Central California college students v. COVID-19 — Central Valley college presidents unite for joint strategies through higher ed consortium

Central California college students v. COVID-19

Central Valley college presidents unite for joint strategies through higher ed consortium

 

(March 24, 2020) – As the COVID-19 crisis disrupts daily life throughout the world including college campus life, Central California higher education leaders are virtually connecting via the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) to help stabilize their students’ pursuit for higher education especially as they shift to online classroom environments.

In Zoom videoconferencing over the last two weeks, the presidents and chancellors of the 27 CVHEC-member accredited public and private colleges, universities and community college districts from San Joaquin to Kern counties have met to share strategies and challenges they face in light of the current pandemic. These presidents and chancellors make up the CVHEC Board of Directors.

“On these calls, presidents and chancellors have shared some resources that consortium member colleges and universities can use with their faculty and staff to address the need to move to a virtual platform for delivering instruction,” said Dr. Benjamin T. Duran, CVHEC executive director and Merced Community College president-emeritus.

The CVHEC board usually meets quarterly to strategize to increase the nine-county region’s certificate and degree attainment rates and to advocate for equity-driven strategies that reduce disparities in student persistence and completion rates, but recently mobilized CVHEC as a resource and called two emergency sessions — March 13 and 19 — to collaborate on COVID-19 response measures.

They have agreed to meet via Zoom weekly in response to the deadly Coronavirus outbreak that has spread swiftly throughout the world, Duran said.  The next is scheduled for Friday, March 27.

“The leadership of valley institutions of higher ed are uniting together with a common goal: to help provide calm and stability for students, faculty and staff during this upheaval in their lives,” Duran said after the CVHEC board’s second emergency session last Thursday.  “They want to assure students that we all are doing everything we can to find valid solutions and deliver the higher education they expect while helping flatten the curve against the coronavirus outbreak. The ultimate goal is to help all to remain safe and healthy.”

In addition to the weekly CVHEC Board COVID-19 Zoom meetings, the consortium will present a Zoom webinar next week, March 30, featuring experienced online faculty from the various colleges thrust into the role of online mentor to support fellow faculty members as they transition to a virtual classroom.

Like many other convenings (usually live) hosted by CVHEC, this webinar highlights the unique role CVHEC provides. Founded in 2002 under the leadership of then-Fresno State President John D. Welty to increase higher education participation in the region, CVHEC today serves the presidents, chancellors and other administrators of public and independent colleges and universities in California’s Central Valley that provide higher education services to over 4 million persons.

And, while the public sees that their local colleges transition to remote instruction in response to COVID-19 including some canceling major events like commencement celebrations, many more challenges are presented behind the scenes as the institutions seek to help students find a balance between earning a degree and navigating this public health crisis.

At the first meeting held March 13, requested by Merced Community College President Chris Vitelli, the CEOs briefed each other on their respective campus’ status up to that point and CVHEC compiled a list of links to each campus COVID-19 web page to share ideas and resources (see below).

Through CVHEC’s technical support contractor, The Charles A. Dana Center at University of Texas at Austin, online resources have been made available to CVHEC-member institutions. Resources include white papers and other teaching tools with such titles as “How to Help Students Keep Learning Through a Disruption,” “9 Resources for When Coronavirus Moves Your Course Online,” “Teaching Effectively During Times of Disruption,” and “Preparing for Emergency Online Teaching.”

At the March 19 Zoom Meeting, requested by San Joaquin Delta College President Omid Pourzanjani, the CEOs updated their rapidly changing status and shared challenges such as:

  • Online/remote – Preparing students and faculty for the online environment. Face to face instruction is a preferred mode of learning, but in the new environment everyone is challenged with learning the new modality. Faculty already experienced with teaching online for some time are rising to the occasion as leaders to serve as online mentors. Students are also being provided tutorials on how to learn online.
  • Crisis-relevant programs – Community colleges are key to providing nursing, police, fire and EMT training and certification. Online training for these programs is a challenge and the colleges are keeping these programs running by request of the institutions (hospitals, police departments, cities) that are in need of the qualified work force. The colleges are working to re-arrange calendars or implementing creative solutions;
  • Laptops – Colleges have found that laptops orders are backlogged by a few months and they seek support from each other for large volume purchasing arrangements resulting in lower unit costs and expedient delivery to better meet student needs.
  • Wi-Fi Hotspots – Online classes require more Wi-Fi access. Some campuses have extended their capacity to their school parking lots for Wi-Fi access, especially in rural communities where broadband is scarce. Several have purchased additional hotspots, such as Fresno State’s order for 1,500 hotspots with plans to order more.
  • Commencement – cancellations of graduation celebrations have already been announced at the three California State University campuses in the valley wide consortium (Bakersfield, Fresno and Stanislaus), as well as UC Merced and Fresno Pacific University while community colleges are reviewing options. Some are exploring other ways to celebrate their students’ academic achievements.

Duran said this ongoing collaboration by the  leaders of the valley’s academic institutions during such a crisis is inspiring:  “As they have done on many issues in the past, these CEOs are pulling together to make sure their current students’ academic needs and general well-being, as well as faculty and staff, are not compromised.”

Additional information and CVHEC updates are available at www.cvhec.org or Facebook or Twitter (@CVHEC_).

 

MEDIA NOTE: A list of links showing how the Central Valley’s colleges are responding to the COVID-19 crisis is provided below.  For follow up or for a media availability with Dr. Ben Duran, please call/text Tom Uribes at 559.348.3278 or tom@uribes.com).

ABOUT CVHEC — The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) is a 501(c)3 incorporated non-profit organization comprised of accredited public and private colleges, universities, and community college district members. CVHEC serves as the convener and facilitator of technical support experts as needed by members and executes the policy objectives of the CVHEC Board that is made up of presidents, chancellors and other administrators of all public and independent colleges and universities in California’s Central Valley. A key objective is to increase the Central Valley’s degree attainment. The organization also works closely with legislative leaders as an advocate for the higher education policy positions of the CVHEC board such as state legislation ordered in the California Community Colleges (AB 705) and system mandates in the California State University system (Executive Order 1110) that are forecast to create equitable opportunities for students (especially among Latino and Black students).


CVHEC Members COVID-19 Update Websites

Central Valley Community College Leaders Form Caucus to Advocate for Full Funding

Central Valley Community College Leaders Form Caucus to Advocate for Full Funding

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

When the California Economic Summit was held in Fresno late in 2019, it helped shine the light on the need for more investment in services in inland California.

State legislators can expect to hear more from some Central Valley community college leaders due to shortfalls after a new statewide funding formula was put in place. Concerned about the impact on their work, the college leaders decided to organize a caucus.

The Student-Centered Funding Formula (SCFF), covering all of the California Community Colleges, was intended to provide additional resources to districts serving large numbers of low-income and disadvantaged students and districts experiencing high graduation and transfer rates. This move to fund student success was one of the core commitments of the Colleges’ Vision for Success, pairing high expectations with high support.

“The community colleges have a simple goal—put the students first. For many of our students in the Central Valley, they are the first of their families to attend college. If we are going to be successful in lifting them up and into California’s middle class—it makes no sense to reduce investments now,” said Dr. Stu Van Horn, CEO of the West Hills Community College District. “We believe drawing attention to this shortfall through our caucus will help us make the case that our students deserve the attention and investment of their peers elsewhere in California.”

A full one-fourth of this statewide funding shortfall occurred within the Central Valley: $27 million in unrealized funding. All community college districts in the Central Valley have been underfunded to some degree, according to a letter issued by the community college leaders:

  • Kern Community College District ($10.5 million underfunded)
  • West Hills Community College District ($4.7 million underfunded [10% of operating budget])
  • Merced Community College District ($4.2 million underfunded)
  • Yosemite Community College District ($3.0 million underfunded)
  • Sequoias Community College District ($2.1 million underfunded)
  • State Center Community College District ($1.4 million underfunded)
  • West Kern Community College District ($0.5 million underfunded)
  • San Joaquin Delta Community College District ($0.3 million underfunded)

The Central Valley Community College Caucus, composed of CEOs, is calling for fiscal stability for the districts and the future viability of the funding formula:

  1. Allocating state general funds to backfill any remaining shortfall in apportionment funding to community college districts for 2018-19
  2. Ensuring the Student-Centered Funding Formula is fully funded for future years by authorizing adjustments to state General Fund apportionment to match the true cost of the SCF.

The leaders say these measures will contribute to fiscal stability for districts and the future viability of the funding formula as a tool for California Community Colleges to carry out the goals of the Vision for Success and help California stay competitive.

“Our first unified message of advocacy for the funding formula is being distributed to all members of the San Joaquin Valley delegation, as well as selected other individuals and entities,” Dr. Van Horn wrote.  “West Hills continues to spearhead collaboration among the region’s colleges, and I remain committed to stand shoulder to shoulder with you to ultimately improve the funding formula to align with the state’s Vision for Success.”

The California Economic Summit’s vast network continues to work on leading and promoting regional, inclusive strategies in advance of the 2020 Summit scheduled for Monterey on December 3 and 4. Read more about the Summit’s priorities in the 2020 Roadmap to Shared Prosperity, including lifelong learning strategies that will help prepare the workforce of tomorrow.

 

 

The original post can be found at https://cafwd.org/reporting/entry/central-valley-community-college-leaders-form-caucus-to-advocate-for-full-f

West Hills College chancellor named new chair of Central Valley Higher Education Consortium

West Hills College chancellor named new chair of Central Valley Higher Education Consortium

Monday, November 18, 2019 – 11:22am
FROM WEST HILLS COLLEGE

The top administrator at West Hills Community College District was recently named to a key Central Valley higher education board. Dr. Stuart Van Horn, Chancellor of the West Hills Community College District, is the new chair of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Board.

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium is a non-profit organization made up of members from private colleges, universities, and community colleges.

“I’m honored to serve in this role,” said Van Horn. “The consortium board does important work and has moved the needle on regional collaboration among and between two and four-year colleges, including private and independent universities, in the Valley. I’m looking forward to working with everyone on important initiatives that are designed to increase student success and completion for all valley communities and residents.”

The 27-member strong consortium brings together members serving over 250,000 students in the Central Valley.

Van Horn has been a part of CVHEC’s executive team since 2016 when he started serving as treasurer.

Dr. Benjamin Duran, Executive Director of CVHEC, said Van Horn brings a breadth of knowledge and experience to the role.

“We are delighted to have someone like Dr. Van Horn, with his experience and reputation in higher education, to serve as Chair of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC),” he said. “He has the full confidence of the presidents and chancellors of the 27 member institutions to lead CVHEC, which is recognized as the organization in the Central Valley and the State that speaks with one voice for higher education in our region.  Dr. Van Horn will bring much to the dialogue about improving the well-being of our students in our Central Valley colleges and universities.”

Van Horn has served as the Chancellor of the West Hills Community College District since 2017. Before taking on the role, he served as the district’s Vice-Chancellor of Educational Services and Workforce Development.

He has an extensive history in higher education, including serving as Dean of Instruction at Folsom Lake College from 2005 to 2013 and as Associate Commissioner of the Community College League of California’s Commission on Athletics (COA) for nine years. Other experience includes serving as Director of Public Information Services of the California Association of Community Colleges (known today as Community College League of California), Director of Community Relations at Mt. San Antonio College, and Senior Vice President of The Resource Group, an economic development entity, where he consulted 42 community colleges in California in program development and labor market acquisition projects.

 

 

The original post can be found at http://www.mylemooreleader.com/167669

Giving children of farmworkers an education like that offered to children of doctors

Giving children of farmworkers an education like that offered to children of doctors

BY BENJAMIN DURAN

I grew up in a family of migrant farmworkers, working in the Central Valley fields with my parents and seven brothers and sisters. But since elementary school, I only ever wanted to be a teacher. My own teachers helped make this dream a reality. They believed in my potential and paved the way for me to become an educator and eventually Merced College president. They also inspired my lifelong mission to advance educational equity.

I’m heartened that a new report, Getting There, shows that changes underway in the Central Valley will help make sure children of doctors and children of farmworkers have the same shot at succeeding at a community college.

Getting There examines colleges’ progress in implementing Assembly Bill 705, a law that addresses the poor outcomes and inequities of traditional remediation. In the past, most California community college students were required to take remedial courses based on their performance on a standardized placement exam, and just 18 percent of students would complete a transferable, college-level math course in a year. Among students required to take remedial English or math, only 41 percent would transfer or complete a degree in six years, compared to 70 percent of students not required to take those classes.

AB 705 is overhauling these awful statistics because colleges must now employ multiple measures instead of a standardized exam, so as to place students into courses that give them the best chance of completing the gateway English and math courses required for a bachelor’s degree. The law is already doing more to close the achievement gap and bring equity to higher education than any public policy I’ve seen in decades, but to achieve its promise, colleges must implement AB 705 in the fullest possible spirit of the law.

That’s because students’ initial placement in English and math is the largest driver of racial achievement gaps in college completion. It is estimated to account for 50 to 60 percent of equity gaps in students’ completion of long-term goals like earning a degree, completing a certificate program, or transferring to a four-year university.

Among the three regions studied in Getting There, the Central Valley has the highest proportion of colleges deemed “strong implementers” of AB 705, meaning that remedial classes make up less than 10 percent of our introductory English and math offerings. Porterville College is offering 100% transfer-level classes in both English and math. At Reedley College, just 2 percent of introductory English and math offerings are below that level. West Hills, Lemoore and College of the Sequoias eliminated remedial English and are close to doing the same with math.

This is a big change from two years ago, when AB 705 was signed into law. In fall 2017, almost half of the region’s introductory English classes were remedial, with college composition comprising only 52 percent of introductory reading and writing courses. Fast forward to today, and that number has jumped to 93 percent.

These are incredible gains, but there’s more to do.

Central Valley colleges are still offering too many remedial courses, especially in math. Non-transferable courses make up 24 percent of introductory math across the region, and at a couple of colleges, they make up more than 40 percent of the schedule.

This matters — research shows ALL students are more likely to complete their coursework when they enroll directly into college-level courses than when they start in remediation. Plus, when colleges put their limited resources into maintaining so many remedial classes, there won’t be enough seats in transfer-level classes for the students who are legally entitled to take them.

Instead of continuing to hang onto ineffective remedial classes, Central Valley colleges need to continue their efforts to ensure that their course schedules meet the AB 705 standard of maximizing student completion. If we can’t identify any students who actually benefit from taking remedial classes, we shouldn’t be using our limited public dollars to offer them.

When we set high expectations for students, students will meet them. When we set low expectations, students will meet those, too. As a young boy, I was able to make my dreams come true because people believed in me enough to open the doors of opportunity. Let’s put our faith in our students’ capacity on full display — let’s go all-in on AB 705, and offer classes that give students the best chance of completing their degree and reaching their goals in a timely manner.

Dr. Benjamin Duran is the executive director of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, and president emeritus of Merced College.

 

Read Full Report Here | CAP Report v8

 

The original post can be found at https://www.mercedsunstar.com/opinion/article235281187.html

Getting There: Are California Community Colleges Maximizing Student Completion of Transfer-Level Math and English?

Getting There: Are California Community Colleges Maximizing Student Completion of Transfer-Level Math and English?

September 2019

A new law, Assembly Bill 705 (Irwin), is driving dramatic changes in how California Community Colleges place students into English and math courses. Beginning in fall 2019, AB 705 requires the colleges to use students’ high school grades as the primary means of placement; restricts colleges from denying students access to transferable, college-level courses; and gives students the right to begin in courses where they have the best chance of completing the English and math requirements for a bachelor’s degree.

This report—a collaboration of the Campaign for College Opportunity and the California Acceleration Project—analyzes early AB 705 implementation efforts at 47 community colleges in the Central Valley, the Inland Empire, and greater Los Angeles. We examine fall course schedules and websites to identify bright spots and problems in implementation, with particular focus on the extent to which college course offerings are aligned with the AB 705 standard of “maximizing” student completion of transfer-level math and English courses.

Read Full Report Here | CAP Report v8

 

The original post can be found at https://accelerationproject.org/Publications/ctl/ArticleView/mid/654/articleId/76/Getting-There-Are-California-Community-Colleges-Maximizing-Student-Completion-of-Transfer-Level-Math-and-English

 

California’s inland region key to statewide vitality

California’s inland region key to statewide vitality

By  |
PUBLISHED:  | UPDATED: 

 

When it comes to investing in California, the smart money is heading inland, home to one of the most robust employment, innovation and opportunity centers in the United States. That might surprise those who still view the Inland Empire and Central Valley as distant outposts — barely mentionable in the same sentence as coastal California. In fact, not only has the inland region long served as the industrial and agricultural backbone of the state, it’s where investors are placing their bets and, in the process, helping build what we can now legitimately brand as the new California.

Inland California, which includes the Inland Empire and Central Valley, is home to 30% of the state’s population, and growing significantly faster than the state as a whole. The economic output of Inland California is also massive. At $436 billion in GDP (2015), the region’s economy equals the 15th largest state in the United States and the 25th largest country in the world.

We’re also younger, with one third of the population is under the age of 25, providing employers here with a pipeline of workers they won’t find anywhere else.

These are some of the reasons why so many emerging industries, from healthcare and transportation to alternative energy and advanced manufacturing, look to places like the Inland Empire for their next wave of major investments.

The state sees it too, which is why the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is investing more than $400 million in a state-of-the-art vehicle-emission testing and research facility at the University of California Riverside.

In San Bernardino County, state grants will help pay for what will ultimately become North America’s first zero-emission passenger trains as part of the Redlands Passenger Rail System.

In addition, the region has won two major grants from the Strategic Growth Council, totaling over $55 million in investments that provide for affordable housing and community development in key transit corridors. More broadly, these kinds of investments represent a growing recognition — in the public, private and philanthropic sectors — of how important the Inland Empire is to the state’s long-term vitality.

Indeed, private philanthropic foundations have significantly increased their investment in the Inland Empire over the past several years, from $61.3 million in 2013 to $115 million three years later. This increase has mostly been driven by investments from outside the region that more than doubled, from $46 million to $98 million. Our Center for Social Innovation was created from these kinds of investments, with nearly $2 million in seed investments from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, and Weingart Foundation in 2018, and an additional $1.2 million since.

We are not resting on our laurels, however, and neither is the region. Last month, officials and stakeholders from throughout the Inland Empire, Central Valley and the state gathered in Riverside for the first regional summit of Inland California Rising – an unprecedented effort to find common cause and attract even more investments to regions like ours that represent the future of California.

Importantly, we were not simply talking amongst ourselves. Senior leaders from the Newsom administration, from economic development to higher education and planning, used the occasion to announce a major statewide initiative called Regions Rise Together where Inland California will play a significant role.Foundation leaders attended, too, including four CEOs and senior program officers from Southern California funders like Weingart, to statewide funders like the James Irvine Foundation, to national and global funders like the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. All are interested in learning about the progress being made, and are committed to increasing public, private, and philanthropic investments in the Inland Empire and Central Valley. And we are already seeing tangible signs of progress, such as the creation of Opportunity Zone fellowships from FUSE Corps that will benefit Fresno and the Inland Empire alike, and engagement from Milken Institute and others to build a stronger tech ecosystem in the region.

California’s future is inland. Critical investments in the region’s innovation economy, civic leadership, health, and education, are vital to ensuring prosperity in the region and fulfilling the promise of “California for all.”

 

Original post can be found at https://www.dailybulletin.com/2019/06/21/californias-inland-region-key-to-statewide-vitality/?fbclid=IwAR31dNgtm3x94zD9OigyAu4MQtjo9hvZ-Csy5HC5FPLIUA5LScBYzMpv3MM

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