The Dunham Fund has provided a grant to support half of the $1M budget for Waubonsee Community College’s (WCC) QUICK PATH program which will offer an accelerated Associate degree program with a Business emphasis, that will allow students to complete a two-year Associate degree in a one-year time frame. This program is rigorous and is only for high-achieving, college ready students, with significant financial need, who are prepared to commit a full year to degree attainment. QUICK PATH will provide opportunities for low income and first generation college students and will encourage job placement within the Dunham Fund service area. WCC researched Miami-Dade College, the largest community college in the United States, and reviewed their FAST TRACK program, designed to assist students with rapid, one-year degree completion, and used this program as an outline and modified it to fit the needs of WCC’s students and institutional infrastructure.
QUICK PATH will have a selective admissions process and is best suited for students who are right out of high school with very few outside demands that can detract from their academic progress. The program will run from Fall 2016 through Summer 2017 and will include a comprehensive one-year schedule in which students will take 60 credit hours over three semesters. Students will take classes from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day with one hour of built in academic support, labeled “Strategies for Success.” The program will utilize a cohort model of 15 to 35 students. In addition to free tuition, students will receive a stipend of $200 per week, free books, lunch during each day of the program, and a computer and printer to assist with their homework completion and submission. There will be a “student success coach” who will provide a one-stop shop for every student’s academic, financial, and social needs. This success coach will partner with faculty and the tutoring center, creating a triangulation of academic support designed to assist the students with persisting through to graduation.