Hudson County Community College’s Hudson Scholars Program Expands Academic Success for Black and African American Male Students
February 22, 2024
Innovative programs like Hudson Scholars drive better outcomes for traditionally underrepresented and underserved students.
February 22, 2024, Jersey City, NJ – Hudson County Community College (HCCC) is making great strides supporting the retention, completion, and achievement of all students’ goals and dreams. The College is using data and best practices to remove barriers to student success. A recent focus of this College-wide initiative is reducing the significant retention and completion gaps experienced by Black and African American male students.
HCCC is tackling the complex and unique challenges faced by Black and African American male students by leveraging its award-winning Hudson Scholars Program and utilizing a data-driven approach, promoting academic success and reducing the barriers to success for these students. As part of these efforts, the College recently participated in the Racial Equity Leadership Academy (RELA), a year-long intensive national institute designed to support teams of leaders as they develop bold, strategic racial equity plans and implement actionable change efforts at their institutions.
Developed under the leadership of HCCC President Dr. Christopher Reber, the innovative Hudson Scholars program won the 2023 National Bellwether Award for Instructional Programs and Services and is nominated for a 2024 Bellwether Legacy Award.
HCCC is leveraging its Hudson Scholars program as part of a holistic approach to increasing student success and reducing time to completion for Black and African American male students. The College participated in the year-long Racial Equity Leadership Academy and presented its findings at Achieving the Dream’s Dream 2024 national conference in Orlando, FL.
In developing Hudson Scholars, HCCC studied niche programs that serve smaller numbers of students and developed a plan to scale these practices to more students. Hudson Scholars expands academic access and promotes student success through a holistic approach, combining proactive student support and academic advising, financial stipends, high-impact educational experiences, and robust faculty engagement. Over 2,500 students have participated in Hudson Scholars thus far, and this novel approach has profoundly impacted student success. Students participating in Hudson Scholars persist at a rate 30% higher than students not in the program, completing their programs in half the time. Students participating in the Hudson Scholars program are more likely to stay in school and graduate faster.
Participation in Hudson Scholars has resulted in significantly improved outcomes for students from traditionally underrepresented groups, especially Black and African American male students.
- Black and African American male students who met with a Hudson Scholars counselor saw their fall-to-fall persistence increase by a remarkable 120%.
- The two-year completion rate for Black and African American male students in the program soared by a staggering 450%.
- When Black and African American male Hudson Scholars students met with their counselor, a resounding 96% returned for another meeting, a far higher rate than any other group, and clearly indicating the importance of establishing this initial connection.
These results show that when fully participating in the Hudson Scholars program activities, the equity gap for Black and African American males effectively disappeared.
The results are encouraging, and HCCC aims to amplify the effectiveness of Hudson Scholars, which was designed for all students, while directly and strategically targeting remaining retention and completion gaps for Black and African American male students and other students from traditionally underrepresented groups.
HCCC President Dr. Chris Reber added, “We are excited about our progress in helping to close the equity gap for Black and African male students. But it’s also important to remember that more must be done nationwide to eliminate the equity and success gaps for traditionally underrepresented students on a larger scale, and we look forward to being part of this national solution.”
Members of the HCCC family presented their work supporting RELA’s Racial Equity Change Effort, focusing on the retention and completion of Black and African American male students, during Achieving the Dream’s (ATD) DREAM 2024 national conference in Orlando, Florida.