Help College Students Succeed - Part Two
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From: Your Name <you@example.com>
To: ccc@calcomui.org
Subject: Help College Students Succeed - Part Two
Jack Scott, Chancellor
California Community Colleges
1102 Q Street, 4th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95811
Dear Chancellor Scott:
I am writing to urge that you, and the members of the Board of Governors, approve Recommendation 2.1 through 2.5 of the California Community Colleges Task Force on Student Success.
These recommendations relate to helping California's Community Colleges get a clear picture of an incoming student's readiness for college level classes and what, if any, remedial courses the student must take to be ready for college level classes.
First the recommendations would require California's Community Colleges to develop and use diagnostic tools and tests to determine the readiness of incoming students for college level courses. The tests would be used to help the student develop an educational plan. This plan would include a goal, the student hopes to achieve while at the Community College, and a list the classes needed to achieve that goal. If the testing of the new student indicates that remedial classes are necessary, those would be included in his or her educational plan. Students would be required to declare a major course of study by the end of their first year of study.
The Community Colleges would also be required to better guide students through the educational process and to develop technology based tools to help them do that.
Here is why I support these recommendations. Approximately 70% of students arrive at community colleges unprepared to do college level course work. They need remedial classes to increase their ability to take college level classes.
Given the extremely tight budget of the Community College system the system should have the tools needed to evaluate incoming students as quickly as possible, and at as little cost as possible. More efficient and inexpensive processes are needed. If the colleges develop more efficient tools, especially if they are technology based, the evaluation process could be accomplished more quickly and at less cost. Technology can also help schools do a better, less costly, job of guiding students through the educational process.
This all would be very helpful to students as well. The sooner they can get a clear picture of whether or not they need remedial education, the sooner they can get started with the needed courses. The longer students spend at Community Colleges, the more it costs them. And many of them are on very limited income. It would be a shame for them to start a course in physics only to have to drop out because it becomes apparent they need remedial education in mathematics. Effective diagnostic tests, used early, can avoid such problems.
I also support the requirement that students declare a major at the end of their first. Studies done by the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy show that students who do that are twice as likely to complete a career certificate program, or to transfer to a four year college or university, than those who wait longer to declare their major.
For all these reasons, I urge you to adopt recommendations 2.1 through 2.5 of the task force.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your Organization
123 Your St.
Yousville, YO 12345
Phone: (123)456-7890
Fax: (123)456-7890x123
p.s.
Your Personal Statement
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Campaign (<em>2656</em>): <em>Help College Students Succeed - Part Two</em>
Learn more about this campaign here: <em>http://www.citizenspeak.org/campaign/calcomui/help-college-students-succeed-part-two</em>
--
This campaign was created with CitizenSpeak. Visit us online at http://citizenspeak.org
To: ccc@calcomui.org
Subject: Help College Students Succeed - Part Two
Jack Scott, Chancellor
California Community Colleges
1102 Q Street, 4th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95811
Dear Chancellor Scott:
I am writing to urge that you, and the members of the Board of Governors, approve Recommendation 2.1 through 2.5 of the California Community Colleges Task Force on Student Success.
These recommendations relate to helping California's Community Colleges get a clear picture of an incoming student's readiness for college level classes and what, if any, remedial courses the student must take to be ready for college level classes.
First the recommendations would require California's Community Colleges to develop and use diagnostic tools and tests to determine the readiness of incoming students for college level courses. The tests would be used to help the student develop an educational plan. This plan would include a goal, the student hopes to achieve while at the Community College, and a list the classes needed to achieve that goal. If the testing of the new student indicates that remedial classes are necessary, those would be included in his or her educational plan. Students would be required to declare a major course of study by the end of their first year of study.
The Community Colleges would also be required to better guide students through the educational process and to develop technology based tools to help them do that.
Here is why I support these recommendations. Approximately 70% of students arrive at community colleges unprepared to do college level course work. They need remedial classes to increase their ability to take college level classes.
Given the extremely tight budget of the Community College system the system should have the tools needed to evaluate incoming students as quickly as possible, and at as little cost as possible. More efficient and inexpensive processes are needed. If the colleges develop more efficient tools, especially if they are technology based, the evaluation process could be accomplished more quickly and at less cost. Technology can also help schools do a better, less costly, job of guiding students through the educational process.
This all would be very helpful to students as well. The sooner they can get a clear picture of whether or not they need remedial education, the sooner they can get started with the needed courses. The longer students spend at Community Colleges, the more it costs them. And many of them are on very limited income. It would be a shame for them to start a course in physics only to have to drop out because it becomes apparent they need remedial education in mathematics. Effective diagnostic tests, used early, can avoid such problems.
I also support the requirement that students declare a major at the end of their first. Studies done by the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy show that students who do that are twice as likely to complete a career certificate program, or to transfer to a four year college or university, than those who wait longer to declare their major.
For all these reasons, I urge you to adopt recommendations 2.1 through 2.5 of the task force.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your Organization
123 Your St.
Yousville, YO 12345
Phone: (123)456-7890
Fax: (123)456-7890x123
p.s.
Your Personal Statement
--
Campaign (<em>2656</em>): <em>Help College Students Succeed - Part Two</em>
Learn more about this campaign here: <em>http://www.citizenspeak.org/campaign/calcomui/help-college-students-succeed-part-two</em>
--
This campaign was created with CitizenSpeak. Visit us online at http://citizenspeak.org
