Bunker Hill Community College Learning Communities Recognized for Excellence
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
The Bunker Hill Community College Learning Communities program has received the New England Board of Higher Education’s Robert J. McKenna Award for Program Achievement. The College was recognized at the Board’s 10th annual Excellence Awards celebration on March 2, 2012, at the Marriott Long Wharf hotel in Boston.
In accepting the award for Bunker Hill Community College, President Mary L. Fifield thanked the College’s faculty and staff and asked several in the audience to join her onstage. “The establishment of learning communities at Bunker Hill Community College represents a major transformation of teaching and learning at our institution,” she said. “The effort required the commitment and involvement of more than 120 faculty and staff members over five years. The results have been significant for our students.”
Bunker Hill Community College’s Learning Communities, which serve more than 4,000 students, are the cornerstone of a comprehensive student success campaign that has increased student year-to-year retention by 28 percent since 2003. “Students enrolled in the College’s learning communities are more likely to persist in their studies,” says Lori Catallozzi, Dean of Humanities and Learning Communities at BHCC. “They are better equipped to surmount the range of complex issues faced by urban community college students.”
Established in 1955, the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) promotes greater educational opportunities and services for New England residents. Each year, NEBHE presents state and regional awards to individuals and institutions that have made substantive contributions to improving higher education opportunities for students across the six New England states.
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About Bunker Hill Community College
With more than 50 years of academic excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is Massachusetts' largest community college, annually welcoming a diverse community of around 16,000 students. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC extends its reach across several locations in Greater Boston. The College offers associate degrees and certificates, early college and dual enrollment, community education, corporate training, and industry-specific training programs. BHCC is celebrated for its diversity, boasting a student body where 65% identify as people of color and more than half are women. The College also embraces a global perspective, with over 600 international students representing 90 countries and conversing in more than 65 languages. Our commitment to diversity is further reflected in BHCC's designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).