Bunker Hill Community College Learning Communities Earn Top Award

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Feb 08, 2012, 09:33 ET

BOSTON, Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Bunker Hill Community College Learning Communities program has received the New England Board of Education's Robert J. McKenna Award for Program Achievement. The College will be recognized at the Board's 10^th annual Excellence Awards celebration on March 2, 2012, at the Marriott Long Wharf hotel in Boston. Other honorees include Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and former Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri.

The New England Board of Higher Education presents Excellence Awards to individuals and organizations from across the six New England states that demonstrate exceptional leadership on behalf of higher education and the advancement of educational opportunity. 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.

Learning Communities allow small groups of students to learn and study together. Faculty plan their coursework around common academic themes and engage students in hands-on learning that builds 21^st century capacities, including critical thinking, problem solving and teamwork.

According to Dean of Humanities and Learning Communities Lori A. Catallozzi, the program has yielded significant gains. "Learning Communities students are more likely to persist in their studies," she says, "and they are better equipped to surmount the range of complex issues faced by urban community college students." Learning Communities, she said, provide engaging and supportive environments that emphasize active and interdisciplinary learning. Through interactions inside and outside of the classroom, the program offers opportunities for students to explore academic disciplines and career paths, reflect on their academic, life and career goals, and develop plans to achieve these goals.

Press Contact:
Colleen Roach, Executive Director of Communications & Marketing
Bunker Hill Community College
250 New Rutherford Avenue; Boston, MA 02129
Phone: (617) 228-2177; Email: [email protected]

Bunker Hill Community College is the largest community college in Massachusetts. The College enrolls approximately 13,400 students on two campuses and at four satellite locations. BHCC is one of the most diverse institutions of higher education in Massachusetts. Six in ten students are people of color and more than half of BHCC's students are women. The College also enrolls more than 780 international students who come from more than 90 countries and speak 75 different languages.

SOURCE Bunker Hill Community College