Rockland Community College (RCC) is a public community college located in Rockland County in the town of Suffern, NY, about 25 miles northwest of New York City. Enrollment for both credit and non-credit courses is approximately 5,700 students.
RCC Staff and Coaches
Rachel Mead, Dean, Workforce and Innovation
Leidy Pichardo, Director for the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP)
Austin Singleton, MSFCP Coach.
RCC Success to Date
RCC joined MSFCP in fall 2022 and has 103 participants in the program (as of July 2024). Students can access MSFCP by signing up and registering via the website under Student Services. To assess the impact of MSFCP on students, in addition to tracking the MSFCP metrics, they utilize a pre- and post-survey. MSFCP at RCC has significantly improved completion and retention rates. MSFCP first-time, full-time students achieved a 92% persistence rate which is notably higher than the national average of 61%.
RCC Innovative Practices
RCC provides all prospective students with a welcome packet, familiarizing them with the program and what they can achieve. Several other marketing efforts have increased recruitment. One of the most successful efforts has been with the “Game of Life” event where students are guided through a scenario and introduced to MSFCP. The college also recruits students through freshman year seminars, events offered through the English Language Skills Academy, TRIO activities, events sponsored by the RCC Investment Club, and through a women and wealth workshop.
RCC serves a large Hispanic population and hosts a Somos El Future program. Somos has proved to be a strong recruitment partner such that nearly 50% of the participants in MSFCP at RCC are Hispanic-Latino.
