Achieving the Dream (ATD), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving student outcomes.

Wor-Wic and the other community colleges will focus on transforming students’ experiences and outcomes at rural-serving institutions.

“America’s rural communities are integral to our nation’s economic and fiscal well-being. Yet they are frequently under-resourced and struggle to gain the attention of policymakers and investors,” said Dr. Karen A. Stout, ATD president and CEO. “This next iteration of the Accelerating Equitable Outcomes cohort will bring these seven colleges together with ATD coaches and subject matter experts in a three-year engagement to focus on deepening their analyses of data to better understand their students’ needs, increasing institutional capacity, deploying dynamic student supports for both inside and outside the classroom and developing an action plan to continue and sustain their student success work.”

According to Stout, the work of the rural-serving cohort will advance themes such as advising reform, closing equity gaps using disaggregated data and reimagining community partnerships.

“Wor-Wic is committed to transforming the lives of our students and community. As a transformational organization, Wor-Wic is excited to be part of this cohort, focused on accelerating equitable outcomes assisting more students to achieve upward economic and social mobility.” said Dr. Deborah Casey, president of Wor-Wic. “We want to do everything we can to ensure our students achieve their academic and career goals. We’re honored to be selected to join the Achieving the Dream network of over 300 campuses across the nation supporting student success in holistic ways.”

The Accelerating Equitable Outcomes initiative is funded in part by ATD using the donation it received from MacKenzie Scott in 2021.