Achieving the Dream

CSM is committed to helping students achieve.

Since 2019, the College of Southern Maryland has been a member of the Achieving the Dream (ATD) network—a nationwide initiative to cultivate systemic change among community colleges to address equity gaps in student success, particularly for low-income students and students of color.

As an ATD member school, CSM joins more than 220 community colleges across the country in a concerted push with a common goal: to reduce the disparities in access, opportunities, and outcomes in higher education. 

As a college, we have one purpose: To facilitate student achievement.

Our fundamental goal is to create a student-focused institutional culture that ensures equity and inspires all students to succeed. To that end, our ATD work centers around three primary goals:

graduate with hawk mascot

Clarifying the Paths

Enabling prospective students to plan their journey at CSM “with the end in mind.”  

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Systematizing the Supports

Identifying a clear procedure for a student to follow when in need of any kind of support, to allow them to overcome barriers to completion.  

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Demystifying the Finances

Providing clear, concise, and consistent messaging regarding costs, payment options, and the resources and support available to CSM students to keep their education affordable and attainable. 

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Measuring Progress

The college’s progress toward those goals will be measured by two- and five-year objectives in five key areas: 

  1. Increase completion rates by 3% by 2022 and 10% by 2025 
  2. Improve equitable access and completion of high-demand, high-wage programs among underrepresented populations by 5% by 2022 and 10% by 2025 
  3. Narrow the equity gap among all students by 50% by 2022 and 90% by 2025 
  4. Increase Pell participation rate by 5% by 2022 and 10% by 2025 
  5. Increase the number of FAFSA applications on file by 5% by 2022 and 10% by 2025 
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