Division Reorganization memo to Academic Senate/Council and CCCFE Union

March 31, 2013

TO:                 Michael Odanaka, Toni Wasserberger

FROM:           Barbara Perez and Keith Curry

SUBJECT:     Division Reorganization

 

Over the past six months, discussions have taken place regarding the structure of the academic divisions at the Center.  The current structure was examined including looking at a position, Director of Library and Student Support Programs, which had been proposed and supported in 2010.  The importance of having someone focus on the support programs which are key to student success rose through the planning process.  Unfortunately the budget was unable to support this position and it was never filled.  The responsibility for this area has been with the dean of academic programs.  However, other responsibilities have prevented the dean from being able to focus on this area.  

Under the direction of the dean of academic programs, the Student Success committee composed of teaching faculty, counselors, Learning Resource faculty, and student services professionals took the results of the Chaffey Report to generate a Student Success Plan.  The committee identified 5 primary strategies to address the needs of the underprepared student and increase student retention and persistence enabling students to accomplish their goals.  After the passage SB 1456, Student Success Act of 2012, the committee aligned the Chancellor’s Office Student Success Task Force recommendations with the strategies they had already identified. 

Close examination of the Student Success Plan and the Student Success Institute proposal shows that they have the same goal – increase student retention, persistence, graduation and transfer rates.  The Student Success Plan is more complete as it includes the recommendations dictated by the Student Success Act of 2012.  However ideas introduced in the institute proposal will help strengthen the plan.  The institute’s proposal recognizes the importance of administrative oversight of a student success plan, student orientations, faculty professional development, faculty cohorts, and learning communities. The Student Success Plan also addresses each of these elements with the 5 strategies:

1.     Establish Student Success Committee & Administrative Leadership

2.     Evaluate and modify/enhance the matriculation processes and policies focusing on barriers to student success identified in the Basic Skills assessment (“Chaffey Report”)

3.     Provide support for discipline faculty to revise basic skills courses

4.     Provide academic support resources and services, including tutoring, in all disciplines as appropriate

5.     Institutionalize and expand learning communities

The success plan encourages collaboration and experimentation between faculty and advocates bridge programs to help students progress faster through the developmental courses. The job description for the Dean of Student Success makes the implementation of the student success plan a primary responsibility: 

Provide leadership for the planning, development, implementation, coordination, and evaluation of the Center’s Student Success Plan.

We understand that the faculty do not support any change in the structure of Academic Affairs.  Most of us prefer the status quo but there are times when change is necessary and this is that time.  In the next few weeks, the Chancellor’s Office will be making public a scorecard for every college including Compton Center.  Unlike other centers, Compton has always been reported as though it is a college.  Future students will know how we rank in comparison to other schools.  Unfortunately, past reports have shown the Center at the bottom.  In examining our course offerings, we discovered that two-thirds of the math classes and one-third of the English classes are classified as basic skills/developmental.  Office of Institutional Research studied the progress of students from basic skills to transfer level and verified that students are not progressing.  With the focus on student achievement, this trend must be reversed.  If we cannot improve our outcomes, the Center’s ability to become accredited will be negatively impacted.

While faculty does not support any change in the structure, you provided an alternative to the new proposed division structure.  Your proposal, however, still gives the student success plan or institute second class status because the administrator given the third division has only lost art, dance, music and theatre. 

At the meeting on March 14, an earlier draft in which the departments were divided into two divisions with a director of student success was presented.  Some of the faculty expressed support for this model.  We relooked at it and realized that it would be difficult to put the responsibility of increasing student success on an individual when the faculty responsible for basic skills would be reporting to another administrator.  This structure makes it too easy for those who don’t want to change to sit back and do nothing.

Concerns were expressed that there are faculty who teach in both areas.  In Math and Science, no faculty member has taught in two areas since fall 2010.  This is not the case in English where an instructor teaches in both English and communication studies.  To address this issue, we will move communication studies to Division 3.  Your proposal that all deans should be responsible for SLO oversight is important and has been incorporated into the structure. 

Although it would be easier to sit back and let the status quo continue, that would be a mistake. We are working hard to apply for eligibility within the next year and must show that we can make the necessary changes to increase student success.  The proposed reorganization plan brings together key areas and provides for focused leadership to help guide the process. While the student support programs are for all divisions, not just math and English, we must increase the success in these two areas in order to increase the number of graduates and transfers. 

For the reasons outlined above, the divisions will be realigned effective July 1^st to create a new division that focuses on the key disciplines for student success and student support services. 

Compton Center Divisions:

DIVISION 1 DEAN:  Ms. Wanda Morris Student Learning Outcomes Oversight Instructional Coordinator:  Vacant (new job description) Administrative Assistant:  Kayla Ellis Instructional Assistants:  2 – Luz Beltran, Donald Mitchell Laboratory Technicians:  3 – Victor Kowalski,, Ruben Valenzuela, Vacant FTEF:  47.93       FTES:  812.51	DISCIPLINES: Child Development      Education                   Contemporary Health      First Aid            Kinesiology       Medical Terminology         Nursing                                     Nutrition and Foods     Physical Education Psychology Recreation	Anatomy Astronomy Biology Chemistry Geography Geology Microbiology Physics Physiology
DIVISION 2 DEAN:  Dr. Rodney Murray Student Learning Outcomes Oversight Instructional Coordinator:  Vacant Administrative Assistant:  Laura Atchinson Instructional Assistant: 1 - Josephine Mays, Tool Room Attendant:  2 –Joseph Ginn, Vacant FTEF:  49.17      FTES:  937.85	DISCIPLINES: Administration of Justice Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Auto Collision Repair & Painting Automotive Technology Business Computer Information Systems Fashion Fire and Emergency Technology Law Machine Tool Technology Manufacturing Technology Real Estate Sign Language Welding	Anthropology Art Dance Economics Ethnic Studies Film/Video History Humanities Journalism Music Philosophy Political Science Sociology Spanish Theatre Women’s Studies Distance Education
DIVISION 3 DEAN:  New Hire Student Learning Outcomes Oversight Administrative Assistant:  Mary Griffin Instructional Assistants:  3 - Jose Escotto, Stacy Farrah, Wendy Johnson Student Success Coordinator:  Vacant Sr. Library Clerk:  Claudia Gomez Library Assistant:  Geraldine Luckey FTEF:  49.93    FTES:  786.81	DISCIPLINES: Academic Strategies Communications Studies English English as a Second Language First Year Experience Human Development Math	Student Success Programs: Student Success Plan Implementation Library Learning Resource Center Learning Communities Supplemental Instruction Tutorial Programs Writing Center