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Sacramento City College Strategic Planning System

Title: Basic Skills Initiative Plan Type: Program Plan OPR: Associate Vice President of Instruction Collaborative Group(s): Basic Skills Initiative Steering Committee

Vice Presidents of Instruction, Student Services, and Administration Student Equity Committee Matriculation and Student Success Committee Learning Skills & Tutoring Center Writing Center Planning, Research, & Institutional Effectiveness Office Staff Resource Center English, ESL, Reading, Counseling, & Math departments/labs

Reference documents: Student Success Act of 2012; Sacramento City College Goals/Strategies, Mission, and Vision Statements; 2014 end-of-year report/action plan for the Basic Skills Initiative. Planning year: 2015-2016

SECTION I: Overview & Strategic Information A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION & PURPOSE The Basic Skills Initiative was established by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to address the academic needs of community college students in the essential basic skills. The purpose of the initiative is simple: to improve student access and success from the basic skills through completion of a degree/certificate or transfer. The initiative is intended to jointly address both instruction and student services in the essential basic skills areas, including appropriate mathematics, reading, writing, study skills, and ESL instruction. The activities used to achieve this mission include:

Offering well-trained and coordinated supplemental instruction for basic skills students within their classes and in support centers on campus

Implementing “just-in-time” and contextualized student support strategies to increase student success and completion in the basic skills

Integrating instruction with support services more thoroughly in basic skills classes

Providing faculty/staff professional development with the intention of increasing the success of students who need assistance in the basic skills

Coordinating, assessing, and evaluating our interventions, with the intention of continuous quality improvement and alignment with goals of the Student Equity and Student Success and Support Program plans

B. ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN External environment: Funding is changing for BSI: Since its inception back in 2006, SCC has spent BSI funds on a three-year spending cycle. In other words, we have been able to spend three-year-old money. As of 2015-16, there will be less carryover of BSI funds. At this point, we have been expecting a two-year spending cycle beginning in 2015-16 (allowing one year of carryover funds), but LeBaron Woodyard, Dean of Academic Affairs at the state chancellor’s office, has just notified BSI coordinators that the chancellor’s office will be pushing the board to change to a one-year spending cycle (meaning there will be no carryover funds in future). The Basic Skills Initiative program for Sacramento City College is directly impacted by the distinct emphasis on basic skills completion in the Student Success Task Force recommendations, particularly recommendations 5, 6.2, and, 8.3. Since the recommendations were adopted by the Board of Governors in 2012, California community colleges have been called to improve our education of basic skills students through innovative curriculum, pedagogy, support strategies, and appropriate professional development for faculty and staff. To support our efforts, the Chancellor’s office has created an electronic resource on Basic Skills Completion found at http://doingwhatmatters.cccco.edu/portals/6/docs/BSI_E-Resource_10-18-13.pdf. This resource highlights effective practices in the basic skills with special emphasis on (a) curricular/pedagogical redesign, (b) integration of student support and instruction, and (c) supplemental instruction/tutoring. Finally, to support our professional learning on effective practices in the basic skills, two entities are particularly helpful:

1. The California Community Colleges’ Success Network (3CSN), which provides professional development opportunities throughout California (via a grant housed in the LA Community College District), and

2. The Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group). 3CSN workshops support the goal of basic skills completion through professional development and communities of practice centered on themes such as: acceleration/curricular redesign of the basic skills, Habits of Mind (successful academic dispositions and attitudes), and Reading Apprenticeship (a system dedicated to reading across the disciplines). The RP Group offers the annual Strengthening Student Success conference and a yearlong Leading from the Middle Academy. Our college has sent teams to both of these events. RP Group and 3CSN workshops are increasingly linked to the Student Success Task Force recommendations and the Student Success Act of 2012. Internal environment: The Basic Skills Initiative was designed with the long-term ideal of colleges using BSI funds to seed programs based on effective practices, assess these programs, refine them, scale them up, and eventually institutionalize them. Here at SCC, the college has taken over the funding for several projects that the BSI initiated within the past eight years, such as the following:

English and ESL writing faculty serve as tutors for our Writing Center, assisting many basic skills students;

Student tutors provide supplemental instruction in several basic skills writing courses each year (Note: BSI funds are still being used for supplemental instruction in basic skills ESL, reading, and math.);

http://doingwhatmatters.cccco.edu/portals/6/docs/BSI_E-Resource_10-18-13.pdf


A full-time instructional assistant serves students in the Writing Center (Note: BSI funds are currently being used in the 2014-15 year for an additional temporary IA, but there is also a permanent IA funded by the college;

Building from the success in the BSI-funded Second Chance math program, math has developed a similar program to increase student success in statistics.

Each of the above interventions has become part of how our college operates, including staffing and the burden of most of the funding. Compared to when the Basic Skills Initiative began in 2006, the SCC community has become increasingly aware of the essential skills students need to succeed in college. This is evident by growing faculty involvement in BSI-related interventions and rising attendance at professional development opportunities relevant to the basic skills. When focused on the Basic Skills Initiative in 2014, the most noticeable changes in our internal environment are the simultaneous pushes of both the Student Success and Support Program (SSSP) and the Student Equity plan. The Basic Skills Initiative, Student Equity plan, and SSSP plan share many interests in common; consequently, we find a lot of braiding between these programs at Sacramento City College.

C. MULTI-YEAR DIRECTIONS OR STRATEGIES Two long-term goals guide the SCC Basic Skills Initiative program:

The percentage of basic skills-needs students who reach milestones on their way to their stated college/career goals will increase, through projects such as (a) supplemental instruction, (b) contextualized learning communities in the basic skills, and (c) integrating instruction with student support services.

Ownership and support of essential basic skills will increase across campus, through continuing expansion of professional development and interventions.

The aforementioned goals align clearly with the College Goals, chiefly SCC Goal A: Deliver student-centered programs and services that demonstrate a commitment to teaching and learning effectiveness and support student success in the achievement of basic skills, certificates, degrees, transfer, jobs and other student educational goals. In particular, the Basic Skills Initiative goals support SCC Strategy A4: Improve basic skills competencies in reading, writing, math, and information and technological competency across the curriculum in order to improve student preparedness for degree and certificate courses and for employment.

SECTION II: Operational Review and Plan A: REVIEW OF ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE PREVIOUS YEAR’S WORK

Objective Results/Progress

Objective 1: Supplemental instruction: Offer well-trained and coordinated supplemental instruction for basic skills students attached to their classes and in support centers on campus

62 sections of basic skills courses included supplemental instruction in the 2013-14 year, supported by BSI funds. (This is an increase from 41 sections with supplemental instruction in the 2012-13 year.) Supported by BSI funds, instructional assistants offered student support services for 1123.5 hours in the 2013-2014 academic year. (This is a huge increase. In 2012-13, BSI funded 585 IA hours.)

Objective 2: Student Support Strategies: Implement “just-in-time and/or contextualized student support strategies to increase student success and completion in the basic skills

Math “I’ve got to pass this class” program: 48 students regularly participated in math’s “I’ve got to Pass this Class” program in the 2013-14 year, supported by BSI funds (which paid for the instruction and tutoring). Pass rates varied. Math 100 Pass Class participants had higher pass rates than the average Math 100 pass rates (86% pass rate compared to the average of 40% pass rate in 2012-13 for Math 100. Math 120 numbers were less significant; it cannot be said that Pass Class had a positive impact on pass rates in 2012-13 for the Math 120 students. In spring 2014, 9 Math 123 students participated regularly, with 7 passing (78% pass rate), compared to the overall departmental pass rate of 55% for Math 123 in spring 2014. Math “Second Chance” program: 25 students participated in this program in the 2013-14 year, with 12 ultimately passing their class. This was supported by BSI funds (which paid for the instruction and tutoring).

Objective 3: Integrate instruction with support services: Integrate instruction with support services more thoroughly in basic skills classes

Counselors visited many sections of basic skills classes in the 2013-14 year, although this was not supported by BSI funds

Objective 4: Professional development: Provide faculty/staff professional development opportunities, with the intention of increasing the success of students who need assistance in the basic skills

According to the Staff Development program plan, six workshops offered were directly related to the BSI and six workshops supported Student Success Act recommendation 6.2 (which also focuses on the basic skills). Total attendance was 139. (This is consistent with 2012-13 professional development; total attendance at BSI-related workshops was 135.)

Objective 5: Coordination and assessment: Coordinate, assess, and evaluate interventions, with the intention of continuous quality improvement

In consult with PRIE and with the help of the Basic Skills Cohort Progress Tracking Tool, the BSI coordinator and BSI steering committee have been able to assess basic skills students’ progress in multiple ways, such as tracking longer term progress of whole cohorts of students as well as course completion. In the BSI steering committee meetings for 2013-14, the BSI coordinator has shared relevant research on best practices in the basic skills, particularly the research from the state chancellor’s office electronic resource (published October 2013) and the West Ed Completion by Design publication, “Integrating Student Supports and Academics” (2013); this new research was used specifically in the planning for the 2014-15 year. (The most notable example of the impact of this research was in the planning of the ESTEEM program to be described in Objective 3.)

B. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES/ MEASURES OF MERIT FOR THE PLANNING YEAR Objective 1: Supplemental Instruction: Offer well-trained and coordinated supplemental instruction provided by student tutors (called Student Instructional Assistants in math) and instructional assistants attached to basic skills classes and in support centers on campus.

Expected outcome: At least 50 sections of basic skills courses will include supplemental instruction through trained student tutors.

Expected outcome: All BSI student tutors will be thoroughly trained. Coordination will occur in Supplemental Instruction Assistant coordination meetings and within the Learning Skills & Tutoring Center.

Expected outcome: Successful completion rate for classes with supplemental instruction will be higher than the average for the same classes overall and when controlled for the same instructor.

Expected outcome – Reading Lab: Supplemental instruction will be provided for at least 500 students in fall 2015 and at least 450 students in spring 2016.

Expected outcome – Writing Center: Supplemental instruction will be provided for at least 600 students in fall 2015 and at least 600 students in spring 2016.

Expected outcome – Learning Skills & Tutoring Center: Supplemental instruction will be provided for at least 400 students in fall 2015 and at least 400 students in spring 2016.

Expected outcome – West Sacramento Learning Resource Center: Supplemental instruction (through the instructional assistant(s) specifically, if it is still possible to capture this number) will be provided for at least 200 students in fall 2015 and 200 students in spring 2016.

Objective 2: Student support strategies: Implement “just-in-time” and contextualized student support strategies to increase student success and completion in the basic skills.

Expected outcome: Students will participate in the following: o “I’ve got to Pass this Class” program (math boot camp in mid-semester) o “Second Chance” program (math program at the end of the semester) o Learning communities serving the basic skills (such as Pathways to Academic

Learning and Success, PALS) o Developmental Writing Assistance Program (DWAP) program serving students in

English Writing 51 through additional mentorship and instruction

Expected outcome for Pass Class: Course retention and success rates for students who regularly attend Pass this Class sessions will be higher than the average for students in the same classes overall.

Expected outcome for Second Chance: At least half of the students who participate in “Second Chance” will succeed in passing their math classes.

Expected outcome for BSI-related learning communities and DWAP: Course retention and success rates for these students will be higher than the average for students in the same classes overall.

Objective 3: Integrating instruction with support services: Integrate instruction with support services more thoroughly in basic skills classes using Essential Support Teams in English, ESL, and Math (known as the ESTEEM program).

Expected outcome: At least 30 sections of basic skills courses will integrate support services through the ESTEEM program

Expected outcome: Successful completion and course retention rates for basic skills students in ESTEEM will be higher than the average for basic skills students overall.

Expected outcome: Within the 2015-16 year, an exploration will be conducted to determine if ESTEEM is a good fit for English, reading, and ESL.

Objective 4: Professional development: Provide faculty/staff professional development opportunities, with the intention of increasing the success of students who need assistance in the basic skills.

Expected outcome: Participants in professional development workshops targeting the basic skills will expand beyond the current core group.

Expected outcome: At least one BSI-related workshop will target instruction/student services integration.

Expected outcome: At least one BSI-related workshop will target student equity and culturally responsive instruction.

Objective 5: Coordination and assessment: Coordinate, assess, and evaluate interventions, with the intention of continuous quality improvement and alignment with goals of the Student Equity and Student Success & Support Program (SSSP) plans.

Expected outcome: Success rates of students involved in BSI-related programs will be assessed in multiple ways, in consult with the office of Planning, Research, and Institutional Effectiveness.

Expected outcome: Assessment results will be used by the BSI Coordinator and others responsible for interventions to improve the quality of the interventions.

Expected outcome: The BSI Coordinator will be involved with future planning of goals and activities for SSSP and Student Equity to enhance student support and prevent duplication of services.

C. PROCEDURES AND RESOURCE REQUIRMENTS FOR THE PLANNING YEAR: See table on next page.

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Basic Skills Initiative Program 2015-2016

Objective Procedure Timeline Responsible persons

Resource Requirements IT, Staff, Facilities, etc.

Funding Source(s)

Objective 1: Supplemental Instruction: Offer well-trained and coordinated supplemental instruction for basic skills students within their classes and in support centers on campus.

Procedure 1a: Provide coordination of Student Instructional Assistants (SIAs/student tutors) in math.

Ongoing

SIA coordination meetings are

held in August and January

Math SIA/BSI Co-coordinators; BSI Coordinator

Faculty employee service agreements: $4,300

BSI funds allocated by the State Chancellor’s Office

Procedure 1b: Provide student tutors to offer supplemental instruction in the basic skills (reading, ESL, and math).

Ongoing BSI Coordinator; Math SIA/BSI Coordinators; Math Lab Coordinator Learning Skills & Tutoring Center Coordinator and Tutorial Services Assistant

Student tutors/SIAs: $40,000


Procedure 1c: Provide temporary instructional assistants to support the Writing Center, Learning Skills & Tutoring Center, and West Sacramento Learning Resource Center.

Ongoing Writing Center Coordinator; Learning Skills & Tutoring Center Coordinator; West Sacramento Center Dean & West Sac. Learning Resource Center Coordinator

Instructional assistants: $28,500


Procedure 1d: Provide an instructor to serve in the Reading Lab for three hours per week.

Ongoing Reading Lab instructional assistant and coordinator; Reading department chair



Objective 2: Student support strategies: Implement “just-in-time” and contextualized student support strategies to increase student success and completion in the basic skills.

Procedure 2b: Provide an “I’ve Got to Pass this Class” program as a mid-semester intervention to improve retention and success rates for basic skills math students.

Beginning in Weeks 5-6

and continuing through the end of each semester

Dean of math; Faculty and student SIA tutors in math; BSI Coordinator

Faculty employee service agreements: $4,300: Student SIA tutors: funds already listed as lump sum in procedure 1b


Procedure 2a: Provide a “Second Chance” program in mathematics for basic skills math students who were passing until the final exam.

End of each semester

Math BSI Coordinators; Faculty and student SIA tutors in math; BSI Coordinator

Faculty employee service agreements: $6,000 Student SIA tutors: funds already listed as lump sum in procedure 1b


Procedure 2c: Continue current basic skills learning communities and explore additional learning communities in the basic skills.

Ongoing Learning Communities Coordinator; Umoja Co-coordinators; EOP&S Coordinator

No resources required beyond regular staffing

Procedure 2d: Provide instructor-mentors for students in several English Writing 51 classes.

Ongoing Dean of Languages & Literature; English department chair



Objective 3: Integrating instruction with support services: Integrate instruction with support services more thoroughly in basic skills classes.

Procedure 3a: Coordinate the overall ESTEEM program (Essential Support Teams in English, ESL, and Math)

Ongoing BSI Coordinator; Associate Vice Presidents of Instruction and Enrollment & Student Services; Math BSI SIA Co-coordinator; Dean of Student Success; Deans of Math and L & L; BSI Clerk

No funding required (duties of the BSI Coordinator, BSI SIA Co-coordinator, and BSI Clerk, listed under Procedures 5a, 1a, and 3b)


Procedure 3b: Provide a BSI clerk to develop and facilitate student support messaging for ESTEEM.

Ongoing BSI Clerk; BSI Coordinator

BSI clerk: $10,000 BSI funds allocated by the State Chancellor’s Office

Procedure 3c: Provide training specific to ESTEEM for participants.

Training sessions in

August, November,

January, and April

BSI Coordinator; BSI Clerk; BSI SIA Co-coordinator; Associate Vice President of Enrollment & Student Services

No funding required (duties of the BSI Coordinator, BSI SIA Co-coordinator, and BSI Clerk, listed under Procedures 5a, 1a, and 3b)

Procedure 3d: Explore if ESTEEM is a good fit for English, reading, and ESL (and determine appropriate potential modifications to fit each discipline).

Fall 2015 through Spring

2016 (with proposal for

2016-17 to be completed by

May 2016)

BSI Coordinator; Dean of Languages & Literature; Department chairs of English, Reading, and ESL

No funding required (duties of the BSI Coordinator, listed under Procedure 5a)

Procedure 3e: Conduct at least two meetings of the ESTEEM advisory group.

One meeting in Fall 2015 and one meeting in

Spring 2016

BSI Coordinator No funding required (duties of the BSI Coordinator, listed under Procedure 5a)

Objective 4: Professional development: Provide faculty/staff professional development with the intention of increasing the success of students who need assistance in the

basic skills.

Procedure 4a: Offer workshops on effective practices in the instruction and support services for students who need assistance in the basic skills. At least one of these workshops will address each of the following:

How to integrate student services with instruction

Student equity and culturally responsive instruction

Ongoing, particularly during Flex

days

BSI Coordinator Professional development materials (books for book shares): $1,500


Procedure 4b: Send individuals to professional development opportunities on the basic skills sponsored by 3CSN and the RP Group.

Ongoing BSI Coordinator Professional development – travel: $5,000


Procedure 4c: Conduct regular outreach to the campus on the Basic Skills Initiative through visiting the constituency groups and the collaborative groups listed on this program plan.

Ongoing BSI Coordinator No funding required (duties of the BSI Coordinator, listed under Procedure 5a)

Objective 5: Coordination and assessment: Coordinate, assess, and evaluate interventions, with the intention of continuous quality improvement and alignment with goals of the Student Equity and Student Success and Support (SSSP) plans.

Procedure 5a: Provide a BSI Coordinator to coordinate, assess, and evaluate interventions.

Ongoing BSI Coordinator; Associate Vice President of Instruction

0.4 reassigned time for a BSI faculty coordinator: $48,000


Procedure 5b: The BSI Coordinator will be involved with the planning of Student Equity and SSSP programs.

Fall 2015 through Spring

2016

BSI Coordinator; Dean of Student Success; Associate Vice Presidents of Instruction and Enrollment & Student Services

Additional 0.6 reassigned time for the BSI faculty coordinator: $72,000

Student Equity funds: $19,000 SSSP funds: $38,000

Procedure 5c: Conduct regular meetings of the BSI Steering Committee.

Ongoing BSI Coordinator No funding required (duties of the BSI Coordinator, listed under Procedure 5a)


Procedure 5d: Develop the 2014-15 End-of-Year report and BSI Action Plan for 2015-2016 and submit to the State Chancellor’s Office.

October BSI Coordinator No funding required (duties of the BSI Coordinator, listed under Procedure 5a)


Procedure 5e: Complete budgetary reports required by the State Chancellor’s Office.

June-September;

due in October

District Office (Grants, Budget); Office of Administration; Associate VP of Instruction; BSI Coordinator

No funding required (primary duties of the BSI Coordinator, listed under Procedure 5a)


Procedure 5f: Conduct data analysis of BSI interventions; work with PRIE to assess BSI interventions.

Ongoing, particularly at

the end of each semester

BSI Coordinator; Planning, Research, & Institutional Effectiveness Office

No funding required (duties of the BSI Coordinator, listed under Procedure 5a)


Grand Total Cost: $239,800 Note: Total projected costs are estimates only, including estimated costs for benefits.

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APPENDIX and RESOURCES:

Appendix: BSI end-of-year report and action plan, submitted to the State Chancellor’s Office in October, 2014

Resource 1: California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office: Basic Skills Progress Cohort Tracker: http://datamart.cccco.edu/Outcomes/BasicSkills_Cohort_Tracker.aspx

Resource 2: State Chancellor’s Office Basic Skills Completion electronic resource: http://doingwhatmatters.cccco.edu/portals/6/docs/BSI_E-Resource_10-18-13.pdf

DATE: November 14, 2014 Plan to be updated: November, 2015 REVIEW CYCLE: Annual

http://datamart.cccco.edu/Outcomes/BasicSkills_Cohort_Tracker.aspx


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dms.scc.losrios.edu › alfresco › d › d › workspace... · 2014-11-25 · Learning Skills & Tutoring Center. Expected outcome: Successful completion rate for classes with supplemental