Enrollment Services Division Council Newsletter
March
2012
Accreditation
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The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) sent a letter to ECC informing the college
and center that there are five (5) Recommendations still remaining from the 2008 visit that we must completely
resolve in our follow-up report to the commission by October 15, 2012. The report will be followed by a visit
from commission representatives.
There is a paragraph on the second page of the letter that states “conditions at the Center that fail to meet the
Commission’s Eligibility Requirements, Accreditation Standards, or Commission policies will have a direct and
negative impact on El Camino College’s ability to remain compliant with ACCJC’s expectations”. The Compton
Center is working toward meeting the Eligibility Requirements but will not be able to do so by this October. The
same holds true for meeting all Accreditation Standards.
Planning
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The college will hold two workshops primarily for managers (one at Compton and one at ECC) designed to
improve planning and to enforce plan due dates. The workshops are tentatively planned for March 29th
(Compton) and April 20th (Torrance).
Budgeting
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The State’s fiscal situation has not been very good this year. Last summer we were told to expect reduced
funding for this year. We trimmed $5,508,000 out of the budget. By fall we were told to expect one or two
rounds of cuts called Trigger cuts. By January we implemented both Trigger Cuts based upon the State’s fiscal
situation. That meant an additional cut of $1,793,000. In February an announcement came out called the
February Surprise. It gained that title because it was unexpected. The February Surprise amounts to an
additional cut of $2,616,000.
Total cuts to ECC for this year (2011 – 2012) are $9,916,000 or about 10% of our General Fund budget. Luckily
the college had the foresight early in the year to reduce the budget assuming that the economic picture for the
State would be worse than projected. In spite of all of the cuts listed above the college is only over budget by
$654,853!
Student Development/ASO/ICC/AGS
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Preparations for Commencement 2012 have begun.
Club Rush was a success! Over 30 clubs were represented on the Library Lawn during the week of February 27thMarch1st.
ASO students will be participating in a huge march and rally on March 5th at the State Capitol in support of higher
education. Over 10,000 students will converge on Sacramento to demand that Governor Brown and the
Legislature increase higher education funding, protect the Cal Grant program, and support legislation that would
give much needed relief to students and their families. The March in March is organized by the Student Senate
for California Community Colleges (SSCCC).
The American Student Association of Community Colleges (ASACC) Conference in Washington DC will be held
March 16th-20th. Six students will be going to represent the students of El Camino.
ICC is partnering with the Red Cross March 13th -March 15th for the Spring Blood Drive. If you are interested in
making a donation, please schedule an appointment at www.redcrossblood.org (Sponsor Code: ECC).
ASO successfully held their first Town Hall meeting as an effort to improve communication with students and
their ASO reps.
ASB will be sponsoring the next Student Movie Night on March 22nd.
The Activity Center’s East Lounge is now open for student use. The old radio station has been transformed into
an information booth that is run by SDO’s student workers.
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Enrollment Services Division Council Newsletter
First Year Experience (FYE)/Learning Communities
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Choosing a University workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, March 6, 2012 from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. in the
Distance Education Conference Center.
First FYE Information Session is scheduled for Tuesday, March 20, 2012 from 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. in the Alondra
Room. A total of 35 students have submitted their RSVP.
Assessment/Testing
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The Ability-to-Benefit (ATB) exam is administered to perspective financial aid students who do not have a high
school diploma or an equivalent. This exam will be eliminated as of July 1, 2012, due to new Federal guidelines.
The Assessment/Testing Center will discontinue the administration of this exam as of July 1, 2012, unless the U.S.
Department of Education extends testing beyond this date. We have been told that ACCUPLACER will shut down
their ATB Testing Site as of July 1.
Our Testing Center volunteered to administer the Reading Comprehension, Sentence Skills, and WritePlacer
portions of the ACCUPLACER Placement Exams for a validation study being conducted by the College Board. The
ACCUPLACER suite of exams is set to expire on March 1, 2012 (Reading Comprehension, Sentence Skills,
Arithmetic, Elementary Algebra, and College-Level Math) and July 1, 2012 (LOEP) as approved exams with the
California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office. We successfully administered the three English portions of the
ACCUPLACER Placement Exam to a total of 157 currently enrolled students over a two-week period.
A total of five sessions of the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) exam have taken place during the month of
February. This exam is administered to perspective Nursing major students. These sessions were scheduled
specially for students registered in the Nursing 145 courses, both at the El Camino College Campus and the
Compton Educational Center Campus. There are an additional eight sessions scheduled during the next three
months.
There will be ten Chemistry Placement Test sessions available for the Spring 2012 semester.
There were four off-campus testing administrations conducted by the Office of School Relations staff during the
month of February. A total of 151 students were assessed. There will be many more scheduled during the
upcoming months.
Outreach and School Relations
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Robin Dreizler is currently working with Public Relations & Marketing Department to market early registration for
ECC District high school graduates.
A big kudos to Julieta Ortiz and the 3 Student Ambassadors, Josian Fuentez, Wes Eller and Danielle Kotowski, for
their well-received presentation at the recent Management Forum. The 4 touted the recent accomplishments of
the Student Ambassador program.
Space Science Day is slated for Saturday, April 21st. NASA astronaut and ECC alumni, Mike Fincke, will be the
featured speaker. Reservations can be made by emailing Spaceday@elcamino.edu or calling the Outreach Office
at ext. 3487.
There are 9,381 students currently in the Prospective Student Database. Contact Robin Dreizler if your program
wishes use this database for program recruitment.
Outreach has access to the Assessment and Testing database of students who have tested this year. Contact the
Outreach office if your programs are interested in tapping into this data.
The SCA SLO Committee co-chair reminds everyone to continue working on SLOs. We should all be in the
assessment stage. If you need help, please contact Robin Dreizler at ext. 5487.
SCA Area Council – February 14, 2012 Meeting
Discussion Items:
 Accreditation Follow-up Letter – Fall 2012
o Letter from ACCJC was received 2/1/12.
Enrollment Services Division Council Newsletter
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o Follow up report is due 10/15/12.
o Follow up on 5 out of 9 recommendations are listed on the letter.
 2012 Budget Update
o There is a possibility that additional summer sections will be cut.
 Student Success Task Force Recommendations
o A report on 22 recommendations is available for viewing on the portal.
o Major changes made to basic skills.
o Some of the recommendations eliminate “open access”
o Other recommendations impact BOG students, e.g. instead of having $1 of need for eligibility, students
must have the amount of fees as need; BOG students must meet SAP requirements.
o Focus is on making students accountable for their own success.
 Compton Center Update
o Efforts are being made to ensure staff participation in Program Review.
o Student Advisory Panel and Citizen’s Oversight Committee has been reinstituted.
Group Reports:
 Foundation
o This year, 70-80 reviewers will review scholarship applications.
o Scholarship awards reception will be in May.
 Counseling
o Counseling recently had a retreat and it was a huge success.
 Community Advancement
o See attached.
 A &R
o International Student Program office is now open. The area is hoping to get a couple of end-units for
students to use.
o Evaluators are moving close to ISP office.
o Intent forms are coming in.
 Enrollment Services
o OASR – Welcome Week tables will be set up first week of school. 2 tables were set up on 2/11, 55
students stopped by at the tables plus an additional amount that stopped Julieta Ortiz as she walked
around campus.
o SDO – Southeast lounge and additional information center is now open to students.
 FYE – Currently in recruitment mode; Information sessions are scheduled in March, first one is March 20th.
Student Interest Form is online. FYE is notifying students to file Intent to Graduate Form.
Financial Aid
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SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS (SAP) - As of 2/21/12, the SAP committee began reviewing Sap Appeals
submitted for the Spring 2012 semester. Students will be receiving the Sap Committee decision via their ECC email. The ECC- Torrance Campus Committee is currently up to date with appeals submitted as of 3/1/12.
o All students with a valid ISIR (electronic FAFSA) on file will be receiving a SAP calculation (SAPC) at the
end of every payment period. The payment periods are defined as Fall, Spring and Summer. A regular
SAP student may regain their eligibility at the end of any payment period provided they raise their
cumulative GPA to at least a 2.0 or higher and complete 67% or more of their cumulative attempted
units. This does not apply to a Lock-In-List student.
o Winter is not considered a payment period. Therefore, winter units will be added in when the SAPC runs
for spring.
o Students approved on an appeal with conditions as well as students on a Lock-In-List (LIL) must have a
2.0 GPA or higher at the end of the payment period and complete 67% or more of the units they attempt
for the payment period. Failure to meet both conditions will result in the lost of their financial aid
eligibility and may not appeal again until the end of the summer 2012 payment period.
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Enrollment Services Division Council Newsletter
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FORMS - Currently working on 20012-13 forms. Committee meetings occur weekly; drafts available on the
Financial Aid P: drive.
 LOANS - Loan applications are available to students beginning 2/21/12. Students MUST: be enrolled in 6 units, be
making SAP and have an award letter. The deadline to apply is May 10, 2012.
 CAL GRANT UPDATES: We submitted GPA early this year / February 9, 2012. 29,724 total records were sent. A
reminder email was sent to 330 students. Remind students to verify HS grad with CSAC before it will be
terminated.
 FEDERAL WORK STUDY - Students applying for FWS has increased exponentially. Currently, FWS funds are
depleted. Inform students requesting a FWS award that FA is no longer accepting new students; however,
students may continue completing the forms on-line to get on the waiting list. Students on the waiting list are
not guaranteed a job. To be eligible to apply, students need to be enrolled in 6 units, be making SAP, and have
an award letter. Students should visit the FWS webpage and apply/express interest online. Or call Mr. Mancia at
310-660-3493 x3496 for more detailed / recorded information.
 FA COUNSELORS UPDATES - Cheryl Kroll has FAID Drop In every day 2:30pm to 3pm except Friday and FAID Drop
In on Thursday nights from 5:30pm to 6:30pm.
 FEE WAIVERS / FA LAB UPDATES - open M-Th 9am-1pm. Students may file/update their FAFSA, pick up
verification forms, and submit their fee waivers during these hours.
 FOSTER YOUTH - March Foster Youth FAFSA workshops will be one on one.
 OUTREACH EFFORTS UPDATE - FOTW are held on the following dates: 3/7, 3/13, 3/21, and 3/27. Cash for College
Fair will be on Saturday, March 10, 2012 in the LMTC. FA presentation for Dept of Rehab (DOR) was held on
2/14/12 at their Lawndale office and approximately 30+ DOR Counselors attended.
 The drop box is checked twice per day. Unfortunately, students continue to struggle with completing forms
accurately and legibly. Approximately 95% of what is received is incomplete, illegible, and/or needs to be
returned which further delays their file.
GENERAL INFORMATION & OTHER FAO TIDBITS THAT DEPARTMENT STAFF SHOULD KNOW:
o Anticipated disbursement dates are listed on the FA Webpage.
o Loan disbursement questions – students should check their disclosure statement at
www.studentloans.gov
o Remind students to check their MyECC - FREQUENTLY.
o Remind students to get a student ID; it's FREE, and they should carry it with them at all times. ID
numbers are used to access student files, track time spent with them, and in turn follow up for quality
control
o All students, except Foster Youth & SRC Students with a Front of the Line (FOL) Pass, MUST wait patiently
in line irrespective of how quick they think their question might be. (HINT: There are no quick questions
in Financial Aid because often these lead to other more complex questions and answers).
o Financial Aid Advisor position closes March 19, 2012.
 RECOMMENDATIONS: ECC campus needs to have a food bank for students as the FAO is seeing a number of
students who are expressing to front counter staff and management that they are hungry and / or homeless.
Michelle created and maintains a resource list of agencies in the South Bay / LA County area to distribute to
students and staff, but this is a short term solution.
Contributors:
Michelle Arthur, Theresa Clifford, Liz Fernandez, Julieta Ortiz, Harnish Patel, Arvid Spor, and
Breanna von Stein
Enrollment Services Division Council Newsletter
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Calendar of Events
Date
Event (Department)
Time
Place
Comments
MARCH
1
Ambassador Program Presentation
8am-9am
Management Forum –
East Dining
Meet at SSVC 206 at
8:30am
Torrance HS - Career Ctr
Presentation
1
Campus Tour - Inglewood Counselors
9am-noon
1
Application Workshop
12pm-1:30
2
SSTARS Breakfast
6:30am-11am
Alondra Room - On
Campus
Leuzinger High School
room 208
Lennox Academy
Other
6
Placement Test
1pm-3pm
6
Application Workshop
2pm-3:15pm
7
Information Session(2)/App Wkshp
11:30am-1:30pm
Johnston Community Day
School
Peninsula High
Presentation
7
College Night
5:30pm-8pm
8
Information Session
10:15am-12:15pm
Presentation
2pm-3:18pm
Johnson Community Day
School
West HS - College and
Career Ctr
Gardena HS - E-2
8
Information Session
12pm-1pm
8
Application Workshop - GHS
9
Ambassador Meeting
1pm-2pm
SSVC 207
12
Application Workshop - North HS
9am-1pm
North HS - Library
Workshop
13
Information Session
8am-10an
Palos Verdes HS
Presentation
13
Campus Tour - Animo Pat Brown HS
10am-11:30am
Tour
13
Community College Day
11:30am-12:30pm
Meet at SSVC 206 at
9:30am
Carson HS
14
Campus Tour
9am-10am
Meet at SSVC 206
16
Application Workshop
9am-1pm
North HS - Library
Workshop
17
College Fair
9am-12pm
Summit View School
Table/Presentation
19
Information Session
9:30am-10:30am
Port of Los Angeles HS
Presentation
19
Information Session
3pm-4:30pm
Leuzinger HS room 215
Presentation
19
Information Session
7pm-7:45pm
Maria Regina Parish Hall
Presentation
20
Information Session
2pm-3:15pm
Carson HS
Presentation
22
Campus Tour - RUHS
9am-10:30am
Tour
22
Community College Fair
10:15am-11:45am
Meet at SSVC 206 at
8:30am
West Adams Prep
22
Information Session/Table
10:45am-11:45am
Redondo Shores
Presentation/Table
23
Hawthorne HS test and tour
8:30am-1pm
On Campus
Tour/Presentation
23
Campus Tour
9am-11am
Meet at SSVC 206
Tour
Tour
Workshop
Testing
Workshop
Presentation
Presentation
Application Workshop
Table
Table
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Enrollment Services Division Council Newsletter
Calendar of Events
Date
Event (Department)
Time
23
Information Session
9:30am-11am
27
Placement Test - North HS
28
Place
Comments
Presentation
9am-1pm
San Pedro HS College/Career Ctr
North HS - Library
Placement Test - North HS
9am-1pm
North HS - Library
Testing
29
Youth Job Fair
8am-1pm
Table
29
Application Workshop
8:30am-10am
Hawthorne Memorial
Center
Redondo Shores
30
Campus Tour - BCMS
9:30am-11:30am
Meet at SSVC 206 at 9am
Tour
Testing
Workshop