El Paso Community College has implemented a number of interventions aimed at boosting student success, most of which focus on two interrelated goals. The first goal is to help prospective students improve their readiness for college so that when they do start college at EPCC, they can avoid enrollment in developmental courses and begin immediately taking credit-bearing offerings. The second goal is to help entering EPCC students who are required to take developmental courses to successfully complete that coursework in a much shorter period of time.
It's all in a new report: "Collaborating to Create Change: How El Paso Community College Improved the Readiness of Its Incoming Students Through Achieving the Dream," by Monica Reid Kerrigan and Doug Slater, in the March issue of the Achieving the Dream Culture of Evidence Series (New York: Community College Research Center and MDRC).
In collaboration with the University of Texas at El Paso and 12 local independent school districts in the El Paso area, EPCC developed and brought to scale an improved process for helping high school students prepare for entry into college. Typically during their junior and senior years, El Paso area high school students now participate in what is known as the “college readiness protocol.” Before they graduate from high school, virtually all students: (1) complete a joint admissions application to EPCC and UTEP, (2) learn about and prepare for the ACCUPLACER test, (3) take the ACCUPLACER test, (4) review scores with counselors, and (5) refresh skills and take the test again if needed. Some students also (6) enroll in a summer bridge program to strengthen their basic skills, if necessary.
Here's a link with more information and access to a pdf version of the full report from Achieving the Dream.
Comments