Central Valley Math Bridge kickoff May 18

Representatives of the first cohort of 13 Valley high schools in the new Central Valley Math Bridge Program convened with nine community college members of the  Central Valley Higher Education Consortium May 18 in Fresno to formally launch the program and plan for its implementation.

The event, presented by co-hosts College Bridge, Central Valley Higher Education Consortium and the Rand Corporation, drew 95 participants to kickoff the project that promotes equity and college-readiness in mathematics via dual enrollment courses for underprepared students at rural high schools in the region next fall. (See list of high schools below).

In a stirring keynote, “The State of Mathematics in California,” Dr. Lynn Cevallos, founder and president of College Bridge, presented the dire reality of academic disjuncture which has culminated in a pending crisis that could see “the doors to STEM careers closing for our students.

“Fortunately, the Math Bridge project is designed to keep those pathways open,” she said.

In the morning session following the keynote, “Collaborating Towards a Common Goal: Dinuba Success Story,” attendees heard first-hand accounts of how the project’s implementation can yield success from an exuberant team at Dinuba High School and Reedley College who had participated in a previous College Bridge program — the Math Pipeline Readiness Project (M-PReP) — that provided the foundation for the current project.

“It seems like a lot of work to start, and it is, but coming together and planning with everyone is an awesome process,” recounted  Augustina Sanchez, Dinuba High School counselor who also wrote about the experience in a “What Is the CV-hec Happening” blog in February. “And it works, [College Bridge] really is there with you every step of the way.”

Presenting with Sanchez were DHS Principal Andrew Popp; Christine Johnson, secondary math coach, Dinuba Unified School District; and Jim Gilmore, Math professor at Reedley College which was the DHS community college partner.

In afternoon breakout sessions, math instructors across the valley responded to the warnings from Dr. Cevallos’ keynote by diving right into the work of collaborating across their respective sectors.

“In a moment of amazing partnership, instructors jointly set the focus their work as whole content teams, regardless of college or high school,” Dr. Cevallos noted.

“It’s an amazing idea to have everyone from all of these colleges and high schools to want and decide to work together as huge content teams. That’s a lot of very smart and very dedicated educators coming together for the benefit of all their students.”

Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director, delivered closing remarks.

“The DE Math Bridge Project will prepare and guide students as they transition to college or university equipped with math credits and confidence,” said Durán, president-emeritus of Merced College who became CVHEC’s executive director in 2016.  “It creates a model for meaningful dual enrollment pathways and expansion that can be replicated in other regions of California serving underprepared students. This also supports CVHEC’s mission to increase degree attainment rates.”

The Central Valley Math Bridge project was initially funded by a $4 million five-year Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program federal grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to College Bridge in late December.

College Bridge recently completed an extensive four-month recruitment campaign to secure eligible high schools for the first of two cohorts. Recruitment of the second cohort will begin this summer, Cevallos said.

The first cohort of high schools to-date and their respective community college partners are (with three additional pending*):

Cerro Coso College: Lone Pine, Tehachapi;

Columbia College: Bret Harte*, Calaveras*;

Madera College: Liberty, Madera, Madera South, Matilda Torres, Yosemite;

Reedley College: Dinuba, Orosi, Parlier, Reedley*

Taft College: Taft High School

West Hills Coalinga College: Firebaugh, Tranquillity.

High schools and community colleges interested in participating in the second cohort may contact Nicole Korgie at nicole.korgie@college-bridge.org.

Media inquiries:  Tom Uribes at 559.348.3278.

 

NOTE: A parallel project funded by the state in February through the Central San Joaquin K-16 Partnership — made up of the Fresno/Madera and the Tulare/Kings K-16 Collaboratives — will serve an additional two colleges and seven high schools in the region (see https://bit.ly/CVHEC-DualEnrollmentMathBridge).

See background stories

https://bit.ly/CB-DualEnrollmentMathBridgeAnnounced

https://bit.ly/MathBridgeDualEnrollmentKickoff

ABOUT CVHEC and COLLEGE BRIDGE

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium based in Fresno, made up of 28 institutions of higher education in the Central Valley’s nine-county region, is assisting the Dual Enrollment Math Bridge Project by using its role as a regional convener to bring the participating higher education and K-16 representatives together with College Bridge, a California non- profit based in Los Angeles County dedicated to creating a seamless K-16 pathway for students.

PRESS RELEASE: Central Valley Math Bridge kickoff May 18 in Fresno

ADVISORY: For media coverage of the Central Valley Math Bridge Kickoff on Thursday, May 18 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.), or for spokesperson availability, please text Tom Uribes at 559.348.3278. LOCATION: The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel/Fresno Convention Center (2233 Ventura St. – Fresno).  See Agenda.

 

Central Valley Math Bridge: keeping the doors to STEM careers open for our students


13 rural high schools, six community colleges to convene for program kickoff May 18 in Fresno

(May 16, 2023) — The first cohort of 13 Valley high schools has been secured for the Central Valley Math Bridge Program that will promote equity and college-readiness in mathematics via dual enrollment courses for underprepared students at rural high schools in the region next fall (see list of high schools below).

The participating educators will convene this week with six community college members of the  Central Valley Higher Education Consortium in Fresno to formally launch the program and plan for its implementation at the Central Valley Math Bridge Kickoff from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, May 18, at Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Fresno Convention Center.

The launch is presented by co-hosts College Bridge, Central Valley Higher Education Consortium and the Rand Corporation.

Dr. Lynn Cevallos, founder and president of College Bridge, will deliver keynote remarks, “The State of Mathematics in California,” an analysis of intersegmental mathematics policies and practices statewide over the last 20 years that highlights a pending crisis now facing Valley students.

“The doors to STEM careers are closing for our students,” Cevallos warned. “The Math Bridge project is designed to keep those pathways open.”

In one morning session, “Collaborating Towards a Common Goal: Dinuba Success Story,” officials from Dinuba High School will share their experience with a previous College Bridge program — the Math Pipeline Readiness Project (M-PReP) — that provided the foundation for the current project.

Presenting will be DHS Principal Andrew Popp, Counselor Auggie Sanchez and Jim Gilmore, Math professor at Reedley College which was the DHS community college partner.

Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director, will deliver closing remarks along with Cevallos.

“The DE Math Bridge Project will prepare and guide students as they transition to college or university equipped with math credits and confidence,” said Durán, president-emeritus of Merced College who became CVHEC’s executive director in 2016.  “It creates a model for meaningful dual enrollment pathways and expansion that can be replicated in other regions of California serving underprepared students. This also supports CVHEC’s mission to increase degree attainment rates.”

The Central Valley Math Bridge project was initially funded by a $4 million five-year Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program federal grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to College Bridge in late December.

College Bridge recently completed an extensive four-month recruitment campaign to secure eligible high schools for the first of two cohorts. Recruitment of the second cohort will begin this summer, Cevallos said.

The first cohort of high schools to-date and their respective community college partners are (with three additional pending*):

Cerro Coso College: Lone Pine, Tehachapi;

Columbia College: Bret Harte*, Calaveras*;

Madera College: Liberty, Madera, Madera South, Matilda Torres, Yosemite;

Reedley College: Dinuba, Orosi, Parlier, Reedley*

Taft College: Taft High School

West Hills Coalinga College: Firebaugh, Tranquillity.

High schools and community colleges interested in participating in the second cohort may contact Nicole Korgie at nicole.korgie@college-bridge.org.

For more information about the  May 18 event, contact Angel Ramirez, CVHEC operations manager at 559.292.0576 (centralvalleyhec@gmail.com). Media inquiries:  Tom Uribes at 559.348.3278.

 

NOTE: A parallel project funded by the state in February through the Central San Joaquin K-16 Partnership — made up of the Fresno/Madera and the Tulare/Kings K-16 Collaboratives — will serve an additional two colleges and seven high schools in the region (see https://bit.ly/CVHEC-DualEnrollmentMathBridge).

 

See background stories

https://bit.ly/CB-DualEnrollmentMathBridgeAnnounced

https://bit.ly/MathBridgeDualEnrollmentKickoff

 

ABOUT CVHEC and COLLEGE BRIDGE

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium based in Fresno, made up of 28 institutions of higher education in the Central Valley’s nine-county region, is assisting the Dual Enrollment Math Bridge Project by using its role as a regional convener to bring the participating higher education and K-16 representatives together with College Bridge, a California non- profit based in Los Angeles County dedicated to creating a seamless K-16 pathway for students.

AGENDA-MathBridgeKO(051823)media

 

BOARD NEWS: CVHEC Board Reviews AB928, Eyes Retreat In 2023 and Bids Farewell to One of Its Own (Photo Gallery)

Outgoing Community College President Lori Bennett sat in on her final CVHEC Board meeting Dec. 8 and was honored by her colleagues including CVHEC regional coordinator John Spevak, who worked with her on special projects at CCC, and Executive Director Benjamin Duran. Jessie Ryan of the Campaign for College Opportunity presented on AB928 (Berman) and transfer reform. Bottom right: Board Chair Kristin Clark, chancellor of the West Hills Community College District, with West Hills College Lemoore President James Preston, Fresno City College President Robert Pimentel and State Center Community College District Chancellor Carole Goldsmith. See photo gallery below.

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Board of Directors held its final quarterly meeting of the year Dec. 8 highlighted by a discussion of Assembly Bill 928 regarding transfer reform and a farewell to a beloved colleague.

Dr. Lori Bennett, outgoing president of Clovis Community College, was presented a retirement gift during her final meeting sitting on the CVHEC board and representing her institution of higher education.

After a presentation by two dear friends and colleagues — Dr. Kristen Clark, CVHEC board chairperson  and chancellor of the West Hills Community College District; and Dr. Claudia Lourido-Habib, president of Porterville College — President Bennett expressed her appreciation for her CVHEC colleagues.

“There is nothing that I’ve done in my whole career that has been better than being president at Clovis Community College and part of that is being part of CVHEC,” said President Bennett whose retirement is effective Jan. 3.

“It’s amazing what we have here in this valley, all of you in this room, all of us getting to know each other and meeting up and talking and including all the different colleges,” she told the board. “It is beyond my wildest dreams that I could have been part of something like this. I want to thank all of you for the friendship and the work that we’ve done together over the last several years.”

The hybrid board meeting, only the second in-person session since the pandemic for the presidents and chancellors of CVHEC’s 30 member institutions in the nine-county Central Valley region, was hosted by the California Health Sciences University and board member Florence T. Dunn, CHSU president. Dr. John Graneto, CHSU dean pf the university’s College of Osteopathy Medicine, welcomed the academic CEOs with a presentation about the medical school.

Also presenting at the board meeting was Jessie Ryan, executive vice president of the Campaign for College Opportunity, who joined the meeting via Zoom. Discussing AB928 (Berman), Ryan acknowledged the role CVHEC has played in the transfer reform movement over the years, noting that the Central Valley is ahead of many in the state.

Ryan said the bill sought three things: to create an intersegmental transfer task force to talk about critical issues related to the production of the Associate Degree Transfer and improving the transfer process for students across the state; to create a common lower division general education pathway into the CSU and UC; and to more strategically ensure that the ADT became the preferred pathway for students where an ADT pathway for transfer existed

The board also heard CVHEC Executive Director Benjamín Durán report that the Consortium will be undertaking strategic planning measures in 2023 that include a program evaluation and a CVHEC Board Strategic Retreat next summer.

Several other CVHEC Projects were discussed; including a progress report on the CVHEC Transfer Project/Program Mapper, updates on the four CERF regions K-16 Collaboratives, and a discussion about the Online Educational Resources/Zero Textbook Costs (OER/ZTC). (See full agenda here – view details).

The CVHEC Board of Directors will meet again in spring 2023.

CCA Dual Enrollment National Focus Group Features Central Valley Students

A nation-wide communications campaign conducted by Complete College America (CCA) to recruit more Latinx students and other students of color into dual/concurrent enrollment student programs across the United States includes four Central Valley students who participated in CCA’s Dual Enrollment Student Focus Group Sept. 19 via Zoom.

The projected release of the virtual presentation is early 2023, said Dr. Brandon Protas, a strategic director for CCA.

Complete College America is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is focused on significantly increasing college completion rates with a focus on racial equity through an alliance of higher education leaders and organizations – such as partner CVHEC.

Dr. Benjamín T. Durán, CVHEC executive director, serves as one of 48 CCA leads nation-wide who provide oversight and coordination for local initiatives as well as CCA-sponsored projects. Leads act as strategic thought partners and leaders and promote the efforts and importance of CCA, Dr. Protas said.

The alliance sought the student recommendations after seeing CVHEC’s dual enrollment awareness campaign the past year that culminated in a five-minute video, newsletter stories and student panels at two convenings earlier this year. In addition to those students from the consortium’s nine-county Central Valley region, for this national project CVHEC also recruited valley students who attend a college outside the region.

Dr. Protas said the national project sought racially homogenous focus groups of students over 18 who participated in dual/concurrent enrollment in the past four years.

“The aim is to understand what impact DE/CE classes had on students of color, as well as on their motivation to go to college and to earn a certificate or degree and their experiences as a student of color,” Dr. Protas said.

“Information gathered from this national focus group will help create plug-and-play communications assets that can be used for intentional recruitment of dual/concurrent enrollment students who are underrepresented in these programs,” he said. “These would be branded through Complete College America and made available throughout the CCA Alliance to help recruit future high school students into DE/CE programs across the United States.”

The conversations were facilitated by Dr. Stepheny Hinkle Beauchamp, who CCA retained to conduct them through a race-conscious lens, Protas said. Her doctoral research is in dual enrollment rates for Latinos in Colorado.

The CVHEC students participating in the nation focus group are:

 

  • MARISSA GUTIÉRREZ, a graduate of Firebaugh High School who took dual enrollment through West Hills College-Firebaugh Center, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Fresno State. She is now enrolled at University of Northern Colorado earning a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling while working full time for a local elementary school in Greeley, CO.

 

  • VERÓNICA MÉNDEZ GARCÍA graduated from Madera High School where she enrolled in dual enrollment courses through Madera Community College before earning a Bachelor of Arts at Fresno Pacific University in spring 2022. She also served as student body president (2021-22) and was featured in a CVHEC video regarding broadband disparity. She is now pursuing a master’s at California Baptist University online.

 

  • AMIRA MALDONADO earned an Associate of Arts degree (plant science) through Reedley College’s Wonderful Prep program while at Sanger High School and is now in her second undergrad year at University of California, Davis (human development- sports medicine).

 

  • JOSÉ ACOSTA, a Sanger High School alumnus, took dual enrollment courses through Reedley College’s Wonderful Prep program and is in his second undergrad year at UC Davis (Animal Science).

 

The students have been enthusiastic in sharing their respective success stories, said Tom Uribes, CVHEC communications/media coordinator who coordinated the local student effort with Saundra McGlothlin, CVHEC regional coordinator and dual enrollment lead.

“We identified students who took just a few dual enrollment classes and found themselves motivated to pursue a higher education and we had some who went all out taking enough courses to earn an associate degree a week or two before they formally graduated from high school,” Uribes said. “All have been very articulate in sharing their respective stories either in our video, newsletter stories or serving on the panels.”

Zero-Textbook-Cost/OER Movement picks up steam with $115m state grant

West Hills College Lemoore Among the Statewide Leaders; CVHEC Establishes Regional ZTC Task Force

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) is creating a regional task force to support its member institutions interested in reducing the overall cost of education for students and decreasing the time it takes students to complete degree and certificate programs by using alternative instructional materials and methodologies, including open educational resources (OER).

One of the first goals of the task force will be to support members in applying for new state funding for the California Community Colleges to establish Zero-Textbook-Cost programs systemwide.

Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director, sent out a call to members in late August to recommend appointments to the Central Valley Zero-Textbook-Cost Task Force.

“This task force will bring attention to how districts can access the $115 million available to community colleges to implement the program and benefit their students,” Duran said. “We hope the task force will help create a collaborative environment to support each other in providing zero cost textbooks to our students.”

He anticipates the task force will be named in early October and set its first meeting shortly after to ensure members are aware of CCC’s ZTC webinars.

Duran is working with James Preston, president of West Hills College Lemoore and member of the CVHEC Board of Directors, who has been at the forefront of the ZTC Degrees Movement with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

“Zero-textbook-cost degrees” means community college associate degrees or career technical education certificates earned entirely by completing courses that eliminate conventional textbook costs by using alternative instructional materials and methodologies, including open educational resources (OER).

In a blog for this issue of the CVHEC e-newsletter, President Preston explains that Open Educational Resources are free, openly licensed and accessible materials that faculty can retain, revise, remix, reuse, revise and redistribute. OER materials come in many forms such as open textbooks, videos, articles and ancillary support materials.

“When creatively combined into a Canvas course shell, OER create what we now know as a Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) course,” he said. “Teamwork between discipline faculty, an area administrator, library or instructional design support and student services personnel, along with the financial support for people to collaborate, can quickly move things from a ZTC course to a ZTC degree.

“Add in a dose of creativity, strategy, policy, equity and guided pathways thinking and you are on your way to a full OERevolution,” the West Hills College Lemoore president writes.

This OERevolution started for West Hills College Lemoore in 2016 when the campus received a $100,000 grant from the Achieving the Dream (ATD) network to create a Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) degree for an Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) in Elementary Education.

Other CVHEC members receiving the 2016 seed funding were Reedley College, Taft College and WHC- Coalinga. CVHEC four-year members also utilizing the Zero Textbook Cost Program are Fresno State (see video “Be A Hero: Adopt Open Educational Resource” and press release “Fresno State partners with OpenStax to increase use of free textbooks on campus”) and National University.

CVHEC audience members wishing to recommend task force participants may email Angel Ramirez, Operations & Finance Manager, at angelr@csufresno.edu.

 

Links

What the CV-HEC is Happening Blog by WHC-L President James Preston (September 2022 CVHEC Newsletter).

WHC-Lemoore OER – (https://www.westhillscollege.com/lemoore/oer/)

OER video – (https://youtu.be/qop5VhYv2nw)

California community colleges implement zero-textbook-cost (Inside Higher Ed – Sept. 19, 2019)  

WHAT THE CV-HEC IS HAPPENING BLOG (September 2022): The ZTC/OER Movement

Let’s Join the OERevolution with
ZTC programs, Central Valley!

 

By JAMES PRESTON, President
West Hills College Lemoore
CVHEC Board of Directors

The California Community College Chancellor’s Office recently announced it is launching the Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Program and supporting the system with $115 million to do the work in what we term the “OERevolution” (Open Educational Resources).

While the details are still rolling out in series of webinars, the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium CVHEC is forming a ZTC Taskforce to review/advise how its community college district members can access these funds to implement the program.

Each college in the system will receive a $20,000 planning grant designed to help colleges develop a team and devise a plan. The remaining funds will be available for colleges to fund ZTC degrees at their college. Applications are now available.

For the past six years, you have been hearing the OER and ZTC acronyms as our state community college system has been discussing the possibilities of a world without expensive textbooks. The time is now Central Valley to lean into the OERevolution! But before I explain its ingredients, let’s start with some basic definitions:

 

  • Open Educational Resources (OER) are free, openly licensed and accessible materials that faculty can retain, revise, remix, reuse, revise and redistribute. OER materials come in many forms such as open textbooks, videos, articles and ancillary support materials.

 

  • When creatively combined into a Canvas course shell, OER create what we now know as a Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) course. Teamwork between discipline faculty, an area administrator, library or instructional design support and student services personnel, along with the financial support for people to collaborate, can quickly move things from a ZTC course to a ZTC degree.

 

  • Add in a dose of creativity, strategy, policy, equity and guided pathways thinking and you are on your way to a full OERevolution!

 

Three Wins When You Join the OERevolution!

In 2016 , West Hills College Lemoore received a $100,000 grant from the Achieving the Dream (ATD) network to create a Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) degree for an Associate in Arts for
Transfer (AA-T) in Elementary Education and it started the college on our campus’ OERevolution journey!

Initially, West Hills College Lemoore jumped into the OERevolution as a way to eliminate textbook cost barriers for students; however, what started as a revolution against textbook publishers and outrageous prices quickly turned into an evolution of teaching and learning as faculty utilized OER materials in creative and powerful ways.

Thousands of hours of teamwork, a few additional grants and six years later West Hills College Lemoore has saved students over $8 million dollars, evolutionized teaching and learning and currently offers 62 percent of our courses in the ZTC format with a dozen degrees and certificates that students can complete without any textbook costs!

The ZTC program, like any new initiative or work, finds our Central Valley colleges in various stages while continuously fighting with competing priorities, but let me frame for you three guaranteed wins if you join the OERevolution!

 

Win #1: Affordability and Access

We have been fighting the affordability fight as a system for the past decade and are starting to see great movement in food insecurity, housing insecurity, financial aid reform and efforts to close the digital divide. These are all critical movements, but let’s talk about student success and how hard it is for students to succeed in their courses if they can’t afford the learning materials.

For years we at West Hills College Lemoore tried creative solutions like putting a textbook on reserve in the library or creating textbook checkout programs. Our college ran a very “successful” textbook checkout program for one of our categorical programs that checked out 250 textbooks a semester for 10 years which saved students about $500,000 over ten years (approximating $100 a textbook). But in the first year that we launched our OERevolution, we were able to save students $632,800 in textbook costs. Simple math: in one year with OER, West Hills College Lemoore saved students what took 10 years with other creative approaches.

Similarly, the California Community College Chancellor’s Office invested $5 million into the pilot program for ZTC degrees in 2016. West Hills College Lemoore served as the Co-Technical Assistance Provider (TAP) for this program and the savings for students were staggering: the 37 ZTC degrees and certificates that were created across the state saved students over $40 million dollars.

This chart shows the progress of West Hills College Lemoore the past six years and highlights the powerful combination of savings and Day One access for our students to their OER learning materials.

 

 

Win #2: Teaching and Learning

One major flaw in our community college system is that our new full-time and part-time faculty come into our system with minimal teacher preparation.

For decades, the onboarding of an individual who meets minimum qualifications with a M.A. degree or vocational experience in their discipline — but no teacher training — amounted to receiving a course outline, a sample syllabus and the course textbook with publisher materials. If your institution utilizes this formula, you most likely end up with a teacher who will lean heavily on the textbook and publisher materials out of pure survival the first few years in the classroom until they have had the chance to gain experience, receive mentoring and engage in professional development.

The move to Open Educational Resources at West Hills College Lemoore has led to an evolution in teaching and learning as the faculty focus has been freed from textbook dependency and shifted from teaching “chapters” to teaching concepts. Faculty have diversified their curriculum and identified relevant and engaging OER materials to create their ZTC course shells in Canvas.

One of our most recent examples is our math faculty who recently shifted from Pearson’s MyMathLab ($120 access code) to MyOpenMath (MOM).

MOM is an open and free product created by a group of community college math instructors in concert with some programmers and has resulted in high-quality open Math courses in the Canvas Commons with ancillary materials comparable to publisher materials.

Our math faculty have taken the base model of the MOM courses and added their own personalized videos, lecture notes and even programmed in some quizzes, tests and other support materials. Innovation and collaboration have become the norm as faculty use a “base model” course shell and then add in their own materials to personalize it for their students.

Across our college, you no longer hear faculty stating they are “covering chapter three this week.” Instead they are talking about concepts and themes.

Win #3: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion  and Access!

For years we have heard stories, completed surveys and conducted focus groups at our colleges that informed us that students either don’t purchase the textbooks because of cost, buy textbooks later in the semester when they are able to gather up funds, or just get creative and try to find workarounds to purchasing a textbook which takes time and compromises the quality of materials.

The most compelling win for OER is equitable access to course materials for all students on Day One of the class. Thanks to the ZTC course model, the majority of our faculty are able to open up their courses with introductory content and access to learning materials a week before the class starts so students are ready to succeed from Day One.  

The beginnings of an OERevolution are grounded in faculty working together with their OER librarian or instructional designer and fellow faculty to identify diverse, engaging and quality materials aligned to their outcomes.

The next level of the OERevolution can also include open pedagogy where students are also gathering and identifying materials for a course and faculty content creation where faculty help fill the gaps and create content to support learning either in the form of videos, articles or textbooks.

Our most recent college example of faculty innovation is a new textbook that was co-written by a team of faculty for an Introduction to Ethnic Studies course. This free and open textbook serves as a guide and the course shell includes additional learning and engagement materials.

Co-author Dr. Vera Kennedy proclaims, “We are excited to share our new OER book with original content titled Our Lives: An Ethnic Studies Primer with students and faculty. The text was developed as a stand-alone resource for Introduction to Ethnic Studies courses. However, students and faculty wanting discipline-specific voices or perspectives may choose the book as a supplemental resource.”

The textbook is available in three online format that are listed below and you can see how with just a click of a link our students have Day One access to their material:

Scaling Up the OERevolution!

West Hills College Lemoore, through the TAP role with the pilot ZTC program, offered OER bootcamps and professional development for faculty and delivered strategic sessions for college teams to address institutional elements around OER such as building infrastructure and integration of ZTC and OER through shared governance, policy and campus plans.

Our campus looks forward to working with CVHEC to provide training, support and resources to help our Central Valley colleges continue their OERevolution.  I invite you to check out our story and a plethora of resources at our OER website: https://www.westhillscollege.com/lemoore/oer/.

 

OER Embraced – California community colleges implement zero–textbook–cost (Inside Higher Ed 09/19/19) 

Presenting our renovated CVHEC Website: Meet our Board of Directors

The chancellors, presidents and superintendents of 30 institutions of higher education in the Central Valley nine-county region from Stockton to Bakersfield sit on the CVHEC Board of Directors. They meet quarterly in pursuit of CVHEC’s core mission to increase valley college-going rates and degree/certification attainment, providing a unified voice for their more than 250,000 students served jointly. See the board of directors section in our newly renovated website: https://cvhec.org/about-cvhec/ 

 

This fall, we unveil phase one of our renovated Central Valley Higher Education Consortium website which we hope will be easier to navigate as we showcase the work of the Consortium throughout the valley.

We will be featuring a different piece of our website as we continue to build it out in hopes of showcasing it as a resource for our members, colleagues and partners.

This month, we feature the professionals and experts who are carrying out the CVHEC mission. On the “About CVHEC” page, you can meet our CVHEC Board of Directors – the presidents and chancellors of our 30 members of higher education in the Central Valley’s nine-county region from Stockton to Bakersfield as well as the core staff that includes several former educational leaders who  now served as CVHEC regional coordinators/liasions,

Also, see our CVHEC News web page that is being finalized this fall featuring our newsletter stories and press releases where news media can connect with us as well as the members of our CVHEC PIO/Communicators Committee, consisting of the communications professionals handling media relations at each of the 30 campuses.

Our new calendar will keep you up-to-date on CVHEC and other higher education events on our radar. For considerations and modifications to our calendar please email centralvalleyhec@gmail.com.

CVHEC Member News: CLP Guidance Pathways

Four CVHEC Members Highlighted in Career Ladders Project
Look at Guided Pathways Redesign Challenges

The Career Ladders Project recently highlighted four CVHEC member organizations in stories illustrating how 15 California community colleges are redesigning their Guided Pathways programs and structures prompting college leaders across the state to share the stories to help clarify opportunities, spur conversation and motivate Guided Pathways redesign teams.

Founded by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors in 2002, Career Ladders Project is a nonprofit that operates under the fiscal sponsorship of the Foundation for California Community Colleges.

The project promotes equity-minded community college redesign by collaborating with colleges and their partners to discover, develop, and disseminate effective practices. CLP policy work, research, and direct efforts with colleges lead to system change—and enable more students to attain certificates, degrees, transfers, and career advancement.

The Guided Pathways stories are presented in one-page narratives — grouped into topics — produced by Career Ladders Project with funding from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

The four CVHEC members highlighted are:

Bakersfield College

• Integrating Student Supports in Guided Pathways Redesign

• Aligning Redesign Across Campus

• Using Data in Guided Pathways Redesign

Madera Community College

• Centering Students in GP Design

West Hills College Lemoore

• Aligning Redesign Across Campus

• Supporting Students from a Distance

Reedley College

Managing Guided Pathways redesign and Engaging the College

 

See the CLP Redesign stories overview.

Interim Presidents Named at Bakersfield College, Columbia, West Hills Lemoore

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”5751,5790,5789″ img_size=”240×300″][vc_column_text]Congratulations to three interim presidents appointed recently and joining the CVHEC Board of Directors:

• Bakersfield College – Dr. Zav Dadabhoy was named to replace Dr. Sonya Christian who is now the chancellor of the Kern Community College District.

• Columbia College – Dr. G.H. Javaheripour, effective  July 1, to replace Dr. Santanu Bandyopadhyay, who is now president of Modesto Jr. College.

• West Hills College Lemoore – Dr. James Preston, effective July 1, following current President Kristin Clark’s selection as West Hills Community College District Chancellor.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Three Fresno-area colleges search for new leaders. You can help decide who gets hired

Three Fresno-area colleges search for new leaders. You can help decide who gets hired

BY ASHLEIGH PANOO
FEBRUARY 05, 2021 07:59 AM

As several of the Fresno-area’s top college leaders retire or move on this year, it has put the central San Joaquin Valley in a position of searching for three people who will shape the future of higher education in the region.

Fresno State, State Center Community College District, and West Hills Community College District are already in different stages of the hiring process.

Former Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro left in January to become chancellor of the 23-campus California State University. Paul Parnell, chancellor of State Center, will retire in July. And Stuart Van Horn will retire in June after serving four years at West Hills.

It’s not uncommon to have several higher education positions up for filling, according to Benjamin Duran, executive director of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium.

“They can come in clusters,” he said. “In this particular case, it was just kind of a perfect storm, if you will, where the three of them all left at the same time.”

But it could be an important time for the public to have input about the qualities these next leaders should possess.

“It goes without saying, but anytime a leader of higher education or K-12 education is going to be replaced somewhere locally, the public should have their voice heard,” Duran said. “I think that those leaders should reflect, to some extent, the kind of profile that the public and the institutions think are important.”

Across the Valley, several other college leaders were hired in 2020, including U.C. Merced Chancellor Juan Muñoz, and Madera Community College President Angel Reyna.

FRESNO STATE SEARCHES FOR NEW PRESIDENT
California State University will hold a virtual forum from noon to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, outlining the search process. Community members wishing to speak must register online by 5 p.m. Friday. The open forum will be livestreamed to the CSU website.

The community can also fill out a survey which asks which professional qualifications, experiences and personal attributes the next president should have.

Members of the search committee are:

Joseph I. Castro, Chancellor

Lillian Kimbell, Chair, CSU Board of Trustees

Jane W. Carney, Trustee and Chair, Search Committee

Diego Arambula , Trustee

Wenda Fong, Vice Chair, Board of Trustees

Krystal Mae Raynes, Trustee

Robert S. Nelsen, CSU Sacramento, CSU President Representative

Paula Castadio, Fresno State Vice President for Advancement, Administration Representative

Thomas Holyoke, Chair, Fresno State Academic Senate

Joy J. Goto, Faculty Representative

Jenelle S. Pitt, Faculty Representative

Georgianna Negron-Long, Staff Representative

Jacqueline Campos Ledezma, Student Representative

Elizabeth Rocha Zuñiga, Student Representative

Edgar Blunt, Alumni Association Representative

Nicole Linder, University Advisory Board Representative

Carol Chandler, Community Representative

Clint Williams, Community Representative

The search is expected to take six months to a year, the university has said. In the meantime, Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, the university’s provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, has stepped in as interim.

STATE CENTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

State Center is the parent district of Fresno City College, Reedley College, and Clovis and Madera Community colleges. The board of trustees could appoint an interim as soon as its next meeting on March 2, which they say would allow for a smooth transition when Parnell departs on July 6.

It’s early on in the process, but the district is gearing up to collect public input soon, according to board president Annalisa Perea.

“I think one of the first important steps is to hold (a) virtual forum in the next couple months and really have an opportunity to hear from our faculty and students,” Perea said, “and really just give people an opportunity to tell us what they want to see in the next Chancellor.”

And although it may not be uncommon to have several higher ed leader spots open, it could create competition in the search process, according to Julianna Mosier, the vice chancellor of Human Resources.

There are “a number of other chancellor and superintendent (and) president searches already underway across the state,” she said during a board meeting on Tuesday, “including Kern (Community College District) and West Hills locally, and San Diego (Community College District), and then El Camino (College) and many others, which will impact the pool of candidates we are able to attract.”

The district is looking to hire a search firm to garner a greater pool of national candidates.

A preliminary timeline shows the job posting could go up in August/September, applicants could be screened and a public forum held in November/December, and the appointment could be made in January/February 2022. The chancellor would start in spring or summer 2022.

WEST HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
A national search to replace Van Horn began in October, and candidates are being interviewed at this time, said spokesperson Amber Myrick.

Public forums will be held the week of March 15, she said.

West Hills has campuses in Lemoore, Coalinga and Firebaugh.

The board of trustees is expected to appoint the new chancellor at their April 20, 2021 meeting, with a start date of July 1.

 

View story here –https://www.fresnobee.com/article248967874.html

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