2003 Exemplary Program Award

2003 Award Winners

Santa Barbara City College — Gateway to Success Program

The Gateway to Success is a highly collaborative program to improve student success in the large transfer classes by providing high-quality supplementary instruction to selected students who, according to early assessment, may be at risk. Because they serve as gateways to fulfilling degree, certificate and transfer requirements, success in these core courses is critical for students in achieving their academic goals. The Program provides a well-organized structure in which students interact with tutors who, in consultation with the instructor, provide students with highly focused supplemental tutoring. One instructor comments, "I am certain there are several students in each class who have been able to complete the class or have received a passing grade because of the assistance and guidance they received from the tutors." Program results clearly show that the success rates of Gateway students have substantially surpassed the average college success rate in every course every semester.

Santa Ana College — Center for Teacher Education

The Center for Teacher Education program, initiated in 1999 with support from a Fund for Student Success grant, centralizes comprehensive student services that provide outreach, counseling, and academic support to students interested in pursing a career in public K-12 education. Students have access to a clearinghouse of information and resources as they navigate the requirements for teacher credentialing in California. Santa Ana College, in responding to the critical need for qualified teachers in California, has centralized in the Center a myriad of activities related to the successful identification, retention, and transfer of teacher education students such as engaging faculty across disciplines in teacher education and expanding articulation with universities. The Center helps students reach their academic potential; transfer to CSU, UC, or an independent university; and become excellent teachers.

Honorable Mention

Los Angeles City College —"Pi Shop"

The primary goals of the "Pi Shop," a course established in 1998 with the support from a Fund for Student Success grant, are to increase student enrollment, success rates, and retention in math courses. Through one-on-one peer tutoring and mentoring geared toward at-risk students enrolled in mathematics courses, the Pi Shop course provides students with a user-friendly, non-threatening environment in which they can get help with basic skills, address their math anxiety, hone their test-taking strategies, and engage in informal counseling and advising for their majors. Overall, Pi Shop students enjoy a much higher rate of success in their other math courses than do their non-Pi Shop peers. Participating students in both preparatory and advanced math classes have a success rate that exceeds that of their non-participating peers by nearly 30%. By offering an open, attractive, learning-centered environment for students of all backgrounds and skill levels, this program has humanized mathematics instruction and contributed to City College's mathematics department being one of the most actively engaged in student learning on campus.

Los Medanos College — Support Players Offering Resources to Transfer (SPORT)

This program was established to assist student athletes in meeting their potential in the classroom as well as on the sports field and to be able to transfer on to the next level of competition and finish their education at a four-year institution. SPORT coordinates services and programs that address the individual needs of student athletes across the areas of transfer, general education, developmental education, and student services. The program packages key resources to encourage greater and more effective participation. Student athletes are introduced to first semester services such as assessment, orientation, and educational planning and offered additional services of academic monitoring and parent orientation. Traditional tutoring services are provided in a collective, team approach familiar to most team sport athletes. SPORT strives to make student athletes winners in the classroom as well as on the field of athlete competition.

Reedley College — Student Athlete Retention Program (SARP)

The Student Athlete Retention Program (SARP), initiated in 1999, focuses on improving student retention, persistence and academic success along with increasing graduation and transfer rates to four-year universities. SARP provides a comprehensive approach to assisting student athletes in achieving their educational goals through supplemental services such as flexible tutorial hours, extensive progress monitoring and follow up, and intrusive counseling services. The program's main goal is to provide student athletes with supportive services to ensure that they comply with the academic standards set by the Commission on Athletic and National Collegiate Association of Athletics and University Admissions. SARP is designed to promote academic success and preparation for successful citizenship beyond the athlete experience.

Sierra College — Sierra College Writing Center

The Sierra College Writing Center, established in 1993, provides the entire college community with writing resources to supplement instructional work in the classroom. The Center provides students with a variety of self-paced materials, individual instruction, computers for essay composition, and a variety of take-away publications, as well as advice on research and MLA citation. The Center serves as many as 190 students per day. However, despite the numbers, no student has long to wait for assistance because all members of the staff are dedicated to student service. This program embodies the Sierra College mission: "to facilitate learning, inspire change and build community."