Next step for Student Success Act
Nod to career academies, student support
Retiring Community College Chancellor Jack Scott watched his signature initiative move closer to becoming law. The Assembly Higher Education Committee yesterday unanimously passed SB 1456, the Student Success Act of 2012.
The bill would implement two of the 22 recommendations developed by the Student Success Task Force, a panel of educators, policymakers, students, and researchers that spent last year studying and taking testimony on ways to improve the completion rate at California’s community colleges.
“SB 1456 is about community college students and the tremendous fierce urgency of doing something now,” the bill’s author, Democratic Senator Alan Lowenthal of Long Beach, told the Assembly panel.
As TOPed previously reported, studies have found that after six years, only 30 percent of community college students earn a degree or certificate or transfer to a four-year college.
The first proposal puts the onus on community colleges to provide support services for every student. These include orientation, assessment and placement, counseling and education planning, and tutoring or other interventions to help students who are falling off the path. Colleges would also have to evaluate the effectiveness of those supports and report them to the Legislative Analyst.
The second recommendation establishes for the first time academic standards for receiving Board of Governors (BOG) fee waivers. In order to continue receiving a BOG waiver, students would have to maintain a “C” average for two semesters.
“Why did we put in there something about the BOG fee waiver?” asked Chancellor Scott, in anticipation of the question. “Well, we wanted not only institutions to accept responsibility for student success, but we wanted students to accept responsibility.”
Community College Chancellor Jack Scott testifying on SB 1456, the Student Success Act. (Source: The California Channel). Click to enlarge.
Scott noted that this is also required for both the federal Pell Grant program and Cal Grants. “We just didn’t quite feel it was fair for somebody to continue for 8 or 10 semesters and never achieve a 2.0,” he said.
Speakers heaped praise on Lowenthal for his willingness to work with key constituencies to find middle ground on some contentious issues. The biggest concerns were over new restrictions on BOG fee waivers. Lowenthal agreed to remove a provision eliminating eligibility for waivers for students with more than 110 units. He also agreed to an appeals process and to phasing-in the changes over time.
As a result, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, the Student Senate, and MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund switched from opposing the bill to supporting it.
“I think that this is a stronger bill because all of the stakeholders have come to the table,” said Jessie Ryan with the Campaign for College Opportunity. “We’ve done a great deal of work with social justice organizations across the state and student organizations to address their concerns, and I think we’re at a place where we can all acknowledge that completion matters and the Student Success Act puts us on that path.”
Well, not exactly. The Community College Association (CCA), which is the higher education division of the California Teachers Association, argued that SB 1456 is more talk than walk. Ron Norton Reel, a speech teacher at Mt. San Antonio College, testified that the bill contains no definition of success or strategy for measuring it, creates more inequalities among students and doesn’t provide any funding to hire the thousands of additional counselors that will be needed to help students establish educational goals and a plan to reach them. Without that “then the intent is good, but the consequences are bad,” said Ron Norton Reel with the CCA.
Lowenthal countered by reading a section of the bill that clearly states that community colleges won’t be held accountable unless they receive funding to carry out the provisions. “We all want additional funding,” Lowenthal said. “The people who support this bill, more than even the opposition, want additional funding.” Until that money comes, he said, colleges need to start preparing for the changes ahead.
Sunset, sunrise
Another of Chancellor Scott’s projects – which is about to expire – received a new lease on life by the Higher Education Committee. SB 1070, introduced by Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, would strengthen and extend the Career Technical Education Pathways Initiative funded by Scott’s 2005 bill, SB 70. These are typically academies within high school or middle schools where students learn many of their core subjects through the lens of a business or industry. Some are in community colleges.
At Laguna Creek High School in Elk Grove Unified School District, students in the Green Technology Academy learn science and math through hands-on experimentation with alternative energy. They build solar-powered vehicles, compare the effectiveness of different biofuels and study physics by making and launching small rockets and measuring their velocity and height.
“Every time I see one of these career pathways programs whether it be the partnership academies or linked learning or one of the other models, learning comes alive, and it comes alive without sacrificing rigor that prepares students for college and career,” Steinberg told the committee Tuesday afternoon.
Career academies should be tied to local business and industry needs. (Source: Career Academy Support Network). Click to enlarge.
SB 1070 would hold schools more accountable for success than its predecessor and require them to submit data about student outcomes. Initial funding would come from the Quality Education Investment Act. That’s the $3 billion program created to settle a lawsuit brought by the California Teachers Association against Gov. Schwarzenegger for failing to repay school districts and community colleges money borrowed from Proposition 98 in 2004-05 to help the state get through that year’s budget crisis.
The State Department of Education also funds the California Partnership Academy program. They’re all competitive grants and together the various funding sources support about 700 academies in California schools, according to the Career Academy Support Network at the University of California, Berkeley. Since 2005, the career tech academies have enrolled nearly 750,000 students, although they tend to be concentrated in about a quarter of the state’s 1,000 school districts.
The results are impressive. Attendance and graduation rates are higher in academies than in the comprehensive high schools where they’re located. Test scores are a little better too, even though many of the students – 50 percent, by law, in the partnership academies – are considered at risk.
“Overall, in the career advancement projects, we’ve seen a 90 percent retention; that’s huge, we don’t see that in our other programs,” testified Carole Goldsmith, the Vice Chancellor for Educational Services and Workforce Development in West Hills Community College District. The district runs a teacher pipeline with one of its career tech grants. “I think all of us intrinsically know that when you link education to hands-on approach to what industry wants, you’re going to engage students.” cheap Amoxil
Community Colleges are open access institutions, unlike universities that have admissions criteria. The mission of community colleges is to take the most disadvantaged, the working poor and give them a new life, for generations to come. The financial aid program was designed to level the playing field so that all people had an equal chance at a college education. We know that people from disadvantaged backgrounds, whether economic or educational, come to the community colleges in need of help. The provisions of SB 1456 would kick students who don’t maintain a 2.0 off of financial aid. This means that if a student is maintaining a “C” average and gets one “D” they can be kicked off of financial aid. To do what? To go where? K-12 has a horrible drop out rate; the community colleges have been able to turn that around and keep students in school, even if they are having trouble, knowing that getting an “A” takes time. How is kicking students out of school because they are poor, anyone’s definition of success? Seems like the real goal is just to cut the budget.
Report this comment for abusive language, hate speech and profanity
I applaud Senator Lowenthal (and Chancellor Scott) for recognizing the need to clarify/prioritize CCC programs and hold students accountable, and I appreciate Pro Tem Steinberg in extending the SB 70 program.
In our tough economic times (in which government revenues have sharply declined), policymakers have to make tough decisions and prioritize dwindling resources for the maximum benefit to CA citizens (including students) and our state economic well-being.
Both of these measures do that, even though neither is perfect … but in politics, as is life, we can’t afford to make the perfect the enemy of the good.
Report this comment for abusive language, hate speech and profanity
Any news on the status of funding for CTE/ROP programs going forward? Has anyone in the Legislature recognized yet that the Governor’s weighted funding plan threatened to defund them?
Report this comment for abusive language, hate speech and profanity
El: Legislators “got it” and the Administration seemed to acknowledge they had a CTE conundrum, so WSF is not moving forward this year (but I predict will be back next year). So CTE advocates are trying to get out in front of this issue by coming up with our own set of highly challenging accountability criteria for measuring a successful CTE program, and then we’ll ask policymakers to restrict the use of CTE dollars to Voc Ed ends (allowing schools to “flex” those dollars amongst CTE disciplines/programs) but hold schools accountable for concrete deliverables.
Report this comment for abusive language, hate speech and profanity
@Fred, for my local district, CTE/ROP is funded through the county office of education and then flows out to our high school. Our issue is not that the district was in danger of flexing the money to other uses, it’s that we were concerned that the money was zeroed out entirely. Is anyone looking out for the county boards on this? WSF did not seem to realize they even existed.
Report this comment for abusive language, hate speech and profanity
锘縋en harddrives would be the surfacing choices throughout revolutionary as well as state-of-the-art industrial. These devices functions quite well generally Cheap NFL Jerseys from China,
concerning stocking types of information plus records additionally products and solutions. They usually are really stylish, extra stylish in addition to affordable as compared to applied broadly to acquire always keeping listings by means of pet dog 锘?a href=http://www.wholenfljerseyssale.com>Cheap NFL Jerseys from China,
coop hard disks. Generally, folks are utilized to help save weak devices and they are embracing more advanced way of instance write thrust. A majority of these low-cost Cheap NFL Jerseys,
in addition to best put in writing hard disk drives present trustworthiness, flexibility together with convenience besides reasonably priced price tag when using the needs connected withhttp://www.wholehotnflonlinesales.com,
buyers and moreover they usually are applied properly to get storing unique data bank to get individuals.You can find distinct sizes and designs informed about offer persistence, mobility together with overall flexibility Cheap NFL Jerseys from China,
plus very affordable volume in line with the demands of shoppers and in addition they performs very well correctly created for selling unique internet directories meant for buyers. Now, everyone is 8 Gigabyte make up push with regard to holding many different entries plus storage handmade cards as well as types to be found in a number of Cheap NFL Jerseys,
type of 5 GB as well as Some Gb. As a result of modest amounts and also kinds as well as most advanced technology based write gadgets, it’s very an easy task to acquire yourself a movie brands of compose shoves for sale in diversified price ranges considering the needs of consumers.Currently|Presently|At present|At the moment|At this time|Now}, pen generate is rather slighter component acquainted with retailer this repository created for gadgets resolution in addition to additional items a lot like computer’s, laptop computers plus pad hard disk drives and others place in writing shoves. Unquestionably, it’ll be wonderful different for choosing very affordable and finest pencil hard disks through Looking on the internet and will possibly be brand name compose push. Primarily, prepare devices are likely to be widespread organizing storage space homepage,
and also revealing proper precisely you. Supply can be installed correctly about stocking in conjunction with providing appropriate points to the customers. It truly is extremely option designed for selling facts through click here,
Six Gigabyte Puppy pencil Vacation so that you can feel at ease together with easiness. Definitely, might be excellent choice for choosing low cost and greatest set up composing data as a result of web are going to be published pencil vacation. Thus, you can aquire economical and finest place in creating drive-thru on the web and make low-cost and greatest get to acquire pertaining to closet along with long-term residing.Some Gigabyte Dog pen Have is fairly great choice associated with placing weighty specifics Cheap NFL Jerseys from China,
as well as info in addition to low-priced and finest house yield in the course of priced reasonably importance with all the involves of consumers. It will likewise make it easier to lot to take a position an essential time period around the functioning coupled with option of a budget house promotes in the market. http://www.wholehotnflonlinesales.com,
And for that reason, purchasing set up composing products via on the net is going to be superb replacement turned out to be low cost and best.
Report this comment for abusive language, hate speech and profanity