The William S. Hart Union High School District Governing Board and the Santa Clarita Community College District Board of Trustees are expected to discuss their common measures to help students of all ages succeed.
Governing Board members from both boards are expected to meet together Wednesday in the COC Art Gallery to discuss the districts’ initiatives and programs to promote academic completion.
Jasmine Ruys, COC’s director of enrollment services, is expected to discuss the details of the college’s first cohort involved in its College Promise Initiative, also known as the First-Year Promise (FYP) program.
Launched in summer 2017, FYP allows first-time, full-time enrolled freshmen to attend their fall and spring semesters at COC tuition- and fee-free if they graduated from a Hart District school.
Students meet with academic counselors and follow an academic plan to help them complete their associate degrees in two years.
This past year, 494 students applied for the program. Three-hundred and fifth met the minimum qualifications for FYP and 294 joined the program this summer.
Next year, the college plans to invite its current FYP students to be mentors to its new class of FYP students.
English, Math Acceleration
COC staff is also expected to discuss how to address remedial education and support student success while promoting equity.
Recently, the college’s English and math departments compressed their developmental sequences to shorten the time it took students to complete remedial education.
The departments also began using multiple measures, like high school GPA and placement test performance, to place students in college classes.
So far, the changes have benefitted more than 5,000 students per year and saved students more than 48,000 weeks of remedial instruction, according to the agenda item.
It also helped students save more than $500,000 in tuition costs for remedial classes not associated with their associate degrees.
Adult Education
The Governing Boards are also expected to discuss their joint venture for adult education through the Santa Clarita Valley Adult Education Consortium called GatewaySCV.
Formed in 2015, Gateway SCV is funded through the Adult Education Block Grant (AEBG) and the California Community College Chancellor’s Office.
It offers adult education programs and opportunities for students seeking developmental learning, retraining or upskilling through services for English as a Second Language (ESL), civics, career education and high school diploma or equivalency.
John Makevich, dean of COC’s School of Continuing and Community Education, and Jodie Hoffman, Principal of Golden Oak Adult School, are expected to give a presentation to the boards about the history of adult education in California, the GatewaySCV consortium and the success of the program’s members.
They also are expected to provide an overview of current noncredit courses and program, proposed courses and programs, and successful partnerships with businesses and community organizations.
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