enrollment management

Excerpt from Dr. Rocha's Letter

to Chancellor Drummond RE: EMT (Nov. 2008)

Dear Chancellor Drummond:

I have included here West's four primary goals and six secondary goals for 2008-09. Each of these goals comes out of a deliberate strategic plan to make West a national role model for an urban community college by becoming the Westside's community college of choice by the end of the year 2011-12.

College Vision

This year West celebrates its 40th Anniversary as a community college in the midst of a profound transformation from a conventional commuter school for general education to a 21st century academy of the highest academic quality. We are therefore creating a first-class physical, academic and intellectual environment for the "best and the brightest": gifted teachers and bright students who are well prepared to excel in college level work and students whom we transform into the best and brightest through innovative basic skills and support programs.

The foundation of our work is our approved Educational Master Plan, 2008-011, with Concordance to the LACCD Strategic Plan. All of the ten goals I have articulated below are an organic result of plan's four major commitments to student learning, basic skills, CTE and innovative instructional delivery.

Primary "Big Four" Goals

1. Continue with established Enrollment Management Framework and Pursue Strategy to Achieve 10,000 FTES by 2011-12.

 

2. The Key Measure of Student Success: Awards of Degrees, Certificates and Verified Transfers

At West, we believe the most important indicator of a school's transformative impact and academic quality is the number of annual awards to students. All other student success work must lead to this major outcome. In 2007-08 we increased total awards by 3.2% to 538 awards. In 2007-08 we increased total awards by 10.6% to 595 total awards. Our goal for 2008-09 is to increase total awards by 10% again to 655 awards.

In 2007-08, we had a total of 257 verified transfers to public and private four-year universities, a 6.2% increase over the prior year. Our goal for 2008-9 is to reach 300 total transfers, an increase of 16.7%.

3. A New First Year College Experience for Basic Skills Students

By the end of 2008-09 we will have successfully implemented a major transformation of our Basic Skills program to cohort-based learning communities as follows:

UMOJA

Puente

FACE (Freshman Academic Community for Education)

Seven Bridges to College Level Work

4. Workforce and Economic Development Strategy: New Workforce, Vocational and Career Tech Ed Programs

Significant resources will be allocated to support curriculum development. These are the new programs already under development:

i. Allied Health: An "EBN" Strategy (Everything But Nursing): Home Health Aide, Medical Assisting, Dental Assisting, Pharmacy Technician, Imaging Specialties.

ii. Entertainment Industry: Hollywood CPR (studio trades training)

iii. Theater/Drama: Partnership with Tim Robbins' Actor's Gang

iv. Sustainability: Solar System Installers (partner with Solar City of Culver City); partnership with PXP on alternative energy programs.

v. LAX Hospitality Zone: A New Career Tech Ed Satellite. Pursuing grant and public/private support to establish a conference center and training school for hospitality industry. This includes a 501c3 strategy to capture non-apportionment revenue.