College Goals

The College’s goals support its values and align with district-wide strategic themes. COMMUNITY

Goal 1 Provide international and multicultural activities to promote a culture of diversity, inclusiveness and global competence. Goal 2 Maintain relationships and partnerships with local and global businesses, communities, and organizations to foster diversity and workforce development. Goal 3 Foster a participatory, productive and supportive campus climate to ensure collegiality and informed decision making. LEARNING

Goal 4 Assure students receive a quality education with academic support to become self-directed and successful lifelong learners. Goal 5 Provide instructional and co-curricular activities to enhance student development. Goal 6 Provide for the growth and development and recognition of employees to create a leading-edge workforce.

Orange Coast College Educational Master Plan 2011 - 2015 7 ACCESS Goal 7 Utilize effective outreach, partnerships, and enrollment strategies to enhance the diversity and success of our students. Goal 8 Provide a technologically advanced learning environment to increase student success and access to institutional resources. Goal 9 Recruit a diverse population of students and employees and provide continuous training to create a highly competitive and desirable workplace. STEWARDSHIP Goal 10 Implement comprehensive and deliberate long-term planning to be strategically and financially responsible. Goal 11 Promote a culture of evidence and continuous improvement for the public good. Goal 12 Pursue a variety of resources to augment, expand and maintain programs, personnel, facilities, infrastructure, and services. SUSTAINABILITY Goal 13 Educate the community on environmentally responsible practices to change behavior. Goal 14 Integrate environmentally responsible practices into college operations. Goal 15 Foster and expand relationships with partners to support innovative solutions that reduce resource consumption.

8 Educational Master Plan 2011 - 2015 Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Executive Summary Success In Community Colleges

Prepared by The Center for Student Success (CSS), Research JULY 2007 (second edition) and Planning (RP) Group for California Community Colleges Faculty Review Panel Authors Dr. Jan Connal, Counselor, ; Ms. Barbara S. Dr. Deborah Boroch, Associate Dean of Natural Sciences, Mt. Illowsky, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, De Anza San Antonio College; Mr. Jim Fillpot, Director Institutional College; Dr. Richard Mahon, Associate Professor of Humanities, Research, ; Ms. Laura Hope, English Professor Riverside Community College; Ms. Nancy Ybarra, Instructor of and Success Center Coordinator, Chaffey College; Dr. Robert English and Co-Coordinator of Developmental Education, Los Johnstone, Vice President of Instruction, ; Ms. Medanos College. Pamela Mery, Research Analyst, City College of San Francisco; Dr. Andreea Serban, Vice Chancellor of Technology and Project Coordinator Learning Services, South Orange County Community College Dr. Robert S. Gabriner, Vice-Chancellor of Institutional District; Dr. Bruce Smith, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts, Advancement, City College of San Francisco, and Director of City College of San Francisco. the Center for Student Success.

Context In 2004, the California Community College System Office began a comprehensive strategic planning process for the purpose of improving student access and suc- cess. On January 17, 2006, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges unanimously adopted the final draft of the Strategic Plan.1 The plan includes five strategic goal areas: college awareness and access; student success and readiness; partnerships for economic and workforce development; system effectiveness; and resource development.

The goal of student success and readiness contains seven areas of focus, one of which is basic skills, as the Strategic Plan describes:

Ensure that basic skills development is a major focus and an adequately funded activity of the Community Colleges. To successfully participate in college-level courses, many Community College students need pre- collegiate math and/or English skill development. The goal is to identify model basic skills and English as a Second Language programs and their key features and, given availability of funds, to facilitate replication across the Colleges. In addition, best practices in classrooms and labs and descriptions of effective learning environments will be collected and disseminated widely to inform and assist both credit and noncredit programs. However, noncredit basic skills courses are funded at approximately 60 percent of the rate provided to credit basic skills courses, which is a disincentive for colleges to offer those courses. The Colleges need to gather practices with high effectiveness rates, such as innovative program structures, peer support, and counseling, and acquire funding to implement these approaches to reach all students needing basic skills education.

The study presented here was commissioned by the California Community Colleges System Office to identify effective practices in basic skills programs, as outlined above. The Center for Student Success (CSS), which is affiliated with the Research and Planning (RP) Group for California Community Colleges, was selected to conduct the study. There are three major components of the study: 1. An extensive review of the literature related to basic skills practices, as well as an overview of examples of strategies employed by 33 California community colleges and nine out-of- state institutions. 2. A self-assessment tool which will allow colleges to reflect on how their current practices fit with the findings from the literature regarding what are known to be effective practices for basic skills students. 3. A cost/revenue model for developmental education programs which provides a way to explore the incremental revenues that can be derived over time from such programs.

1 More information about the Statewide Strategic Plan is available at http://strategicplan.cccco.edu/.

Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success in California Community Colleges – Executive Summary 3 Literature Review The approach to conducting the study combined the and Overview of intense work of a group of associates of the Center for Student Success with iterative reviews of each of Institutional Examples the three work products by a panel of faculty with extensive expertise in basic skills. In addition, drafts of each work product were reviewed by Dr. Carole Bogue- Feinour, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, California Community Colleges System Office, and Dr. John Nixon, Vice President of Instruction, Mt. San Antonio College.

For the purposes of this study, the following working definition of basic skills was established:

Basic skills are those foundation skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and English as a Second Language, as well as learning skills and study skills, which are necessary for students to succeed in college-level work.2

In order to establish criteria for “effective” practices, this document adopted a variation of Hunter Boylan’s definition of best practice, modified as follows:

“Effective practices” refer to organizational, administrative, instructional, or support activities engaged in by highly successful programs, as validated by research and literature sources relating to developmental education.

Over 250 references, spanning more than 30 years, were reviewed, making this the most comprehensive review of literature in the area of basic skills conducted in California community colleges to date. Study after study by a multitude of researchers confirms a consistent set of elements that commonly characterize effective developmental education programs. These elements can be organized under the broad categories of organizational and administrative practices, program components, staff development, and instructional practices. A total of 26 effective practices emerged under these four major categories and are listed below.

A. Organizational and Administrative Practices Institutional choices concerning program structure, organization, and management have been related to the overall effectiveness of developmental education programs. The following effective practices have been identified in this area:

A.1 Developmental education is a clearly stated institutional priority.

A.2 A clearly articulated mission based on a shared, overarching philosophy drives the developmental education program.

A.3 The developmental education program is centralized or highly coordinated.

A.4 Institutional policies facilitate student completion of necessary developmental coursework as early as possible in the educational sequence.

A.5 A comprehensive system of support services exists, and is characterized by a high degree of integration among academic and student support services.

A.6 Faculty who are both knowledgeable and enthusiastic about developmental education are recruited and hired to teach in the program.

A.7 Institutions manage faculty and student expectations regarding developmental education.

2 The inclusion of English as a Second Language in this definition recognizes that all ESL is not, by definition, subsumed under basic skills. To the extent that a student is unable to succeed in college-level coursework due to inability to speak, read, write or comprehend English, ESL skills may be considered as foundation skills in accordance with the definition.

4 Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success in California Community Colleges – Executive Summary B. Program Components According to the literature, a number of specific programmatic components are characteristic of highly effective developmental education programs. These include:

B.1 Orientation, assessment, and placement are mandatory for all new students.

B.2 Regular program evaluations are conducted, results are disseminated widely, and data are used to improve practice.

B.3 Counseling support provided is substantial, accessible, and integrated into academic courses/programs.

B.4 Financial aid is disseminated to support developmental students.

C. Staff Development According to the literature, the importance of comprehensive training and development opportunities for faculty and staff who work with developmental students cannot be overestimated. Programs with a strong professional development component have been shown to yield better student retention rates and better student performance in developmental courses than those without such an emphasis. Specific training is one of the leading variables contributing to the success of a variety of components of developmental education, including tutoring, advising, and instruction. Effective practices include:

C.1 Administrators support and encourage faculty development in basic skills, and the improvement of teaching and learning is connected to the institutional mission.

C.2 The faculty play a primary role in planning/implementation of staff development activities in support of basic skills programs.

C.3 Staff development programs are structured and appropriately supported to sustain them as ongoing efforts.

C.4 Staff development opportunities are flexible, varied, and responsive to developmental needs of individual faculty, diverse student populations, and coordinated programs/services.

C.5 Faculty development is clearly connected to intrinsic and extrinsic faculty reward structures.

D. Instructional Practices Effective instructional practices are the key to achieving desired student outcomes for - developmental programs. Research has linked the following instructional practices with + success for developmental learners: D.1 Sound principles of learning theory are applied in the design and delivery of courses in the developmental program.

D.2 Curricula and practices that have proven to be effective within specific disciplines are employed.

D.3 The developmental education program addresses holistic development of all aspects of the student.

D.4 Culturally Responsive Teaching theory and practices are applied to all aspects of the developmental instructional programs and services.

Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success in California Community Colleges – Executive Summary 5 D. 5 A high degree of structure is provided in developmental education courses.

D.6 Developmental education faculty employ a variety of instructional methods to accommodate student diversity.

D.7 Programs align entry/exit skills among levels and link course content to college-level performance requirements.

D.8 Developmental education faculty routinely share instructional strategies.

D.9 Faculty and advisors closely monitor student performance.

D.10 Programs provide comprehensive academic support mechanisms, including the use of trained tutors.

Self-Assessment Tool The examples from the 33 California community colleges and nine out-of-state institutions that were reviewed reinforce the effective practices identified in the literature. The majority of these institutions employs a combination of several such practices. However, except for course instruction, the common denominator across all developmental programs employing a combination of these effective practices is the limited number of students served in any one year. In order to effectively serve the large student population needing developmental education, California community colleges will be challenged to expand these programs.

The purpose of the The self-assessment tool is directly linked to the findings self-assessment tool from the literature review. It is organized around the four is to allow colleges to major areas and the 26 effective practices listed above. In addition, the self-assessment tool contains a variety of determine how their suggested strategies for accomplishing each effective practice, current practices fit as well as a series of prompts which assist institutions in with and reflect the evaluating their current relationship to each effective practice. A culminating Planning Matrix for each section allows an findings from the institution to develop a plan for changes, enhancements, or literature. modifications.

The purpose of the self-assessment tool is to allow colleges to determine how their current practices fit with and reflect the findings from the literature regarding what are known to be effective practices for basic skills students. The reflection encourages institutions to examine the scope and efficacy of current practices. Based upon this internal review, an institution may determine which augmentations, changes, or new initiatives might be beneficial and plan for how those augmentations, changes, or new initiatives can occur. In addition, the self-assessment can serve as a baseline measure, allowing an institution to identify its practices and priorities as of a particular point in time.

6 Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success in California Community Colleges – Executive Summary Where to Put the New As will be referenced in numerous places in this document, research has fairly consistently Basic Skills Funds: A Tool demonstrated that the historical “one instructor, To Estimate Costs and one classroom, limited suite of support services” Downstream Revenue model to developmental education is not particularly effective. However, it is still the prevalent model offered to the vast majority of our California community college students. Many of the effective practices identified in the Literature Review can be found interspersed throughout California campuses, most commonly with relatively small programs addressing limited numbers of students. There are many reasons for the fairly restricted occurrence and scope of these programs, including: • limited awareness about the literature and its findings; • a need for paradigm shifts in the thinking of campus administrators, faculty, and staff; • a concomitant need for organizational change; • a lack of historically detailed institutional research to provide hard data evaluating program results; and • a desire to pilot programs to determine effectiveness, often without sufficient institutional commitment to evaluate potential efficacy.

Arguably, the most critical factor historically limiting them has been their perceived cost to the campuses. Against a backdrop of limited resources that exists in the California community college system in an absolute sense, as well as relative to other state systems, the cost of deviating from the traditional model of developmental education is a significant concern. Thus, as the literature and local data lead us to investigate the need for colleges to “do things differently,” we are drawn to a discussion of the cost-effectiveness of these alternate approaches for individual colleges. Aside from the numerous moral/ethical responses to this concern and the greater economic payback to society cited elsewhere in this document, there are real, college-level economic reasons that alternate approaches to basic skills at the very least go a long way towards paying for themselves, and in many cases may very well result in a net economic benefit to the college.

This section examines this incremental revenue approach and includes a description of a simple modeling tool that we have developed using Microsoft Excel to look at the potential additional revenue these alternate programs may generate. The goal of this section is to provide a different way of thinking about the cost of these alternate developmental education programs. This approach is not without its parameters and caveats, but as colleges look to potentially expand small programs in order to more systemically improve developmental student outcomes, we feel that this different perspective is very important.

Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success in California Community Colleges – Executive Summary 7 PREVIOUS AWARD WINNERS

2010 CHANCELLOR’S STUDENT SUCCESS AWARD SAN BERNARDINO VALLEY COLLEGE The Valley-Bound Commitment Honorable Mention: , &

2009 CHANCELLOR’S STUDENT SUCCESS AWARD Long Beach College Promise & Student Success Initiative LOS RIOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT The Education Initiative Honorable Mention: Chabot-Las Positas CCD & West Valley College

2008 CHANCELLOR’S STUDENT SUCCESS AWARD CHAFFEY COLLEGE Chino Institute for Women’s Associate’s Degree Program The K-16 Bridge Program 2007 CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR BEST PRACTICES IN STUDENT EQUITY

SANTA BARBARA COLLEGE Partnership for Student Success VICTOR VALLEY COLLEGE The Teaching-Learning Center

2006 CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR BEST PRACTICES IN STUDENT EQUITY MT. SAN ANTONIO COLLEGE Achieving Student Empowerment through Equity & Diversity 2011 Kaleidoscope of Diversity “Commitment to Diversity” ’ 2005 CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR BEST PRACTICES IN STUDENT EQUITY CHANCELLOR S Commitment to Diversity TUDENT UCCESS SAN DIEGO & IMPERIAL COUNTIES COMMUNITY COLLEGE S S Association (SDICCCA) Regional Faculty Internship Program Honorable Mention: Foothill-DeAnza CCD & Los Angeles CCD AWARD 2004 CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR BEST PRACTICES IN STUDENT EQUITY CITRUS CCD, DESERT CCD, NAPA VALLEY CCD, PALO VERDE CCD, PALOMAR CCD, SAN JOSE-EVERGREEN CCD, SANTA MONICA CCD, SOLANO CCD, VICTOR VALLEY CCD, WEST HILLS CCD, WEST KERN CCD FOR SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TOWARD ACHIEVING STUDENT EQUITY GOALS

for Awards provided by: FOUNDATION CALIFORNIA AND SUCCESS FOR ALL STUDENTS COMMUNITY COLLEGES 2011 CHANCELLOR’S STUDENT SUCCESS AWARD For significant progress toward achieving student equity goals and success for all students

CERRITOS COLLEGE LOS ANGELES PIERCE COLLEGE iFALCON Algebra Success at Pierce (ASAP)

At a time when a college degree is ever more important for finding a job, The 2011 ARCC report reveals that Cerritos has exceeded their Launched in 2008, Algebra Success at Pierce (ASAP) is designed to Increases in persistence and success rates are particularly a significant number of students attending Cerritos possess one or more objectives in all five areas: improve percentage of first-time students allow students to complete the algebra sequence “as soon as possible”. encouraging for African American and Latino students, who of the risk factors associated with not completing their educational achieving transfer to 4-year university, earned AA/AS degree or ASAP is an accelerated math program that reduces the developmental traditionally struggle in math courses. For African American goals. Ninety-three percent lack basic skills, 40% fail to succeed in certificate, or achieving transfer directed or transfer-prepared status; math sequence length and eliminates traditional exit points in the students in beginning algebra, the success rate is 49.3% for coursework, 85% are ethnic minorities, over 60% are from low-income increase retention of first-year students; increase percentage of students sequence. It takes students through the algebra sequence in a single non-ASAP students, and 66.7% for ASAP students. The number of neighborhoods and describe themselves as first-generation college who earn at least 30 units; improve percentage of students successfully semester while providing additional support like counseling, African American students who go on to enroll in intermediate students. In fall 2009, more stringent graduation requirements took completing math, English, and reading basic skills courses; and improve course-embedded tutoring, and study and learning skills instruction. algebra is also higher for ASAP participants. From the original effect, and the consequences for these students added another threat to progression rates of students through basic skills math, English and reading cohort of African American, non-ASAP students who enroll in their completion of a degree, a certificate, or university transfer. course sequences. The Four Components of ASAP beginning algebra, only 15.6% successfully complete intermediate ASAP’s four course components are: elementary algebra, intermediate algebra; while 59.5% of African American ASAP participants iFALCON’s Six “Habits of Mind” Essential to The year one evaluation by the external evaluator demonstrated algebra, a college success course and a one-unit math study skills succeed in intermediate algebra. For Latino students, only 50.7% of Academic Success significant results, particularly as it impacted first-year students and course. The beginning and intermediate algebra courses are blended non-ASAP students successfully complete beginning algebra, while To address the significant problem of student success, Cerritos College orientation. Integration of the program’s academic success skills in new together into a single course, eliminating duplication of curriculum in 71.9% of Latino ASAP participants pass beginning algebra. More led by the Faculty Senate, developed the iFALCON campaign, which student orientation has significant impact on student expectations and the traditional two-semester sequence. The math study skills course is Latino ASAP participants enroll in and complete intermediate identifies six “habits of mind” essential to academic success and is engagement. Cerritos counseling staff has embraced the iFALCON blended into the math instruction so that students learn algebra after successfully completing beginning algebra than centered on the mnemonic device of the college mascot, the falcon: skills and have begun to integrate them into Summer Connections and mathematical concepts along with study skills required for success. non-ASAP participants. While the average non-ASAP pass rate for Focus, Advance, Link Up, Comprehend, Organize, and New Ideas. The mandatory assessment, orientation, and counseling beginning in 2012. The math courses are paired with a college success course. This the beginning algebra course is 57.3%, the ASAP pass rate for objective of the faculty-initiated, student-supported initiative is to In addition to ARCC data and the work of the external evaluator, the course is taught by a counselor who provides students with the beginning algebra is 70.2%. The average persistence rate of a cohort nurture a campus culture of learning where the elements of student college is creating and instituting internal measures of the campaign’s opportunity to build the essential skills and knowledge required for from beginning algebra to intermediate algebra is 31.8% for success are infused throughout the curriculum, student support services effectiveness. The college’s first Student Engagement Survey was student success. non-ASAP students, while the average persistence rate for ASAP and campus governance. iFALCON is founded on the premise, backed administered to 3,000 students from across the curriculum in spring students is 69.8%. Of those students who go on to enroll in by research that lagging achievement among students is rooted in 2011. The results were disaggregated across the six iFALCON habits of The result is an environment in which students learn to create an intermediate algebra, the pass rate for that course for ASAP students academic and behavioral experiential deficits. Most of our students have mind, creating a snapshot of students’ own perspectives on their education plan, manage their time, and study for tests all within the is also strikingly higher. In addition, students who successfully never had the opportunity to develop the habits of mind that support academic skills and performance. context of their math coursework. Instructors coordinate assignments complete ASAP, perform as well on the department’s common student success. And this has translated to students sitting in classrooms and course outlines so that students benefit from a core, seamless assessment instrument, the MET, as students in the traditional with limited awareness of why they are struggling, and how they can help Finally, the iFALCON campaign has been influential in changing the curriculum in math and college success. Students are required to add intermediate algebra course. The program has also seen gains in themselves thrive. campus culture, most significantly in a major reorganization of academic all four components as a condition of participation. Students are persistence and success rates beyond developmental math courses divisions and in the creation of a new Division of Academic Success and encouraged to form learning cohorts, develop study groups and into transfer-level math courses. Four Strategies Institutional Effectiveness, instituted in January 2011. Responsible for support networks, and build relationships with instructors that will iFALCON began in spring 2009 and by fall the college was awarded a planning and implementing a new Success Center, the division has continue to provide them with support far beyond the successful ASAP’s Impact at Los Angeles Pierce College five-year grant to implement the following four strategies to foster a eliminated the formerly disconnected program and services “silos” on completion of the learning community. The success of ASAP has had reverberating effects throughout the campus-wide cultural change centered around this campaign: (1) Help campus, eliminating redundancy and centralizing them for a common, campus. These results were shared widely with the community and students recognize and develop the iFALCON habits of mind through proactive, campus-wide approach to student support services and ASAP’s three major goals are to increase the number of students who presented at various statewide conferences. The program has been co-curricular and extracurricular resources, (2) Support instruction and academic success. successfully complete both elementary and intermediate algebra, scaled, institutionalized, and emulated in other areas. The program outreach via the iFALCON habits of mind through professional ensure that students who successfully complete ASAP perform as well has grown from a single cohort offering to now five cohorts offered development, (3) Infuse the iFALCON habits of mind into as non-ASAP students, and ensure that students who successfully each semester. The funding sources for this program have become developmental education programs and curriculum, and (4) Coordinate complete ASAP are successful in subsequent math classes. increasingly institutionalized over the past year. The success of this institutional services and programs to support the iFALCON campaign. program led the college’s English department to launch a pilot for ASAP Works for All Students accelerated developmental English. Impact of iFALCON Success, persistence, and transfer-level math completion rates for Three measures were used to assess the impact of the program: Annual ASAP participants are significantly higher for students in all ethnic The Los Angeles Pierce College ASAP program is a noteworthy Accountability Reporting for the Community Colleges (ARCC) data, an groups. While the percent of beginning algebra students who model of Student Success that has demonstrated significant external evaluator, and internal assessment tools. By all measures, the successfully complete the traditional developmental math sequence is outcomes for students and has impacted the college in a positive way. iFALCON campaign has already demonstrated significant achievement 21.7%, ASAP students have a 62.2% success rate through this same in orienting the college culture around student success. sequence in a single semester.