Executive Summary
Introduction
West Hills College Coalinga (WHCC) is a member of the 113-campus California community
college system. The college and staff are committed to student equity in all educational and
college programs and services and also in the “relentless pursuit of student success” as
indicated in our vision statement. The Coalinga Campus and the North District Center, in
Firebaugh, served 2469 students during the 2014-2015 academic year. The service area
consists of five counties and includes nine cities: Avenal, Coalinga, Huron, Cantua Creek,
Firebaugh, Mendota, San Joaquin and Tranquillity. WHC Coalinga is a predominately HispanicServing Institution (HSI). Often in the San Joaquin Valley, other factors drive the inability to
complete academic goals; external commitments of students have a big impact on attendance.
A West Hills College survey (Educational Master Plan, 2013-2018) showed slightly more than
seven of 10 students indicated they needed to spend more time working, 53% could not afford
the $46/unit tuition and 54% said they needed a break from school. Getting to class is a
significant challenge. Students often struggle to create feasible schedules and students cite
lengthy commute times, work schedules change, and that family takes priority.
The current WHC Coalinga BASE Committee (Basic Skills, Equity and Student Success) started as
a collaborative effort through the original Equity Committee developed in spring of 2014.
College’s equity effort is a result of SB1456 and the Student Success and Support Act to identify
and provide support for students in an effort to mitigate equity gaps. As a result of additional
planning required to integrate goals, develop activities and outcomes and deadlines, the
committee has evolved into what is now called WHCC BASE Committee. This workgroup is
composed of the Vice Presidents of Educational Services and Student Services, the Associate
Deans of Educational Services and Student Services, Faculty who represent the Basic Skills
Initiatives, Counselors, Advisors, Academic Senate President, ASB President, student
representatives and community members who took on the task of developing innovative
campus strategies and initiatives with the goal of promoting equity and student success. The
BASE Committee has a firm foundation for planning and integration of college and district
strategic goals across all governance groups such as the Executive Cabinet and College Planning
Council.
Our core value – the relentless pursuit of student success – is an acknowledgement of our
principles: Students need support – in addition to practical and deep learning. Effective case
management systems are critical to student success, particularly underserved students. One of
the biggest changes the district made was a consequential redesign of our enrollment methods
in the form of year around registration called REG365. This change emphasized to students the
importance of completion-oriented educational planning, rather than a term-to-term view of
class registration and enrollment. Targeted schedule changes were made to address unmet
student needs, increasing retention and decreasing time to completion. The college was
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granted an award for innovation by the Department of Finance in 2014-15 on REG365 which
allows for resources to the college to continue efforts and strategies like this to help students
achieve their academic goals. Arguably, the most important benefit of effective schedule
creation is the positive impact on students. This redesign is woven into all the components of
the Equity plan in our efforts to close the elements of disproportionality in our
underserved student population.
Target Groups
The BASE Committee recommends college wide initiatives, program strategies and
classroom level interventions for these groups who achieve success at significantly lower rates
than those who are in the highest performing groups. These activities are critical to
accomplish the goals to reduce disproportionate impact in the underserved student groups
below:
SUCCESS MEASURES
Access
Course Completion
Basic Skills Math
Basic Skills English
ESL
Degree Certificate Completion
Transfer
UNDERSERVED STUDENT GROUPS
Hispanic, Males and Individuals with Disabilities
African American, Foster Youth, Individuals with Disabilities
Females, Individuals with Disabilities
African American, Individuals with Disabilities
Males*
Males, African American, Individuals with Disabilities
Females, Hispanic/Latino,
*Low cohort size for this group is significant
The Success Measures in the table above are defined as:
•
ACCESS - The percentage of each population group that is enrolled to the percentage
of each group in the adult population within the community served.
• COURSE COMPLETION - The number of credit courses that students by population
group actually complete by the end of the term compared to the number of courses in
which students in that group are enrolled on the census day of the term.
• ESL and BASIC SKILLS COMPLETION - The number of students by population group
who complete a degree-applicable course after having completed the final ESL or basic
skills course compared to the number of those students who complete such a final
course.
• DEGREE and CERTIFICATE COMPLETION - The number of students by population
group who receive a degree or certificate to the number of students in that group
with the same informed matriculation goal.
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• TRANSFER - The number of students by population group who complete a minimum of
12 units and have attempted a transfer level course in mathematics or English to the
number of students in that group who actually transfer after one or more (up to six)
years.
Goals
The primary goal is to eliminate the disproportionate gap for all the underserved
students/target groups above. An important secondary goal will be to maintain student equity
efforts across the institution, particularly for those student populations who may not currently
demonstrate disproportionate impact but are essential in any equity plan, i.e. former foster
youth, and veterans. All activity-specific goals reflect college efforts to reach equity which are
mirrored in the WHC Strategic Plan and the District’s Educational Master Plan. It is the intent
for all college faculty, staff and administration to create goals that are reasonable, measurable
and can realistically be achieved using those resources which are already in place or can readily
be brought into utilization.
Access:
by 2018.
Increase access to Hispanic/Latino, males and students with disabilities by 2-5%
Course Completion: Increase course completion rate for African American students, Foster
Youth and students with disabilities by 3% annually.
ESL and Basic Skills Completion:
Increase basis skills completion rates for both male and
female students, African American students and students with disabilities by 3-5% annually.
Degree and Certificate Completion: Increase the number of degrees and certificates obtained
by males, African American and students with disabilities by 10% annually.
Transfer:
Increase transfer rates of females and Hispanic/Latino students to four-year
institutions by 5% annually.
Activities
All the activities in the Equity Plan that include faculty, staff, facilities, and technology and in
the Instructional and Student Services departments are designed to ensure that the college has
a thoughtful plan to provide the opportunity to assist students in reaching their highest level of
achievement and reducing the gap that exists among disproportionate groups. By leveraging
staff talents and financial resources to improve the viability of this plan the college developed
these equity goals and activities which are mirrored in the college strategic plan:
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Access:
• Targeted career technical education program outreach to service area high schools
• Expand staff in-service training on the needs of disabled students
• Curriculum redesign for DSPS Life Skills Certification
• Secure and utilize resources for transportation options
Course Completion:
• Counselors, Equity Coordinator and Faculty will collaborate to provide early alert and
intervention services
• Integrate the 6 core principles of the Falcon FLIGHT Plan (“Habits of Mind” ) philosophy
as a campus-wide effort
• Promote/augment Supplemental Instruction, tutoring services.
• DSPS curriculum redesign to include a Life Skills certificate
ESL/Basic Skills:
• Math curriculum redesign to include corequisite course and supplemental instruction
and pathway scheduling
• English curriculum redesign to include corequisite course, supplemental instruction
and pathway scheduling
• Recruit students to new ESL redesign integrating community education/college
curriculum
• DSPS curriculum redesign to include a Life Skills certificate
• Integrate the 6 core principles of the Falcon FLIGHT Plan (“Habits of Mind”) philosophy
as a campus wide effort
Degree and Certificate Completion
• DSPS curriculum redesign to include a Life Skills certificate
• Targeted outreach to underserved students with 45+ completed units
• Targeted outreach to students who transferred to 4-year schools without completing a
degree
• Use outreach, campus activities, marketing and social media to promote completion
• Market and promote Priority Registration/REG 365
Transfer:
• Evaluate transfer as an informed goal; report to Student Success team counselors for
outreach
• Identify and mitigate barriers for transfer attainment
• Increase transfer oriented activities (field trips, reps on campus, admissions workshops,
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presentations) and market efforts
SB 860 Requirements
Foster youth and Veterans have been included in the 2015-16 disproportionate data
calculations however these groups have a small N-size. The college has continued its targeted
efforts and services for these groups even though they do not have disproportionality across all
success measures. There was close collaboration with categorical and special support programs
on campus that work directly with these students throughout the planning process. The college
received grants over the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic year that provided resources and case
management services for former foster youth and that program continues with the efforts of
dedicated staff.
Resources
WHC Coalinga outlines resources in the Student Success and Support Program (SSSP) plan to
which students have access as they integrate into the college environment – orientation,
assessment, counseling/advising and follow-up. These services have been augmented by other
college programs and partnerships, which provide the necessary support to achieve the goals
and objectives not only for the student, but for the college in their efforts to increase student
success. Our biggest achievement gap is with our disabled student population who are
disproportionate in 5 of the 7 success measures. Efforts to reduce this disproportionality is a
college priority and will be outlined in the goals and activities section in this plan. With over
40% of our population eligible for the BOG fee-waiver, many of our student population are
eligible for other categorical programs which support student success. The college started a
Foster Youth Alliance Program with grant money in 2013-14 and that program continues even
though funding has not. The Veteran population on our campus are cared for by both the
Coalinga and our sister campus in Lemoore who provides the eligibility clerk through which our
Veteran students need to start their process. Subsequent to that, Veteran students have a
team counselor to rely on for student success and support plan services. As students get
involved with these programs, they have an impact on increasing student engagement and
retention. A new position funded through Equity was the addition of a Program Coordinator for
Equity who serves as an in- person “early alert” system for our underserved students. Planned
interventions are taking place beginning fall 2015 to target our students and those strategies
are outlined in this plan. Extra support as a result of increased participation among our
administration, faculty, staff and peer educators provides assistance to students to overcome
personal and institutional barriers on campus. The college has a full measure of activities, clubs,
mentoring, tutoring and employment opportunities for students to enhance their social and
emotional well-being as a student.
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