Oakland Community College is strengthening student support, career pathways and K-12 partnerships through the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Detroit Drives Degrees Community College Collaborative (D3C3).  

OCC joined six other Southeast Michigan community colleges in Fall 2022 to expand equitable access to education and help students earn high-value credentials that lead to good-paying, in-demand jobs with local employers.

Supported by more than $30 million in grant funds from The Ballmer Group and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, phase one of D3C3 focused on three areas: student success, career pathways and K-12 partnerships. OCC received $6.3 million to advance this work. 


Strengthening Student Support

D3C3 funding has helped modernize technology and streamline services so employees can identify student needs earlier and provide more timely support. 

Major milestones include integrating CRM Advise, updating MyOCC and moving Ellucian Colleague to the cloud. Together, these advances lay the foundation for integrated, real-time data to guide student success and improve outcomes.

“Thanks to D3C3, we have been able to transform and improve how we serve students, working to proactively engage and support them collegewide by redesigning and streamlining our student service model and leveraging and integrating new technology systems,” said OCC Chancellor Peter Provenzano, Jr. “These improvements save time that can be reinvested into building meaningful student connections, providing them with proactive guidance, and improving overall support throughout their academic journey.”

OCC also digitized and launched 120 forms and related processes, reducing wait times and making college services easier to access. These efficiencies helped reduce call volumes during peak student registration by 40%. Another 48 forms are actively in development.  

The funding expanded opportunities to earn credit for prior learning, helping students lower college costs and complete credentials sooner. It also supported the transition to a model of coordinated care within student services, expanding proactive outreach and case-load based program planning.  Faculty received support for course redesign, instructional materials, embedded coaching and other innovations to improve student success.

The College’s graduation rate increased 46% since joining the Collaborative (from 13% to 19%), with D3C3 funding contributing to that progress by supporting OCC’s strategic initiatives.

Connecting Students to Careers

D3C3 funding helped to expand OCC’s Career Services staffing and programming, connecting more students with more part-time on-and-off campus student employment under OCC’s Federal Work Study (FWS) program, internships, apprenticeships and employment opportunities. 

During the 2024-25 academic year, Career Services supported an average of 1,000 students per semester through career and internship fairs, student appointments, walk-ins, employment preparation sessions, student employment, short-term training student-focused sessions, apprenticeship information sessions, employer workshops, student engagement events at every campus, and industry tours.  

These experiences help students prepare for the workplace, meet employers, explore careers and connect to internships, apprenticeships and entry-level employment opportunities. 

Building K-12 Partnerships

OCC’s dual enrollment and early college give middle- and high-school students a head start on college, including opportunities to earn credits toward an associate degree as they graduate from high school. 

Three full-time K-12 positions created with D3C3 funding are now permanent College roles. These employees help strengthen school partnerships, expand dual enrollment and early college programs, and introduce students to college opportunities earlier. 

Aided in part by the D3C3 funding support to expand these opportunities, OCC’s dual enrollment grew approximately 70%, from 706 students since the College joined the Collaborative in Fall 2022 to 1,200 students in Fall 2026. Dual enrolled and early college students gain awareness and hands on experience with postsecondary options and are shown to matriculate and succeed in college at higher rates.  Thanks to policy advocacy by the Michigan Community College Association and D3C3, the State of Michigan has grown its investment in dual enrollment starting in 2026-27.  

“This partnership has allowed us to strengthen our work to support students and community,” said Provenzano, Jr. “I look forward to building on that progress over the next three years through D3C3’s second phase. Together, we will help more people earn credentials and degrees, connect them to high-quality, in-demand jobs and strengthen our region’s economy.” 

About OCC          
Oakland Community College (OCC) has educated over one million students since 1965. OCC offers more than 80 degree and certificate programs and is committed to student success with affordable tuition, support services, flexible class options and top transfer opportunities. The College serves more than 20,000 students annually while advancing our community through education, training and career support. OCC is nationally recognized as Michigan’s top online college, and seventh in the U.S., by  Newsweek’s  America’s Top Online Colleges 2025. Learn more at  oaklandcc.edu. 

          
###       
 

Media Contact: Marketing & Communications | (248) 341-2020 | contactus@oaklandcc.edu