Student Success

By Teresa R. Brown

Student Success can no longer be defined as access, but must also include completion of academic work in a reasonable time.

Community colleges have offered basic skills classes for those who are unprepared to do college-level work, as well as general education and transfer classes for those wanting to co plete the first two years of a four-year university degree close to home, and career/technical education for those seeking job skills leading to employment in local communities. Over the years more people have sought higher education, and community colleges have been the gateway for many of them.

Because of the strong emphasis on acess, completion did not receive the same attention. Less than 60% of those who enroll in a California community college complete a degree or certificate or transfer to a four-year university within six years. To improve these statistics, the Student Success Task Force recommended 22 suggestions, many of which were written into legislation and signed into law by the governor this year.

These recommendations include mandatory meetings with a counselor, assessment of readiness for college-level work, selecting a field of study, and creating an education plan. These recommendations are geared to monitor progress toward completion, because every student who graduates or transfers frees up a space for a new student. My shorthand for this process is: access + progress = completion.

Community colleges need to increase the number of students who complete a class once they are enrolled. With limited class sections, nothing is more frustrating than knowing students withdrew from a class too late to admit other students who were wait-listed. One way to discourage this drop policy abuse is to limit the number of times a student may enroll in a class.

Change is always difficult, and the recommendations of the Student Success Task Force are no different. In the end, these changes will benefit more students, especially in times of reduced enrollment, when completion is more critical.