Press Release

Bunker Hill Community College Learning Communities Recognized for Excellence

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The Bunker Hill Community College Learning Communities program has received the New England Board of Higher Education’s Robert J. McKenna Award for Program Achievement. The College was recognized at the Board’s 10th annual Excellence Awards celebration on March 2, 2012, at the Marriott Long Wharf hotel in Boston.

In accepting the award for Bunker Hill Community College, President Mary L. Fifield thanked the College’s faculty and staff and asked several in the audience to join her onstage. “The establishment of learning communities at Bunker Hill Community College represents a major transformation of teaching and learning at our institution,” she said. “The effort required the commitment and involvement of more than 120 faculty and staff members over five years. The results have been significant for our students.”

Bunker Hill Community College’s Learning Communities, which serve more than 4,000 students, are the cornerstone of a comprehensive student success campaign that has increased student year-to-year retention by 28 percent since 2003. “Students enrolled in the College’s learning communities are more likely to persist in their studies,” says Lori Catallozzi, Dean of Humanities and Learning Communities at BHCC. “They are better equipped to surmount the range of complex issues faced by urban community college students.”

Established in 1955, the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) promotes greater educational opportunities and services for New England residents. Each year, NEBHE presents state and regional awards to individuals and institutions that have made substantive contributions to improving higher education opportunities for students across the six New England states.

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About Bunker Hill Community College
With more than 50 years of academic excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is one of Massachusetts' largest community colleges, serving approximately 16,000 students annually. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC offers a broad range of educational opportunities throughout Greater Boston. BHCC fosters a welcoming and supportive learning environment for students by offering associate degrees and certificates, early college and dual enrollment, community education, corporate training, and industry-specific programs.