Goal

Activity Progress

 A. Access

Increase the proportionality index of Veterans and African American Students by 5% in four years.

Increasing Access and Support to Veterans has begun with the support of a part-time assistant focused on outreach. We added English and math tutoring and are increasing program visibility by improving program materials and conducting several activities over the Spring 2017 semester. In addition, Green Zone Training was provided to counseling faculty. In Fall 2015, 199 student veterans were Chapter 33 Post /911 and that increased 53% to 305 in Spring 2017.

Goal

Activity Progress

B. Course Completion

Increase Course Completion for Foster Youth, African American, and Pacific Islander students by 5% in four years.

Increase course completion rate for Latinos by 2.5% in four years, as we try to improve the number of courses lost.

We expanded our Reading Success Center (RSC), which provides support to students, including one-on-one tutoring, in any discipline and especially in courses where we have observed large equity gaps. From Fall 2015 to Spring 2017, the RSC had over 5,500 student visits and served over 1,600 students, of whom approximately 53% were Latino and 20% were African American, which are two of our student equity target populations. Furthermore, the RSC offered 28 workshops per year in areas including reading comprehension, medical vocabulary, and scholarship application support, among others.

We established the Guardian Scholars Program to support foster youth and we are actively recruiting students. The program provides assistance with testing, college orientation, and educational planning. In Spring 2015, we recruited 156 Foster Youth to the program and by Fall 2015, we had 185 members, an increase of 19%. We recently convened an Advisory Board to support outreach efforts.

We added Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) to courses with large equity gaps. PASS sessions are led by equity-minded-trained mentors that closely collaborate with faculty to design weekly sessions. In Spring 2017, we offered PASS sections in 11 courses, which enrolled 401 students – 122% more than the number of students in PASS sections in the previous term. English 1A and English 84 have had sections with PASS mentors since Spring 2015. In the four most recent terms, the PASS sections of English 1A had higher success rates than the non-PASS sections. The margin of difference between the PASS and non-PASS sections of English 1A ranged from 8 percentage points in Spring 2017 to 18 percentage points in Fall 2015. When all five terms were combined, English 84 students in PASS sections were slightly more successful (success rate = 64%) than their peers in non-PASS sections (success rate = 62%). The PASS sections of English 84 had higher success rates than the non-PASS sections in Spring 2015, Fall 2015, and Spring 2017, but lower success rates in Spring 2016 and Fall 2016.

Statistics Math Review Workshops have been offered each semester since Spring 2016.Approximately four to seven workshops – focused on Algebra, Statistics, and STEM Mathematics – served over 200 students. A report on the effectiveness of the program is pending

Goal

Activity Progress

C. ESL and Basic Skills Course Completion

Increase basic skills Math and English completion rates for African American, Pacific Islander, and identified disability students by 10% in four years.

Increase basic skills ESL completion rate for Latino and Females by 10% in four years

The Knowledgeable, Engaged, and Aspiring Students (KEAS) Program supports students who have placed into pre-college level coursework in English or Math. The KEAS Program has a student lounge that provides several services and resources. In addition, the KEAS Program has dedicated sections of select math and English courses, in which students receive extra support.

We launched KEAS in Fall 2015 with part-time program support in four Math and English basic skills courses, which had a combined total of 105 enrollments. In Summer 2016, we expanded the program and hired a full-time program coordinator, an advisor, two counselors, and part-time tutors. In Winter 2017, we secured a space in our Student Activities Center for a new study lounge and computer lab. In total, from Fall 2015 to Spring 2017, over 600 students took advantage of services offered in the KEAS lounge, logging over 8,000 student visits. During the same period, over 1,200 counselor appointments took place in the KEAS lounge.

From Fall 2015 to Spring 2017, there were 776 enrollments in KEAS sections of English and math courses. In Fall 2016, the overall success rate was 68% in the four KEAS English sections and 52% in the four KEAS math sections. The overall retention rate was 92% in the KEAS English sections and 80% in the KEAS math sections. In five of those courses, the success rates for the KEAS sections were greater than the success rates for the non-KEAS sections. Students who visited the study lounge were more successful in the KEAS English and Math sections than those who did not visit the lounge.

We offer a three-week Math Academy in the summer and winter for students who want to improve their math course placement level. A higher placement gives students the opportunity to move from remedial to transfer-level math courses more quickly. From 2013 to 2016, over 1,000 students participated in a Math Academy. Over that period, 59% of participants improved their math course placement test scores. Nearly three-quarters of participants went on to enroll in a math course in the term following the Academy. Of those students, 56% received passing grades in their math courses.

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a series of peer- led, weekly review sessions held outside of class. These sessions allow students to compare notes, discuss important concepts, take mock tests, and develop strategies for studying and learning. SI sessions are led by trained peer SI Coaches. In total, from Fall 2015 to Spring 2017, 896 students have made use of the SI sessions, and thus far, these students have passed at higher rates than their classmates who did not attend SI sessions.

The Summer Reading and Writing Academy helps students refresh their English skills, with the goal of improving their placement in the English course sequence. Participants can retake the English course placement test after the two weeks of instruction. Of the 40 students who participated in the program in 2016, 38% improved their placement in writing and 73% improved their placement in reading. While only one participant jumped two levels in writing, nearly one-third of participants (12 students) improved their Reading placement by two levels. Further, 41% of participants no longer required remedial reading courses after the program’s completion and 38% of students were required to take only one remedial course before moving on to English 1A, the first transfer level course in the English sequence. Finally, all 40 Academy participants enrolled in at least one English course in Fall 2016.

Goals

Activity Progress

D. Degree and Certificate

Increase degree and certificate completion rates for African American and Latino students by 10% in four years.

We established Career & Technical Education Faculty Learning Teams in four programs: 

Cosmetology, Fire Technology, Electronic & Computer Hardware, and Automotive Technology. Those teams have participated in the Student Equity Re-Envisioned Professional Development, in which they discussed how to close equity gaps in educational outcomes. While we cannot yet assess the effects of these efforts on degree and certificate completion, participating faculty have been implementing changes in their classrooms.

For example, in Spring 2017, the Introduction to Electronics course offered PASS sessions to its students. Of the 42 students enrolled in the course, 40% attended at least one PASS session. Students who attended PASS sessions were more successful than the students who did not; 82% of them received passing grades in the electronics course, compared to only 32% of their peers who did not attend a PASS session.

Goal

Activity Progress

E. Transfer

Increase transfer rates for Foster Youth, African American, Latinos, Pacific Islander, and identified Disability students by 5% in four years.

We created a second cohort of students in the Puente Project, doubling the number of new students served by the program, which. By adding a second cohort of Phase 1 students in Fall 2016, the Puente Program can increase its impact and visibility on campus. Prior to Fall 2016, the Puente Program served approximately 140 students a year, in three different phases. With the addition of the second cohort, there will be approximately 175 students each year, a 25% increase in the number students supported. In general, Puente students have had higher course success and retention rates than students who are not involved in Puente. In Fall 2016, of the 133 course enrollments by Puente students, 83% resulted in passing grades, while the overall success rate for El Camino College (ECC) students was 69%.

The MESA Personal Success Plan (PSP) has served 132 students to date. The majority (63%) of participating students was Latino; 15% were African American; 13% were Asian; 8% were White; and 1% was Pacific Islander. The project served more male students than female students; 72% of participants were male. Of the students we targeted, 48% chose to participate in the PSP project, and 66% of participants showed improvement in course completion and program participation, when compared to prior semesters. Seven percent of the students in the first cohort transferred in Fall 2017 (4 Latino, 3 Asian, and 2 African American students).

In 2016, we established the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Equity initiative. This case management support program assists students in reaching their educational and career goals through mentorship, culturally engaged workshops, trainings, field trips, and learning community classes. AAPI activities provide a culturally affirming educational experience, in order to disrupt the perpetuation of disproportionate academic achievement that affects students from minority communities. More specifically, AAPI aims to increase the transfer rate of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students at ECC. Ultimately, the goal of AAPI is to engage, enrich, and empower. Since the initiative began, 233 students have participated in AAPI activities and over 50 faculty and staff members have attended the culturally relevant training.

Goals

Activity Progress

F. College and District Wide Initiatives

Activities affecting several goals across success indicators.

Student Equity Re-envisioned (SER) is a community of faculty and staff that focuses on best practices to address disproportionate impact and student equity. SER provides faculty with frameworks for creating culturally sensitive learning environments. SER faculty strives to create learning environments shaped by equity- minded curriculum design. To date, the program has trained 80 faculty and 150 staff members. Seminars have included topics on the importance of disaggregating course completion data and the role that ethnicity and race play in achieving equity.

We created a new Student Services Specialist position in Summer 2016 to support, develop, and promote campus-wide equity initiatives and events for students, faculty, staff, and managers.

We convened a Student Equity Advisory Council with 34 members, which has supported 32 equity-related student clubs. The activities and events that have been offered include the following:

1. Cultural Heritage Month Events and Programs (over 500 participants): Latino and Hispanic Heritage Month; American Indian History Month; Black History Month; Women’s History Month; Asian Pacific American Heritage Month; Social Justice Fair; and Chicano Heritage Celebration.

2. The Student Empowerment Dialogue Series (over 200 participants): Muslim in America; Black in America; and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer in America.

3. The Intergroup Dialogue Student Training (over 100 participants), which resulted in an increase in the number of equity identified student clubs; a Student Equity Club Mixer; and the creation of a Student Equity Advisory Council.

Goal

Activities

Goal Area