CNM is 1 of 5 finalists for student success contest

Central New Mexico Community College President Kathie Winograd did “the happy dance” in her office when she heard the big news: CNM is a finalist for a national student success contest.

“We’re on pins and needles waiting to see the final results,” Winograd said Wednesday.

CNM is one of five finalists in the American Association of Community Colleges competition. The association represents about 1,200 two-year colleges around the country.

The other finalists are Hudson County Community College in New Jersey; Phillips Community College in Arkansas; South Texas College in McAllen, Texas; and Tarrant County College, in Fort Worth. The winner will be announced at the association’s convention in San Francisco on April 23.

It’s the first time CNM has been a finalist, Winograd said. She said it was CNM’s commitment to graduating more students that landed it on the finalist spot.

“CNM has quite a very significant role in the discussion about needing to graduate more students not only at CNM but throughout the whole system, and we are a big participant in that because New Mexico is just in a place where we’ve got to get serious about turning our system around,” Winograd said.

CNM has more than doubled its graduation rates in the past few years, according to data from the school. For example, the school awarded 2,329 associate degrees and certificates in the 2008-2009 school year. In the 2011-2012 school year, that number spiked to more than 6,100.

CNM says it also has increased the percentage of CNM graduates who transfer to a four-year university.

“We took a very aggressive approach in terms of really mining data and creating class schedules we knew would encourage students to get through,” Winograd said.

One method is CNM Connect, a one-stop shop for student services such as financial coaching, skills workshops, legal services and referrals. CNM Connect, established in 2011, also provides free tax preparation, public benefits screenings and access to scholarship applications.

Winograd said regardless of whether CNM takes the big prize, she is proud to have made it this far.

“I just think this is such a big thing for the state of New Mexico, and we don’t want this award to be the end, we want it to be the beginning of something wonderful,” Winograd said.
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal