Sacramento City College
Unit Plan
Completed Spring 2002
Department Name: Learning Communities
Department Spokesperson: Robin Ikegami
Division Dean: N/A
Elements of the Unit Plan:
Place an X in the boxes of included elements
X
Accomplishments
X
Three Year Plan
X
Action Plan
X
Budget Request
X
Budget Narrative
X
Key Performance Indicators
3 – Year Plan
Learning Communities Department
Long Range Plan
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Institutionalize the resources needed for an
ongoing Learning Communities program
Develop Learning Communities academies tied to
specific student goals, e.g., transfer, teacher
preparation, technical certification, etc.
Develop Learning Communities focused on
CalWORKS objectives, linking
technical/vocational training and basic skills or
ESL
Develop online Learning Communities
Develop means by which to retain faculty and
counselors to maintain a core of regularly-offered,
successful Learning Communities over several
semesters
Develop a process whereby Learning Communities
can track the persistence and success rates of
Learning Communities students
Evaluate, revise and expand the Learning
Communities program through participation in the
review process conducted by the National
Learning Communities Project housed at the
Washington Center for Improving the Quality of
Undergraduate Education
Develop means of researching grant opportunities
and writing grant applications.
2003 –
2004
2004 –
2005
2005 2006
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Learning Communities
Department / Action Plan 2002 – 2003
Goal 1: Enhance Student Success
Linkage to
Year-end status and accomplishments
other Plans
#
Action Item
1a
Create and support more Learning Communities for
transfer students.
Develop a Learning Community for students in the Honors
Program.
Create and support new Learning Communities with a
vocational focus.
Maintain and possibly expand Learning Communities for
students in EOPS and RISE.
Improve the Learning Communities registration process to
conform to PeopleSoft requirements.
Improve online schedule pages to conform to new software
requirements.
1b
1c
1d
1e
1f
B3
A8, B3
A8, B3
A8, B3
D3, F8
A7, D3
Goal 2: Improve Access to Learning Communities for Diverse Groups
2a
2b
2c
2d
Provide more outreach to classes, counselors, and
departments about Learning Communities offerings and
benefits for students.
Continue advertisement of Learning Communities through
campus flyers and through articles and ads in student
publications such as The Express and the tabloid. Publicize
honors and transfer Learning Communities in the Honors
newsletter.
Create and maintain a Blackboard account for Learning
Communities
Develop and online Learning Community
A7, B2, D3, D5
A7, B2, D3
B5
A3, F1
Learning Communities
#
3a
3b
3c
3d
3e
Department / Action Plan 2002 – 2003
Goal 3: Support Teaching and Learning Innovation in Learning Communities
Linkage to
Action Item
Year-end status and accomplishments
other Plans
Recruit faculty and counselors to create new Learning
Communities and award stipends to originators for each
approved new link.
Encourage and inspire innovation through on-campus
Learning Communities speaker series, workshops, and
regular meetings.
Organize a one-day mini retreat—bringing together
Learning Communities faculty, counselors, administrators
and guest speakers—to focus on LC pedagogy and course
design.
Obtain current research on Learning Communities
innovations by sending the Learning Communities
coordinator, faculty and counselors to relevant conferences.
Disseminate current research on Learning Communities
innovations through a Blackboard account, the LC web
page and meetings.
A3, B3, D5
A2, B5
B5
A2, A7, B5
A2, A7, B5, F6
Goal 4: Improve Coordination of Learning Communities
4a
4b
Develop a checklist of criteria for deans and
faculty/counselors to aid in determining the potential
success of a new Learning Community.
Work with the grants office to identify and apply for
appropriate grants.
Other Accomplishments:
A7, A8
G2
Learning Communities
Line #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Description
Department Budget Request - 2003 - 2004
Operating
New
Instruction
Marketing
Budget
Computers Equipment Furniture Program
Supplies
Materials
Increase
Start-up
Institutionalize the resources needed for
an ongoing Learning Communities
program
Develop Learning Communities
academies tied to specific student
goals, e.g., transfer, teacher
preparation, technical certification, etc.
Develop Learning Communities focused
on CalWORKS objectives, linking
technical/vocational training and basic
skills or ESL
Develop online Learning Communities
Develop means by which to retain
faculty and counselors to maintain a
core of regularly-offered, successful
Learning Communities over several
$5,000
semesters
Develop a process whereby Learning
Communities can track the persistence
and success rates of Learning
Communities students
Evaluate, revise and expand the
Learning Communities program through
participation in the review process
conducted by the National learning
Communities Project housed at the
Washing Center for Improving the
Quality of Undergraduate Education
Develop means of researching
grant opportunities, writing grant
applications, and implementing and
$1,000
$1,000 add’l
instructor
copies of
texts/
manuals
Remodel
Space
Faculty
Hires
Staff
Hires
Student
Hires
.2 reassigned
time
$10,000
stipends
$3,000
travel/ confs. $1,000
Couns:1
full-time or
2 part-time
$1,000
travel/ confs $500
1 part-time
counselor
$15,000
stipends
$6,000
$5,000
stipends
$500
$2500
travel and
fees for
program
participation
and
evaluation
.2
reassigned
time
Temp
Hires
evaluating grant awards.
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Totals:
$5,000
$1,000
$0
$0
$0
$6,500
$2,500
$500
$3,600
Budget Narrative 2003 - 2004
Learning Communities
Line #
Description
Total
Amount
Priority
Rank
Department
Justification
The program needs a faculty coordinator to oversee the day-to-day execution of the program, coordinate
communication and scheduling, and organize faculty and curricular development; some acknowledgement and
compensation for the additional work required to coordinate linked classes and the additional time required to visit each
other’s parts of a link must be offered to faculty and staff initiating a new Learning Community, and new Learning
Communities must be added each semester to address emerging student interests and needs. To continue to improve
enrollment in Learning Communities courses, and to continue to elicit faculty, counseling and community support,
publicity in the form of flyers and brochures are necessary.
2
Institutionalize the resources
needed for an ongoing Learning
$11,000 and
Communities program
reassigned time
Develop Learning Communities
academies tied to specific student
goals, e.g., transfer, teacher
$19,000 and
preparation, technical certification, new counseling
etc.
hire(s)
5
3
Develop Learning Communities
focused on CalWORKS objectives,
linking technical/vocational training
and basic skills or ESL
$8,500 and a
part-time
counselor
4
$5,000
7
Developing an “academies” concept to address specific student goals will require adding several new links to serve
different populations and enhancing counseling support to properly advise students within each academy. Stipends of
$1,000 for each faculty member or counselor who creates a new link will help to compensate for the extra work and time
involved.
Bringing together technical/vocational training and basic skills or ESL courses will require a great deal of extra time and
effort to coordinate classes while adhering to various licensing requirements; therefore, stipends of $1,000 for each
faculty member involved in creating a new link are necessary to help compensate for the extra work and time involved.
A part-time counselor will help to facilitate assessment and course placement as well as to coordinate links to work
experience and internships.
Stipends of $1,000 for each faculty member involved in creating a new link will help to compensate for the extra work
and time involved in participating in each other’s discussion boards, for example, and in coordinating syllabi and
assignments.
$5,000
2
Because faculty and counselors involved in repeating a Learning Community will continue to sit in on each other’s
classes and to consult each other about assignments, etc., that additional input of time should be acknowledged
through the availability of additional travel funds for pertinent Learning Communities conferences. Such travel would
also help to ensure that continuing links are constantly reinvigorated with current research findings.
$500
6
Hiring a student assistant or two to follow-up on Learning Communities students through telephone interviews and
surveys will help in program assessment and evaluation.
$2,500
8
The Washington Center conducts an annual retreat for teams representing Learning Communities programs to provide
1
4
5
6
7
Develop online Learning
Communities
Develop means by which to retain
faculty and counselors to maintain
a core of regularly-offered,
successful Learning Communities
over several semesters
Develop a process whereby
Learning Communities can track
the persistence and success rates
of Learning Communities students
Evaluate, revise and expand the
1
8
Learning Communities program
through participation in the review
process conducted by the National
learning Communities Project
housed at the Washing Center for
Improving the Quality of
Undergraduate Education
Develop means of researching
grant opportunities, writing grant
applications, and implementing
and evaluating grant awards.
guidance, suggestions, inspiration and evaluative instruments for program review and curriculum development;
participating in such a comprehensive project would help to strengthen and develop our program.
.2 reassigned
time
3
Because the state budget and the grant opportunities through the state chancellor’s office are generally precarious, it is
imperative that the program seek other sources of funding. The reassigned time would provide for a grant writer to
focus on finding outside funding sources, write grant applications, and help the program coordinator implement the grant
and file the appropriate reports on program activities with granting agencies.
Key Performance Indictors for
Learning Communities
Department
All data for 2001/2002 has not yet been tabulated. Data for spring 2001 is based on data collected for the English 1A
part of the Puente LC. Data for fall 2001 is based on the sum of all surveys completed in eight Learning Communities.
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
LC spring 01
non-LC spring 01
LC fall 01
retention
success
persistence
would take LCs
in future
Learning Communities 2001-2002 Accomplishments
Goal 1: Enhance Student Success
#
Action Item
1a
Create and support Learning Communities that
target specific student skills needs
Linkage to
Other Plans
Year-end status and accomplishments
A3, A8,
B3, PFE 1,
PFE 2,
PFE 3,
PFE 4





1b
Create and support Learning Communities that
include counseling support
A3, A8,
Be, B4,
D5, PFE
3, PFE 4
1c
Recruit faculty and counselors to create new
Learning Communities focused on student
needs and goals
A3, A8,
B3, D5,
PFE 1,
PFE 2,
Learning Communities continued to support HELP and
Puente through flyers and schedule placement.
A new Learning Community, “English Foundations,”
was offered in Spring 2002, targeting students in need
of English 255 and English 200B, basic writing and
reading skills.
A new Learning Community linking English 1A and
Library 15 was offered in Spring 2002, targeting the
transfer-level student in need of developing skills in
the writing of the research paper.
Two new Learning Communities targeted at students in
EOPS and RISE were developed and will be offered in
Fall 2002.
The Coordinator wrote and won an FII grant to create
Learning Communities for educationally
disadvantaged students.

Both the RISE and EOPS Learning Communities
include counselor support.

Ten new faculty offered new Learning Communities in
2001/2002.
Two additional new faculty are currently developing
Learning Communities to offer in Fall 2002.

PFE 4

Two new counselors are currently developing linked
courses to offer in Fall 2002.
1d
Maintain a consistent core of Learning
Communities offerings to facilitate student
schedule planning
A7, D3,
PFE 3


HELP is consistently offered every Fall.
Puente is offered each semester, consistently offering a
link with English 57 in the Fall and with English 1A in
the Spring.
1e
Improve schedule and catalog pages
A7, D3

The schedule pages now highlight Learning
Communities links within linked courses’ departmental
pages as well as within the Learning Communities
section of the schedule.
Course descriptions are more detailed and include a
listing of prerequisites, advisories, transfer
information, and graduation or certification
qualification.

1f
Simplify and clarify registration process
D3, F8


With the help of Mary Dolan in the Instruction Office,
we developed a system by which students may register
for a Learning Community using a single course code
number or may register for separate parts of a Learning
Community using a “dummy section” number.
With the introduction of PeopleSoft, much of the
transition has been smooth; however, other glitches
have developed. These will have to be worked out as
we become more familiar with PeopleSoft and its
capabilities and limitations.
Goal 2: Improve access to Learning Communities for diverse groups
2a
Provide more outreach to classes, counselors,
and departments about Learning Communities
offerings and benefits for students
A7, B2,
D3, D5


The coordinator attended a Department Chairs meeting
as well as a session of Deans Council to report on the
program and to answer questions and concerns.
The coordinator has also routinely written and
distributed a guide to Learning Communities for
counselors to aid in their advising students on the
program generally and on course selections
specifically.
2b
Publicize Learning Communities through
campus flyers and through articles and ads in
student publications such as The Express and
the tabloid
A7, B2,
D3




2c
Create and maintain a Learning Communities
web page on the SCC server
A7, B2,
D3, F6
2d
Improve collaboration with existing campus
programs such as Honors, Service Learning,
the Transfer Center, RISE, EOP/S and
CalWORKS
A8, B4,
D5, PFE
2, PFE 3,
PFE 4
Dianne Heimer published an article on Learning
Communities in the Fall 2001 tabloid.
The tabloid article was reprinted in inside City
The Express also featured an article on Learning
Communities at the end of the Fall semester.
Various flyers have been developed and routinely
posted around campus during fall and spring
registration.

This spring, the coordinator developed a multi-page
web site on the SCC server, offering information
targeted at students and at faculty and counselors.

Two new Learning Communities are currently being
developed with RISE and EOPS.
Goal 3: Support Teaching and Learning Innovation in Learning Communities
3a
Recruit faculty and counselors to create new
Learning Communities and award stipends to
originators for each approved new link
A3, B3,
D5



3b
Encourage and inspire innovation through oncampus Learning Communities speaker series,
workshops, and regular meetings
A2, B5



3c
Obtain current research on Learning
Communities innovations by sending the
Learning Communities coordinator, faculty
and counselors to relevant conferences
A2, A7,
B5


Ten new faculty were recruited for courses offered in
2001/2002.
Five additional faculty were recruited for courses to be
offered in Fall 2002; two other new faculty have been
recruited to offer a new Learning Community in Spring
2003.
Two new counselors were recruited for courses to be
offered in Fall 2002.
With the assistance of the Staff Development Center,
the program offered a Learning Communities speaker
series; Chris Daubert offered a lecture on the
interdisciplinary approaches to art. Because of funding
problems, other speakers could not be scheduled.
The program offered a FLEX workshop in August
2001 and two in January 2002.
The program established a regular schedule of one
meeting per month at which reports on conferences,
relevant research, and classroom innovations are
shared.
The coordinator, a counselor, and three faculty
attended the fall Community College Convocation held
at UC Berkeley; the Convocation focused on
developmental education, offering several sessions on
Learning Communities approaches to basic skills
education.
The coordinator, a counselor, and the program’s
researcher attended the spring Community College
Convocation, which focused entirely on Learning
Communities—how to create them, how to teach them,
how to evaluate them, how to fund them, and how to
sustain them.
3d
Disseminate current research on Learning
Communities innovations through an e-mail
distribution list, meetings and a newsletter
A2, A7,
B5, F6



We presented our conference findings and handouts at
one meeting each semester.
A page on the Learning Communities web site is
“From the Coordinator”; this is where a general
overview of conferences is offered. As the
Coordinator finds time, she will add a new page to the
site, offering an annotated bibliography of current
research.
A newsletter seemed redundant in light of the web site,
so it has not been developed.
Goal 4: Improve coordination of Learning Communities
4a
4b
Systematize the process of proposing new
courses and for scheduling Learning
Communities
A7
Develop processes for providing deans with
timely information to ease decision-making
A7





4c
Increase communication between/among the
Learning Communities coordinator,
administrators, faculty and counselors through
e-mail distribution list, regular meetings and a
newsletter
A7, A8, I6


The coordinator developed a new form for proposing
both new and repeated Learning Communities.
The form’s due dates have been coordinated with due
dates for deans’ planning sheets.
The coordinator attended one session of Deans
Council.
The coordinator maintains regular communication with
the various deans involved in Learning Communities.
The coordinator emails confirmation of schedules and
rooms to deans prior to their due date for final planning
sheets.
The newsletter was deemed to be redundant because of
the new web site; however, the e-mail distribution list
and regular meetings play a major role in keeping
communication open.
The coordinator and sometimes other Learning
Communities participants have attended various
department meetings as well to facilitate
communication.
4d
Develop institutional association with the
California Learning Communities Consortium
Other Accomplishments
A2, A7,
A8

We are now listed on the Consortium’s web site as a
program offering a significant number of linked
courses.