Montgomery County Community College celebrated 17 students who graduated with their high school diplomas from the Gateway to College program on the Blue Bell Campus on May 20. The Gateway to College Program at Montgomery County Community College has helped 307 students receive their diplomas since it started in 2013. Photos by Linda Johnson
Montgomery County Community College’s Gateway to College Program has garnered national recognition recently for helping students achieve academic success. The program was the recipient of the Achieving the Dream (ATD) Program Excellence Award.
The Gateway to College Program and its experienced faculty and staff help students who have disengaged from high school complete the requirements they need for their high school diploma and earn college credits. Since MCCC launched the program in 2013 at its Blue Bell and Pottstown campuses, 307 students have earned their high school diplomas, transforming their pathways.
The Program Excellence Award is presented to Gateway to College programs nationwide
that achieve all four network benchmarks: first-term success, one-year persistence,
two-year persistence, and the three-year high school graduation rate. This is the
eighth time MCCC’s program has received the award.
“We are thrilled to receive this award again,” said Gateway to College Program Manager Michelle Kulla. “It is a testament to our faculty, and they work they do during the first semester for students to set them up to be successful.”
Entering the program in the 2024-2025 school year, MCCC Gateway students had a collective GPA of 1.76. After their first term, however, that number rose to 2.77, which is above the network benchmark of 2.50. Additionally, 69 percent of students in the program passed their first term courses in the 2023-2024 school year, exceeding the network average of 65 percent.
MCCC’s one-year persistence percentage was 76 percent, above the benchmark of 65.5 percent and well above the network average rate of 53 percent. Likewise, the two-year persistence rate was 79 percent, above the benchmark of 61 percent and the network average rate of 52 percent. Lastly, the three-year high school graduation rate was 79 percent, above the 50 percent benchmark and 62 percent network average.
“That’s our ultimate goal is getting them to graduation,” said Kulla. “When students come in with a foundational need, their first term GPA is a trial semester. That graduation rate speaks to students’ ability to develop a growth mindset. They’re able to grow in the program to become successful, independent students.”
Kulla is especially appreciative of longtime partner PECO. This partnership continues today with a recent $10,000 grant awarded through the MCCC (PA) Legacy Fund for financial support of the program and student scholarships.
MCCC’s Gateway Program is one of only two programs in Pennsylvania and is among 28 national programs in 19 states across the country. It is one of the first colleges to be a Bellwether finalist, a national award that recognizes programs or activities that have been designed and successfully implemented to foster or support teaching and learning.
A total of 23 area school districts – Abington, Boyertown, Cheltenham, Colonial, Daniel Boone, Exeter, Hatboro-Horsham, Jenkintown, Methacton, Norristown, North Penn, Owen J. Roberts, Perkiomen Valley, Phoenixville, Pottsgrove, Souderton, Springfield, Spring-Ford, Upper Dublin, Upper Merion, Upper Moreland, Upper Perkiomen and Wissahickon – collaborate with MCCC, referring students to the program.
MCCC’s Gateway team includes Program Manager Michelle Kulla; and Psychology Senior Lecturer Michael Baron, English Senior Lecturer Tracey Fida, Theatre Regular Lecturer David Pica, Math Senior Lecturer Stephanie Wuertz and English Associate Professor Dr. Victoria Vetro.
For more information about MCCC’s Gateway to College Program, contact Gateway Program Manager Michelle Kulla.