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AcademicSenateReporttoBoardofTrustees
August92014
Asyouknow,theAcademicSenatehasnotbeenmeetingasabody
overthesummer,sowehavenoactivitytoreport.
Butwe’dliketotakethisopportunitytosharewithyousomeof
whatwe’rethinkingasweheadintothisnewacademicyear.
SoIhaveabucket,andI’mgoingtofillitwithwater.
Ourtaskistomakesurethatitisatleastasfullofwaterayearfrom
nowasitisrightnow.Ifwefailtodothis,ourabilitytosurvivewill
beinseriousjeopardy.Thebuckethastoremainatleastthisfull.
Andthere’saproblem:nomatterhowcarefulwearewiththis
bucket,we’regoingtolosesomewatertoevaporation.There’s
nothingwecandotopreventthis.It’sjustthewayitis.
Butthere’sgoodnews:wehavesourcesofwaterthatwecantap
intotoreplacethewaterwelose.Soasthewaterevaporates,we’ll
pournewwaterinandmaintainthelevel.
Butthere’salsobadnews:thesourcesofreplacementwaterare
hardtofind,andtheyarelimited.Sometimeswe’llfailtofindnew
sourcesandsometimesthesourceswe’vefoundwilldryup,and
thenwe’llhavetoscrambletofindanewsourceofreplacement
water…..becausewe’realwayslosingwater.
Andthere’sanotherproblem,arealproblem:thisbuckethaslots
andlotsofholesthatallowwatertoseepoutconstantly.Someof
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theholesarebigandeasytosee;somearesmallandwilltakesome
efforttofind.Theseholesaredrainingourbucketrapidly.
Sothechallengewefaceisclear:withevaporationandtheholesin
ourbucket,we’lllosemorethan50%ofthewaterifwedonothing.
Halfthewaterwestartedwithwillbegone.Andremember,our
survivaldependsonthisbucketbeingasleastasfullattheendof
theyearasitisnow.
Clearly,wehaveadecisiontomake:howarewegoingtospendour
limitedtimeandenergytomakesurethebucketstaysfull?
Oneideaistosearchconstantlyfornewsourcesofreplacement
water.Butremember:thesearehardtofind,andtheyarelimited.
Soitwilltakealotofefforttofindreplacementwater,andwe’ll
neverknowifwe’regoingtofindenoughreplacementwatertokeep
thebucketfull.We’llalwayshaveaveryclearideaabouthowmuch
replacementwaterweneed,butwecanonlyhopethatoureffortsto
findreplacementwaterwillbesuccessful.
Here’sanotheridea:wecantrytofindtheholesinthebucketand
plugthemsoweretainsomeofthewaterwealreadyhavebutare
rapidlylosing.Wemightnotbeabletofindalltheholesthatare
leakingwater,butfindingandpluggingsomeoftheholeswill
significantlyhelpstoptheleaking.
Soagain,wehaveadecisiontomake:howmuchtimedowespend
searchingforreplacementwater,andhowmuchtimedowespend
pluggingtheholesthataredrainingourbucket?
Itdoesn’ttakeaveryskilledproblem‐solvertorealizethatwe’vegot
toplugasmanyholesinourbucketaswecan.Imean,we’vegotthe
waterweneedrighthere.It’sinourbucket,andifweallowitto
simplydrainawaywhenweknowoursurvivaldependson
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preservingit,we’renotbehavingwisely.Whatawasteofourtime
andresourcestorunaroundlookingforreplacementwaterallthe
timewhenwecouldplugsomeholes,keepmoreofthewaterwe
alreadyhave,andthenspendlesstimeandenergysearchingfor
replacementwater.
Theanalogyhereisn’tperfect,butitishelpful:CRisakindofbucket
andourstudentsarethewater.
Wehavetohaveatleastasmanystudentsayearfromnowaswe
havenow.Oursurvivaldependsonit.
Andjustlikeweknowwe’lllosesomewatertoevaporation,we
knowwe’realwaysgoingtolosestudentsforreasonswecannot
control.Thereisandwillalwaysbecircumstancesbeyondour
control—evenbeyondourstudents’’control—thatcausethemto
leaveCRforever.
Fortunately,therearesourceswecantaptoreplacesomeofthe
studentswelose:
 wecanwagecreativemarketingcampaignsanddrawnew
studentstocampus,
 wecanoffercoursesatourhighschools,
 wecanoffercoursesonlineanddrawstudentswemightnot
otherwisegettocometocampusforclasses.
Butlikethesourcesofreplacementwater,thesesourcesof
replacementstudentsarehardtofind,andtheyarelimited.
Andmakingourchallengegreater,CR,likethebucket,hasholes.
We’renotjustlosingstudentsbecauseofcircumstancesbeyond
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anyone’scontrol;we’relosingstudentsforreasonswithinour
control.We’releakingstudentsatthesameratethebucketis
leakingwater:CRlosesbytheendofanygivenyearmorethanhalf
ofthestudentswebegantheyearwith.Half.Halfofthepeoplewho
cometousatthebeginningofyearwithadesiretolearndon’tcome
backtous.Theydonotpersistintheirefforttoachievetheir
educationalgoals.Thisiswhatwearereferringtowhenwetalk
aboutour“persistencerates.”
HowmanystudentspersistyeartoyearintheireducationatCR?
Theanswerislessthan50%.
Tocontinuethebucketanalogyhere,ourpersistencerateisan
indicatorofjusthowleakyourbucketis,anditindicateshow
successfullywe’rehelpingstudentsbesuccessful,anditindicates
howsuccessfullywearemeetingthechallengeofkeepingthebucket
full.
Wehavetokeepthebucketfull;oursurvivaldependsonit.
Andit’sclearthatwithourpersistencerates,we’vegottoact
smartlytomakesurewekeepourbucketfull.
Now,again,itdoesn’ttakeasophisticatedthinkertorealizethatwe
cannottrytoreplacethestudentswhodon’tpersistwithjustnew
students.Thereareonlysomanypeopleintheregionsourcollege
serves,andtherearen’tenoughpotentialnewstudentstorecruitto
makeupforthestudentswelose.
Sowehaveadecisiontomake:dowerelyprimarilyonoureffortsto
replacethestudentswelose?Ordowetrytoplugtheholesinour
bucket?
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TheSenatebelievesweshouldfocusintenselythisyearonplugging
theholes.
Weneedtobeginnextyearwiththesamenumberofstudentswe
haveatthebeginningofthisyearandALLthosestudentsweneed
arealreadyhereatCR.
Theyareallhere.Rightnow.
Everystudentweneedtosurviveintothefutureisrighthereright
now.Theyareourwaterinthebucket.Butifwedon’tdo
something,we’regoingtolosethemandhavetofindreplacements.
We’vegottoplugtheleaks,andwebelieveyourfacultyarecritical
inhelpingtoidentifywheretheholesareandhowbesttoplugthem.
Sowherearesomeoftheholesandwhatarewedoingtohelpplug
them?
OnlineLearningManagementSystem
Anonlinelearningmanagementsystem(whatiscommonlyrefered
toasan“LMS”)isasoftwareplatformthatservesasthevirtual
classroomforstudentstakingonlineclassesandasanadjuncttothe
on‐siteclassroomforstudentstakingclassesoncampus.
StudentstakeexamsandquizzesthroughtheLMS,theyhave
discussionswithclassmatesandinstructorsinthroughtheLMS,
theyaccesscoursematerialsthroughtheLMS….inshort,theLMSisa
criticalcomponentintheeducationalexperienceofmanyCR
students.
Insummer2009,CRswitcheditsLMSfromBlackboardtoSakai—
whatisnowcommonlycalled“MyCR,”andtheswitchhasnotbeen
goodforstudents.
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Surveysovertheyearsindicatethatnotonlydostudentsandfaculty
notlikeSakaibutthattheyidentifyitasanobstacletoeducational
success.
Thinkaboutthat.
Theonlineclassroomweprovideforlearningisbeingidentifiedas
anobstacletolearning.
That’saholeinthebucket.
Butwe’vetakenstepstoplugthishole.TheLMStaskforceinspring
2014surveyedstudentsabouttheironlinelearningneeds,reviewed
anumberofLMS’s,andinitiatedapilotprojectwith25facultyfor
fall2014usingtheCanvasLMS.
CanvasisthehighestratedLMSbystudentsforeaseofuseand
intuitiveness.TheDistanceEducationCommitteewillassessthe
pilotprojectandmakearecommendationtotheDistrict.
IfthepilotprojectrevealsthatCanvashelpsstudentspersistin
achievingtheireducationgoalsandtheDistrictswitchesfromSakai
toCanvas,thenwewillhavepluggedaholeinourbucket.
ADT’s&Transfer
Letmetellyouaboutanotherholeinthebucket.
In2012‐13,180CRstudentstransferredtoHSUand30transferred
toCSU’sotherthanHSU.Comparethosenumbers:180toHSU;30
tonot‐HSU.
Sothelogicalquestiononewouldaskisthis:Whatpathwayshave
wecreatedtoensurethatourstudentshavetheeasiest,clearest,
mostefficientroutetothetransferinstitutiontheygotomost?
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Whatarewedoingtomakesurewedon’thavetransferleakinour
bucket?
TheansweristheAssociateDegreeforTransfer—whatwecallthe
ADT.WhatisanADT?ADT’sprovidetheprimarypathwayto
transferforourstudentsbyallowingthemtoearnanAssociateof
ArtsorSciencedegreeinanumberoftraditionalfields—like
biology,English,math.
ButanADTissomuchmore:itisadegreewithaguarantee.
TheguaranteeforaCRstudentisthis:astudentwhohasearneda
CRADTisguaranteedadmissiontoaCSUthatacceptsthatADT.
AndwhichCSUdomostCRstudentstransferto?HSU.Bya5to1
margin.
TheSenatewouldliketocontinuetoworkwiththeadministration
totakeacarefulinventoryoftheADT’swecurrentlyofferandhave
planstodeveloptomakesurethatweofferasmanyADT’saswecan
thatHSUaccepts,andthatwehavegoodreasonsforcommittingour
limitedresourcestoADT’sHSUdoesnotaccept.
Thereason?Ourstudentsaremorelikelytopersistintheir
courseworkatCRiftheyknowtheyhaveaclearpathtotransfer,
andthevastmajorityofourstudentstransfertoHSU.
Furthermore,wehavetoassurestudentsthatCRwillactuallyoffer
allthecoursesrequiredforallourADT’s,andthiswillrequireusto
developandimplementatransparent,rationalprocessfordeciding
howtoprioritizeourlimitedfiscalresourcesandcriticalcourse
offeringssothatwecanassurestudentsthattheycanbesuccessful
atCRandwillhavetheopportunitytotakethecoursesrequiredfor
theADT’stheyseek.
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IfCRoverextendsitsofferingsandcannotofferstudentscourses
requiredforADT’s,thosestudentswillnotstayatCR—theywon’t
persist,andtheywillnotcompletetheirprograms,andwewon’t
receivefundingforthem.
Ifstudentsdon’tseeaneasy,viablewayfromCRtoHSU,wearen’t
likelytoretainthem;andthat’saholeinourbucket.
ChangestoFundingModel
Here’sanotherpotentialholeinourbucket:Changesbythestate
effectivefall2014tothefundingmodelCRandeveryother
Californiacommunitycollegedependonforoperations.
Asyouknow,CRwillnolongerreceivefundsbasedonlyonFTES;
ourfundingwilldependalsoon
 howmanystudentscompleteorientation,
 howmanystudentscompleteSEP’s(studenteducational
plans),
 andhowmanystudentshavedeclaredaspecificacademicgoal.
Inshort,oursuccessasaninstitutiondependsnownotjustonhow
manystudentswehavebutalsoonhowwesupportthemandhelp
thembesuccessful.
ThisfundingmodelthatreliesnotjustonthenumberofFTESbut
alsoonstudents’engagementwithsupportservicesisgoingtomake
itmoreimportantthaneverthatCRstudentshaveaccesstothe
counselingandadvisingservicesthatarecriticaltotheirsuccess
andourfunding.
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Itisourcounselorsandadvisorswhohelpstudentsnavigatetheir
waythroughthemazeofdegree,certificate,andtransfer
requirements.Withouttheirhelp,studentsmayenduptaking
unnecessarycourses,mayendupnottakingnecessarycourses,and
mayendupfrustratedanddemoralizedwhentheycan’tfigureout
ontheirownhowtoachievetheireducationalgoals.
Inshort,withoutaccesstocounselorsandadvisors,studentsare
lesslikelytointelligentlycompletetheirstudenteducationplans
andarelesslikelytosuccessfullycompletetheirdegree,certificate,
andtransferrequirements—and,consequently,wearelesslikelyto
receivefundingforthestudentsweserve.
That’sapotentialholeinourbucket.
CounselingandAdvising
Rightnow,wehaveonegrant‐fundedcounselor,twocategorical‐
programcounselorswhocounselonlystudentsassociatedwiththe
EOPSandDSPSprograms,andtwogeneralacademiccounselors,
oneofwhomisreassignedfromaportionofhiscounselingdutiesto
performarticulationwork.
WhatthismeansforstudentsisthataccordingtotheStudent
SuccessScorecard,CRhasastudenttocounselorratioof427:1.
Ifstudentscannoteasilyaccessthehelptheyneedtofigureouthow
tocompletetheirdegree,certificate,andtransferrequirements,they
willnotpersistatCR—wewillnotretainthem.
That’saholeinourbucket.
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Conclusion
Thesearesomeofthepotentialholesweseeinourbucket;there
probablymanymore.
We’redeterminedtofindthem,andwewelcometheopportunityto
continueworkingwiththebestpresidentCRhaseverhadandher
administrativeteamtofindeffectivewaystoplugtheseholesand
keepCRviable.
Welookforwardtoreportingtoyouatfuturemeetingstheimpact
oftheactionswe’retakentokeepourbucketfull.
Thankyou.