Spring 2008RCC Matriculation Newsletter

Editor: Patti Brusca

Degree Audit Program/ProjectRiverside Community College District is moving toward utilizing the Datatel Degree Audit feature more efficiently

and effectively. It is the intent to eventually have 25 of the local colleges’ and universities’ course equivalencies built into Degree Audit.

When the course equivalencies are put into the Datatel system as transfer work from other institutions, they serve a dual purpose. The courses are viewed by the system as not only prerequisite coursework, but also as transfer equivalencies, and Degree Audit indicates the necessary requirements as being satisfied with the transfer work, when it is applicable. A Degree Audit program may be run for the Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree, IGETC or CSU Breadth requirements, or a certificate program.

This project was undertaken in 2006/07 and is continuing in 2007/08. There are 11 college catalogs, of the 25 anticipated, that have been reviewed and RCC’s course equivalencies have been assigned and entered into Datatel. The Matriculation Specialists on each of the three campuses are entering all English and Math prerequisites directly into Degree Audit when the courses have been completed at one of the colleges for which equivalencies have been built. At this time this only occurs when a student has submitted a prerequisite validation form. It is a future plan to purchase a scanning system that will scan incoming transcripts and populate Degree Audit with all of the courses for which we have equivalencies. Degree Audit currently works only for students who have taken all their classes at RCC unless their English and math equivalencies have been entered from other colleges.

The Evaluations office considers Degree Audit a very helpful tool. Speaking from the standpoint of the senior evaluator, I am hopeful that as we continue to progress with this project that the likelihood of human and technical errors will be minimal. It is projected that the Counseling staff might find Degree Audit a useful resource in the future. There is also a future plan to make Degree Audit available to students via the Web, so that they will have the ability to follow their own progress towards obtaining a degree or a certificate. ~Cecile Rubin

Matriculation MIS Reporting:Historically the MIS reporting for services provided through Matriculation had faced many challenges and

restrictions imposed by the Domain set by the Chancellor’s office. The Domain set up by the State Chancellor’s office specifically limited the students to be reported who were active at census for census classes or had any positive attendance reported for positive attendance classes. Community colleges all over the state, including Riverside Community College, were providing all kinds of services including, but not limited to, orientation, counseling, advisement, student education plans, and academic follow up to students who might drop a class before census. Also some of the services were provided outside the term definition of a specific term. As an example, services were provided to students in a summer term but the students were actually registering for a fall term.

Through the collaborative efforts of Matriculation, Information Technology and MIS reporting offices, staff at Riverside with creative ideas were able to capture and report some of the information but still were restricted by the Domain defined by the Chancellor’s office.

Through continued effort of the MIS reporting group and the Matriculation groups, discussions and meetings were held at the State Chancellor’s office with productive outcomes. In 2007, the State Chancellor’s office released new Domain definition which allowed institutions to report Matriculation Services at the time they were provided thereby lifting the restrictions imposed by the Domain. The staff in various offices are working to enhance the reporting of Matriculation services at each campus and location for future reporting terms.

Reporting Outcomes: Here is a brief comparison of the impact of reporting services between Fall ‘01 and Fall ‘07 terms on some of the major data elements:

Services Fall 2001 Fall 2007 % ChangeStudent receiving Counseling Advisement Services

278 9,522 3325.18%

Student receiving assistance in Student Educational Plan

394 4,096 939.59%

~Raj Bajaj

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Moreno ValleyMoreno ValleyAssessment Testing at the Ben Clark Training Center

The Moreno Valley Assessment Center and the Moreno Valley Counseling department held two AOC One-Stops (Assessment, Orientation and group Counseling session) for the spring 2008 semester.

The AOC One-Stops held at the Ben Clark Training Center allowed Fast Track students as well as general population students the opportunity to assess, orient, and fulfill the AOC Matriculation requirement in one visit. These two One-Stops also mark the beginning of walk-in testing at the Ben Clark Training Center available through the Moreno Valley Assessment Center. The Assessment Center will have walk-in testing at Ben Clark

during the first two weeks of April, which will allow students to assess at an additional location in time for late start classes at RCCD. The testing times and dates are available on the Moreno Valley Assessment Center monthly calendar as “BCTC.” If you have any students needing to take their assessment test, please consider the Ben Clark Training Center as an option. We will be glad to assess them at BCTC.

Remember that calendars for the Moreno Valley and other Assessment Centers in the District are available at www.rcc.edu, click on News/Events, and then Calendar type. You may also access the calendars on the Assessment Center webpage by going to www.rcc.edu, then to Student Services, then to Assessment, and finally, click on the link “Dates and Times” (located on the right hand side of the page). Finally, the Moreno Valley Assessment Center looks forward to providing walk-in testing for the summer 2008 session and fall 2008 semester.

~ Ignacio Alvarez

RCC Moreno Valley Counseling DepartmentThe Lion’s Updates

In an attempt to continue to provide quality counseling services, the Moreno Valley Counseling department, in collaboration with the Career and Transfer Center, has scheduled the following information sessions/trainings to all interested personnel for the 2007-08 academic year. For more information please contact Maria Pacheco at 571-6180 or Yoshi Palomo at 571-6202.Fall 2007California State University, San Bernardino Presenter: Claudia Estrada, CSUSB representative gave an update on the programs and services offered at their university.

Occupational ProgramsMary Ryder, counselor, gave an update on the Occupational Programs.

Guidance 45 Training: Offered to high school Counselors and other personnel.

Spring 2008California State University of Fullerton Date: March 25, 2008.Location: Student Services Bldg. 301Time: 10:30-11:30 AM

Loma Linda University RepresentativeAllied Health Programs Date: April 23, 2008. Location: TBDTime: 1:30-2:30 PM

The Fashion Institute of Design and MerchandisingDate: April 23, 2008Location: Time: 8:30 – 9:30 AM

Guidance 48 Training:Becoming a Master Student 12th Edition.Date: May 8, 2008Location: TBD Time: 9:00-2:00 PM (tentative)

Meet the CounselorOnce again, the Moreno Valley Campus counselors are ready to assist students during Meet the Counselor

sessions. Students will have the opportunity to inquire about graduation, transferring requirements or simply ask other brief questions. The Moreno Valley Campus Counseling department invites students to stop by the Tiger’s Den Patio on: April 29 . . . 12:30-1:30PM May 1 . . . 4-4:30PM May 6 . . . 12:30-1:30PM

For more information regarding an educational plan or to schedule an appointment, please contact the Counseling department at 571-6104.

Successful Partnerships in Actionpublication, Basic Skills as a Founda-tion for Success in the California Community College, the committee is currently collecting and reviewing data which will be used to form an action plan to better serve Norco’s basic skills students. Key to the committee’s success is the participation of individuals representing campus-wide instructional as well as Student Services departments. With the widespread participation evidenced in this committee, the Norco Student Success Committee is bound to succeed!

~ By Diane Dieckmeyer

What happens when representatives from faculty, administration, Counseling, Admissions and Records, Matriculation, Outreach, and Title V begin working together to serve students? Success! Norco’s Student Success Committee (SSC), formerly known as Norco’s Basic Skills Committee, is a thriving example of the strength of partnerships. Co-chaired by mathematics faculty member Bob Prior, and Dean of Instruction Diane Dieckmeyer, the SSC is an on-going committee which is participating in California’s statewide Basic Skills Initiative. Norco’s SSC meets regularly to explore campus issues pertaining to the needs of basic skills students as well as those students who may be uncertain about their educational goals. For example, under the guidance of Vice President Gaither Loewenstein, the Norco Campus implemented a “Success Track” program designed to give students a greater opportunity of completing basic skills courses in their first semester.

Relying heavily on the Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges’ 2007

NorcoNorco

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Matriculation: The Key To Student SuccessMatriculation (i.e., the process by which students

are assisted in progressing toward accomplishing their educational objectives) is perhaps the most essential component of the services provided to students by community colleges. The fundamental challenge facing our institutions is to prepare our students, four out of five of whom come to us under-prepared for college-level coursework, for workforce readiness, and/or to transfer to four-year colleges and universities.

At RCC-Norco, the matriculation effort is multi-faceted and team-based. Student Services personnel work closely with counselors and faculty members in an effort to ensure that learners are offered the course-work and support services that they need to be successful. Key components of this effort include: a) a broad range of courses in pre-collegiate English, math, and reading augmented by “complimentary” humanities and social science classes, offered in a scheduling pattern that makes sense for students (Success Track); b) an aggressive, “intrusive” counseling effort geared toward encouraging learners to complete educational plans and enroll in basic skills courses early in their tenure as students; c) an array of supplemental instruction programs, including peer tutoring, math, writing, and computer science labs staffed by qualified instructors, open lab courses in writing and math, and rigorous assessment of all of these interventions; and d) a vibrant campus life, featuring a strong student activities program and ongoing enhancements of the

campus physical environment designed to encourage students to remain on campus, studying, and interacting with their instructors and fellow learners.

Already, there are some encouraging preliminary signs of the effects of Norco’s matriculation efforts. Our overall student success rate for fall 2006 was 68.1%, up from 66.6% for fall 2005, placing us on target to achieve the District strategic initiative of 70% student success by 2010. In English, our 67.1% success rate for fall 2006 exceeded the 65.5% district-wide rate, and in mathematics, student success stood at 64.3% in fall 2006, up from 60.8% a year earlier and dramatically above the 53.5% District rate.

Our Matriculation team of student services profes-sionals, counselors, and committed faculty members is determined to achieve our vision of Norco College as “a dynamic center for learning, student success, cultural enrichment and community development and an innovative leader in providing relevant, accessible, and affordable educational programs” (Vision Statement, Norco Educational Master Plan, Adopted by NSPC October, 18, 2007).

~ By Gaither Loewenstein, Ph.D.

Gaither Loewenstein, Ph.D.

Diane Dieckmeyer

RiversideRiversideDr. Pat Schwerdtfeger

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Pat Schwerdtfeger, vice president, Academic Affairs. He was the featured speaker at the Riverside City College Matriculation Advisory Committee meeting held in March. Dr. Schwerdtfeger is a newcomer to the Riverside Community College District who comes to Riverside City College from Palomar Community College, located in San Marcos, CA. There he held several senior level admin-istrative positions leading to the position of Dean of Arts, Media, Business & Computing Systems. As a faculty leader, Dr. Pat (as he is known at the College) emerged as chair of the Speech Communication, Forensics, and American Sign Language department. That experience served as a launching pad into administrative leadership.

Dr. Schwertfeger is a community college alumnus. He received his B.A. in History from Loyola University; his M.A. in Rhetoric and Public Address from California State University, Northridge; and a M.A. in Practical Theology and an Ed.D. in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego. Along with his academic achievements, Dr. Schwertfeger has contributed publications to the Collaborative Learning Exchange, Glendale Community College; Proceedings: Far West Philosophy of Education; and the University of San Diego. In addition, he has presented and facilitated at workshops and conferences addressing a variety of issues related to community colleges.

As our featured guest, Dr. Pat shared his thoughts regarding his guiding principals for Riverside City College which focus on what is best for students and to ensure that resources are available to meet those needs. Dr. Pat recommended two books to those committed to help understand the effectiveness of

student centered learning. The first book, “Learner-Centered Teaching,” focuses on the topic of learner-centered teaching in college and university classrooms. The author provides details pertaining to student learning, the conditions under which the student is learning, and whether or not the student is retaining and applying what they have learned. The second book, “The Advancement of Learning – Building the Teaching Commons,” explains the teaching commons in a theoretical space in which communities of educators committed to improvement come together to share ideas about learning and teaching, and then use them to meet the challenges of educating students for civic, personal, and professional life.

Dr. Schwertfeger brings forward an important point. In order to stay at the top of our game with our students, we need to continue learning and reading to help them meet their needs. Through improvement of our skills, we will be in a better position to assist in the academic development and achievement of our students.

Dr. Pat Schwerdtfeger speaking at the Riverside City College Matriculation Advisory Committee.

New Math DiagnosticsMany of students who take the Math assessment

test place into MAT-63 and MAT-64. These students have the opportunity to take one or more self-paced, open-enrollment Math modules. MAT-90A-C covers the contents of MAT-63 and MAT-90D-F covers the contents of MAT-64.

Before students begin the MAT-90 modules, they complete a math diagnostic test. Until recently, the math faculty used a diagnostic test developed by the College Board. The math faculty derived a scoring scheme for this test that sufficed, but left them wanting a different test.

In the last few months, the math faculty collabo-rated with the Assessment Center to develop a new math diagnostic test for students. This test – with questions written by the math faculty – is better aligned with the math modules than the previous math diagnostic. In addition, using the new diagnostics

will save RCCD at least $2,000 a year.The new diagnostic required additional program-

ming provided by David Lee, district placement services coordinator. The new diagnostic that has been imple-mented on the Riverside Campus on March 19 will be employed in a cascading manner throughout the District. If any major errors are discovered, they will only affect one campus. We can temporarily suspend use of the new diagnostics while we still have the old ones available.

Moreno Valley is expected to implement the new diag-nostic by mid- April. Norco will have the new diagnostic by the beginning of May.

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Riverside Community College DistrictRiverside Community College DistrictCollege Entry Made Easy Initiative

Last summer, concerned with college retention rates, Dr. Ron Pardee approached Dr. Debbie DiThomas to discuss ways to provide support to students to increase their chances of successfully completing their courses. A committee was formed to plan a collaborative initiative with faculty to target over a thousand students who, each year, successfully complete assessment, orientation, and counseling (AOC) and then do not enroll in the subsequent semester.

There were 1,931 students identified as enrolling in summer 2007 or fall 2007 who did not register for the term in which they applied. Letters were sent to the students inviting them to attend a district-wide College Entry Made Easy workshop on October 16 for either a morning or evening session.

The College Entry Made Easy workshops were designed to engage students in college at any of the three RCCD campuses and offer on-the-spot support services such as help with financial aid forms, WebAdvisor tutorials, registration help in late start classes, and scheduling counseling appointments to receive two-year student educational plans. Speakers were scheduled with representation from faculty members from each campus as well as support staff from each Student Services area.

Unfortunately, the response rate was not nearly what was anticipated. Only 10 students called to accept the invitation to this event. As it did not make fiscal sense to utilize the time and resources of the many people

involved for a small percentage of students, the decision was made to cancel the workshops. The 10 students were contacted by the Outreach department and were individually assisted. The day of the event there were about 15 students who arrived that had not RSVP’d and those students were assisted as well.

Follow-up surveys were sent to students in an effort to determine why they had not registered in classes at RCC. Over one-third of the students responded that they were too late in registering for classes and/or the classes that they had chosen were full. Over half of the students (54%) were interested in attending the Riverside campus, 29% were hoping to attend classes on the Moreno Valley campus, and 22% were interested in the Norco campus. All of the students who responded to the survey were contacted and resource referrals went to numerous Student Service areas on all three campuses. Thank you to our wonderful Outreach office for their invaluable assistance on this project. One of the lessons learned from this initiative was as we continue to evolve to a multi-college district, district-wide student success events will need to be a campus initiative versus a district event held on a particular college campus. If any of the campuses are interested in targeting this population of students in the future, please contact the District Matriculation department for assistance in identifying these students.

RCCD is dedicated to identifying the needs of our students and utilizing our resources to best fulfill these needs.

Course Placements for 9/1/07 through 2/29/08 (Students most likely entering Spring 2008)

District Moreno Valley Norco Riverside

English 60A W/ESL Recommendation 723 15.6% 231 17.6% 139 13.9% 353 15.3%

English 60A 1,554 33.6% 468 35.6% 330 33.1% 756 32.7%

English 60B 435 9.4% 134 10.2% 98 9.8% 203 8.8%

English 50 1,240 26.8% 325 24.7% 283 28.4% 632 27.4%

English 1A 670 14.5% 158 12.0% 147 14.7% 365 15.8%

Total: 4,622 100.0% 1,316 100.0% 997 100.0% 2,309 100.0%

Reading Skills 81 1,512 33.1% 507 39.2% 303 30.4% 702 30.8%

Reading Skills 82 543 11.9% 127 9.8% 123 12.3% 293 12.9%

Reading Skills 83 920 20.1% 264 20.4% 213 21.4% 443 19.4%

Reading Competency 1,593 34.9% 394 30.5% 358 35.9% 841 36.9%

Total: 4,568 100.0% 1,292 100.0% 997 100.0% 2,279 100.0%

Math 63 1,861 39.5% 593 46.3% 360 35.0% 908 37.8%

Math 64 133 2.8% 24 1.9% 19 1.8% 90 3.7%

Math 52 1,442 30.6% 366 28.6% 343 33.3% 733 30.5%

Math 53, 35 1,150 24.4% 280 21.9% 280 27.2% 590 24.6%

Math 4, 5, 11, 12, 25, 36 109 2.3% 15 1.2% 24 2.3% 70 2.9%

Math 10 10 0.2% 0 0.0% 3 0.3% 7 0.3%

Math 1A 7 0.1% 2 0.2% 0 0.0% 5 0.2%

Total: 4,712 100.0% 1,280 100.0% 1,029 100.0% 2,403 100.0%

ESL 51, 71, 91 74 12.0% 20 13.2% 19 16.0% 35 10.1%

ESL 52, 71, 91 100 16.2% 21 13.9% 21 17.6% 58 16.8%

ESL 53, 72, 92 106 17.2% 24 15.9% 25 21.0% 57 16.5%

ESL 54, 72, 73 or 74, 90, 92 or 93 143 23.2% 40 26.5% 31 26.1% 72 20.8%

ESL 55, 73 or 74, 90, 93 193 31.3% 46 30.5% 23 19.3% 124 35.8%

Total: 616 100.0% 151 100.0% 119 100.0% 346 100.0%

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Riverside Community College DistrictRiverside Community College DistrictA Note from the Interim Associate Vice Chancellor

Student Services started this year with a bang at Pala Mesa Resort for the 2008 Student Services Plan-ning Retreat. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Noth-ing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” Over 70 members of our Student Services staff participated with great enthusiasm in the two-day retreat. There is no doubt in my mind that our staff achieve great things each an every day and contribute positively to the lives of our students through their dedication to student success and institutional effectiveness – the foundation of matriculation. The retreat goals focused on under-standing change from what it is to the implications, to the complexity in deriving answers, to our responsibility in helping to facilitate the change process. We had many presenters who volunteered their time to share information with the group. We tend to retain 95% of information that we share with others, so group members were encouraged to share information learned at the retreat. We were reminded that when we learn, we are changed. In this year of great transition within the District, it is critical to recognize that all of us are agents of change and that an organization changes only when enough people in it change.

A special thank you . . . to our many presenters and honored guests. My first commendation is to Chancellor Buysse who provided participants with insightful, entertaining remarks on organizational change. The second is to Dr. Ron Pardee who presented a structural conception of change and challenged us to assess our own tolerance for change. The third commendation is to our dedicated Trustees Mary Figueroa and José Medina, who joined our Student Services leaders in Fallbrook for the retreat. It is too difficult to thank everyone but I will give it a try . . . my last commendation is to all of our Matriculation and Student Services professionals. The energy and dedication you put into serving students are the foundation of why this District is such a wonderful institution.

Matriculation ContactsDr. DiThomas, Interim Vice Chancellor,Student Services & Operations . . . . . . . . .222-8441

Dr. Monica Green, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor Student Services & Operations . . . . . . . . .222-8966

Patti BruscaMatriculation Program Assistant . . . . . . . .328-3650

Matriculation Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222-8442

Assessment & Guidance 45 Contacts:Moreno Valley Campus Ignacio Alvarez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571-6410

Norco Campus Sharon Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372-7176

Riverside Campus David Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222-8451Isabel Alanis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328-3814

Matriculation Specialist Contacts:Moreno Valley Campus Carmen Valencia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571-6131

Norco Campus Maria Maness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372-7109

Riverside Campus Lupe Delgadillo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222-8439

Counseling:Counseling is available by appointment on all three campuses. Please call:Moreno Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571-6104 Norco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372-7101 Riverside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222-8440

Report 07 FALL Number of First-Time Students Served

Service8/13/07 - 12/22/07

Moreno Valley District/TotalsRiversideNorco

Orientation/Counseling & Day of the Tiger

869 1,051 2,129 4,049

ESL Groups 101 49 53 203Total First Time

Students Served 970 1,100 2,182 4,252Total Students

Assessed 1,215 1,056 2,631 4,902

Total ESL Students Assessed

162 96 295 553

0 0 0 0

In addition to these students, 7,921 students were seen on an individual appointment. 1,517 dismissal students and 38 probation students were also seen.

MATRiCuLATioN REPoRT - FALL

Total High School Students Assessed

Report 07 WiN Number of First-Time Students Served

Service1/2/08 - 2/14/08

Moreno Valley District/TotalsRiversideNorco

Orientation/Counseling & Day of the Tiger

300 349 833 1,482

ESL Groups 91 30 48 169Total First Time

Students Served 391 379 881 1,651Total Students

Assessed 688 588 1,357 2,633

Total ESL Students Assessed

68 51 178 297

0 0 0 0

In addition to these students, 2,882 students were seen on an individual appointment. 1,424 dismissal students and 1 probation student were also seen.

MATRiCuLATioN REPoRT - WiNTER

Total High School Students Assessed