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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2004
CONTACT: Elizabeth "Eli" Eguia-Garcia, Director, Office of Institutional Advancement and Public Affairs, Palo Alto College, 210-921-5269

PALO ALTO COLLEGE STRIVES TO 'ACHIEVE THE DREAM'

On October 1, Palo Alto College hosted its annual strategic planning retreat at the Guadalupe River Ranch in Boerne, Texas.

Attending the retreat were twenty-three individuals consisting of the president, vice presidents, deans, chairs and directors.

Dr. Dorothy Haecker, Chair of Philosophy, Behavioral Sciences and Humanities, views the annual retreat as an opportunity to spend time away from the daily activities at the college and celebrate the accomplishments of each department. “The great benefit of these retreats is that we get a moment to thank each other for what we have done and to share real ideas about what we want to do,” said Haecker. “We have time to discover all over again how fortunate we are to work with smart, caring people.”

At the all day retreat, President Ana M. “Cha” Guzmán presented the “Achieving the Dream” Lumina Outcome Variables. The Lumina Foundation awarded the Alamo Community College District and its colleges a grant to explore institutional effectiveness with a primary focus on serving the traditionally underserved populations. Her presentation touched on the significance of Palo Alto’s participation of this special district-wide initiative.

“Lumina will bring a new awareness to us indicating where we have been and where we need to go from here,” said Guzmán.

The second segment at the retreat covered the individual reports from last year’s strategic planning outcomes. As Dr. Guzmán addressed the importance of revisiting the college’s strategic plan on an annual basis, she said, “Sometimes we think outcomes are the most important but I will tell you that many times it’s the process that counts the most.”

The latter part of the afternoon was dedicated at reviewing the second year results of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement also known as CCSSE. As community colleges face the challenges of the 21 st Century, assessment tools such as the CCSSE have become essential in emphasizing assessment and improvement of student retention and student learning.

Dr. Mike Flores, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness and Community Development, administered the CCSSE for the second time last spring and provided the results to the twenty-three participants at the strategic planning retreat.

According to Dr. Guzmán, “CCSSE is important to us, because we are able to look at how effective we are at serving our students. The results have shown us that our student satisfaction ratings are high. Because of CCSSE, we now know what we do well and what we need to do to improve.”

“Palo Alto’s second year results further illustrate the gains that are being made in instruction and student services,” said Flores. “Clearly, students enjoy their experience at Palo Alto College. The first year also revealed an institutional challenge, ‘Acquiring Work Related Knowledge and Skills,’ which was successfully addressed and did not appear the second year, thanks to the work of faculty and staff.”

“CCSSE is really aimed at providing a snapshot of what our students think of the College,” said Flores. “If we use the results for institutional improvement then we can’t lose. Most importantly, the CCSSE results are cause for celebration. They provide a way to compare Palo Alto to other ACCD colleges and similar institutions throughout the nation. When compared to others we do really well, last year Palo Alto College was recognized as one of the top performing Medium-sized Institutions nationally.”

The late afternoon of the strategic planning retreat was spent in dialogue about the six “Achieving the Dream” goals. Focusing on retention, graduation and transfer rates, the goals are to: (1) Successfully complete developmental courses and progress to credit-bearing courses; (2) Enroll in and successfully complete gatekeeper courses; (3) Complete the courses they take, with a grade C or higher; (4) Re-enroll from one semester to the next; (5) Earn certificates and degrees; and (6) Transfers.

Each ACCD college is to identify student populations that experience low rates of success to create interventions and ultimately to improve student success. According to the Lumina Foundation, supportive systems can bolster students changes for success, “…by making college more affordable, smoothing transitions from high school to college and from two- to four-year programs, and ensuring that community colleges have the capacity and resources to provide the services their students need.”

In its twenty years of service to the Southside, Palo Alto College has demonstrated its commitment to serving the needs of a highly underserved region in San Antonio and its surrounding rural communities. By providing ongoing student support services and increasing its academic programs each year, the College continues to remain a leader in education on the Southside. The Lumina Foundation’s “Achieving the Dream” will be a vehicle for capturing Palo Alto’s institutional effectiveness.

“I hope we will translate our best ideas---about data-gathering, early alert systems, student support groups, and new advising methods---into meaningful actions,” said Dr. Haecker.

The “Achieving the Dream” goals were also discussed at the Employee Development Day Oct. 11 to further the dialogue with the larger college community.

For more information about the “Achieving the Dream” go to www.achievingthedream.org or visit the PAC web site at http://www.accd.edu/pac/htm/Community/about.htm to view President Guzman’s PowerPoint presentation.