Clarifying the Paths
Enabling prospective students to plan their journey at CSM “with the end in mind.”
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:
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.
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.
Measuring Progress
The college’s progress toward those goals will be measured by two- and five-year objectives in five key areas:
- Increase completion rates by 3% by 2022 and 10% by 2025
- Improve equitable access and completion of high-demand, high-wage programs among underrepresented populations by 5% by 2022 and 10% by 2025
- Narrow the equity gap among all students by 50% by 2022 and 90% by 2025
- Increase Pell participation rate by 5% by 2022 and 10% by 2025
- Increase the number of FAFSA applications on file by 5% by 2022 and 10% by 2025