OCC College Goals
College Goals
The College’s goals support its values and align with district-wide strategic themes.
COMMUNITY
Goal 1
Provide international and multicultural activities to promote a culture of diversity, inclusiveness
and global competence.
Goal 2
Maintain relationships and partnerships with local and global businesses, communities, and
organizations to foster diversity and workforce development.
Goal 3
Foster a participatory, productive and supportive campus climate to ensure collegiality and
informed decision making.
LEARNING
Goal 4
Assure students receive a quality education with academic support to become self-directed and
successful lifelong learners.
Goal 5
Provide instructional and co-curricular activities to enhance student development.
Goal 6
Provide for the growth and development and recognition of employees to create a leading-edge
workforce.
Orange Coast College Educational Master Plan 2011 - 2015
7
ACCESS
Goal 7
Utilize effective outreach, partnerships, and enrollment strategies to enhance the
diversity and success of our students.
Goal 8
Provide a technologically advanced learning environment to increase student success
and access to institutional resources.
Goal 9
Recruit a diverse population of students and employees and provide continuous
training to create a highly competitive and desirable workplace.
STEWARDSHIP
Goal 10
Implement comprehensive and deliberate long-term planning to be strategically and
financially responsible.
Goal 11
Promote a culture of evidence and continuous improvement for the public good.
Goal 12
Pursue a variety of resources to augment, expand and maintain programs, personnel,
facilities, infrastructure, and services.
SUSTAINABILITY
Goal 13
Educate the community on environmentally responsible practices to change behavior.
Goal 14
Integrate environmentally responsible practices into college operations.
Goal 15
Foster and expand relationships with partners to support innovative solutions that
reduce resource consumption.
8
Orange Coast College Educational Master Plan 2011 - 2015
Executive Summary and 26 Best Practices from the Poppy Copy
Executive Summary
Prepared by The Center for Student Success (CSS), Research
and Planning (RP) Group for California Community Colleges
Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student
Success In California Community Colleges
JULY 2007 (second edition)
Faculty Review Panel
Authors
Dr. Deborah Boroch, Associate Dean of Natural Sciences, Mt.
San Antonio College; Mr. Jim Fillpot, Director Institutional
Research, Chaffey College; Ms. Laura Hope, English Professor
and Success Center Coordinator, Chaffey College; Dr. Robert
Johnstone, Vice President of Instruction, Foothill College; Ms.
Pamela Mery, Research Analyst, City College of San Francisco;
Dr. Andreea Serban, Vice Chancellor of Technology and
Learning Services, South Orange County Community College
District; Dr. Bruce Smith, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts,
City College of San Francisco.
Dr. Jan Connal, Counselor, Cerritos College; Ms. Barbara S.
Illowsky, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, De Anza
College; Dr. Richard Mahon, Associate Professor of Humanities,
Riverside Community College; Ms. Nancy Ybarra, Instructor of
English and Co-Coordinator of Developmental Education, Los
Medanos College.
Project Coordinator
Dr. Robert S. Gabriner, Vice-Chancellor of Institutional
Advancement, City College of San Francisco, and Director of
the Center for Student Success.
In 2004, the California Community College System Office began a comprehensive
strategic planning process for the purpose of improving student access and success. On January 17, 2006, the Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges unanimously adopted the final draft of the Strategic Plan.1 The plan includes five strategic
goal areas: college awareness and access; student success and readiness; partnerships for economic and
workforce development; system effectiveness; and resource development.
Context
The goal of student success and readiness contains seven areas of focus, one of which is basic skills,
as the Strategic Plan describes:
Ensure that basic skills development is a major focus and an adequately funded activity of
the Community Colleges.
To successfully participate in college-level courses, many Community College students need precollegiate math and/or English skill development. The goal is to identify model basic skills and
English as a Second Language programs and their key features and, given availability of funds,
to facilitate replication across the Colleges. In addition, best practices in classrooms and labs
and descriptions of effective learning environments will be collected and disseminated widely to
inform and assist both credit and noncredit programs. However, noncredit basic skills courses
are funded at approximately 60 percent of the rate provided to credit basic skills courses, which
is a disincentive for colleges to offer those courses. The Colleges need to gather practices with
high effectiveness rates, such as innovative program structures, peer support, and counseling, and
acquire funding to implement these approaches to reach all students needing basic skills education.
The study presented here was commissioned by the California Community Colleges System Office to
identify effective practices in basic skills programs, as outlined above. The Center for Student Success
(CSS), which is affiliated with the Research and Planning (RP) Group for California Community
Colleges, was selected to conduct the study. There are three major components of the study:
1.An extensive review of the literature related to basic skills practices, as well as an overview
of examples of strategies employed by 33 California community colleges and nine out-ofstate institutions.
2.A self-assessment tool which will allow colleges to reflect on how their current practices fit
with the findings from the literature regarding what are known to be effective practices for
basic skills students.
3.A cost/revenue model for developmental education programs which provides a way to
explore the incremental revenues that can be derived over time from such programs.
1
More information about the Statewide Strategic Plan is available at http://strategicplan.cccco.edu/.
Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success in California Community Colleges – Executive Summary
3
Literature Review
and Overview of
Institutional Examples
The approach to conducting the study combined the
intense work of a group of associates of the Center
for Student Success with iterative reviews of each of
the three work products by a panel of faculty with
extensive expertise in basic skills. In addition, drafts of
each work product were reviewed by Dr. Carole BogueFeinour, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, California Community Colleges System Office, and
Dr. John Nixon, Vice President of Instruction, Mt. San Antonio College.
For the purposes of this study, the following working definition of basic skills was established:
Basic skills are those foundation skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and English as a Second
Language, as well as learning skills and study skills, which are necessary for students to succeed
in college-level work.2
In order to establish criteria for “effective” practices, this document adopted a variation of Hunter
Boylan’s definition of best practice, modified as follows:
“Effective practices” refer to organizational, administrative, instructional, or support activities
engaged in by highly successful programs, as validated by research and literature sources
relating to developmental education.
Over 250 references, spanning more than 30 years, were reviewed, making this the most
comprehensive review of literature in the area of basic skills conducted in California community
colleges to date. Study after study by a multitude of researchers confirms a consistent set of
elements that commonly characterize effective developmental education programs. These elements
can be organized under the broad categories of organizational and administrative practices,
program components, staff development, and instructional practices. A total of 26 effective
practices emerged under these four major categories and are listed below.
A. Organizational and Administrative Practices
Institutional choices concerning program structure, organization, and management have
been related to the overall effectiveness of developmental education programs. The following
effective practices have been identified in this area:
A.1
Developmental education is a clearly stated institutional priority.
A.2 A
clearly articulated mission based on a shared, overarching philosophy drives the
developmental education program.
A.3 The
developmental education program is centralized or highly coordinated.
A.4 Institutional
policies facilitate student completion of necessary developmental coursework
as early as possible in the educational sequence.
A.5
A comprehensive system of support services exists, and is characterized by a high degree
of integration among academic and student support services.
A.6 Faculty
who are both knowledgeable and enthusiastic about developmental education are
recruited and hired to teach in the program.
A.7
Institutions manage faculty and student expectations regarding developmental education.
2
The inclusion of English as a Second Language in this definition recognizes that all ESL is not, by definition, subsumed under basic skills.
To the extent that a student is unable to succeed in college-level coursework due to inability to speak, read, write or comprehend English,
ESL skills may be considered as foundation skills in accordance with the definition.
4
Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success in California Community Colleges – Executive Summary
B. Program Components
According to the literature, a number of specific programmatic components are
characteristic of highly effective developmental education programs. These include:
B.1
Orientation, assessment, and placement are mandatory for all new students.
B.2
Regular program evaluations are conducted, results are disseminated widely, and data are
used to improve practice.
B.3
Counseling support provided is substantial, accessible, and integrated into academic
courses/programs.
B.4
Financial aid is disseminated to support developmental students.
C. Staff Development
According to the literature, the importance of comprehensive training and development
opportunities for faculty and staff who work with developmental students cannot be
overestimated. Programs with a strong professional development component have been
shown to yield better student retention rates and better student performance in developmental
courses than those without such an emphasis. Specific training is one of the leading variables
contributing to the success of a variety of components of developmental education, including tutoring,
advising, and instruction. Effective practices include:
C.1 Administrators
support and encourage faculty development in basic skills, and the
improvement of teaching and learning is connected to the institutional mission.
C.2 The
faculty play a primary role in planning/implementation of staff development activities
in support of basic skills programs.
C.3 Staff
development programs are structured and appropriately supported to sustain them as
ongoing efforts.
C.4 Staff development opportunities are flexible, varied, and responsive to developmental needs
of individual faculty, diverse student populations, and coordinated programs/services.
C.5 Faculty
development is clearly connected to intrinsic and extrinsic faculty reward
structures.
+-
D. Instructional Practices
Effective instructional practices are the key to achieving desired student outcomes for
developmental programs. Research has linked the following instructional practices with
success for developmental learners:
D.1Sound
principles of learning theory are applied in the design and delivery of courses in
the developmental program.
D.2Curricula
and practices that have proven to be effective within specific disciplines are
employed.
D.3 The
developmental education program addresses holistic development of all aspects of the
student.
D.4 Culturally
Responsive Teaching theory and practices are applied to all aspects of the
developmental instructional programs and services.
Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success in California Community Colleges – Executive Summary
5
D. 5
A high degree of structure is provided in developmental education courses.
D.6
evelopmental education faculty employ a variety of instructional methods to
D
accommodate student diversity.
D.7
rograms align entry/exit skills among levels and link course content to college-level
P
performance requirements.
D.8
Developmental education faculty routinely share instructional strategies.
D.9
Faculty and advisors closely monitor student performance.
D.10
rograms provide comprehensive academic support mechanisms, including the use of
P
trained tutors.
Self-Assessment Tool
The examples from the 33 California community
colleges and nine out-of-state institutions that were
reviewed reinforce the effective practices identified in
the literature. The majority of these institutions employs a combination of several such practices.
However, except for course instruction, the common denominator across all developmental
programs employing a combination of these effective practices is the limited number of students
served in any one year. In order to effectively serve the large student population needing
developmental education, California community colleges will
be challenged to expand these programs.
The purpose of the
self-assessment tool
is to allow colleges to
determine how their
current practices fit
with and reflect the
findings from the
literature.
The self-assessment tool is directly linked to the findings
from the literature review. It is organized around the four
major areas and the 26 effective practices listed above.
In addition, the self-assessment tool contains a variety of
suggested strategies for accomplishing each effective practice,
as well as a series of prompts which assist institutions in
evaluating their current relationship to each effective practice.
A culminating Planning Matrix for each section allows an
institution to develop a plan for changes, enhancements, or
modifications.
The purpose of the self-assessment tool is to allow colleges
to determine how their current practices fit with and reflect the
findings from the literature regarding what are known to be effective
practices for basic skills students. The reflection encourages institutions to examine the scope
and efficacy of current practices. Based upon this internal review, an institution may determine
which augmentations, changes, or new initiatives might be beneficial and plan for how those
augmentations, changes, or new initiatives can occur. In addition, the self-assessment can serve as
a baseline measure, allowing an institution to identify its practices and priorities as of a particular
point in time.
6
Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success in California Community Colleges – Executive Summary
Where to Put the New
Basic Skills Funds: A Tool
To Estimate Costs and
Downstream Revenue
As will be referenced in numerous places in
this document, research has fairly consistently
demonstrated that the historical “one instructor,
one classroom, limited suite of support services”
model to developmental education is not
particularly effective. However, it is still the
prevalent model offered to the vast majority of our
California community college students. Many of the effective practices identified in the Literature
Review can be found interspersed throughout California campuses, most commonly with relatively
small programs addressing limited numbers of students. There are many reasons for the fairly
restricted occurrence and scope of these programs, including:
• limited awareness about the literature and its findings;
• a need for paradigm shifts in the thinking of campus administrators, faculty, and staff;
• a concomitant need for organizational change;
• a lack of historically detailed institutional research to provide hard data evaluating program
results; and
• a desire to pilot programs to determine effectiveness, often without sufficient institutional
commitment to evaluate potential efficacy.
Arguably, the most critical factor historically limiting them has been their perceived cost to the
campuses. Against a backdrop of limited resources that exists in the California community college
system in an absolute sense, as well as relative to other state systems, the cost of deviating from the
traditional model of developmental education is a significant concern. Thus, as the literature and
local data lead us to investigate the need for colleges to “do things differently,” we are drawn to a
discussion of the cost-effectiveness of these alternate approaches for individual colleges. Aside from
the numerous moral/ethical responses to this concern and the greater economic payback to society
cited elsewhere in this document, there are real, college-level economic reasons that alternate
approaches to basic skills at the very least go a long way towards paying for themselves, and in
many cases may very well result in a net economic benefit to the college.
This section examines this incremental revenue approach and includes a description of a simple
modeling tool that we have developed using Microsoft Excel to look at the potential additional
revenue these alternate programs may generate. The goal of this section is to provide a different
way of thinking about the cost of these alternate developmental education programs. This approach
is not without its parameters and caveats, but as colleges look to potentially expand small programs
in order to more systemically improve developmental student outcomes, we feel that this different
perspective is very important.
Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success in California Community Colleges – Executive Summary
7
CCCCO Student Success Awards
PREVIOUS AWARD WINNERS
2010 CHANCELLOR’S STUDENT SUCCESS AWARD
SAN BERNARDINO VALLEY COLLEGE
The Valley-Bound Commitment
Honorable Mention: El Camino College, Santa Ana College & Sierra College
2009 CHANCELLOR’S STUDENT SUCCESS AWARD
LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE
Long Beach College Promise & Student Success Initiative
LOS RIOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
The Education Initiative
Honorable Mention: Chabot-Las Positas CCD & West Valley College
2008 CHANCELLOR’S STUDENT SUCCESS AWARD
CHAFFEY COLLEGE
Chino Institute for Women’s Associate’s Degree Program
VICTOR VALLEY COLLEGE
The K-16 Bridge Program
2007 CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR BEST PRACTICES IN STUDENT EQUITY
SANTA BARBARA COLLEGE
Partnership for Student Success
VICTOR VALLEY COLLEGE
The Teaching-Learning Center
2006 CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR BEST PRACTICES IN STUDENT EQUITY
MT. SAN A NTONIO COLLEGE
Achieving Student Empowerment through Equity & Diversity
SADDLEBACK COLLEGE
Kaleidoscope of Diversity “Commitment to Diversity”
2005 CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR BEST PRACTICES IN STUDENT EQUITY
MODESTO JUNIOR COLLEGE
Commitment to Diversity
SAN DIEGO & IMPERIAL COUNTIES COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Association (SDICCCA) Regional Faculty Internship Program
Honorable Mention: Foothill-DeAnza CCD & Los Angeles CCD
2004 CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR BEST PRACTICES IN STUDENT EQUITY
CITRUS CCD, DESERT CCD, NAPA VALLEY CCD, PALO VERDE CCD, PALOMAR CCD,
SAN JOSE-EVERGREEN CCD, SANTA MONICA CCD, SOLANO CCD, VICTOR VALLEY CCD,
WEST HILLS CCD, WEST KERN CCD
Awards provided by:
FOUNDATION for CALIFORNIA
COMMUNITY COLLEGES
2011
CHANCELLOR’S
STUDENT SUCCESS
AWARD
FOR SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TOWARD
ACHIEVING S TUDENT EQUITY GOALS
A ND SUCCESS FOR A LL S TUDENTS
2011 CHANCELLOR’S STUDENT SUCCESS AWARD
For significant progress toward achieving student equity goals and success for all students
CERRITOS COLLEGE
LOS A NGELES PIERCE COLLEGE
iFALCON
Algebra Success at Pierce (ASAP)
At a time when a college degree is ever more important for finding a job,
a significant number of students attending Cerritos possess one or more
of the risk factors associated with not completing their educational
goals. Ninety-three percent lack basic skills, 40% fail to succeed in
coursework, 85% are ethnic minorities, over 60% are from low-income
neighborhoods and describe themselves as first-generation college
students. In fall 2009, more stringent graduation requirements took
effect, and the consequences for these students added another threat to
their completion of a degree, a certificate, or university transfer.
The 2011 ARCC report reveals that Cerritos has exceeded their
objectives in all five areas: improve percentage of first-time students
achieving transfer to 4-year university, earned AA/AS degree or
certificate, or achieving transfer directed or transfer-prepared status;
increase retention of first-year students; increase percentage of students
who earn at least 30 units; improve percentage of students successfully
completing math, English, and reading basic skills courses; and improve
progression rates of students through basic skills math, English and reading
course sequences.
iFALCON’s Six “Habits of Mind” Essential to
Academic Success
The year one evaluation by the external evaluator demonstrated
significant results, particularly as it impacted first-year students and
orientation. Integration of the program’s academic success skills in new
student orientation has significant impact on student expectations and
engagement. Cerritos counseling staff has embraced the iFALCON
skills and have begun to integrate them into Summer Connections and
mandatory assessment, orientation, and counseling beginning in 2012.
In addition to ARCC data and the work of the external evaluator, the
college is creating and instituting internal measures of the campaign’s
effectiveness. The college’s first Student Engagement Survey was
administered to 3,000 students from across the curriculum in spring
2011. The results were disaggregated across the six iFALCON habits of
mind, creating a snapshot of students’ own perspectives on their
academic skills and performance.
To address the significant problem of student success, Cerritos College
led by the Faculty Senate, developed the iFALCON campaign, which
identifies six “habits of mind” essential to academic success and is
centered on the mnemonic device of the college mascot, the falcon:
Focus, Advance, Link Up, Comprehend, Organize, and New Ideas. The
objective of the faculty-initiated, student-supported initiative is to
nurture a campus culture of learning where the elements of student
success are infused throughout the curriculum, student support services
and campus governance. iFALCON is founded on the premise, backed
by research that lagging achievement among students is rooted in
academic and behavioral experiential deficits. Most of our students have
never had the opportunity to develop the habits of mind that support
student success. And this has translated to students sitting in classrooms
with limited awareness of why they are struggling, and how they can help
themselves thrive.
Four Strategies
iFALCON began in spring 2009 and by fall the college was awarded a
five-year grant to implement the following four strategies to foster a
campus-wide cultural change centered around this campaign: (1) Help
students recognize and develop the iFALCON habits of mind through
co-curricular and extracurricular resources, (2) Support instruction and
outreach via the iFALCON habits of mind through professional
development, (3) Infuse the iFALCON habits of mind into
developmental education programs and curriculum, and (4) Coordinate
institutional services and programs to support the iFALCON campaign.
Impact of iFALCON
Three measures were used to assess the impact of the program: Annual
Accountability Reporting for the Community Colleges (ARCC) data, an
external evaluator, and internal assessment tools. By all measures, the
iFALCON campaign has already demonstrated significant achievement
in orienting the college culture around student success.
Finally, the iFALCON campaign has been influential in changing the
campus culture, most significantly in a major reorganization of academic
divisions and in the creation of a new Division of Academic Success and
Institutional Effectiveness, instituted in January 2011. Responsible for
planning and implementing a new Success Center, the division has
eliminated the formerly disconnected program and services “silos” on
campus, eliminating redundancy and centralizing them for a common,
proactive, campus-wide approach to student support services and
academic success.
Launched in 2008, Algebra Success at Pierce (ASAP) is designed to
allow students to complete the algebra sequence “as soon as possible”.
ASAP is an accelerated math program that reduces the developmental
math sequence length and eliminates traditional exit points in the
sequence. It takes students through the algebra sequence in a single
semester while providing additional support like counseling,
course-embedded tutoring, and study and learning skills instruction.
The Four Components of ASAP
ASAP’s four course components are: elementary algebra, intermediate
algebra, a college success course and a one-unit math study skills
course. The beginning and intermediate algebra courses are blended
together into a single course, eliminating duplication of curriculum in
the traditional two-semester sequence. The math study skills course is
blended into the math instruction so that students learn
mathematical concepts along with study skills required for success.
The math courses are paired with a college success course. This
course is taught by a counselor who provides students with the
opportunity to build the essential skills and knowledge required for
student success.
The result is an environment in which students learn to create an
education plan, manage their time, and study for tests all within the
context of their math coursework. Instructors coordinate assignments
and course outlines so that students benefit from a core, seamless
curriculum in math and college success. Students are required to add
all four components as a condition of participation. Students are
encouraged to form learning cohorts, develop study groups and
support networks, and build relationships with instructors that will
continue to provide them with support far beyond the successful
completion of the learning community.
ASAP’s three major goals are to increase the number of students who
successfully complete both elementary and intermediate algebra,
ensure that students who successfully complete ASAP perform as well
as non-ASAP students, and ensure that students who successfully
complete ASAP are successful in subsequent math classes.
ASAP Works for All Students
Success, persistence, and transfer-level math completion rates for
ASAP participants are significantly higher for students in all ethnic
groups. While the percent of beginning algebra students who
successfully complete the traditional developmental math sequence is
21.7%, ASAP students have a 62.2% success rate through this same
sequence in a single semester.
Increases in persistence and success rates are particularly
encouraging for African American and Latino students, who
traditionally struggle in math courses. For African American
students in beginning algebra, the success rate is 49.3% for
non-ASAP students, and 66.7% for ASAP students. The number of
African American students who go on to enroll in intermediate
algebra is also higher for ASAP participants. From the original
cohort of African American, non-ASAP students who enroll in
beginning algebra, only 15.6% successfully complete intermediate
algebra; while 59.5% of African American ASAP participants
succeed in intermediate algebra. For Latino students, only 50.7% of
non-ASAP students successfully complete beginning algebra, while
71.9% of Latino ASAP participants pass beginning algebra. More
Latino ASAP participants enroll in and complete intermediate
algebra after successfully completing beginning algebra than
non-ASAP participants. While the average non-ASAP pass rate for
the beginning algebra course is 57.3%, the ASAP pass rate for
beginning algebra is 70.2%. The average persistence rate of a cohort
from beginning algebra to intermediate algebra is 31.8% for
non-ASAP students, while the average persistence rate for ASAP
students is 69.8%. Of those students who go on to enroll in
intermediate algebra, the pass rate for that course for ASAP students
is also strikingly higher. In addition, students who successfully
complete ASAP, perform as well on the department’s common
assessment instrument, the MET, as students in the traditional
intermediate algebra course. The program has also seen gains in
persistence and success rates beyond developmental math courses
into transfer-level math courses.
ASAP’s Impact at Los Angeles Pierce College
The success of ASAP has had reverberating effects throughout the
campus. These results were shared widely with the community and
presented at various statewide conferences. The program has been
scaled, institutionalized, and emulated in other areas. The program
has grown from a single cohort offering to now five cohorts offered
each semester. The funding sources for this program have become
increasingly institutionalized over the past year. The success of this
program led the college’s English department to launch a pilot for
accelerated developmental English.
The Los Angeles Pierce College ASAP program is a noteworthy
model of Student Success that has demonstrated significant
outcomes for students and has impacted the college in a positive way.