Directions, Checklist, and Guidelines for
CREATING an EDUCATIONAL PLAN
Important Notes:
 This assignment MUST be turned in by the due date!
 This assignment is worth 150 points!
 No one can pass the class without this assignment completed correctly!
 Follow directions carefully!
You may check these off as you get them done:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Watch the Online PowerPoint (Week 1)
Read These Instructions Carefully (Week 1)
Get the Proper Paperwork for Your Major (Week 1)
Repeat Steps 1 and 2 Above (Week 1)
Begin to Create Your Ed Planning Worksheet (Day 2)
When Confident You Can Do Your Worksheet, Set Up a Counselor
Appointment
7. Complete Your Ed Planning Worksheet
8. See a Counselor
9. Get an Official Ed Plan, signed/notated by Counselor
10. Revise Your Worksheet
11. Attach the Official Plan to Your Revised Worksheet
12. Submit the Worksheet & Signed Official Ed Plan for a grade!
Primary Author for this section: Ms. Amy LaCoe, HDEV Instructor
Editing by Nancilyn Burruss, M.S., with additions from Hatein Nguyen and www.elcamino.edu
Follow this Checklist  of Steps and Guidelines (A through C) for
Completing the Educational Plan Assignment
Read all the information below, watch the online video from my website at
http://www.elcamino.edu/faculty/nburruss/Videos%20and%20Powerpoints/creatinga6semesteredplan.ppt
for a better understanding, and complete all steps on this checklist.
A. What is the Educational Planning Assignment?
There are two steps.
STEP I: Educational Planning WORKSHEET
The WORKSHEET (pink/transfer or blue/AA,AS) is a CLASS assignment that YOU complete and turn in
to your instructor.
1. First, you will list ALL pre-requisites, general education classes, and major classes that need to be
completed for you to reach your educational goal.
2. Then, using that list of classes, you will plan, semester-by-semester, all of the remaining courses
you will take in order to reach your goal.
Important: Your counselor will NOT review, assess, or correct your Educational Planning
WORKSHEET. This is a class assignment to help you understand the process and generate
questions for your meeting with your counselor. You should bring it with you to your meeting
only for your own information – THE COUNSELOR WILL NOT REVIEW the WORKSHEET!**
**An important exception: EOPS students’ counselors will review and assess your Educational
Planning WORKSHEET – Your counselor will expect that you have completed the worksheet,
carefully and thoroughly, before attending a meeting with her/him.
STEP II: OFFICIAL Educational Plan with counselor’s signature OR their name and the
date that you met typed in the comments section.
1. The OFFICIAL Educational Plan is an El Camino College document that a COUNSELOR completes
and signs or includes typed comments and the current date.
2. In a 30-minute, scheduled counseling appointment, the counselor will discuss your educational
goals with you and will create an OFFICIAL Educational Plan.
a. Drop-in counselors are not permitted to complete an OFFICIAL Educational Plan during
drop-in
3. This plan will identify the recommended courses for you to take the next two semesters in order
to progress steadily toward your educational goal.
4. The counselor will sign or type in the comments section the form, give you a copy (which you will
submit to your instructor) and include a copy in your student file.
**EOPS students: Your counselor will work with you to create a 6-semester OFFICIAL Educational
Plan which your counselor will sign or notate.
STEP I: Educational Planning WORKSHEET
B. How do I get started on the Educational Planning Worksheet?
Get the necessary tools and resources:
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A Curriculum Guide sheet appropriate for your major. This information is also available at
www.assist.org.
General education requirements appropriate to your educational goal. This information
is also available in the El Camino College Catalog and at www.elcamino.edu. General
education requirements change with your educational goal.
1. To complete your Educational Planning WORKSHEET (pink or blue handout), you may PICK UP THE
PAPERWORK/INFORMATION for the AA/AS degree or transfer (CSU/IGETC and Private College)in front
of the ECC Career Center at the Transfer Center (1st floor, Student Services Center next to drop in
counseling and the Career Center).
Go to the Transfer Center and pick up a Curriculum Guide sheet appropriate for your major.
This information is also available (but much harder to find) at www.assist.org. Also obtain the
general education requirements appropriate to your educational goal. This information is also
available in the El Camino College Catalog and at www.elcamino.edu.
Another great resource for 2013/2014 is the ECC Transfer Guide, which can be found at
http://www.elcamino.edu/studentservices/co/transfer_services/Transfer%20Guide_F13_Sp14_0
92713.pdf
Note: General Education requirements change with your educational goal, so be sure to get
paperwork you’ll need for where you want to go and what you want to do:
the
A. Certificates of Competence or Completion: No GE Requirements
B. AA/AS degrees: Associate in Arts (blue) or Associate in Science (green) Degree Requirements
for El Camino College, which include the general education requirements.
C. Transfer to a CSU, UC, or private college:
a. California State University: General Education Requirements
b. University of CA: Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)
c. Private or Out of State: General education sheet appropriate to the private or out of
state university to which you plan to transfer.
d. Major requirements.
See extra samples (samples only) in this CEP, but please watch as things change rapidly and these may
already be outdated by the time you are reading this.
Complete the appropriate Educational Planning WORKSHEET for the AA/AS degree
or transfer.
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Do your worksheet in pencil so you can modify it as you learn more.
See How to Complete the Educational Planning WORKSHEET (Part C below) for detailed
instructions.
Complete the appropriate Educational Planning WORKSHEET for the Certificate, AA/AS
degree, or transfer. Do your worksheet in pencil so you can modify it as you learn more.
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EOPS students can see Peer Advisors in the EOPS Counseling Office for assistance on their
worksheet.
All students may contact their Human Development instructors and arrange time for help
completing the worksheet; although, students should try to make their best effort to
complete it on their own first. The worksheet must be completed before you see the
counselor because you will be a much more informed counselee after you have
accurately completed it.
As soon as you feel you will be able to complete your worksheet, make an
appointment with a counselor. Worksheets must be completed before the counseling
appointment!
C. How to Complete the Educational Planning WORKSHEET
1. Look at the worksheet and locate the following sections:
a. Pre-requisites: Classes you need to fulfill before going to the next class.
b. General Education
c. Major Classes
d. Electives: Classes not required under prerequisite, GE, or major requirements, but the units
are degree applicable and transferable, so they count toward your degree or transfer.
e. Semester-by-semester outline (on the back page)
2. Start with the prerequisite classes indicated by your English and Math Placement Test scores:
a. Select the appropriate reading and writing English classes indicated by your placement test
results:
i. Reading: English 80, English 82 (formerly English R), English 84 (formerly English 2R).
If you scored into English 1A on the reading test, you have met the reading
prerequisite for English 1A, but may still need to take prerequisite writing classes to
qualify for English 1A
ii. Writing: English B, English A. If you scored into English 1A on the writing test, you
may still need to take prerequisite reading classes to qualify for English 1A
iii. The website for the English courses flowchart is at
http://www.elcamino.edu/studentservices/co/docs/NewEnglishFlowchartOctober200
7.pdf
3. There are two tracks for your Fundamentals of Algebra and Intermediate Algebra classes: One for is
science and mathematics majors and one for everyone else (Arts, Liberal Arts, Social Science, and
some Business majors) The units from Math 33, 43, 40, 73 and 80 are degree applicable, but not
transferable (see next page for more detailed information on this)
Mathematics and Science: Math 40, Math 80
i. Some science classes require prerequisites that are not listed as major or general
education classes. For example, Biology 1A requires Chemistry 4 as its prerequisite.
These classes may often be used to meet transferable general education
requirements or elective units, so consult your counselor about these classes
ii. Students going on to Math 170 and 180, or Math 116 will need to take Geometry,
which is Math 60. Everyone else does not need math 60
b. Everyone else: Math 33, 43 and 73
i. Fundamentals of Algebra is a two semester sequence, Math 33 and 43
ii. Intermediate Algebra is Math 73, and does not include elements as important to
learning Trigonometry, Calculus, or Geometry and Measurement for Elementary
Teachers. Students who are not going on to those classes do not need to take Math
60.
iii. The website comparing Math 33 and 43, and math 40 is at
http://www.elcamino.edu/academics/mathsciences/Documents/Math33-43-vs.Math40-Info-Fall2009.pdf
iv. The website comparing math 73 and 80 is at
http://www.elcamino.edu/academics/mathsciences/Documents/Math73-vs.-Math80Info-Fall2009.pdf
v. Math courses flow chart is at
http://www.elcamino.edu/studentservices/co/docs/MathDivisionFlowChartFall2009.
pdf
4. Now move to the major requirements:
a. If transferring to UC/CSU, and the curriculum guide sheet has not been recently updated,
check www.assist.org for update of your major requirements at your transfer institution.
b. If completing a major from ECC, list all courses under the major in the ECC catalog.
c. If one of your major requirements is also a general education requirement, and you plan to
double count the course, check with your counselor, as several universities do not allow
double counting. Do not count the units in both unit columns; place an X in one of the
columns instead of the unit amount.
5. Now move to the General Education (GE) requirements. Doing the major requirements first allows
you to know whether any of your major classes are also listed GE requirements, so you don’t take
classes to fill a GE you have already listed under your major requirements. Check with a counselor
before using a class as both a major and GE requirement, because some universities do not allow
you to use the same class to fulfill both.
a. Use the general education pattern corresponding to your highest educational goal. List
the GE classes in order as they appear on your GE pattern and include the number of units
shown in the El Camino College Catalog.
i. A.A.
ii. A.S.
iii. CSU-GE
iv. IGETC
v. Private universities (i.e. USC, LMU, Pepperdine, etc.)
6. Now examine the required classes you have listed under prerequisite, major, and GE requirements.
a. If you have completed any of these classes, put the semester that you took the class in the
semester column.
b. Only classes that you have not yet completed go on the back of the worksheet. You are
planning future classes, and the ones you already completed are accounted for in the
semester column on the front of the worksheet.
c. Plan only the number of semesters required in order to complete your educational goal.
In other words, if you are able to reach your goal in four semesters then your plan will
include four (not six) semesters.
d. Start with your prerequisite English and Math classes first. Completing these classes will
increase your success in all other classes and decrease the amount of time it takes you to
graduate and/or transfer.
e. Consider all of your other commitments besides school. There are only 24 hours in a day,
and stealing hours from those necessary for healthy sleeping and eating habits will
eventually cut into your mental alertness and health.
f. Take a balance of easier and harder classes. Science, math, and advanced English courses
have more homework than you may have grown accustomed to in your developmental
classes, so spread those out and balance them with less challenging classes.
i. If you already have a couple of difficult classes, take less challenging classes to help
balance your schedule.
7. Carefully examine the example curriculum guide sheets, GE patterns, and the sample educational
plans from here and the PowerPoint before completing your worksheet. They will demonstrate
what your instructor is looking for in a complete education worksheet and help you follow these
directions.
Congratulations!  Once you’ve carefully completed your pink or blue worksheet (the
most complex part of this assignment), you are ready to meet with a counselor. Begin to
schedule a counseling appointment (see the following guide) as soon as you understand
how to complete your worksheet!
As registration begins, counselors get busier, so get going on this right away!
Make a counseling appointment for a time after your worksheet will be
completed. As registration begins, counselors get busier, so get going on this right away!
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Be sure to bring your transcripts if you have attended another college besides El Camino
College.
Appointments are scheduled one week in advance, so schedule it soon. You MUST complete the
worksheets prior to your appointment.
The worksheet is your assignment and your tool to use during your appointment for guiding and
comprehending the flow of information between you and the counselor. You will get much more
out of this and all future counseling appointments after you have correctly completed the
worksheet.
The Counselor will not assess, sign, or help you to complete your worksheet (except EOPS).
Veterans and dependents require a 1 hour counseling appointment with a full-time counselor.
Please contact the Veterans Services office at (310) 660-3593 x3486.
EOPS Students: See your EOPS counselor in SSVC 203
Important note: Appointments for Special Support Programs are currently excluded from Online
Scheduling
Scheduling your Counseling Appointment online through MyECC.elcamino.edu
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Limit one appointment per student. Appointments are scheduled for 30 minutes.
All general counseling appointments will be made online through the eSARS Online
Appointment Scheduling system. Appointments for the following week will be available
beginning Fridays at 5 p.m.* (subject to change) for the following week.
 When campus is closed on Fridays or for other reasons, this may change. Please go to
http://www.elcamino.edu/studentservices/co/appointments.asp to verify hours and
scheduling time.
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BE ON TIME! If you are more than ten minutes late, you may be asked to reschedule!
General Students: Follow this Step by Step Guide to making an Online Counseling Appointment
1. Log into your MyECC account
2. Under Web Services (on the right side in the middle), click on Online
Counseling Appointments
3. On the left, click on Online Counseling Appointments on this page.
4. Log in again to the SARS-GRID using your ECC log in information
5. Click on MAKE APPOINTMENT
6. Select your major by scrolling down for more options and click
CONTINUE. Undecided Majors, choose Undecided (Degree for
transfer/IGETC) or choose a major you are interested in)
7. For best availability, leave the day of the week, start and end times,
and counselor name as is; however, if you want to meet with a specific
counselor, you can select the Counselor Name and click on FIND
APPOINTMENTS.
8. Click on SELECT based on your availability and choice. If you can get
an appointment with a counselor who is a specialist in your major, try
to see that person if you can. If not, make an appointment and go to it
anyway.
9. Select your reason(s) for wanting to meet with the counselor,
update your contact information as needed, and click CONTINUE.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT STUDENTS:
click on ACADEMIC EDUCATION PLAN (EP)
10. Once you have successfully scheduled your appointment, print the page
out for your records, update your calendar, and bring any pertinent
paperwork/records with you. If you can, arrive early to insure that you
do not lose your appointment!
. Human Development students should bring their Educational
Planning information, including worksheets (even though counselors,
except EOPS, won’t check the worksheet) and paperwork [including
transcripts from other schools, placement test scores, online
orientation completion page (if new), questions/concerns, etc.] to
their scheduled appointments.
Attend the counseling appointment you made earlier.
The worksheet is a Human Development classroom assignment and your tool for guiding and
comprehending the flow of information between you and the counselor during your appointment.
The WORKSHEET must be completed prior to your appointment!
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General Counseling students: Request a two-semester OFFICIAL educational plan that
the counselor will sign or include notations in the “comments” section with the current
date.
o Important reminder for students seeing a general counselor: The counselor will not
assess, sign, or help you to complete your Educational Planning WORKSHEET.
EOPS students: Request that the EOPS counselor review your WORKSHEET for accuracy
and then provide a six-semester OFFICIAL educational plan that the counselor will sign or
include notations in the “comments” section with the current date. .
When you attend the counseling appointment you made earlier. Request an OFFICIAL educational plan
that the counselor will sign or notate online in the “comments” section.
 Revise your WORKSHEET to match your Ed Plan
Turn in to your Human Development instructor:
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Your revised (see #5 below) Educational Planning WORKSHEET
The OFFICIAL educational plan with your counselor’s signature or their name and the date of
your meeting typed in the “comments” section.
The assignment consists of both the WORKSHEET and the OFFICIAL plan, and both are
required to receive credit in your Human Development class.
5. Look over the signed educational plan you and your counselor completed, and use that information
to re-evaluate your worksheet for accuracy. If you do that during your counseling appointment, you
have the opportunity to ask the counselor why they selected those classes and ask why he or she
suggested them. Then modify your worksheet appropriately.
Take your WORKSHEET and your OFFICIAL Educational Plan to all future
counseling appointments.
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This information will assist both you and your counselor in making the most out of your
counseling appointments
o eliminating unnecessary classes
o choosing courses designed to transfer smoothly
o saving you time and money
o allowing you the information you need to set clear, concise goals