California Community College Basic Skills Initiative

How Many Are Enrolled in Basic Skills Classes? BSI June Regional Meetings How Many Are Enrolled in Basic Skills Classes? 70-85% assess into basic skills 27.4% take basic skills classes Where are the rest? Joan or Wade

What is the cost of remediation? The Cost of Remedial Education by Dr. Vicki Murray 2008

What is the cost of remediation? Diploma to Nowhere by Strong Schools 2008

What are the CCC’s Doing? An Analysis of Basic Skills Action Plans

Area B - Program Component integrated counseling and instruction 43% (44/103 colleges) B 3.1 41% (42/103 colleges) identified a proactive counseling advising structure that includes intensive monitoring and advising Planned actions increasing counseling through additional hires designating counselors to students w/ basic skills needs increasing office hours collaborations with instruction through “early alert” programs better communication about student services & workshops and increasing workshops

What are the CCC’s Doing? An Analysis of Basic Skills Action Plans – 11 Highest and 11 lowest Colleges – A difference of 44.6%

More Info on the two groups Both high and low completion rates were found at Geographically diverse FTES ranging from very small to very large Urban and rural colleges Some in each group were close to 4 year institutions Some in each group were far from 4 year institutions (1 of the highest rates did not have an action plan; 2 of the lowest had unusable plans)

More Info on difference between the 2 groups An examination of the more successful colleges revealed their Basic Skills Plans had nothing in common with the lowest colleges Basic Skills Plans

So does ANYTHING Work??

Mr. Anderson, may I be excused? We put basic skills students in exactly the same learning environments in which they have failed to learn for years and expect them to succeed. Mr. Anderson, may I be excused? My brain is full.

We put basic skills FACULTY in exactly the same learning environment in which they have failed to learn for years and expect them to succeed. Next time don’t suck so hard.

FIG Action Plan Ask a research question/Identify a problem Create a hypothesis Review the secondary research Create outcomes Conduct primary research Review and evaluate Disseminate findings

Chaffey College – Who Are Our Students? 96% of students assessed are under-prepared in either math, reading, or writing 65% are deficient in all 3 categories 31% are first generation college students 21% have been out of school 5 or more years Over 80% declare transfer as their goal

Basic Skills Success Rates Success is defined as an A, B, C, or CR grade. Success Rate is computed by dividing successful grades (A, B, C, and CR grades) by grades on record (A, B, C, D, F, CR, NC, I, and W grades) 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 Success Rates 57.2% 56.2% 54.9%

Creation of Success Centers Instructional Program Faculty Leadership Serve all students and faculty Student-centered learning community Creation of new faculty positions; Multiple Levels of staff support [INSERT BACKGROUND GRAPHIC]

Learning Center Pedagogy Promotes individualized instruction and learning Promotes collaborative learning Ensures a risk-free environment De-emphasizes grades and judgment Promotes affective development of the learner Promotes a sense of community with the institution Supports and imitates the values of the classroom

Unduplicated Number and Percent of Students Who Accessed into Success Centers Annually “Percentage of Student Population Each Semester Who Accessed Success Centers” was determined by dividing the number of students who accessed success centers each semester by total unduplicated student population reported on end-of-term MIS submission. Number of Students Each Year Who Access the Success Centers (Annual) 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 Accessed Success Center 7,573 11,712 12,526 11,991 12,746 Unduplicated Headcount 28,312 31,531 28,741 27,596 27,857

Relationship between Success Center Access and Success in Transfer Courses: 2004 – 2005 Keith Wurtz The ES is .28 and p < .001. On average, students who accessed the success center for a transfer level course had a 10% higher success rate than students in the sections who did not access a success center.

Relationship between Success Center Access and Success for Basic Skills Students Keith Wurtz Compares EOPS Students who accessed Success Center to other EOPS Students who did not access a success center. This is not be section. The ES is .14 and p < .001. On average, students who accessed the success center had a 6% higher success rate than students in the sections who did not access a success center.

Percent of Degree & Certificate Earners Who Completed at Least One “Basic Skills” Course Degree and certificate earners were identified by the annual period (Summer, Fall, Spring semesters) in which the degree/certificate was awarded. To determine whether the degree/certificate earner successfully completed at least one pre-collegiate level course, I examined the five year window of course-taking behavior that preceded degree/certificate award (e.g., if the student earned a degree/certificate in 2002-03, I examined all course activity from Summer 1998 through Spring 2003). If the student successfully completed at least one pre-collegiate course (based upon examination of MIS data element CB08 (course-basic-skills-status), I flagged the student as a degree/certificate earner who had completed at least one pre-collegiate skill level course.

Percent of Transfer Students Percent of Students Who Completed at Least One “Basic Skills” Course Who Subsequently Transferred to a Four-Year Institution Percent of Transfer Students Using NSC data, identified cohorts by transfer year and examined five year window prior to transfer to determine whether student had successfully completed at least foundation skills course. As the data indicates, the percentage of transfer students who have completed at least one foundation skills course in the five years has gradually increased.

Puente Student Profile Latino students: highest dropout rate in community colleges (94.1% of Latinos in CA won’t complete their AA Degree) From families with no college experience From low-income areas Have a record of low performance for participation in college-track classes Most test at pre-transfer level English course skill level  

Puente Student Profile Fluent English speakers Many are second or third generation Mexican/Americans  Generally avoid counselors and English classes Inexperienced writers Grade point averages are quite low Unclear career goals Few are likely to transfer to four-year colleges and universities  

Integrates Three Areas of Service Teaching Counseling Mentoring Today: 65 community colleges 36 high schools

Puente Works! Only 7% of the first-time freshmen who enter CA community colleges with the goal of transferring actually do so. Among Puente students who have transferred to the UC, 95.6% graduate within four years, as compared with 73% for all transfer students and 62% for Chicano transfer students

Puente Works! Nearly twice as many Puente community college students transfer to four-year colleges or universities as do underrepresented students statewide. Term-to-term retention rate of Puente students is 92%, compared with 60% for community college students statewide.   Among students who have transferred, 91% believe that the Puente class prepared them for college-level reading and writing and 83% believe their Puente counselor did a good job preparing them for transfer.

We need an educated California!

Thank you Additional Questions and Comments