Hazim Hardeman’s story is a testament to the “path of possibilities” provided by the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP). After completing an associate’s degree from CCP in 2015 and a bachelor’s degree from Temple University this year, he will become the only American Rhodes Scholar winner in 2018 to have attended a community college.
In what has become an unofficial pipeline to institutions like the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University or Cornell University, CCP has been working to redefine the role of community colleges in effectively preparing students academically, professionally and personally.
“It’s a myth or it’s a misunderstanding that the first two years of a liberal arts curriculum at a community college is something less than what students would get at any other college,” says Dr. Donald Guy Generals, president of CCP. “We provide a lot of support, we have counseling and we challenge them. We establish a high bar … and we foster their activities so that they’re able to meet that bar.”
The school’s status as a pathways institute – supported and funded by the Gates and Lumina Foundations – puts students on “guided pathways” providing them with streamlined curriculum and services depending on their chosen career path.
And in order to effectively support all students, Generals says that CCP made an investment in students by hiring ten full-time advisors whose only job is to help students stay on track with their career aspirations.
A comprehensive workforce and economic development division at CCP provides students with non-credit courses, short-term and intermediate certificates and focuses on what is known as “stackable credentials.” “If somebody takes a six-month certificate, they can then parlay that, or at least part of that, into a credit and then pursue a more traditional academic program,” says Generals.
Working with the city’s school district and workforce development initiative, CCP staff also offers duel enrollment to high school students and customized job training that connect current students with business industries in the Philadelphia area.
