The Harold Promise - CCC

The Harold Promise - CCC
The Harold Promise
Welcome Message from President López
To the Harold Washington College community – our students, alumni, faculty and staff, family, and friends:
I am pleased to share our Harold Promise plan, the culmination of many months and years of work internally, in collaboration with the CCC broader district, and with our Achieving the Dream partners.
Harold Washington College is a proud community college, and the Harold Promise plan brings our strategic plan to life by translating its aspirations into clear outcomes. The plan below summarizes our four strategic levers, highlights our priorities within the strategic plan, and uplifts our key success measures.
My deepest gratitude goes out to our Achieving the Dream coaches, Laurie Heacock and Chris Calienes, who helped us shape much of our plan and implementation structure. I am also endlessly grateful to our HWC faculty and staff for their adoption of the Harold Promise. Their push to be the best-in-class in the service of our students is motivating and humbling. Lastly, I would like to thank our CCC district, college partners, and broader Chicago
familia
for championing our important Harold Promise work at every level, from the classroom to throughout the city. Our work represents that of a full community, and I look forward to our continued collaboration to uplift all of our students.
Sincerely,
Daniel López, Ph.D.
President
Introduction to Harold Washington College
Harold Washington College (HWC), one of the City Colleges of Chicago, is an independently accredited institution located in downtown Chicago. Originally founded in 1962 as Loop College, it was later renamed in honor of Chicago’s first African American mayor. The spirit of our former mayor is embedded in our college’s purpose: in his honor, we aim to uplift the Chicago community through accessible and affordable academic advancement, career development, and personal enrichment.
Our pride is in our central and accessible location in the Loop, which permits students from all parts of the city to come to us; our deeply dedicated faculty and staff, who represent and advocate for our students; and our academic and student service excellence, which enables us to provide our students with appropriate and culturally sensitive resources.
We are a Hispanic Serving and Minority Serving Institution, with deep values of diversity, academic excellence, and global citizenship. Serving nearly 9,000 students annually, approximately 87% of our students identify as people of color, with over 75% of students identifying as Latine or African American. The median student age is 21, and approximately half of our students come from Chicago Public Schools. Nearly 48% of students are Pell-eligible.
The Harold Promise
Our Work with Achieving the Dream and the Strategic Planning Process
In 2023, Harold Washington College joined the Achieving the Dream Achieving Equitable Outcomes Cohort. As a part of this cohort, we undertook a planning process, with the ultimate purpose of aligning college initiatives with our Universal Outcomes Goal. Our Universal Outcomes Goal states that by 2032, 55% of our students, across all racial and ethnic groups, will either complete their credential or transfer to a Bachelor’s granting institution within four years of starting college.
During the planning process, we identified, assessed, and evaluated various portions of our overall student experience, academic programming, and operational health. A team of HWC faculty and staff members undertook the process of understanding and interpreting various sources of student data. Data assessed included rates of HWC student general credit completion, English and Math completion, and academic plan selection. In addition, the team reviewed HWC’s Hope Survey, which assessed levels of students’ basic needs, and the 2022 Net Promoter Score (NPS), which assessed student satisfaction with their experience at HWC and offered an opportunity to suggest improvements.
In 2025, we began to refresh our strategic plan. The Harold Promise Core Strategy Group — comprised of key administrators, faculty, and staff — met weekly to guide the development of the strategic plan through a collaborative and iterative process. Their work was informed by multiple sources of input, including feedback from all faculty and staff during the Spring State of the College session, where participants engaged in a college-wide brainstorming activity. The group also integrated insights from the Achieving the Dream framework, along with student perspectives gathered through focus groups and interviews, ensuring the plan reflects both institutional priorities and lived experiences.
As a result of these two key efforts, HWC created the following “Harold Promise” plan detailing the actions needed to achieve the Universal Outcomes Goal. The Harold Promise is a one-stop shop for all our cross-college strategic and operational initiatives. The Harold Promise plan integrates our work with Achieving the Dream, the strategic plan and planning process, and our work with the State of Illinois to clearly articulate our strategic goals.
Our Framework
The College Journey
Organization
The Harold Promise is organized around four focus areas, with each focus area aligned with a key lever of our strategic plan. While our strategic plan levers lay out the full scope of our long-term vision, the Harold Promise Plan condenses that vision into four focused, action-oriented areas.
Within each focus area, we define the following:
Focus area goal
Strategies to move the goal forward
Expected outcome
By successfully achieving the outcomes detailed in this plan, we aim to reach our north star: becoming the “Premier Transfer Institution” in Chicago and achieving our 55% Universal 4-Year Outcomes Goal.*
*The Universal 4-Year Outcomes Goal states that by 2032, 55% of students, across all race and ethnicity groups, will either complete a certificate / degree or successfully transfer to a baccalaureate institution within four years of starting at City Colleges.
The goal includes all students who are new to CCC in a given academic year and are degree or certificate seeking. The measure includes prior Early College students who have matriculated to credential-seeking, excluding students who earned a credential through EC coursework; includes students who previously enrolled exclusively in non-credit bearing coursework (e.g. community education, adult education); and does not include students who enroll at CCC as non-credential seeking students and then switch to credential programs
Students are tracked from their first fiscal year to then end of the fourth fiscal year, regardless of entry or exit term
Student’s first term Home College receives credit for the outcome
Success is defining as earning a certificate, degree,  GECC, or transferring to a 4-year college; students who transfer to a 4-year college after first transferring to a 2-year college from CCC are not counted as successes; transfers are defined as students who have a one or more NSC records from after their first term at CCC; students who transfer from CCC to a 2-year colleges, then back to CCC, then to a 4year college within the timeframe are counted as a successful transfer to a 4-year.
Implementation Structure
To implement the Harold Promise, six teams have been established, each with distinct responsibilities. The Core Teams — the President’s Cabinet, the Core Strategy Group, the Data Analysis Team, and the Listen and Learn Team — serve as standing committees, providing ongoing guidance and support to the Project Teams while focusing on the continuous improvement of the Harold Promise. Project Teams are formed for one to two years and are charged with leading specific strategies within the plan. Additional Project Teams will be launched in the coming years as needed.
The Harold Promise Implementation Structure
Team charges are as follows:
President’s Cabinet
: Oversee all Harold Promise initiatives and provide final decisions and guidance regarding project recommendations
Core Strategy Group
: Conduct all strategic and operational planning processes at HW, with a focus on leading strategic planning and providing guidance to Project Teams launched as a result of our work with ATD
Data Analysis Team
: Assist the Core Strategy Group with analysis and interpretation of data and execute on ad-hoc data requests from Project Teams
Listen and Learn Team
: Collect qualitative data through conducting focus groups and interviews with students, faculty, and staff
First-Year Experience Project Team
: Review and assess the existing student experience programs and providing recommendations to improve the suite of first-year student experience programming
Academic Success Project Team
: Update and refresh current academic programs and guide the development of new academic programs
Space Assessment Project Team
: Analyze campus space and provide recommendations to optimize space usage
Academic Success
Goal: Offer programs that are relevant to students’ lives and career goals while ensuring they have the resources and support to succeed in them.
Strategies:
Strengthen and align HWC’s academic programs to meet student interests, workforce demands, and transfer opportunities (with a focus on high-impact programs: engineering, architecture, paralegal, cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence, and leading business programs).
Reduce barriers to academic success by implementing year-long scheduling, courses in multiple modalities and forms (including eight-week sessions), and the increased use of open educational resources.
Promote student advancement through HWC by ensuring every student follows a clear and structured academic plan, supported by proactive advising, progress tracking, and career-aligned pathways.
Institutionalize proven teaching practices that enhance student learning and success.
Expected Outcome: Students will be equipped with the academic tools and supports they need to succeed in the classroom, obtain a credential, and transfer to their school of choice.
How will we measure this?
Class completion rates (for HWC home college and course-taking students) in new and current course formats; number of students in structured academic pathways and new academic programs; survey data regarding the classroom experience; qualitative feedback from our college community.
Student Empowerment
Goal: Enable every student to see a clear path to success and self-empowerment at Harold Washington College.
Strategies:
Ensure all students have access to meaningful, holistic co-curricular experiences to complement their academic journey and enhance their sense of belonging.
Broaden enrollment and onboarding strategies to reach and support nontraditional student populations, and reduce onboarding process barriers for new students, with clear, coordinated transitions within Enrollment Management (Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar, Early College) to academic advising.
Promote a campuswide care model among faculty and staff to foster personalized and culturally responsive interactions across student services, faculty, and staff.
Increase the integration of transfer and career progress points across all departments, making them more visible and connected to student academic goals.
Expected Outcome: Students will be empowered to take ownership of their college experience, be their own best advocates, and build lasting support networks through student leadership and development opportunities. Students will be able to navigate college with ease through a streamlined student experience, from pre-application through completion.
How will we measure this?
Student retention and class completion; student participation in leadership development opportunities; consistent rates of student support resources across all student demographics; achievement of transfer and career progress points; increased enrollment from nontraditional student populations; qualitative feedback from our college community.
Investment in Faculty and Staff
Goal: Strengthen the Harold Washington College community by investing in faculty and staff development and fostering collaboration in decision-making.
Strategies:
Invest in HWC faculty and staff trainings and professional development opportunities to support faculty and staff in their service of students.
Promote cross-department collaboration and foster transparency through shared leadership and inclusive decision-making.
Recognize employee contributions and celebrate our collective purpose.
Ensure optimal distribution of resources, including space.
Expected Outcome: Faculty and staff will feel a deep sense of belonging and shared purpose as HWC employees — faculty and staff will be equipped and supported personally and professionally, feel pride in our culture, and be connected to our mission and each other.
How will we measure this?
Qualitative and quantitative feedback from faculty and staff regarding the HWC employee experience (through surveys, focus groups, and interviews).
Chicago Connections
Goal:
Expand HWC’s presence across Chicago by strengthening local partnerships and cultivating a network of community advocates.
Strategies:
Deepen existing successful partnerships with Chicago Public Schools, One Million Degrees, Community-Based Organizations, and university partners.
Increase Harold Washington College’s integration within the Chicago community by actively engaging with local organizations, businesses, and cultural institutions.
Build and strengthen partnerships focused on basic needs supports to ensure students have access to essential services within the community.
Expected Outcome: HWC will be an institution grounded in the work and reality of the city of Chicago and will be a visible first-choice for an affordable college education within all Chicago neighborhoods.
How will we measure this?
Level of engagement with Chicago partners, measured through the number of opportunities for students to access basic needs, career opportunities, and learning opportunities; increased enrollment across all Chicago neighborhoods, particularly via word-of-mouth and first-choice applications; increased financial support from community and philanthropic partners.
Meet our Teams and Coaches
President’s Cabinet
President’s Cabinet
– tasked with overseeing all Harold Promise initiatives and providing final decisions and guidance regarding project recommendations
President Daniel López, Theresa Carlton, Ming Geng, Aimee Krall-Lanoue, Kim Bowens, Luvia Moreno, August Kampf-Lassin, Sanjana Chidambaram, Marc Kelley, Delaney Dahlstrom, Lizette Perez
Core Strategy Group
Core Strategy Group
– tasked with conducting all strategic and operational planning processes at HWC, with a focus on leading the 2025 Strategic Plan Refresh in this calendar year, and providing guidance to project teams launched as a result of our work with ATD
Team Leads:
VP Carlton, Sanjana Chidambaram
Team Members:
Alisa Allkins, Kim Bowens, Regina Lira, Danielle Miles, Juan Moran, Luvia Moreno, Delaney Dahlstrom, Rosie Banks, Carrie Nepstad, August Kampf-Lassin
Advisors, Achieving the Dream Coaches:
Laurie Heacock and Chris Calienes
Data Analysis Team
Data Analysis Team
– tasked with reviewing historical data to integrate into the strategic planning process, assisting our core strategy group with analysis and interpretation of data, and executing on ad-hoc data requests from project teams launched as a result of our work with ATD
Team Leads:
August Kampf-Lassin
Team Members:
Ainka Clepper, Fernando Miranda-Mendoza, Phil Vargus, Chris Maxwell, Sarah Moore
Listen and Learn Team
Listen and Learn Team
– tasked with collecting qualitative data through conducting focus groups and interviews with students, faculty, and staff
Team Leads:
Sushma Kher, Luvia Moreno
Team Members:
Joe Hinton, Felicia Robinson-Silas, Ellen Goldberg, Maria Fregoso, Jennifer Meresman, Farahnaz Movahedzadeh
Student Representative:
Ty Townsend-Ford
First-Year Experience Project Team
First-Year Experience Project Team
– tasked with reviewing and assessing the existing student experience programs and provides recommendations to improve the suite of first-year student experience programming
Team Leads:
Mariah Palmer, Pedro Nungaray
Team Members:
LaNisha Thomas, Meaghan Young-Stephens, Teresa Antonino-Mora, Melissa McGlynn, Sarah Tarkany, Donyel Williams, Mik Connolly
Academic Portfolio Optimization Project Team
Academic Portfolio Project
Team
– tasked with reviewing current academic pathways, creating academic planning tools, and providing recommendations to refresh the catalog
Team Leads:
VP Carlton, Aimee Krall-Lanoue
Team Members:
Bridgette Mahan, Department Chairs
Space Assessment Team
Space Assessment Project Team
– tasked with analyzing Harold Washington campus space usage and providing recommendations to optimize space usage
Team Lead:
VP Geng, Christine Marriott
Team Members:
Tim Davis, Deborah Rogers-Jaye, Emily Jurgens, Aja Humphreys, Jeremy Gonzalez, Joe Dillon, Michal Eskayo, Elise Cowin, Jones, Ingrid Riedle, Celia Perez, Julie MacCarthy
Harold Promise Updates: Fall 2025
The Harold Promise teams officially launched on March 13, 2025, with all teams actively working to advance their projects and support student success. Teams have held initial meetings, established regular schedules, and are making steady progress on their respective goals, with bi-monthly check-ins continuing to support collaboration across teams.
Data Analysis Team
The Data Analysis Team is focused on supporting project teams. They piloted a project analyzing advising data and establishing a liaison model for collaboration. The team is also assisting the Listen & Learn Team with survey design and is compiling student profiles to inform broader initiatives.
Listen & Learn Team
The Listen & Learn Team is focused on supporting project teams. The team conducted multiple focus groups and interviews in Spring 2025 and engaged dozens of students and gathered insights during Fall 2025 Welcome Week. They shared these perspectives with the broader Harold Promise teams in the fall. They are working with the Data Analysis Team to design digital surveys to capture broader student perspectives.
Core Strategy Group
The Core Strategy Group is focused on supporting project teams. The team developed a decision-making matrix to assess proposals from project teams and has focused on aligning the college’s strategic planning process with insights from the ATD collaboration.
First-Year Experience (FYE) Team
The First-Year Experience (FYE) Team has completed its team charter and developed a regular meeting schedule. Team members have created and refined student journey maps, identifying key overlaps and grouping processes by student and service type. They piloted advising meet-and-greet events and are developing additional initiatives, including video resources and check-in events.
Space Planning Team
The Space Planning Team has begun assessing current building usage and activities. The team recently went through a campus building tour to inform their efforts, and is now developing floor plans to better understand space functions, identifying key data to inform long-term planning.
Academic Portfolio Optimization team
The Academic Portfolio Optimization team is focused on understanding the use of eight-week terms to promote equity at community colleges. The team has begun brainstorming ideas to adapt these terms across different academic disciplines.
Achieving the Dream (ATD)
What is ATD?
Achieving the Dream (ATD) is a national education reform network of more than 300 colleges across the country, each committed to helping students achieve their college and career goals. Launched in 2004, Achieving the Dream is designed to help community colleges collect and analyze student performance data and apply the results to help students succeed.
ATD’s Vision
To help network colleges catalyze equitable, anti-racist, and economically vibrant communities through institutional transformation that advances community colleges as profoundly accessible hubs of learning, credentialing, and economic mobility that eliminate inequities in education and workforce outcomes.
Definition of Equity
The intentional practice of identifying and dismantling unjust structures, policies, and practices that perpetuate systemic oppression based on but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender identity, language, disability, sexual orientation, economic status, and/or religion to establish corrective justice actions to realize students’ academic and social mobility goals.
Equity Principles
Leverage existing and new data to inform equitable outcomes
Develop an equity mindset
Interrogate institutional practices, structures, and policies and replace those that are inequitable
Integrate holistic supports throughout the student experience
Embrace cultural curiosity and culturally responsive pedagogy
Drive positive change through perseverance and power sharing
Acknowledge the pervasiveness of racism and discrimination in the U.S.
Engage with the local community to develop partnerships that lead to community vibrancy