Two California community college
programs designed to improve student success will
be recognized as part of the Exemplary Program
Awards, sponsored by the California Community
College Board of Governors and funded with individual
$4,000 cash awards provided by the Foundation
for California Community Colleges.
This year's Exemplary Program Awards will presented
to Santa Barbara City College's Gateway to Success
Program and Santa Ana College's Center for Teacher
Education. The awards will be presented by the
Board of Governor's President Cathy Unger, system
Chancellor Thomas J. Nussbaum, the Academic Senate
for California Community Colleges President Kate
Clark, and the Foundation for California President
Larry Toy on January 12, 2004, during a Board
of Governors meeting in Sacramento.
Santa Barbara City College
— Gateway to Success Program
The Gateway to Success is a highly collaborative
program to improve student success in the large
transfer classes by providing high-quality supplementary
instruction to selected students who, according
to early assessment, may be at risk. Because they
serve as gateways to fulfilling degree, certificate
and transfer requirements, success in these core
courses is critical for students in achieving
their academic goals. The Program provides a well-organized
structure in which students interact with tutors
who, in consultation with the instructor, provide
students with highly focused supplemental tutoring.
One instructor comments, "I am certain there
are several students in each class who have been
able to complete the class or have received a
passing grade because of the assistance and guidance
they received from the tutors." Program results
clearly show that the success rates of Gateway
students have substantially surpassed the average
college success rate in every course every semester.
Santa Ana College —
Center for Teacher Education
The Center for Teacher Education program, initiated
in 1999 with support from a Fund for Student Success
grant, centralizes comprehensive student services
that provide outreach, counseling, and academic
support to students interested in pursing a career
in public K-12 education. Students have access
to a clearinghouse of information and resources
as they navigate the requirements for teacher
credentialing in California. Santa Ana College,
in responding to the critical need for qualified
teachers in California, has centralized in the
Center a myriad of activities related to the successful
identification, retention, and transfer of teacher
education students such as engaging faculty across
disciplines in teacher education and expanding
articulation with universities. The Center helps
students reach their academic potential; transfer
to CSU, UC, or an independent university; and
become excellent teachers.
Honorable mention plaques will be presented
to Los Angeles City College Pi Shop, Los Medanos
Support Players Offering Resources to Transfer
(SPORT), Reedley College Student Athlete Retention
Program (SARP), and Sierra College's Writing Center.
Los Angeles City College
—"Pi Shop"
The primary goals of the "Pi Shop,"
a course established in 1998 with the support
from a Fund for Student Success grant, are to
increase student enrollment, success rates, and
retention in math courses. Through one-on-one
peer tutoring and mentoring geared toward at-risk
students enrolled in mathematics courses, the
Pi Shop course provides students with a user-friendly,
non-threatening environment in which they can
get help with basic skills, address their math
anxiety, hone their test-taking strategies, and
engage in informal counseling and advising for
their majors. Overall, Pi Shop students enjoy
a much higher rate of success in their other math
courses than do their non-Pi Shop peers. Participating
students in both preparatory and advanced math
classes have a success rate that exceeds that
of their non-participating peers by nearly 30%.
By offering an open, attractive, learning-centered
environment for students of all backgrounds and
skill levels, this program has humanized mathematics
instruction and contributed to City College's
mathematics department being one of the most actively
engaged in student learning on campus.
Los Medanos — Support
Players Offering Resources to Transfer (SPORT)
This program was established to assist student
athletes in meeting their potential in the classroom
as well as on the sports field and to be able
to transfer on to the next level of competition
and finish their education at a four-year institution.
SPORT coordinates services and programs that address
the individual needs of student athletes across
the areas of transfer, general education, developmental
education, and student services. The program packages
key resources to encourage greater and more effective
participation. Student athletes are introduced
to first semester services such as assessment,
orientation, and educational planning and offered
additional services of academic monitoring and
parent orientation. Traditional tutoring services
are provided in a collective, team approach familiar
to most team sport athletes. SPORT strives to
make student athletes winners in the classroom
as well as on the field of athlete competition.
Reedley College —
Student Athlete Retention Program (SARP)
The Student Athlete Retention Program (SARP),
initiated in 1999, focuses on improving student
retention, persistence and academic success along
with increasing graduation and transfer rates
to four-year universities. SARP provides a comprehensive
approach to assisting student athletes in achieving
their educational goals through supplemental services
such as flexible tutorial hours, extensive progress
monitoring and follow up, and intrusive counseling
services. The program's main goal is to provide
student athletes with supportive services to ensure
that they comply with the academic standards set
by the Commission on Athletic and National Collegiate
Association of Athletics and University Admissions.
SARP is designed to promote academic success and
preparation for successful citizenship beyond
the athlete experience.
Sierra College —
Sierra College Writing Center
The Sierra College Writing Center, established
in 1993, provides the entire college community
with writing resources to supplement instructional
work in the classroom. The Center provides students
with a variety of self-paced materials, individual
instruction, computers for essay composition,
and a variety of take-away publications, as well
as advice on research and MLA citation. The Center
serves as many as 190 students per day. However,
despite the numbers, no student has long to wait
for assistance because all members of the staff
are dedicated to student service. This program
embodies the Sierra College mission: "to
facilitate learning, inspire change and build
community."
