Allan Hancock College employed the six success factors to drive campus-wide conversations and action designed to improve student achievement. See how the college incorporated the six success factors into its 2014-2020 strategic plan, including as an overall frame for the plan and as part of its “strategic directions” section. View the Strategic Plan.
A 2014 presentation delivered by Allan Hancock president, Dr. Kevin Walthers, to the UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project also shows how the college is using the factors to organize its work to improve the odds that its students will reach their goals. View the UCSB Economic Forecast Project Presentation.
AHC is also using the success factors as organizing principles for two key support strategies designed to transition students into the college — Student Ambassadors and Bridges to Success Meetings. More details below...
Student Ambassadors:
Engages AHC students in providing peer support to incoming students. Recruited through the Career/Job Placement Center on campus and supervised by the Student Activities Coordinator, these ambassadors offer help during the registration process, serve as liaisons with local high schools, host information tables at off-campus events, lead campus tours, and assist with key college community activities (e.g., Transfer Day, College Night, New Student Orientations, Academic Advising Workshops, etc.). Ambassadors participate in a week-long training prior to the start of the semester and attend half-day trainings periodically throughout the semester. Trainings include learning about the six success factors and ongoing discussions of the factors’ importance to students’ achievement.
Contact Yvonne Teniente-Cuello, Dean of Student Services, for more information.
Bridges to Success Meetings:
Convenes AHC counselors and their counterparts at local high schools on a monthly basis with the goal of establishing and delivering programs and services that allow students to experience all six success factors. These meetings involve counseling faculty from a range of AHC programs and departments (e.g., EOPS, CalWORKS, Transfer Center, Career Center, Noncredit, STEM/MESA) and focus on team building, project updates, and cross-system coordination of events.
Critical topics such as equity, the achievement gap, and the roles of counselors in addressing these issues are embedded as part of group discussions and activities. In its second year, Bridge to Success meeting facilitators reported a significant shift in the dialog about high school students’ postsecondary options where a community college experience is now considered a viable and valid path.
Contact Nohemy Ornelas, Associate Superintendent/Vice President of Student Services, for more information.
For more information about Student Support (Re)defined, contact Dr. Darla Cooper.