Title of the proposal
A Hybrid (Re)Designed Developmental Reading Course with Student Support Services Collaboration
Bio
Dr. Celia Cruz-Johnson, Faculty and Coordinator; Mr. Roland Montemayor, Interim Vice-President of Student Affairs; Dr. Byron Clift-Breland, College President
Dr. Cruz-Johnson has extensive experience in the area of Basic Skills particularly ESL and developmental reading at the community college level and has certification to teach online. Dr. Cruz-Johnson has taught a reading course in a hybrid platform since 2003. Her dissertation focused on a comparison of student success and persistence rates in addition to students’ perceptions and experiences in this blended (hybrid) platform. She coordinates the Basic Skills Initiative, Accreditation, Professional Development and serves on the Student Equity and Student Success & Support Program and Distance Education committees. She participates in the Common Assessment Workgroup, a statewide faculty group which assists the state in the development of a common assessment placement tool for community colleges. Contact: Celia.Cruz@sjcc.edu
Mr. Montemayor is the Interim Vice-President of Student Affairs. He oversees the implementation of Student Equity and Student Success & Support Program Initiative, as well as the counseling department, financial aid, admissions, DSPS, EOPS, and Student Life. He has more than 25 years of experience in higher education. He has been a staff member, counselor, and teacher. He has served in multiple capacities of administration: Director of Outreach, Satellite Campus Site Administrator, Director of Corporate and Foundations Relations, Associate Dean, Dean of Financial Aid, and Dean of counseling and Student success. He has worked at private university and public community colleges with student populations tanging from 90,000 to 10,000. Contact: Roland.Montemayor@sjcc.edu
Dr. Clift-Breland is the San Jose City College President. His administrative experience is extensive and includes positions at the University of Maryland at College Park, the University of Southern California, the University of California, Irvine, Santa Ana College, and Long Beach City College. Dr. Clift-Breland is also distinguished by his involvement with the broader community, working with a diverse constituency of community leaders. His experience in resource development, community involvement, and his publications on African American and Latino student success are relevant on issues impacting community college students.
General description of the initiative or project
This project is a developmental reading course (two levels below Freshman Composition) offered as a late start course in a hybrid setting. The course is offered at San Jose City College in California, a Hispanic Serving Institution.
In this course, the students meet in a face-to-face setting once a week and online at least once a week. The course has been evolving since 2003, when it was first offered in a hybrid setting. This project’s focus has been to assist students to reach transferable level (general education) courses, to acquire technology skills, and to have more access to higher education. There is also ongoing collaboration with student support services to ensure that students know about and are utilizing the support services available.
Based on the student demand and assessed needs for the course, the offering and collaborations have experienced modifications. In 2003, this project began as a semester long learning community with an English class; this pairing was successfully implemented until 2011. It was then offered as a learning community with a counseling/guidance class for a semester. Since then, it has continued as a hybrid stand-alone course. Two semesters ago, it was piloted as a late start (four weeks into the semester) hybrid stand-alone course with the goal to help any student who is misplaced in a reading course, any student who takes the placement assessment close to the beginning date of the semester, and any student who is repeating the course and has decided to reenroll. This is the current setting it is being offered in, and from preliminary data, it is a success. In Fall 2016, an additional section will be added as a hybrid learning community with an English course and one as a stand-alone late start hybrid.
The course content (both in the classroom and online) is presented through articles, videos, and transcripts of current national and international events and issues; students enhance their reading skills (critical thinking, patterns of organization, main idea, etc.) and study skills through this exciting and current content. Students are transported from the known to the unknown resulting in “Citizens of an Interlocking World” as they read, discuss, and reflect on local issues to international situations and concerns.
Some of the students enrolled in the course are served by the Title V program, DSPS, and EOPS. Their respective counsellors work closely with the course instructor to monitor student progress and apply early intervention and strategies if needed. These students receive a copy of the course textbook for the semester free of charge. These students are also required to attend college success workshops.
In 2013-14, 39.1% of the students enrolled at the college were self-identified as Latino. The student population enrolled in this class is predominantly Latino. In Spring 2015, 50% of the students enrolled in the late start hybrid were Latino. In Fall 2015, 58% of the students enrolled were Latino. In regards to the Spring 2015 cohort, retention was 75%, success was 62.5%, and non-success was 25%. This success rate is consistent to the success rate average of the Fall 2013 to Fall 2014 of all reading courses. In other words, a late start hybrid can compete on a level playing field with our regular offerings in regards to success and retention. Hopefully, our success and retention rates will continue to improve as we continue modify and improve this offering.