Student success legislation ‘narrows the gate’

Southwestern College and other districts throughout the state will have students going through the two-year system at a much quicker pace with the reforms suggested by the Student Success Task Force (SSTF) as well as a recently signed law called Senate Bill 1456, otherwise known as the Student Success Act of 2012.

These legislative acts will change the process by which students go through the community college system.

All the reforms outlined by the SSTF will go into effect statewide by 2014 but individual districts are given the ability to implement the reforms ahead of schedule if they are capable of doing so.

Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1456 into law on Sept. 26. This law had two reforms in its bill text. One is the mandatory assessment, orientation and education planning of all new students and the other is placing requirements onto the Board of Governors fee waiver to give students an incentive to make progress on their educational goals.

According to the Chancellor’s office, mandatory assessment, orientation and education planning of all new students will be implemented on a statewide level beginning the spring 2013 semester. BOG fee waiver requirements will not be put into system-wide effect until the fall 2014 semester but community college districts have the ability to implement the requirements as of Sept.

However change may not be so quick to come to SWC.

“There are so many different aspects of the Student Success Act of 2012 that they are following a different time frame,” said Angelica Suarez, vice president of student affairs. “Some of the things being implemented need regulatory changes, some of them need statutory changes.”

Currently, the assessment test is not a requirement for incoming students. It is an optional test any student can take to determine at what level they are for classes.

A student education plan lays down the roadwork for a student to advance in their education by enrolling in classes that pertain to their field of study.

Starting Spring 2013, all new students are required to have an education plan within a year of their start.

Department Chair of the School of Counseling and Personal Development, Scott Finn, said the state recommends a student should state a major and acquire an education plan by the time they have 24 units.

“There is no penalty if they do not have an education plan,” he said. “Students who are in our veterans services receiving veterans benefits are required to have one. Our EOPS students have to have a student education plan and our financial aid students have to have a declared major with a student education plan. But there are still some pockets of students that don’t.”

With the 20,286 students enrolled at SWC this fall 2012 semester and only 10.5 full-time counselors, the student/counselor ratio is 1,932 students per counselor.

“Let’s say we only get about 2,000 new students. That’s doable. But if we are going to play catch-up and deal with our 19,000 current students, I would say, and this is a hard estimate, maybe half our students have an education plan,” said Finn. “So servicing 10,000 students in one semester is not possible based on the amount of counselors we currently have.”

Students are required to state a major, create an education plan and demonstrate satisfactory academic progress to be eligible for financial aid. BOGW would be capped at 110 units. An SWC policy already limits BOGW at 100 units.

Nearly two thirds of SWC students currently receive BOGW. 20 percent of today’s students would be affected by the need to state an educational goal, 23 percent would be impacted by not meeting educational standards and nine percent would be affected by the unit cap, according to Patti Larkin, director of financial aid.

SSTF reforms are also changing enrollment priorities giving priority to students making good progress through the system as well as students in special categories such as veterans and Extended Opportunity Program students. The state Board of Governors voted in changes to Title 5 enrollment priorities making veterans and foster children top tier followed by EOPS and DSPS students. On the third tier are the students making good progress through the system and new students that are fully matriculated. These changes will not have much of an impact on SWC due to similarities in what is already in place at SWC and the changes the board of governors voted in.

“This is something that we’ve had already,” said Suarez. “What we’re trying to make sure is that we make room the student that have not traditionally been at the front of the line. Veterans, foster youth, DSS and EOPS students have been in the front and now high-school students will be there right with them.

In order to keep enrollment priority, students must maintain good academic standing. This means a student has to keep at least a 2.0 GPA and complete their coursework in less than 100 units.

In spring of 2013, the schowwwol will be sending out notifications to students that have completed 70 units or who are on academic probation, giving them prior warning to the coming changes.