ECC receives national equity award for diversity programs

An earlier version of this story should have stated that Elgin Community College is among three community colleges nationwide to receive a national equity award from the Association of Community College Trustees. The college received the 2014 Central Regional Equity Award. Awards also were presented for the Pacific and Southern regions.

Elgin Community College is among three community colleges nationwide to receive a national equity award from the Association of Community College Trustees.

ECC was presented with the 2014 Central Regional Equity Award Oct. 24 during the 45th annual ACCT. Leadership Congress in Chicago. Awards also were presented for the Pacific and Southern regions.

"We are very proud to receive this honor from ACCT as it recognizes the excellent work of our faculty, staff, administrators, board, and students to emphasize diversity and equity, and inclusion in everything we do at ECC," ECC President David Sam said.

The college was recognized for programs and initiatives focusing on diversity, equity, student success, and cultural competence. They include Trio and Upward Bound, diversity in student clubs and organizations, the college's newly created Equity Action Team, which has developed an employee diversity training program, and the Alliance for College Readiness.

ECC is part of the federally funded TRiO and Upward Bound programs encouraging and assisting underrepresented students to enter and succeed in college. Ninety-five percent of students from ECC's Upward Bound program apply to college, and 90 percent attend. The program has an 87 percent retention rate.

The Alliance for College Readiness, formed in 2006, is a partnership with between ECC and all 12 public high schools and most middle schools within the college's boundaries. College faculty members partner with their K-12 counterparts to ensure high school graduates are ready for college-level courses and can succeed after high school.

Programs under the alliance include the Summer Bridge Program, which boasts a 73 percent success rate for students on the cusp of college readiness, and the Transition Academy, which focuses on college preparedness for students of color.

After a 2010 cultural audit, Sam created the Equity Action Team focused on diminishing barriers that inhibit student success. It led to the implementation of a diversity training program. Hundreds of employees have participated in ECC's Cultural Competency workshops, and workshops that focus on sexual orientation and valuing different religions.