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Guided Pathways:Transforming the College Journey

Innovation | Ownership | Commitment

Faculty Inquiry Team | 2017-2018

Guided Pathways: Transforming the College Journey | Faculty Inquiry Team 2017-2018 3

So when I first started coming to Cha�ey, I actually started as a business major, then progressed to a Kinesiology major and automotive and now I’m at nutrition. A lot of it was trial and error. Some of the classes were similar, some of them weren’t, but I really didn’t see too much help about how to go about what class to try or what classes were even o�ered. I didn’t know there were a lot of programs even o�ered at the school, so I had to try one, try another one. A�er a certain amount of classes, I realized that wasn’t for me, and it was a real big waste of time, especially for my business, because as soon as I took certain business classes, I took one business management class: hated it. And I dropped that, but it was such a waste of time to get that far into a certain field, then to find out that it wasn’t what you needed. Something like an internship or something like that would have been so much more helpful to go about knowing whether you’re going to like a subject in the field rather than taking a bunch of classes to find out that that one class sheds light on the field that you didn’t like.

Guided Pathways: Transforming the College Journey | Faculty Inquiry Team 2017-20184

AcknowledgmentsThe Chaffey College Faculty Inquiry Team would like to thank students, faculty,

classified, and managers who participated in the Guided Pathways Focus Groups.

2017-2018 Faculty Inquiry TeamCherlou Opulencia, Faculty, Counselor, FIT Co-Facilitator

Misty Burruel, Faculty, Art, FIT Co-Facilitator

Jackie Boboye, Faculty, Counselor

Derek Dokter, Faculty, Business & Applied Technology

Danielle Graham, Institutional Research

Shannon Jessen, Faculty, Biology

Julie Law, Faculty, Counselor

Sheila Malone, Faculty, Theatre Arts

Rose Ann Osmanian, Faculty, Success Centers

Annette Young, Faculty, Librarian


Table of ContentsIntroduction �� 8Research Design And Methodology �� 10Key Findings from Research �� 12

Part I. Student Voices ............................................................................................................................... 13

A. Clarify The Path ................................................................................................................................. 15

B. Choose And Enter A Path: Student Connections........................................................................ 19

C. Choose And Enter A Path: Early and Ongoing Career Exploration .......................................... 23

D. Stay On The Path: Inescapable Supports .................................................................................... 29

E. Stay On The Path: Academic Barriers ........................................................................................... 33

F. Ensure Learning ................................................................................................................................. 35

Part II. Faculty, Classified Staff, and Management Perceptions of the Student Experience ....... 36

A. Structures and Policies as Barriers to Student Success ............................................................ 38

B. Connecting Educational Programs, Degrees, and Certificates to Student Outcomes ....... 44

C. Leveraging Strengths: Integration of Resources and Services ................................................ 49

D. (Re)defining and Supporting Disproportionately Impacted Student Populations ............. 51

E. Creating Conditions for Engagement ........................................................................................... 52

Summary of Findings �� 54A. Focusing on Equity .............................................................................................................................. 55

B. Preparation and Awareness .............................................................................................................. 57

C. Learning From Student Voices .......................................................................................................... 59

Transformational Change: Addressing Barriers to Equity Through Institutional Effectiveness 61Summary Of The Literature On Student Pathways | 2017-18 FIT �� 64

A. Research Findings: The Four Pillars Of Guided Pathways ............................................................ 66

B. Planning, Implementation, Early Outcomes, and Evaluation ..................................................... 68

C. Summary Of Research From The 2014-15 FIT Report .................................................................. 69

References �� 70Appendices �� 75

Appendix A: Student Focus Group Protocols ...................................................................................... 75

Appendix B: Classified Focus Group Protocols ................................................................................... 76

Appendix C: Faculty Focus Group Protocols ....................................................................................... 77

Appendix D: Manager Focus Group Protocols .................................................................................... 78

Appendix E: Summary Of Recommendations And Findings From The 2014-15 FIT Report ..... 79


How do we know whether our e�orts succeed; whether our practices are e�ective; whether we serve all of the students desiring access to an education? How do we parse what we meant to accomplish, from what we actually accomplished? And, if our e�orts — however well-informed and well-intentioned — did more harm than good, how would we discover that? How do we decide how best to divide resources among plethora stakeholders within the college, to best serve students’ needs? And, how can we determine whether those decisions resulted in greater student success?

Rigorous research protocols, designed by professional experts with a deep understanding of the e�orts at hand, protect decision-making processes from the blinding e�ects of motivated reasoning. Rigorous research thus confers some immunity to the various forms of believing what we want to believe. Rigorous research allows us to gather and use evidence, even when it makes us uncomfortable. Research, and the data it yields, provide the most powerful tools of checks and balances available to the institution. — Faculty, Cha�ey College


IntroductionThe National Center for Inquiry and Improvement labeled Guided Pathways as “Our best chance for equity,” emphasizing that the majority of students served by community colleges are in the lower 4 quintiles of income distribution.1 In order to generate equity and economic mobility, pathways reform can only succeed when students, the most important stakeholders, are the driving force behind the transformation. “Bringing students into our work can advance cultures of inquiry and improvement already in development on our campuses by making them more student-centered.”2 Data-informed decisions ensure that the student perspective is valued and effectively translated into action. The college’s efforts are thus infused with research, designed by researchers who sit in on countless committee meetings, task forces, inquiry teams, and who meet with faculty and staff. The rich contact with researchers informs the work of such groups by enabling faculty and staff to shape their programs in ways that are more penetrable by research questions that explore real outcomes for students.

According to the American Association of Community Colleges, over 60% of American jobs offering stable income that can support a family now require postsecondary degrees or certificates.3 Yet fewer than half of community college students nationwide attain their educational goals within six years of enrollment. Chaffey College has been a state leader in supports such as Student Success Centers, Supplemental Instruction and more recently, curriculum reform in English and math. The Faculty Success Center and New Faculty Orientation are models for responsive professional development. Yet the following disheartening facts about student success rates remain:

� Chaffey College student completion rates are below the statewide average (only 43% complete after six years).

� The transfer rate for degree seeking students is only 18%.4

� Completion rates are not improving over time.

� Disparities exist by ethnicity.5

In addition to concerns regarding achievement gaps and completion and transfer rates, national statistics tell us students will face racial and gender wage gaps upon graduation.6 As a result, preparing students for a successful transition to careers with sustainable wages, either immediately upon graduation or after transfer, creates a sense of urgency for the College.

The Guided Pathways Faculty Inquiry Team (FIT) investigated Chaffey College’s programs and pathways to better understand how an integrated Guided Pathways model can transform students’ learning experience from point of entry to completion. The following research questions informed the FIT's process:

1� What are students’ experiences and ideas regarding each pillar, and how do these experiences inform development and implementation of Guided Pathways?

2� What systems and barriers are in place?


In addition to conducting focus group inquiries and surveys among Chaffey students, faculty, staff, and programs, the FIT also reviewed scholarly literature related to student pathways. These findings inform development and implementation of best practices that reflect the mission and goals of Chaffey College. Changes implemented in recent years have positively impacted student success, including improved registration procedures and implementation of Faculty Advising. While the college offers many valuable services and supports, they are largely utilized on a voluntary basis. Published data as well as focus group studies suggest the need to redesign the student experience in a way that integrates academic and student affairs more effectively and inescapably. Planning, implementation, and evaluation of transformational changes must be data-informed and highly focused on the impacts of changes on the student experience and student success.7 The results revealed two overarching areas for transforming student pathways at Chaffey College: Student wayfinding and redefining roles of stakeholders.

The research findings connect strongly with the four pillars of Guided Pathways, as described in Redesigning America’s Community Colleges: A Clearer Path to Student Success.8 Priorities for effective change include: (a) accurate and consistent information regarding programs, services, and curricular outcomes, that is centralized and easily accessible by all stakeholders; (b) a mechanism that leverages relationships with individual students to monitor and communicate their progress, and connect students to appropriate support services as needed; and (c) intentional, consistent, and appropriate scheduling of courses and support services, enabling students to effectively plan and manage their lives and school.


Research Design And MethodologyThe Guided Pathways Faculty Inquiry Team (FIT) investigated Chaffey College's current pathways and how an integrated Guided Pathways model, which reflects the college's mission and goals, can transform the student's learning experience from point of entry to completion. The process is illustrated in Figure 1.

TopicFinding LiteratureReview

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TheGuidedPathwaysFacultyInquiryTeam(FIT)investigatedChaffeyCollege’scurrentpathwaysthatfosterstudentsuccessandhowanintegratedGuidedPathwaysmodel,whichreflectstheCollege’smissionandgoals,cantransformthestudent’slearningexperiencefrompointofentrytocompletion.ThefollowingillustratestheFIT'sprocess.

Figure 1: 2017-18 Faculty Inquiry Team (FIT) Pathway


For student surveys, a random cross section of students was sampled. Surveys were administered to 44 sections across all three campuses, as well as online. Online surveys were completed in Spring 2018. Student participants were recruited via the survey, asking students to share their contact information if they would be interested in participating in a focus group. Subsequent recruitment for focus group participation occurred via email. Focus group participants included a diverse representation of ages, ethnicities, and students in various stages of their education.

Faculty, Classified Staff, and Management focus group participants were recruited by email, and attendance is indicated in Figure 2. Due to unforeseen changes in Institutional Research, a formal summary report of the surveys and responses was not provided. Please see Appendices for Focus Group Protocols.

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Figure 2: Focus Group Attendance


Key Findings from Research

The Faculty Inquiry Team explored current programs, systems, and student experiences at Chaffey College in order to identify opportunities for improving success through Guided Pathways reforms. Key findings from Focus Groups, student surveys, and the Office of Institutional Research are presented, including supporting evidence from the published literature on student pathways. “The complexity we have developed within our colleges...has the inevitable consequence of perpetuating inequity across our higher education system….In turn, this thinking presents a significant equity issue—especially when we have data suggesting that those students can succeed when the colleges create the right conditions, including the use of guided pathways.”9 Using equity as the guiding principle, the findings reveal opportunities for Chaffey College to profoundly improve educational and career outcomes for students. The Guided Pathways model involves four pillars, or areas of engagement: Clarify the Path, Choose and Enter the Path,

Stay on the Path, and Ensure Learning. As illustrated in Figure 3, these four areas of engagement are anchored in and reliant upon three primary drivers of institutional effectiveness: Innovation, Ownership, and Commitment – through intentional planning and assessment.7

Face-to-face and online surveys asked “What factors led to your choice of career?” The following captures the student responses.

Figure 3: Areas of Engagement and Institutional Eectiveness

Providing for my family. Have a better life than my parents. Better job opportunities. Helping and learning about society inspires me and interest me. Advance the world in health. Lead with people and resolve problems. Willing to help/meet people in their darkest times. Good with computers. Participation in a high school club. Working with and helping children is my passion. T e a c h e r s introduced a new perspective on the subject. Curious to build things. I find it fascinating and it interests me. Studying the mind and

b e -haviors of human beings.

It's always been something that’s interested me. My mother

works in this field. I like math. My love for computers. Most of my family is in this line of work. Compassion for others and my need to help. Loved working and educating children since I was a little girl and finally got around to coming back to school to get a degree and make it happen. Love to reach others. I didn't want to work for anyone else but myself. The love I have for helping others. I grew to love this because of my mom. This was a decision I've been mulling since I was ten years old, but in my senior year I decided to just go for it, this is what I love doing. I value my time and would rather spend it working for myself than others.

It has more openings than any other job in the world. Always loved

history and like to share and

teach others about it. Be in a sustainable

career. Get my masters and work for a great c o r p o r a t i o n . Follow my father's example. Progress to a position of responsibility, as well as begin my own business. Passion for health, and my desire to use my skills to help and influence others. Shadowed an o c c u p a t i o n a l therapist and fell in love with what they do. Growing up I never had much. I always wanted to be in a position to help my family & live out my dreams. Helping people who su�er intrigues me. Teaching has always interested and inspired me to learn and to share that knowledge with others. It is what my dad does and I enjoy doing it. It allows me to be

creative. My professions also helped influence me. My love for fabric

garments. Expand my

knowledge. I've always liked e v e r y t h i n g related to law. O p p o r t u n i t i e s . Stable job. Own my own company or run a company. Be in management in my current job. Enhance my current career. Watching my older sister succeed in her career. Just want a degree as a backup plan. B e c a m e u n e x p e c t e d l y unemployed. I don't have a

career goal. A�er a few courses I realized that was not going to make me happy. Not wanting to work at McDonalds anymore. Join a management team or run my

own restaurant. I would be better in the areas that make decisions on how the store and employees should be guided. I enjoy having m o r e responsibilities and know that I am capable to do it. I am interested in how business decisions are made and executed. Get a job in law

enforcement for the benefits. I have support from some people I know who really appreciate me; they motivated me to take these steps and are helping me reach my goals. More time with my kids. Ability to earn a higher salary and provide a better life for my family. Pursue this major a�er changing my major at least three times due to personal/ family reasons. Move up in my career. Further my career goals by transferring to a university. Be in a field of some i m p o r t a n c e . EQUITY


Part I. Student Voices

In this section, the main themes that emerged from student focus groups are summarized. The findings aligned with the four areas of engagement:

Clarify the Path: Clear program maps, milestones, and resources connect students’ educational experience with career outcomes.

Choose and Enter the Path: Early opportunities for career exploration help students choose an area of interest and engage in completion of coursework related to that area.

Stay on the Path: Students and advisors (Counselors, Instructional Faculty, Success Guides, and Faculty Advisors) work closely to monitor students’ progress and connect students to appropriate resources, including alternate career paths, when needed.

Ensure Learning: Program learning outcomes are aligned with requirements for success in further education and employment. Colleges track mastery of learning outcomes and the results are easily accessible to students and faculty.

No question in the Student Focus Group protocol specifically asked about experiences with any particular service area, person, or program.10 Students were prolific in sharing their experiences. While they generally acknowledged the positive intentions of all college employees and services, they also described barriers to achieving their goals. Students primarily revealed issues related to enrollment management and retention. Highlighted quotes either reflect consensus among students, or illuminate a particularly powerful experience. Where applicable, additional input from faculty, classified staff, and management focus group participants was included.


Student Voices

“I had an experience...with General counseling that they selected some classes that I didn’t exactly need. And [after] I already took the classes I found out it was a total waste of time, that they kind of gave the wrong information…which is equivalent to a year of classes that I didn’t need. So now I have to petition into financial aid because of the fact that I had two full semesters of classes that I didn’t need for my degree, so it is very frustrating when everyone is not on the same page for the same degree when it shouldn’t be that hard to figure out.”

“...I would say working with two different counselors does help so I can get two different opinions.”

“I know I’m not alone because I have talked to other students who are in the same predicament as me, so we just kind of like gather up and take it upon ourselves. And we are all business majors so we all kind of know which [course] is transferable. We take those little sheets of paper and we kind of gather together in class, and even though [counselors] say to take [certain courses], we still go back to our programs [and decide] we’ll just take [different courses] instead. And we got frustrated, so we just say we had a change of heart of the classes we wanted to take, because we don’t want to hurt the counselor’s feelings, but we just do it that way rather than trying to get frustrated all over again. There’s a whole group of us that had the experience. It’s just kind of frustrating. I feel like all the counselors should be on the same page campus-wide. You know GPS, DPS, EOPS, all the counseling and then even I feel like the teacher should be on the same page too.”

“What I like about Radiology is that they have very clear steps and roles basically to follow to get into the program. Like there’s very little deviation, even in the application process, which makes it a lot easier.”

“I wanted to become a nurse, and when I came here I didn’t know what an associate’s degree was, I didn’t know how to get there, so I spoke with one of the counselors here and they were able to break it down to

me on what to do to get an associates and then where I want to go from there.”

Registering for random classes just to stay registered as a priority student because once you’re not a priority student, it’s just crazy to try to get in core classes.

...coming in straight out of high school you don't have

the priority registration. So you get whatever is le�, and you're just taking random classes that you're not going to stick to.

I felt like a lot of the times I had to figure things out on my own. I felt

like I had to ask specific questions and navigate a lot on my own before I really got an idea what courses, and it wasn’t until then that I got the right tool and the right set-up to actually guide me where I needed to go.


A. Clarify The Path

Students were asked how they determine what courses to take each semester. Too many course, program, and degree options lead to issues with wayfinding and completion of primary educational goals. “The lack of structure in community college programs increases the importance of ‘social know how’ or ‘college knowledge,’ which in turn tends to place already commonly disadvantaged groups commonly served by these institutions — including low-income, minority, and first-generation college students — at a further disadvantage.” The financial impact associated with attending college translates to sacrifices in

basic household expenses; therefore the consequences of taking courses that fail to progress the student toward completion are “outsized.” In other words, “the poor can afford fewer mistakes, and they may feel the need to avoid or exit contexts that cause them.”8 Notably, Chaffey College is moving to develop policies to address clear program pathways, with recent changes that emphasize programs designed with students’ end goals in mind.

Figure 4: Survey Data, Chaffey College Student's Primary Educational Goals

Primary Education Goal Face-to-Face Online

Graduate with a certificate 4.2% 11.9%

Graduate with an AA/AS 15.9% 20.9%

Transfer to a four-year university 47.9% 32.8%

Graduate with a degree or certificate and transfer 27.2% 29.9%

Other 4.8% 4.5%

TOTAL 100% 100%

Students identified two root causes of off-pathway course enrollment:

(1) They are accumulating units to achieve priority registration status so they can register for required courses in their program of study. Although this system presents an opportunity for exploration, it also likely causes students undue frustration and unnecessary “wandering.” Furthermore, such exploration may be a luxury that vulnerable populations cannot afford. “While our colleges certainly enroll students who want more time to wander and appreciate less structure, research suggests the group may be much smaller than originally understood. We also submit that the wandering to find yourself model can work if you have the resources and time to explore. However, with increasingly larger proportions of our students encountering significant financial barriers, we may need to confront that wandering is a luxury of the select few who can afford it. Conversely, low-income students may particularly need a clear picture of how their investment of time and monetary resources will pay off—another benefit of a structured pathway to a well-defined outcome.9


(2) Counselors, success guides, and faculty advisors need clear program maps to ensure consistent advising and to identify course options that progress students toward their goals. Students acknowledged that some counselors go above and beyond to help. However, seeing multiple counselors, success guides, and advisors results in students receiving different information and/or different levels of support. “Different advisors frequently offer conflicting advice, because of differing philosophies, a different awareness of program-specific rules, or a change in the student’s situation….In addition, students may also receive advice from specific professors. But cultural and professional differences between student service professionals and academic faculty, exacerbated by breakdowns in communication between the two groups, often mean that the two sources provide conflicting advice to students.”8

Students within the same program of study recounted obstacles with advising. They reported having to self-advise and seek information independently to determine the correct courses to take, using resources such as their transfer institution (websites, counselors) and assist.org. When students discover their counselor was wrong, they do not want to hurt the counselor’s feelings; they reported telling counselors that they simply changed their mind about their major or interests, to “protect” the feelings of the counselor in subsequent appointments.

Some students have formed peer groups that discuss which courses to take to transfer to certain programs. As a result, some students have acquired “college knowledge,” and are highly capable of self- and peer-advising. These savvy students represent an opportunity that the college can leverage to form support networks among students pursuing similar educational and career goals.

In conclusion, clear program maps should show students how course sequences connect to future education and/or career opportunities, and are likely to minimize inconsistent and inaccurate information from different counselors and advisors. Ideally, “program design should emphasize future employment and education in fields of importance to the college’s service area, with these future opportunities clearly mapped and communicated in a consistent format. Courses critical for success in each program and key progress milestones are clearly identified. This information is easily accessible on the college’s website.”11

...when I started they had one AA, now [there are] like three other ones. The problem with that is that it confuses some

students. What I ended up doing is printing out all the University requirements of all the places I'm [interested in transferring to], like even USC, you know why not? It looked insane, but I highlighted everything that matched and compared it to all of the courses at Cha ey. That's how I figured out exactly what classes to take without having to waste money on a class that this university would take but that university wouldn't, but both universities would have taken this other one, which is something that GPS doesn't o er. They wanted me to take like all these classes. I don't have that kind of money and time. I’m way too old for that.

Key Summary Findings

Students are taking courses that are not tied to their educational and career goals, resulting in wasted time, money, and financial aid.

Two factors that contributed to course-taking patterns are the priority registration system and lack of clear pathways to program completion.

Students expressed a desire for counselors and faculty across campus to o�er consistent and accurate advising for every program of study.

Students prefer clearly structured programs.

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http://www.assist.org/web-assist/welcome.html


Voices From The Field

“...the program is really what the student needs and [faculty] were so attached to the course that they would forget about the importance of those courses within the program.”

“Just kind of narrowing it down so that if they know that they are interested in a field, they can look at that field and find things within that field but not be so overwhelmed with such a huge list of everything.”

Perhaps there’s a lack of ability to maneuver within a

particular discipline in choosing various courses that would allow you to find your way from one career option to another.

We have a new procedure for approving new academic programs. It really focuses on not only does the college have the resources, but what will this do for students? Where does it lead? Some people know that we have 190 degrees and certificates. Unless they go to the GPS centers or somewhere they don’t have a lot of guidance, “Is this one useful or not?” So I think it’s really important that now we’re asking that question up front: Is this going to be valuable for students?

...about a week [a�er I add students] they find out that

it’s not exactly the program they needed to be [in]...they thought that would be the class [they need] but it’s not. So not only have they wasted time, you know the precious first two weeks at the beginning of a semester, now they’ve lost the chance to take the actual class that they need to attend. That’s a serious matter because I keep experiencing that multiple semesters. And those classes are really impacted so they really need to be on track in order to graduate. The students need this information ahead of time.


Student Voices

“My sister is actually a juvenile probation officer. So she’s telling me like instead of just taking criminal justice classes take communications classes because I’m going to have to talk to people, take like psychology classes so I can know generally how people think. It really helps having someone in like the specific area that I want to do.”

“Most of the help I got was from my friend who had suggested to me to take on Kinesiology. She was kind of guiding me through this process, look into what concentrations you want to do, what colleges do you want

to go to, and she was suggesting to me the different colleges that were local since I didn’t want to go that far.“

“A few professors actually helped me to see what I can major in. It’s really helpful to have professors [who say] we need people in these types of jobs…”

“My professors they know me personally, so these are the classes I think you’ll like, so these are our suggestions. That really helped me [decide which classes to take].”

“I feel like through this journey, [my professors] are really kind of helping me pinpoint exactly where I want to be.”

“What helped me most was the professors who showed me all the classes I should take for specifically [my career], which path I should go…”

I felt kind of lost, like, well, I’m just going to go to college

because this is what I’m supposed to do...I think it just really stems from not having parents that have a career in place. I think my point is it’s harder for a first-time student to kind of know without having set examples.

If it wasn’t for professors that helped guide me, I would still be undecided.

The professors were the ones who

advocated the most for the field itself, and they were the ones that would tell you, ‘This is what you are going to look forward to, this is what’s going to happen. If you don’t like that, then you should probably think about something else.”


B. Choose And Enter A Path: Student Connections

“[T]he decision making context confronting students at community colleges may be even more complex than that of their peers at elite four-year institutions, and the consequences of suboptimal decision making may be more negative. In contrast to community colleges, which give students a broad choice of courses and programs and limited guidance, elite four year institutions often offer many fewer program options, and much more individual guidance in selecting from a small set of majors.”8

Survey data show that in general, online students appear to have greater certainty in their educational and career goals, while face-to-face students are more evenly divided between those who are very sure of their goals, and those who express at least some uncertainty. The college has a responsibility in engaging and motivating students in goal setting and in choosing and entering a program, by providing carefully structured and fully integrated resources. Non-academic student supports have a crucial role in building relationships, clarifying goals for college and career, navigating college systems and processes, and addressing conflicting demands of work, family, and college. These support services should be integrated into students’ primary academic experience rather than offered separately.8

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

How sure are you about your educational goal?

How sure are you about your career goal?

Very sure Not sure at all

Figure 5: Student Face-to-Face Survey Preliminary Results - FIT 2017-2018

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

How sure are you about your educational goal?

How sure are you about your career goal?

Very sure Not sure at all

Figure 6: Student Online Survey Preliminary Results - FIT 2017-2018


Student connections strongly influence their decision-making when selecting career and course options; these connections can be leveraged to facilitate choosing and entering a program of study. Family and peers already working in a given field supported students by suggesting courses that enhance essential skills and habits of mind for students who have selected a career path.

Students expressed the desire for consistent advice from college advisors, and would prefer to connect with the same person throughout their educational journey at Chaffey. “If the same advisor meets with the same student over time, the advisor can help the student understand how and why relevant information and advice change as one’s context changes, thereby helping the student develop an ability to identify and apply the appropriate information across shifts in context. If the student meets with a different advisor each time - particularly if the new advisor is unaware of the student’s academic arc and previously received advice - the advisor’s new and conflicting advice may reinforce a notion that the college’s requirements are arbitrary, or that its advisors are incompetent.”8

Issues of accessibility to and effectiveness of advising are highly likely to impact course-taking patterns and retention, particularly for students who don’t already have strong connections and supports. These are the very students who rely most on systems and services provided by the college. This suggests that counselors and faculty advisors, collaborating within defined program areas, could be more effective at meeting students’ needs. Counselor specialization and intentional ongoing advising is a recurring theme in studies conducted throughout the state of California, including the Chaffey College 2014-15 FIT report.12, 13 Having counselors and faculty advisors assigned to students within a given program area facilitates the advising process.

“[T]he goal of advising redesign is transformation from a model in which the advisor essentially serves as a registration clerk to one in which advising is sustained, strategic, integrated, proactive, and personalized. This approach requires new organizational structures and norms that precipitate transformational change as they become part of our practice:

- Student assignment to specific advisors from entry to graduation,

- Policies that require regular touchpoints,

- Regular engagement and outreach regarding challenges to completion, and

- Entering case notes into advising software.”14

Sometimes I get so frustrated explaining the situation. I’m

just used to going to a certain person. So it’s not like I have to repeat my whole story, it’s just easier to see the same person rather than walk in and see somebody else.


Relationships and personal connections are vitally important to wayfinding.

Returning to the same counselor and advisor enables continuity of advising and develops relationships built on trust.

Family members, peers, student support sta�, and faculty greatly influence students’ choice of major, courses, and career pathways.

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I can imagine some student who doesn’t know

anything about college or they are a first-generation college student, they don’t have anybody to help them and they are going to apply and to pick a major you’ve got 190 choices. That’s pretty overwhelming for somebody.


Student Voices

“When I got out of high school I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, so I didn’t really have [a major] at that time. So I started taking some GE classes.”

“...why not add just a 15-minute short video on what each person in that industry does? Just to give an overview of what we’re doing, a mini-shadow.”

“It would be helpful to or maybe include like statistics that show in the field, these are the job opportunities, and different statistics can kind of help us see which pathway we would want to go and what there is a demand for.”

“I feel like [shadowing, volunteering, and/or internships] would be more suitable for the lower-division classes compared to upper division. I think if we were trying to determine more of like whether or not we wanted to do it, it should be earlier on in the program.”

“...what if you don’t click with that career choice and then you’re like, “Wait a minute?” It kind of makes you rethink or maybe reinforce the fact that you really do want to get into that career before you actually get into all the classes and money spent and all that.”

[It would help] if intro classes would at least

give [students] the opportunity to say, hey this is what you’re looking for. That way you know and not waste your time and accumulate credits that you don’t need.

As you are applying for college, maybe take a

personality test before you actually start taking some random classes that you really don’t need. Maybe just advertising that beforehand so that way, that’s right in your face, so okay, this is something that I might be good at, this is something that I actually might like instead of going down this way because I feel like I should be doing this because that’s going to bring money.

It was just like, here’s the paper of all the classes

that you need to take and here are the ones that you need to retake, and then you can apply for the program. It would have been nice to kind of hear other options that I would have had.


C. Choose And Enter A Path: Early and Ongoing Career Exploration

Students were asked how they choose programs and courses. Focus group participants identified motivating factors such as passion for the subject matter, and reported using general education courses to start earning credits while they figure out their educational and career goals. Therefore, students appreciate career exploration and relevant skills being incorporated into general education coursework and success courses. The default curriculum should “give students a taste of the field and help them decide if they want to pursue a specialized course of study or switch to a different field.” Also, foundation and college success

skills need to be contextualized for a particular pathway, to develop habits of mind, critical thinking, and communication skills essential to a field.15 The structure of the pathways and timing of access to career services and resources is critical to helping students with wayfinding:

“...structured pathways are designed to shift the focus of student choice from picking courses to selecting programs, which still enables them to choose from a wide range of options. This structure suggests a significant transition in thinking—for students, educators, and institutions—to the ultimate decision point being which program will either lead to (1) further education with junior standing in a major at the university level after transfer, or (2) direct entry into the workforce. Conversations with career services professionals often reveal that they do not see students until their final semesters at the institution—late in their process under the traditional system, and certainly much too late in an environment that encourages early program selection. To help students focus on picking a program versus courses, we also need to integrate career planning far earlier in their higher education journey.”9

Student Survey preliminary results showed that 35.5% of students have changed their major (Figure 7). Given the number of students who report changing majors more than once, it is likely that integration of resources could help students select a program sooner, and/or select a viable alternative when they struggle. Inconsistent and poorly organized resources on programs of study lead to difficulties for students in making decisions about programs.16 In response to the question of why they changed their major, students shared a variety of reasons and factors that influence their decision, including how the college can clarify the pathway (Figures 8, 9, and 10).

Figure 7: Number of times major was changed

Change of Major (Number of Times) Face-to-Face Online

Once 60% 69.6%

Twice 21.6% 17.4%

Three or More 18.4% 13%

TOTAL 100% 100%


Figure 8: Survey responses, reasons for changing major

Reasons Major Was ChangedSurvey Question: What were the reasons for the change [of major]?

Economic advancement (to meet financial needs, desire to have a higher salary)

Loss of interest in coursework, major or career field.

Influence of family, friends, current professionals in the industry

Amount of classes required to reach goal

Time to completion

Job outlook

Career Assessments/Personality Test

Figure 9: Survey responses, factors influencing decision to change program of study

Factors That Influence Decision To Change Educational Or Career GoalSurvey Question: If you were to change your educational or career goal, what factors would influence your decision?

Family

Higher pay

Job Outlook/Industry Demands

Change of Interests/Exposure to a different goal

Subject Matter

Time to completion

Required coursework

Job Satisfaction/Happiness

Figure 10: Survey responses, clarifying the path

Clarifying The Path To A Desired Career Survey Question: What can the college do to help make the path to your desired career more clear?

“Have available resources in order for me to conduct my own research on career goals.”

“Googling” stuff can become overwhelming at times. Have a web page dedicated to entrepreneurs and also other majors.”

“Possibly connect with local industries and facilitate students interested in this field to gain some initial exposure.”

“Realizing my goal isn’t reachable or not understanding what I need to reach it.”

“Realizing while in the classes, that I’m not interested anymore.”

“...the length of time it takes to obtain my degree. Sometimes the time is discouraging.”


The Guided Pathways model seeks to facilitate the decision-making process through structured exploration. Undecided students are required to choose an “exploratory major” from among a limited set of options, ideally guided by career assessment during the intake process. Exploratory majors provide a structured path for choosing a major or program of study. Students are limited in how long they can remain in the exploratory major. Robust advising and other support is essential, especially in major selection, for special populations, and for students who are not making progress or fall off-track. Retention and graduation rates, as well as decreases in the achievement gap, may be attributed to these efforts in colleges that have implemented at scale.11

Success, guidance, or first year experience courses are known to be minimally effective in promoting student wayfinding. “[S]tudies that strictly controlled for students’ preexisting characteristics found only short term positive effects [of Student Success Courses] that dissipated over time, resulting in no long-term increases in persistence, graduation, or transfer rates.” For example, students in many success courses were required to develop educational program plans enabling them to meet their academic or career goals, but did not learn how to appropriately re-evaluate and modify these plans if their goals or circumstances were to change.11 Success courses thus represent a programmatic response to a systemic problem. Student comments revealed that these courses are not meeting students’ needs in terms of navigating college programs and services. Rather than simply eliminating such courses, they can be redesigned, or perhaps restructured altogether, as part of Chaffey’s pathways transformation. “Based on a 2013 study of [Student Success] courses, CCRC researchers have three recommendations for strengthening them: narrow the course content, focus on teaching for application, and engage the academic side of the college.” An example of a redesigned success course titled “Ethnographies of Work” at Guttman College tied career exploration to regional “sociological and anthropological perspectives on work.”8 Integration of supports was proposed in the following ways:

3� Academic faculty should be involved in developing the content and outcomes for success courses�

4� Implementation of e-advising systems, with human points of contact, that enable students and advisors to monitor their progress, and connect students to appropriate supports and services in a timely manner�

5� Mandatory advising, through registration holds, when students fail courses, attempt to register for off-plan courses, or otherwise are not progressing through their program�

I know there are guidance classes, but they are not

helpful in the sense that young students that I have heard from want something like #adulting101 where [they learn] this is what the school o�ers, these are the people that can help, this is how you do your taxes. Those kind of things would impact the students instead of a whole course about [self-exploration]. I want to know the things I don’t know.


Among the services Chaffey offers that were identified as positively impacting students were expert panels, “What Can I do With a Major In…” and other Career Center events, the Transfer Center, and testimonials from student panels. This is consistent with the findings reported by

student focus groups in other California community colleges.12 Engaging in early career exploration and developing a clear sense of coursework and timelines to completion are essential components of choosing and entering a program of study. The Guided Pathways Self-Assessment Tool for California Community Colleges mandated early and ongoing career exploration opportunities be adopted by participating colleges as part of the inquiry, design, and implementation efforts.17 Accordingly, students expressed that they need the college to provide accessible explanations

and previews of what careers in their field will be like, help students identify career options of which they may not have been aware, and provide career interest and aptitude testing as early as possible. Additionally, students expressed interest in active exposure to a potential field of interest via internships and employment. Such exposure would generate early exploration opportunities and help students determine whether they are on the right path.

It is important to address concerns that highly structured programs and services limit student choice and impinge upon self-discovery. While the college may serve some students whose sole purpose is curiosity and/or personal growth, the majority of students are likely seeking financial stability through education and career pathways.

“... we assert that those who have “found” themselves by wandering tend to be us — those who ultimately chose a career in higher education — and we personally value that type of journey. Yet, a review of completion and student perspectives data tells us that significant numbers of students do not realize their calling this way. It does not make this journey any less meaningful for those who pursue it. However, we submit that we should be able to design a system that allows for both self-discovery and efficiency.”9

Students themselves expressed that the trial-and-error nature of their journey lead to years of wasted time and resources. Their decision to return to school now that they better understand what they want out of their careers is nuanced by circumstances such as caring for family; such circumstances create a sense of urgency to get through their chosen programs as efficiently as possible. “Furthermore, the idea that students

Unfortunately if you are like 18 or 19 years old, you don’t know what to do with your life until you actually work in it, and then you’re like, oh wait, this is not what I want to do anymore. So I think like encouraging internships and working in the field in the things that you want to do before you choose your major.


Counselors, faculty, and support services sta� should engage in early and ongoing career exploration with students.

Students request opportunities for early career assessment.

Exploring career options would be beneficial in the early stages of the program, even for students who have chosen a pathway.

Resources should enhance career exploration, including industry-specific videos and career outlook statistics, as well as experiential learning, volunteer opportunities, internships, and/or shadowing.

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will discover their passions by wandering the curriculum and exploring a variety of courses seems inefficient. It requires enrolling in a wide range of courses in a somewhat disconnected nature. Perhaps another way to find out what students like is to provide them with better and earlier career exploration and assessment of personal interests before they start their higher education journey. This way, students can at least narrow down the possibilities and/or try the most likely candidate. This approach connects to our earlier discussion of providing undecided students structures for guided exploration such as meta-majors and career focus areas such as those at Queensborough College or the City Colleges of Chicago.”9


“I wonder if there’s a way to, be more intentional about the way that we are both hiring and offering student positions. So that here on campus we can provide a lot of introductions to different kinds of positions.”

“I think one of the challenges is students don’t know the resources. They don’t even know about the Career Center; they don’t know it exists, they don’t know what we can do [to support students], and that’s a poor communication issue. And they don’t know about the challenge process for different classes they just may not know about all these different things that are there for them. I think that’s something that’s definitely a hindrance in their efforts.”

“The Career Center can help them with ed plans, we help them when they’re undecided.”

“I know a lot of professors put Career [exploration] into their classes, so students would research majors, research careers, write reports, and we have running activities that students can come take advantage of. Going out into the classrooms would be great, having a little iPad and being out on campus and talking to students would be great. Whatever we could do to just inundate all the classes I guess.”

[Students ask] questions like ‘What can I do with

this?’ and ‘How much can I make?’ Is it going to be viable?’ And if students can get that information right up front..., I think that can definitely help students make an informed decision.

I think one of the greatest contributions we (Career

Center) make to students is helping them to make informed career planning decisions and selection of majors. And two obstacles that we’re working through is that service is highly interaction reliant. And so we serve, you know, maybe 2,500 students a year but that’s nowhere near the scale of informed decision-making that we want to achieve at the college, and then additionally that service is so far into their experience of the college.”


Student Voices

“If the school created that culture of community it would help people complete more. I know that’s what’s gotten me the grades I’ve had, because I have started studying in groups. And we seek out a tutor or whatever it is and that’s what has helped me get through the math classes mostly. But I feel like there is a community of people even in a different career path just the fact you’re in the community you’re going to help each other get through and so you’re going to see each other through until the end.”

“I help out at the house and I just can’t leave my dad for 3 hours at night and something happens. And it’s taught by one professor and only comes around once a year. This is the one class that I’ve been waiting for. I want to take this class but it just never fits into my schedule.”

[At another college I attended], every semester

you would have to meet with your advisor. And they would check if you were on track. They would ask you what are the next classes you’re going to take next semester. Let’s look at your 4-year plan and [inaudible] and if you didn’t do that meeting, you couldn’t register for your classes, so it put a block on your registration. So you had to do that every semester in order to stay on track and you also get to build that relationship with somebody as well that is in your major.

It would be great if our school would have some

more opportunities for [students] who don’t get assistance. Because even if we don’t get assistance from the school or the state or anybody it doesn’t mean we don’t need help.

I didn’t know that and I got bumped out of my catalog

and when I came back, you guys added all these extra classes and it’s only been a year.


D. Stay On The Path: Inescapable Supports

Chaffey College has some highly specialized programs that generate a sense of community and contribute to student success, including Brothers Forum, Umoja, and special interest organizations and support services, and clubs. Students identified peer tutors as valuable resources in facilitating learning, particularly peers on a similar pathway but a few steps ahead. Nonetheless, every student is at risk, whether they qualify for special programs and services or not. “The focus on college completion argues forcefully for open admissions colleges to go beyond access as the single most important mission. If this is the

case, student failure to complete can no longer be justified as the student’s burden or that they have a right to try and fail.”16 If the current model is that of an “information dump” at orientation, then the transformational change would be integration of resources at key momentum points throughout the students’ pathways.18

Focus group participants value the requirement to meet with an advisor or counselor each semester. Behavioral research and research on learning suggests that it is motivating for students to see how they are proceeding along their chosen path. Thus, it is critical to provide frequent feedback to students on how they are progressing, both to encourage students who have reached important milestones and to help students who are not making progress or who are off-track.15 When students are struggling and considering withdrawal, there is a momentum loss point that could be an opportunity to intervene. For example, if a student drops a class, mandatory follow up and future registration holds would provide an opportunity to engage the student, identify the reasons for withdrawal, and connect the student to appropriate resources. “In order to provide more coherent, integrated, intensive, and sustained supports for students, colleges should design their support services to serve three goals: to help students choose an appropriate program of study and (if applicable) transfer destination and career goal; to teach students how to use available resources to effectively self-advise; and to track student progress, intervening at the first sign that students are going off track.”8

Multiple students reiterated a lack of understanding about program requirements being tied to catalog year and identified loss of momentum when they returned after a leave of absence and discovered changes in course requirements.

Everything that is supposed to help me I don’t qualify for. So maybe opening more scholarships could be something that could help more students that don’t qualify for financial aid for the bog waiver or programs.


Two important aspects of support services impact the student experience, namely transitioning these resources from voluntary and on an individual basis to large-scale integrated supports, and helping students understand how to utilize and apply these services to their own situations. “Often services are located in separate offices, which may be physically and organizationally distant from one another, with few lines of communication among them. The result is frustrated students who — unsure of which office is the most appropriate for a given issue or problem — often do not make use of available services.”8


Intrusive (“inescapable”) supports encourage relationships that foster resilience, grit, tenacity, perseverance, and success.

Intrusive supports (career/counseling/academic advising) would facilitate decision-making, helping students to avoid wasting time and resources on unnecessary coursework.

Students who leave college experience personal obstacles and barriers, including:

☐ Leaves of absence / personal issues☐ Aording basic materials and supplies, including students who did not qualify for select programs☐ Caring for family members☐ Belonging to a community

A mechanism to follow up with students who drop or withdraw from programs and/or courses is needed.

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Completion Statistics

Cha�ey College student completion rates are below the statewide average (only 43% complete a�er six years).

The transfer rate for degree seeking students is only 18%.4

Completion rates are not improving over time.

Disparities exist by ethnicity.5

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“There should be some counselors, maybe not all, that specialize in the retention of students because there are going to be some people that are just on their way out the door, just like ‘I’m tired of this. I can’t do it anymore, I just want to leave.’ There should possibly be a couple of counselors you can go to that say, ‘Hey, listen. I know that x, y, and z are happening, but if you do these things, maybe it can take away from some of your stress and you can keep going.’”

“There are jobs where you can actually make pretty good money without [a college degree], so because they’re getting money, they choose not to finish their degree…”

People tend to fall through the gaps and don’t get that motivation or support because they don’t have it personally and they don’t have it academically, at times.


Student Voices

“As students who have to exist by paying bills and doing all that adult stuff it’s almost like gambling. For example anthropology, it’s really hard to get. There are only two sections, one [in Rancho] and one in Chino. And you don’t know when it’s going to be [offered].

“...they only had Friday classes at the Rancho campus. But I cannot make it. That’s the problem. If they could have more classes on different days at different campuses, that would help.”

“...just knowing that this class is a popular class, knowing that, I would think that Chaffey would have offered more classes to accommodate more of the demand.”

“I started as a CNA and then an acute care technician, LVN and then eventually RN. I would say that wasn’t too helpful. Because of that I have a lot of units. I have over a hundred units so it’s really hard to get financial aid because of my units. As an LVN I wouldn’t suggest that anyone go through that process, just go straight to the RN program.”

“...the college really needs to think about how they are strategizing, which I’m sure they are, to build up the resources for other students, but also to be able to communicate that to their students, because when we don’t hear about that or the plan or the vision of what it is that’s going to take place at these campuses is when you hear a lot of the complaints happening. It’s a lack of communication from the administration to students.”

“The resources are not equally distributed at all because I think we’ve had someone come from the [Chino] Student Success Center saying, ‘Here are the different tutors for physiology who can help you,’ but most of the times were at the Rancho campus.”

I noticed that in all the three campuses, [a class I needed] was only

available in the morning. Considering that adults, if we come back again to school, that we have lives, that we have a family. And maybe we cannot come in the morning like other regular students or high school students, people that just graduated high school.

...it takes me 2 hours to go home.... I live in Pomona.

So I still have to take my two buses and then my dad picks me up there and we drive to the house. So it makes it kind of frustrating when certain classes or certain tutors are available. It was just frustrating, why don’t you have more? I have another class I’m currently taking and they only have one tutor for the whole class. This is common. I think there would be multiple tutors, but there is not.

Now location-wise, yeah, Rancho does o er a lot, but to be honest, I’m not going to travel to Rancho between work, school, and home. [Chino] is like very limited, like extremely limited, so I either you have to wake up super early to get to a class or I just can’t take that class. It’s one or the other.”


E. Stay On The Path: Academic Barriers

Inconsistent course scheduling and inconsistent availability of support services create barriers to student success. Required courses are not scheduled at times, dates, and locations (campuses) when students can attend, or are listed on majors sheets/educational plans but not offered in the semester that students

need them. One essential practice identified for student success is that “the college schedules courses to ensure students can take the courses they need when they need them.”11

Students revealed that course availability patterns (times, days, and/or campus locations), particularly for required or “gatekeeper” courses, may contribute to low completion rates. Course cancellations for low enrollment also impede progress. The Research & Planning Group for California Community Colleges asked students to identify factors influencing their persistence. Among the factors identified as “very important,” 88% listed being able to register for the classes they need, and 75% listed getting the academic support needed to do well in their classes.19 Among the “essential practices” for ensuring student success identified by the American Association for Community Colleges are the following:12

� “The college schedules courses to ensure students can take the courses they need when they need them, can plan their lives around school from one term to the next, and can complete the programs in as short a time as possible.”

� “Intensive support is provided to help very poorly prepared students to succeed in college-level courses as soon as possible.”

Students are highly motivated to access and utilize academic support services. However, students would have to attend multiple campuses to actually complete certain programs and access instructional support and student services. While Success Centers are effective for students who are able to access their services, inconsistent availability of tutors and SI leaders remains a barrier for many students. If “access without support is not opportunity,” then offering inconsistent, sporadic academic supports that are outside the reach of the students is failing to meet the fiduciary obligations to Chaffey students.

If you’re going to say we o�er an AA for this, have

consistency with the classes. My husband had to quit his job and get another job so that he could attend class, but that is not going to be o�ered [at the same time] next semester. And he’s already done, so he’s not going to wait until next spring to take this course, and we don’t even know if this course is going to be available for summer.

The first time around I didn’t know we had

success centers. I didn’t know we had tutors. If I would have known that coming the first time I probably wouldn’t have dropped all the classes, probably wouldn’t have taken classes I didn’t need.


Communication and access barriers to tutoring and Supplemental Instruction (SI) included:

� Some faculty do not know whether tutors are available for their particular subject or course.

� Tutoring and SI are helpful when available, but there is a mismatch between course enrollment and number of tutors assigned to courses.

� Tutoring and SI are inconsistent across courses and at different campuses.

� Tutor hours and availability do not match students’ schedules; other confounding factors to consider include single parents (child care), transportation issues, commute times, and bus schedules.


“The students’ frustration is, they’re almost finished, but this one class, they can’t find it anywhere.”

“...the college really needs to think about how they are strategizing, which I’m sure they are, to build up the resources for other students, but also to be able to communicate that to their students, because when we don’t hear about that or the plan or the vision of what it is that’s going to take place at these campuses is when you hear a lot of the complaints happening. It’s a lack of communication from the administration to students.”


Required courses have long wait lists, or are not o�ered when students need them.

Returning students and students with high unit accumulation experience registration and financial aid barriers, and limited course availability.

Distribution of resources, instructional support and student services across di�erent campuses is uneven and unequal.

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Students encounter barriers related to scheduling and availability of courses and academic support services, including:

...there could be degrees that we o�er or programs that we o�er that we haven’t issued a single certificate or degree in X number of years and it could be because the specific course you need to complete the degree hasn’t been o�ered.


F. Ensure Learning

Students were not specifically asked questions related to this area of practice. Much of the work in this area involves using programs designed to track course and program learning outcomes, and using the data to inform and design instruction. The recent transition to Taskstream, as well as efforts to map program learning outcomes and support services to student pathways, are examples of ongoing efforts in this area. In addition, training faculty and support services staff in Reading Apprenticeship and other scalable instructional methods is in progress.

Ensuring Learning requires several key components:11

� Clearly defined program learning outcomes, aligned with requirements for success in further education and employment in the field of study,

� Ongoing faculty assessment of mastery of learning outcomes,� Ongoing use of assessment data by faculty to improve instruction,� Data regarding mastery assessment is easily accessible by individual students

and faculty, and� Data regarding mastery assessment informs creation of targeted professional

development�

Management, classified staff, and faculty participation in opportunities for effective professional development will support transformational change efforts and enable all stakeholders to engage.

Voices From the Field

“Faculty advising is definitely one of the best things that the college is doing and I would love to see that expanded and see more faculty advisors.”

“I feel like in my experience there are amazing collaborators and there’s some people who don’t even know what it means. So at an Institutional level we could

have a workshop or model of what successful collaborations look like through not just classified to classified, not just top down you know and how that could all benefit our students and their success.”

I just want to stress collaboration. It’s key to the work that I do…


Applied learning experiences, collaborative learning, and inescapable student engagement are components of the Ensure Learning area of practice.

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Part II. Faculty, Classified Staff, and Management Perceptions of the Student Experience

Much of what was discovered in the student focus groups aligned to the four areas of engagement of Guided Pathways. Effective practices in Clarify the Path, Choose and Enter the Path, Stay on the Path, and Ensure Learning are interdependent upon three elements of institutional effectiveness (further illustrated in Figure 11):

Innovation: Essential conditions, adequately resourced and mobilized, to support large-scale transformational change;

Ownership: Awareness of individuals’ and the institution’s fiduciary responsibility, impacts of current college systems and practices on the student experience, and identifying areas for improvement; and

Commitment: Sustainable design and implementation of student-centered college programs and services.

Barriers as well as potential strategies to eliminate or mitigate those barriers, were discussed by faculty, classified staff, and management focus groups. Five broad areas for improvement emerged:

A� Structures and Policies as Barriers to Student Success: high school partnerships, financial aid, communication & dissemination of information, and student access to resources and services

B� Connecting Educational Programs, Degrees, and Certificates to Student OutcomesC� Leveraging Strengths: Integration of Resources and ServicesD� (Re)defining and Supporting Disproportionately Impacted Student PopulationsE� Creating Conditions for Engagement


Figure 11: Elements of Institutional E�ectiveness

A key principle of successful implemenation is adaptation of existing models to meet local needs.7 Among faculty, classified sta�, and management focus groups, the findings were closely aligned with these principles: Innovation, Ownership, and Commitment.

• Strong change leadership throughout the institution

• Faculty and sta� engagement

• Commitment and capacity to use data

Centralized mechanism for accurate and e�icient communication

Technology infrastructure

Professional development

Favorable policy (state, system, and institutional levels) and board support

Commitment to student success and equity

Developing flowcharts of how students choose, enter, and complete programs

Developing an implementation plan with roles and deadlines

Engaging stakeholders and making the case for change

Establishing a baseline for key performance indicators

Building partnerships with K-12, universities, and employers

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Determining barriers to sustainability (state, system, and institutional levels)

Redefining the roles of faculty, sta�, and administrators as needed

Identifying needs for professional development and technical assistance

Revamping technology to support the redesigned student experience

Investing in and reallocating resources as needed

Continuing to engage key stakeholders especially students

Integrating pathways into hiring and evaluation practices

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Innovation

Ownership

Commitment


A. Structures and Policies as Barriers to Student Success

Participants identified systemic barriers and suggested strategies to improve the student experience at Chaffey College. Regulations, Procedures, and Policies need to be designed with students in mind. Existing procedures and practices were reported as heavily impacting the following areas:

• High School Partnerships• Financial Aid• Communication & Dissemination of Information• Student Access to Resources and Services

Unfortunately, too many of these talented students arrive at our community colleges and are met with practices that make it di�icult to succeed. If they’re lucky, they secure a 30-minute appointment with a counselor who puts them on a clear pathway toward their goal. But, like winning the lottery, this prospect is slim. — Michele Siqueiros, President of the Campaign for College Opportunity.


While the college may have little control over state and federal regulations, internal college policies, procedures, and structures are actionable. College is challenging enough without the addition of unnecessary hindrances; identifying existing barriers creates the necessary conditions for transformational change. By navigating local systems through the student lens, we may identify artificial barriers that are not tied to legislation.

Bailey, Jaggers, and Jenkins suggest strengthening relationships between feeder K-12 schools through ongoing outreach and engagement, as opposed to focusing on juniors and seniors. In addition, they offer the following solutions:8

• Customized entrance assessments closely aligned with the college’s programs of study.• Provide clear, explicit information regarding placement tests, and offer online and in-

person preparation materials.• Use multiple measures of assessment, including high school GPA or other indicators

based on predictive analytics.

“...the problem is that a lot of [high school] students who want to take classes, for example during summer school, the high schools either have limited hours or may be closed during the summer, but they are required to get permission so now they’re kind of stuck in that you know Neverland, because they’re waiting for someone to approve their ability to take a course at our College”

“...[the student] was lucky that she got in contact with me because then I’m like okay well let me figure out the process, but how many other parents of students cannot help their children you know, and they’re high school students and if we’re trying to create that access I don’t know if there’s a way to expedite that process or to set up counselors that we can use rather than having to go to the high school counselors.” “It’s about access, right? And so much of the challenges are about access. ...some of the challenges you’re facing working with the superintendents, getting everybody in the room, having the agreements for K-12 partnerships, or High School Partnerships with the college, and then also bringing in the faculty.”

BARRIERS: Disconnect Between Cha�ey and Area High Schools

• Processes and problem-solving

• Calendar and curriculum alignment

• Dual enrollment and matriculation

STRATEGIES: High School Partnerships

• Earlier contact with feeder schools and students

• Develop master calendar and consistent timing of processes

• Maximize the planning e�orts of the High School Partnership Advisory Committee


Dr. Randall and Dr. Bishop are in the process of revising the procedures to make it easier for high school partnerships. With us aligning our summer and fall registration to begin April 30th, hopefully these students will have a chance to get in before school’s out and get the signatures that they currently need for summer. The signature part of it and approval is part of Ed code. That’s part of regulation that we can’t do anything about.


Legislation has theoretical value but implementing and enforcing legislation presents practical challenges. While most legislation is designed with good intentions, its translation to policy and practice has real impacts on the student experience and access.

An example of successful collaboration and implementation of new legislation is the college’s response to AB 705, which was written to ensure that students are not delayed or deterred in their educational process by unwarranted placement in remedial courses.38 “We’re in implementation mode here, and we should be proud of it. The

English and math department have done a lot of work to rejigger their curriculum. We are going for a holistic approach...the increase has been enormous this past semester...and I’m proud of the faculty for having done it so quickly.”

“We get a lot of “nobody told me” and that’s a common phrase you’ll hear in any higher ed institution, because there’s just so much information out there that it’s hard to tell them everything and so they come in thinking “Well, I have this problem and you should be able to fix it,” and it’s not always something within our power to fix.”

“Yes, in Admissions and Records, it’s all based on policy and procedure and structure, and so there are things that are obstacles for students that we can’t really do anything about because they are legislated.”

BARRIERS: Financial Aid, Legislation, and Policy

• Programs and department policies

• Legislation implementation and its impacts on other departments and services (e.g. Ed Code, AB 540, AB 705, BOG waiver)

• Access

STRATEGIES: Collaboration and Problem-Solving

• Identify obstacles and engage in problem solving strategies

• Streamline processes to create positive communication.

• Engage stakeholders in implementation of legislation in a way that facilitates student access, progress, and success.

Probably our biggest barrier or structure across

our Institution is helping [students] understand all the dierent types of financial aid available to them and the limited time period.


“I had a student who is a young African-American male who came in and said ‘oh I found this flier about Black History Month event that was just taking place at the library 2 days ago. I just found it yesterday,’ and I know that in our building they were distributed literally like right before the event. And so it was a missed opportunity because he is a young man who is really trying to connect and you know that event may have been important to him. Especially considering our efforts with young black males here.”

“Students are sometimes misinformed�”

“We had a student who said she needed a specific form to fill out…. we looked on the website and we couldn’t really find that form, and then I called and eventually I was able to talk to somebody and they weren’t sure what form [the student needed]. So I went from [one department to another to another]. Finally I was told to talk to somebody again in [the first department] and I was able to get the correct information and we found the form, but it was just a run around. So the communication [needs to be] simplified for the student.”

BARRIERS: Communication & Dissemination of Information

• Decentralized, inaccurate, conflicting, and/or delayed information

• Cannot find information when it is needed

• Communication is hierarchical as a result of organizational structure

There is kind of like a trickle-down of information

and some things get lost. Because I know with guided pathways I was initially like part of one of the groups that went to the IEPI trainings on it. And then a�er a certain amount of time all communication it just kind of went blank. I wasn’t hearing anything I was involved with it and now I’m not.

STRATEGIES: Mechanisms For Clear Communication

• Create opportunities for meaningful collaboration across campus

• Develop a concierge service that ensures students get the information they need

• Assign one source on campus to send emails and communications relevant to students and sta� to ensure consistent and accurate information.

• Peer-to-peer outreach: develop a student committee on communication dissemination

• Even with centralized technology to support matriculation and completion, relationships are critical to the student experience


“We are held back by budgetary constraints to really meet the goals…”

“Our library doesn’t have enough hours to be open on Sundays so students might have to go to the public library because they might not have access to computers or the Internet.”

Short term workers are limited in scope of responsibility and duration of employment, and are therefore an inadequate solution to support student services professionals. Frequent turnover inherently occurs with short term workers, which perpetuates the cycle of ineffective communication.

“Having some of the work done by student workers or short-term workers they don’t have a lot of time to learn. We have a lot of students coming to our office being misinformed buy a student assistant on the front line. And that creates problems”

“...so many of us depend on [student workers] for almost all of our support, and we can’t get through 6 months, we can’t get through a semester, without losing half of our people, or they’re on probation and we can’t work them for 3 months at a time. There are all these barriers now that I did not see four years ago. That really prevents us from having a stable student support team.”

BARRIERS: Lack of Access to Resources and Services

• Lack of consistent instructional support services across campuses. “Access without support is not opportunity.”20

• Insu�icient sta� and support services impact the student experience, and augmenting full-time employees with temporary help presents serious challenges.

Conversations I have with students on a daily basis

which are, ‘I can’t find a tutor for this class,’ there’s a disconnect of like ‘I’m struggling in this subject but you aren’t providing me with the support that I need for that subject,’ but we’re extended as far as we can go and in some ways we don’t necessarily have the resources to support that subject the way that we would like to.

STRATEGIES: Student Access toResources and Services

• Develop responsible hiring practices that support growth

• Ensure that instructional and student support services are adequately sourced and available to meet the needs of students at all campuses


B. Connecting Educational Programs, Degrees, and Certificates to Student Outcomes

Differing perspectives exist regarding programs of study and degrees awarded, and their relevance to students’ primary educational and career goals. There are gaps in understanding how the majority of degrees awarded connect students to further education and career outcomes. Davis Jenkins, Senior Research Scholar with Community College Research Center (CCRC), presented data showing that the vast majority of degrees awarded statewide are Interdisciplinary Studies degrees. He questioned whether those degrees were leading to viable transfer and career outcomes.21

The Office of Institutional Research analyzed data from 2015-16 showing that the number and type of degrees awarded at Chaffey are similar to the statewide statistics.39 60.7% of Chaffey students earned a degree in University Studies only, while the remaining 39.3% of students earned a University Studies degree along with at least one other degree. This prompted inquiry into the connection between students’ educational and career goals and degrees earned.

BARRIERS: Disconnect Between Student Goals and Degrees Earned

• There are gaps in understanding how the majority of degrees awarded connect students to further education and career outcomes.

Figure 12: Chaffey College Degrees Conferred 2017-18

Num

ber o

f Deg

rees


The college is obligated to assist students in intentional exploration that leads to measurable career outcomes; survey data indicate that the vast majority of Chaffey students do not have time and resources for “wandering.” “During Spring 2015, the Chaffey College Outcomes and Assessment Committee (OAC) discussed the lack of program review done on the University Studies program. A group from the OAC was tasked with bringing concerns regarding the lack of program review for the University Studies degree to the Associate Superintendent, Instruction & Institutional Effectiveness, and the Interim Vice President of Student Services. Issues included in this discussion were:”22

� Lack of “ownership” of the University Studies program for the completion of PSR and SLOs

� Compliance of this degree with Chancellor’s Office mandates

� Compliance with ACCJC Substantive Change Report requirements when the degree was first created

� Transferability of this degree to four year institutions and possible overlap with the CSU-GE and IGETC certificate awards

In 2018, Focus Group participants were asked how to ensure that all degrees and programs at Chaffey lead to viable transfer and career outcomes. Responses revealed a difference in perception of the purpose of University Studies degrees. According to focus group participants, these degrees currently serve multiple purposes:

� Closure to acknowledge completion, even if a primary educational goal was not identified;

� A degree earned in addition to program-specific degrees that are aligned with a student’s primary goal;

� A default pathway for undecided students, and/or a substitute when no clear pathway exists or a transfer degree is not available.

Differences in perspective regarding degrees awarded may be rooted in aspects of organizational effectiveness. “If organizational goals - for example, enabling students to complete programs of study that prepare them for success in further education and employment - are not clearly defined, disparate units of the organization are less likely to work together to achieve those goals, and may instead turn inward toward their own unit’s more clearly understood goals.”8

There may be a disconnect between students’ goals and the degrees they are earning. The consensus seems to be that University Studies degrees are of benefit, so long as students identify and complete a program of study leading to their desired educational and career outcomes. If, however, the University Studies degree is earned in lieu of completion of a degree, certificate, or program, then the return on investment is less apparent.


We submit that the wandering to find yourself model can work if you have the resources and time to explore. However, with increasingly larger proportions of our students encountering significant financial barriers, we may need to confront that wandering is a luxury of the select few who can a�ord it. Yet, a review of completion and student perspectives data tells us that significant numbers of students do not realize their calling this way...we submit that we should be able to design a system that allows for both self-discovery and e�iciency.9 — Rob Johnstone, National Center for Inquiry & Improvement


Achieving a University Studies degree in and of itself is not problematic; rather, it may be symptomatic of systemic failure to help students realize their goals. Students expressed the desire for efficient pathways into and through their programs of study, ultimately to gain economic mobility:

� Providing for my family.� Have a better life than my parents.� Better job opportunities.� I value my time and would rather spend it working for myself than others.� Be in a sustainable career.� Be in a position to help my family.� Stable job.� Enhance my current career.� Get a job in law enforcement for the benefits.� Ability to earn a higher salary and provide a better life for my family.� Move up in my career.� Further my career goals by transferring to a university.� Be in a field of some importance.� Own my own business.� Promote with my current employer.

“Particularly when it comes to students with poor academic preparation and limited exposure to higher education, having to plan an academic program can be daunting.”8 Default course sequences within intentionally designed programs of study might address “meandering into the catch-all space” of University Studies degrees.

“But for a student to complete something is a success... we don’t want to just say University Studies is a bad thing because there may be some reasons why it makes sense to get that closure to the affect of their journey in academics.”

“...instead of having well-constructed programs with specificity, we have this blob…” “...a lot of these Interdisciplinary Studies degrees aren’t just a catch-all or indicative of a student with no direction, it’s something that they’re accomplishing on their way to their ultimate goal.”

...we’re really not meeting a student-centered approach

to providing curriculum that speaks to students...It speaks to the fact that students are lost and they are meandering about in our curricula and then they’re just sort of defaulting into that catch all space.

I just don’t believe the 774 people who got the SBS

University Studies degrees are all transferring somewhere. A lot of them just, you know, that was what their course taking added up to.” “...the Guided Pathways goal, is let’s reduce the number of students who have kind of a vague degree, even though in some cases it may be useful, and help more students really get directed.


“...what it does capture for students who are transferring to a four-year university is the major that we don’t offer... the time spent at Chaffey whether it’s three, four, five, or six years, they want to complete something and sometimes it is something for them because it’s closure.”

“I’ve heard that counselors would often direct students there [to University Studies] that don’t know what they want to major in... It’s so broad like what does it really do?"

“We give as many degrees as they are eligible for..."

“There may be some majors too that we just don’t have associate degrees for transfer� So it’s a better option for them to do University Studies�”

STRATEGIES: Connecting Degrees to Outcomes

• Ensure that programs, degrees, and certificates are designed with students’ end goals in mind. Intentionally design each program of study and degree or certificate to ensure achievement of transfer and career outcomes, in compliance with Title 5 requirements.

• Use data-informed research to identify and develop transfer pathways that do not exist.

• Develop early and ongoing engagement strategies to ensure that students identify specific education and career outcomes, and monitor progress toward degrees that are consistent with those outcomes.

• Focus on helping students reach their primary educational goals instead of emphasizing what they can accomplish on the way to that goal.

I think maybe if we also focused on getting our

students to the Career Center and helping them actually recognize what they could do with the degrees that they’re getting, but even help them be more specific on what they choose to do later on, because I know a lot of students who have been here really long time and they’re just kind of getting a bunch of degrees.


C. Leveraging Strengths: Integration of Resources and Services

Transformational change presents opportunities to explore effective programs and services: how and why do those programs help students achieve their goals, and how can the college efficiently scale similar programs and services to reach all students?

Examples of effective efforts by the college to facilitate student success include the Faculty Success Center, Student Success Centers, GPS, EOPS, and Faculty Advising.Focus groups were asked to consider how to reduce or eliminate isolation between departments, programs, and services, and better integrate, restructure and/or realign existing resources to support students throughout their educational experience.

E-advising and case management systems, with regular and mandatory human points of contact, can enhance the impact of efforts to help students choose and enter a program of study.8 As students progress (or fail to progress) through program milestones, such systems would enable tracking and timely outreach. Ideally, case management systems would also facilitate communication among different resources and supports accessed by each student.

BARRIERS: Resources and Services Lack Integration

• Successful programs and services are utilized by students and faculty on a voluntary and/or individual basis rather than integrated into all students’ experiences.

• Silos and isolation make it di�icult for students, faculty, and sta� to access and utilize resources, perpetuating barriers to equity.

I think there’s a lot of people (faculty and

students) who don’t even really know what we do in Success Centers. It’s a challenge for us to contact and make connections with adjunct faculty all the time, and to access their students and make our resources known to them is a little bit of a struggle.


Consider that frequent contact with students presents opportunities for ongoing, consistent advising and timely feedback (a coaching approach, often referred to as intrusive support). Combined with less frequent (and relatively formal) appointments with advisors, counselors, and/or other mentors, these interactions engage students with resources and supports while breaking down silos.

“If our (Success Center) relationships with these departments were more built-in, I think relationships with any new faculty member would happen organically.”

I think the best way to reduce or eliminate the isolation between departments is

probably we need to walk a little bit in the student’s shoes...I am more sensitive to what students are going through when I have specifically gone through that process, and there’s a lot of processes that students, that we could go through ourselves and go, “Nope, that’s terrible.” You know, “We need to fix this.” Or “This one’s good. Let’s try to emulate. Let’s follow that one and apply it to other departments...You don’t know what you don’t know. And I think that we don’t necessarily know the entire student experience...And it could be that it’s required, it’s legislated, but it could just be artificial barriers at di�erent stages in our programming, in our services, but we don’t know.

STRATEGIES: Leveraging Strengths

• Develop a “culture of practice” based on ongoing, intrusive instructional support and advising, and explore e-advising or case management systems with appropriate human points of contact built in to the student experience.8

• Provide comprehensive wraparound services - that is, professionals from academic and nonacademic areas collaborate openly to facilitate student success, preferably within a single location.


D. (Re)defining and Supporting Disproportionately Impacted Student Populations

One goal of this research was to identify disproportionately impacted student populations, and explore how the college’s programs and services help or hinder the ability of these particular students to complete their programs. Notably, students who do not necessarily identify as belonging to a “special population” equally need resources and services.

“Everything that is supposed to help me I don’t qualify for.”

“...thinking about several groups on campus including LGBTQ, veterans student population, undocumented AB 540 students, Foster youth, DPS students. Those groups also need to be supported in different ways.”

“I think we disproportionately impact anyone who can’t get here between 7:30 and 4:30, Monday through Friday…”

“...you’re talking about a lot of older people, working people, people who can only get here on weekends. So, I wish we would get out of this, you know, Monday through Friday 8 to 5 mindset.”

BARRIERS: Most Students Are At Risk

• O�ering resources and support services at scale, and tailoring services to meet the needs of disproportionately impacted students

• Resources and services structured around full-time students attending during “normal business hours”

...every time that I’ve been in some committee

meetings they’re talking about programs and pathways, it’s always for a full-time expectation, that the students are going to be full-time. I know that 70-75% of students are part-time… So I think if even if a little bit more attention was paid to how we can model some of our programs to cater to our part-time students that would be a huge change.

STRATEGIES: Every Student Has The Capacity To Succeed

• Scale small, targeted programs for special populations in order to meet the broader needs of all students; fundamentally, we must “change the operation of the college at its very essence.”23

• Restructure resources to be available for all types of students (night, weekend, online, daytime, etc.)

• Work with the O ice of Equity and Special Populations to help identify structural problems (e.g. names on rosters, non-binary option)

• Intentional scheduling of class meeting times and support services


E. Creating Conditions for Engagement

“What’s my role in guided pathways?”

Transformational change requires communication, collaboration, and often redefining roles for many college employees. Similar to the conditions many students face, college employees encounter systems, policies and procedures that generate issues of equity and access, impeding engagement of all stakeholders in pathways redesign.

BARRIERS: Workload, Roles, and Responsibilities

• The workload of classified sta� exceeds their current capacity, impacting both the student experience and the ability to fully engage in transformational change.

• There is a lack of clarity regarding employees’ roles in planning, implementation, and evaluation of pathways design e�orts.

It just comes down to time. It’s really hard to even be

here for a couple of hours, and there’s been professional development workshops that I wanted to attend in the past and just had to forgo because I just couldn’t get away from the o�ice.

Students ��nt�n��1TAFF, FACULTY, & MANAGEMENT

3� Managers

� Faculty

3 1taff

�� art�c��ants

�� 6%

Figure 13: Focus Group Participation


Focus group participants revealed they lack necessary resources to engage students effectively. Workload, growth, and organizational shifts were among the obstacles reported. Classified staff, for example, are a critically important direct point of contact with students, and with recent growth, they are unable to provide the same level of service. Anecdotal information suggests this is not limited only to areas that have experienced growth; it is an issue across departments, in both instructional and non-instructional areas. Capturing this through focus groups presented a challenge, given barriers to participation as indicated by Figure 13. Through the process of recruitment for participation in the Classified Staff focus group, for example, engagement was trumped by procedural barriers, such as participants needing several days to submit paperwork to a first-level manager and request permission to participate, thus allowing time to schedule another staff member. By creating the necessary conditions for involvement of all stakeholders, college efforts for transformational change will be much more effective. “Relational trust is best built and reinforced through evidence of professional competence, personal integrity, and collegial respect. Leaders need to realize the importance of publicly displaying the latter two of these.”8

Davis Jenkins and Sung-Woo Cho (2013) also highlight the importance of collaboration and support in institutional effectiveness.15 “For guided pathways reforms to be successful, therefore, college-leaders need to create time and support for faculty and staff to collaborate. Colleges might consider redirecting at least some resources currently spent on conventional forms of professional development to collaborative efforts, such as providing training, facilitation, and other support as needed by teams of faculty and staff working together to create guided pathways.”

“Even for FLEX or convocation, I think there is a big misconception that those are only for faculty and some of them are designed for just faculty, but they are open to everyone.”

“Collaborating with [colleges that have successfully implemented guided pathways], what did that actually look like… and how did that work?"

Another impact too is on students. There are a lot of

things that we used to do, that I could take the time and work with students more closely and help them through, and now sometimes I just don’t [have time] so I just point them in the right direction and that’s the best I can do at times. That’s unfortunate.

STRATEGIES: Conditions For Engagement

• Involve all stakeholders in the inquiry, planning and development phases of transformation, not just during implementation.

• Develop conditions for e�ective collaboration to eliminate silos around job titles and positions of authority. Consider, for example, how the Bringing Light to Ourselves & Others Through Multiculturalism (BLOOM) modules were safe environments for mandatory collaboration, and how they employed equity as the lens for rethinking individuals’ roles within the institution.

• Design professional development to teach and implement e�ective collaboration.

• Although release time may be a valuable mechanism in early stages, ultimately the pathways framework should become a “culture of practice.”


Summary of Findings

Transforming the student experience through Clarify the Path, Choose and Enter a Path, Stay on the Path, and Ensure Learning requires Innovation, Ownership, and Commitment as core institutional practices. Guiding principles for transformational change include:

Guiding Principles for Transformational Change

�ocusin� on ��uit�

��e��tion �nd ��eness

�e��nin� ��o� Student Voices

Figure 14: Guiding Principles for Transformational Change


A. Focusing on Equity

“The goal of producing equitable outcomes across all student groups, particularly students of color, low-income students, and first-generation students, is fundamental in guided pathways work. The equity goal is central in case making for transformational change and a driving value that informs every decision about design and implementation of pathways for students. To have equity at the core of the work, it certainly is necessary for the people of the institution to recognize and be able to openly discuss the data depicting gaps in student access, persistence, and completion. Once those data are on the table, institutional leaders at all levels must be willing to lead the sometimes tough work of identifying and addressing the ways that institutional policy and practice, as well as individual human beings—even when working hard and with good intentions — may perseverate disproportionate outcomes rather than eradicating unacceptable social and economic divides.”24

Figure 15: Percentage of students in open-access versus most selective schools� Separate & Unequal: How Higher Education Reinforces the Intergenerational Reproduction of White Racial Privilege.


Equity is the driver for transformational change. Improving students’ educational and career outcomes requires intentional systemic reforms. Guided Pathways is systems reform using equity as the driver. It is not a series of pilot programs and one time fixes (e.g. first-year experience courses, majors sheets), but rather intentional exploration of systems and/or barriers to student success. It is essential to rely upon the student lens and data to inform transformational change. Too often programmatic solutions are used to solve structural issues.40

Figure 16: Programmatic versus structural reforms

The discussion surrounding University Studies degrees reveals multiple systemic issues. Rather than guiding students into and through rigorous programs of study, designed with a clearly identified goal in mind, awarding as many degrees as possible based primarily on unit accumulation has become the default. A more systemic approach would be development of programs, degrees, and certificates designed to foster economic and social mobility. While it is tempting to emphasize completion for the sake of awarding more degrees, and a sense of accomplishment, this approach contradicts research in hope and mindset, the cornerstone values of the college mission. “Succeeding in college is never easy, but with the right mindset (believing in one’s ability to grow and learn) and high hope (setting goals, taking responsibility towards learning, and overcoming obstacles), students can have a rewarding and energizing experience that will prepare them for their future careers and studies outside of Chaffey College.”25 Academic tenacity is defined as the ability to see past short term obstacles and acquire resilience in order to achieve longer-term educational and career goals.26


B. Preparation and Awareness

A recurring theme in several focus group discussions was the need for clear roles in Guided Pathways transformation of the college. In Redesigning America’s Community Colleges: A Clearer Path to Student Success, the authors point to several research-informed action items:8

Faculty and Academic Administration:� Create program maps that include program learning outcomes,

provide clear course sequences, identify progress milestones, and specify how to integrate student supports into and through their program. Program design should meet the needs of both full time and part time students.

� Develop relationships with transfer institutions to ensure the college “serves transfer institutions effectively” and generates “strong labor market and education outcomes for their students.”

� Form intra-departmental instructional inquiry groups to identify learning outcomes that are essential to success in the field of study.

� “After the initial work of program mapping is done, academic leaders should consider continuing these teams as part of a long-term governance body, which would be responsible for assessing learning outcomes, revising program maps as necessary, and supporting efforts to improve instruction over time.”

Classified Staff and Top Administrators:� Collaborate with faculty to develop a mandatory process for program

exploration and selection, assist matriculating students with academic and career exploration, and provide ongoing feedback on the effectiveness of the redesigned systems.

� Given that student service professionals are frequently the initial point of contact for students, they are in a unique position to provide guidance and valuable insights in selection and implementation of technology-based advising tools. A 2017 report from CCRC “provides insight into the building blocks of transformative change, illuminating how an in-depth redesign of an entire institutional domain can fundamentally alter how education and educational services are delivered and experienced.”14 Engaging student services staff in this capacity would represent an important and necessary foundational shift in structure, policies and procedures, reflecting the core values of the college.

Institutional Researchers:� Data-informed design of systems and processes necessitates tracking

cohorts of student progress to identify momentum and loss points, both college-wide and within program areas.


� A robust system for tracking students after they leave the college is informative in assessing the effectiveness of academic programs and support services. Ideally this includes tracking students as they pursue further education, as well as tracking students’ employment outcomes.

College CEOs and Other Administrators:� “College leaders should clearly demonstrate their commitment

to student success through a willingness to commit resources to guided pathways efforts that promise to improve outcomes on a substantial scale.” This is consistent with the elements of institutional effectiveness identified by the AACC, CCRC, and many other robust research entities (see Model for Guided Pathways, and Figure 11).

� “Leaders should seek to identify college practices that do not help students enter and complete high quality programs of study, and reallocate those resources to redesigned practices, programs, or services that support student progress into and through program pathways.”

� Committee structures should strongly represent faculty and student services staff and maintain laser-like focus on student success outcomes. This model can only be effective when “top administrators ‘lead by listening,’ taking the recommendations seriously.”

� Individuals’ roles and responsibilities cannot shift emphasis to assessing and improving student outcomes during the college redesign process without “strong and unequivocal support from the top of the college.” Leadership has an obligation to effectively communicate the value of collaboration, inquiry, and shared responsibility for student success.


C. Learning From Student VoicesThe following statements and ideas from student focus groups serve to reiterate key findings discussed in Part I, as well as reveal additional equity barriers.

The student experience is sometimes based on “luck:”� Receiving correct information from support services professionals,

� Taking a class from a professor who develops connections with students,

� Finding a peer who shared information about course transferability, and

� Finding a college employee to advocate on the student’s behalf.

Intentional design of programs and services should ideally minimize serendipity and ensure the outcomes of programs and services at Chaffey College are not based on chance.

Career exploration and wayfinding experiences should be contextualized. “You can just take everything that you need, I guess your general education courses until you pick your major.” This points to the lack of cohesiveness — a missed opportunity to embed discipline-specific skills and habits of mind within specific programs.

Students want to discover their passion: “What is going to keep you coming back?”

Hands-on experiences may be helpful for students who lack family connections to career opportunities.

Relationships and personal connections are vitally important to wayfinding. Students encounter barriers related to scheduling and availability of courses and academic support services.

“At the beginning I was struggling, [not earning the grades I wanted], and my professor referred me to tutoring. I kept going to the tutors for everything, for every test. I was able to get an A in the class because tutoring helped a lot at the Rancho campus.” Students who do access resources find them very helpful; but referral by a professor was key to connecting the student to the resource, and the accessibility and availability of such resources is not equal at all three campuses.

Having real-world experience in a particular career is vitally informative to the process of choosing a career and/or field of study. Among the students we serve are returning students, and those who are working full time but seeking transition or retraining for a new career. Working in their chosen profession, students sometimes discover that it is not what they expected, or not a good fit. They also described financial aid and registration barriers that impede access to courses and thus program completion. While reiterating that most students are at risk, this also reinforces the value of experiential opportunities or internships integrated early and often throughout programs of study. It is the college’s fiduciary responsibility to provide appropriate opportunities for career exploration.


Additionally, this suggests the need to consider these students as a special population, address registration barriers, and allocate resources to ensure timely and efficient completion.

“With a bachelor’s degree you have over 130 or 140 units and a lot of us are here to transition our careers...it’s hard because since we are transitioning our careers we don’t have a lot of time to just, you know, wait.”

Explore opportunities for deliberate collaboration among all counseling faculty and success guides to strengthen intradepartmental communication.

� Students meet with counseling faculty and success guides in various programs and campus locations. Consistency of information dissemination is imperative. Equally, opportunities to collaborate with instructional faculty and departments within and outside student services should be explored.

“It's just kind of frustrating when they [Counselors] should be on the same page I feel. I feel like all the counselors should be on the same page like campus-wide. You know GPS, DPS,EOPS, all the counseling and I feel like the teachers should be on the same page too.”


Transformational Change: Addressing Barriers to Equity Through Institutional Effectiveness

Obstacles and barriers to student success were identified, and possible solutions emerged through faculty, staff, and management focus groups. The 2014-15 FIT made recommendations, as illustrated in Figure 17 and Appendix E, which strongly overlap with the findings from 2017-18 focus groups. Despite recent advancements in Faculty Advising and other programs, the persistence of these barriers over several years points to the college’s tendency to address systemic issues with programmatic solutions. Recurring themes seem to suggest that prioritizing these areas can positively impact the student experience. While there are a large number of possible strategies, it is important to focus early implementation efforts on data-informed, high-

impact strategies. The goal is to ensure that these efforts generate lasting transformational change. Smaller-scale, pilot, or programmatic responses are often easier and less costly, and the tendency to default to such measures is perhaps a result of practices repeated over several decades. From committee structures to hiring practices to program design, perhaps many of the barriers identified in this report (and the 2014-15 FIT Report) are symptomatic of organizational issues.8 Two examples illustrate the impact of current organizational structures on the student experience:

� Communication and information flow: The college's current organizational structure potentially creates a “filter” that impacts what information is received, by whom, and in what context. That filter may affect the decisions that are made, thus impacting the student experience.

� Sustainability: Although not specifically discussed as part of any FIT focus groups, recent turnovers in management, delays in staffing positions, and the “doubling up” of responsibilities during protracted periods indicate inefficient practices. Stretching valuable human resources in this way inevitably impacts the student experience by delaying information, and impeding access to resources and services.

Prolonged Barriers to Equity

�nade�uacie� o� Cou��e ��aila�ilit� and Scheduling

�egi�t�ation ��oce��e�

�nco��lete Se��ice� at Chino and Fontana

��aining �e� and �etu�ning Student� in College ��e�ience

S�eci�ic Ca�ee� ��lo�ation

Figure 17: Prolonged Barriers to Equity


Accordingly, strategies for early implementation were described in context as a part of the Key Findings. Importantly, these strategies are contingent upon the college’s ability to use student voices to inform decisions, focus on equity through intentional systemic reforms, and take ownership of data-informed recommendations.

Figure 18: Guided Pathways is dependent upon the college’s capacity to implement the elements of institutional effectiveness

Innovation Ownership CommitmentCentralized mechanism for accurate and efficient communication

Engaging stakeholders and making the case for change

Determining barriers to sustainability (state, system, and institutional levels)

Technology infrastructure Establishing a baseline for key performance indicators

Redefining the roles of faculty, staff, and administrators as needed

Professional development Building partnerships with K-12, universities, and employers

Identifying needs for professional development and technical assistance

Strong change leadership throughout the institution

Developing flowcharts of how students choose, enter, and complete programs

Revamping technology to support the redesigned student experience

Faculty and staff engagement Developing an implementation plan with roles and deadlines

Investing in and reallocating resources as needed

Commitment and capacity to use data

Continuing to engage key stakeholders especially students

Favorable policy (state, system, and institutional levels) and board support

Integrating pathways into hiring and evaluation practices

Commitment to student success and equity


Chaffey College is known for being innovative leaders for change. Accordingly, as this research was conducted, ongoing developments related to Guided Pathways were already underway:

☑ Program Mapping: Improve majors sheets so that they (1) represent pathways, milestones, essential skills and habits of mind related to specific career outcomes, and student and instructional support services; (2) are nested within “metamajors” or "areas of interest".

☑ First Year Experience (FYE): FYE discussions are ongoing in President’s Equity Council. A subcommittee has been formed to conduct research on FYE. Academic faculty should be involved in development of curriculum goals, content, and outcomes. “This model will foster stronger and more intentional linkages between academics and student support services.”8

☑ Panther Promise: Chaffey College provides one year of FREE tuition to all first-time college students, including dual enrollment high school students. Information is available at https://www.chaffey.edu/pantherpromise/index.shtml

☑ Guided Pathways Faculty On Special Assignments (FOSAs): The college is supporting inquiry, design, and implementation of guided pathways by providing time and space for counseling and instructional faculty to collaborate in redesigning the student experience.

☑ Distance (Online) Counseling: The Chaffey College Counseling department began a pilot for Distance Counseling in the spring 2018 semester. Counseling appointments are provided online through the use of various modalities to suit students’ needs. Full expansion of Distance Counseling is scheduled in the 18-19 academic year.

https://www.chaffey.edu/pantherpromise/index.shtml


Summary Of The Literature On Student Pathways | 2017-18 FIT

� Community colleges have traditionally emphasized access; yet many students who enroll in college, particularly special populations such as first generation college students, students of color, and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals, never reach their academic and career goals. This suggests the need to “redesign students’ educational experiences, reinvent institutional roles, and reset the system so it better promotes student success.”3

� Institutional structures and processes play an important role in student experience and offer opportunities to redesign that experience with increased and integrated services in support of the college mission. Conversion from a “cafeteria model” to a Guided Pathways model addresses the unique experiences of students.

� Lowered completion costs, increased enrollment, and fulfilling the college mission for more students together justify financial investment in Guided Pathways reforms.

Colleges that have successfully implemented Guided Pathways experience improved student success, retention, and completion rates; achieve measurable improvements in achievement gaps; and engage in continuous evaluation and modification, using a systems approach to resolve issues as they arise. In the book titled Redesigning America’s Community Colleges, Bailey et al. offer the following guidelines for implementation:8

� Organize academic programs into a limited number of “Areas of Interest,” using “program templates” with a standardized format to present consistent information to students across programs.

� Develop clear maps for students to follow from application to completion/transfer; these maps include course sequences, clear learning outcomes, skills, concepts, and habits of mind identified for each point (courses and support services) along the path.

� Integrate support programs and services as mandatory components of the student experience, as opposed to services being “available on an individual and voluntary basis.”

� Promote guided career exploration and goal-setting, using developmental education and/or general education courses as vehicles for discovery of the academic skills and habits of mind associated with a potential area of interest. Intake practices include multiple measures to assist students in selecting an area of study and facilitate entry into a program (strongly tied to use of an efficient case management system, described below).

� Allow flexibility for students who wish to change pathways.

� Utilize cohort models and/or peer mentoring programs to develop engagement and a sense of community among students. Strong partnerships connect the college’s pathways to area high schools and to transfer institutions.


� Implement counselor specialization and deliberately structured collaboration between counselors, faculty advisors, and staff to ensure accuracy, continuity, and consistency of information about programs of study. The most effective structures emphasize “explicitly teaching students how to self-advise in the face of new decisions and challenges, with advising activities integrated across the student’s entire college career” (strongly tied to use of an efficient case management system, described below).

� Teach students how to effectively utilize, adapt, and apply campus resources throughout their entire educational pathway. This may occur in guidance courses, and may be generalized, contextualized within meta-majors, or integrated into the academic curriculum. Reinforce skills and habits of mind essential for achieving content learning outcomes in future coursework.

� Utilize case management/e-advising systems from intake to completion/transfer; this information is accessible to faculty advisors, counselors, and other key stakeholders. The system also serves as a medium for providing students with appropriate, timely, and actionable feedback on their educational plan, program progress, “gatekeeper” courses, milestones completed, and generates alerts if students are struggling, fail a class, or enroll in courses not included in the educational plan (strongly tied to all points described above).

� Specific strategies for management, staff, and faculty to eliminate “silos” and develop effective communication, include:

☐ Focus on practice, by connecting efforts to the values and mission of the college

☐ Use data to analyze practices and systems and to inform changes.

☐ Develop trust “through evidence of professional competence, personal integrity, and collegial respect.” Collaboration involving all stakeholders may yield different, and possibly better processes, than any single individual may conceive.

☐ Involve all stakeholders in the development and implementation of guided pathways; including part-time employees. “The larger college should adopt a collaborative approach to governance.”

☐ Curriculum, program, and pathway development involves collaboration that leverages the perspectives of students, faculty, Supplemental Instruction, Success Centers, Librarians, Career Center, and other stakeholders.

☐ Teams “must be empowered to make decisions that will be accepted and supported by the administration,” with professional development strategically designed to support stakeholders in implementation, analysis, and improvement of elements of guided pathways in their daily work.


A. Research Findings: The Four Pillars Of Guided Pathways1. Clarify the Path

a. “A large body of rigorous research from behavioral psychology indicates that too many complex choices can lead to the sorts of behaviors we often see in students: indecision, procrastination, self doubt, and paralysis. In contrast, a simplified set of options including clear information on each option’s costs and benefits, or the provision of a “default option” designed by experts, can each help people make more optimal decisions.”15

b. Program maps identify a default sequence of courses designed to help students make better choices and increase the likelihood that they will achieve their academic and career goals. The maps include milestones, provide versions for full- and part-time students, and meet specific criteria:8

i. Transfer pathways enable students to seamlessly transfer with junior standing to a bachelor’s degree program;

ii. Specific general education courses are identified and explicitly state their relevance to the field of study (“This is the social science course recommended for Criminal Justice majors.”)

iii. Courses in the maps are tied to program learning outcomes as well as core competencies

c. Program design should emphasize future employment and education in fields of importance to the college’s service area, with these future opportunities clearly mapped and communicated online in a consistent format. “Courses critical for success in each program and key progress milestones are clearly identified. This information is easily accessible on the college’s website.”11

2. Enter the Patha. The default curriculum should “give students a taste of the field and help them

decide if they want to pursue a specialized course of study or switch to a different field.” Also, foundation and college success skills are contextualized for that particular pathway, to develop habits of mind, critical thinking, and communication skills essential to a field.8

b. Undecided students are required to choose an “exploratory major” from among a limited set of options (possibly guided by career assessment during the intake process). Exploratory majors provide a structured path for choosing a major or program of study. Students are limited in how long they can remain in the exploratory major. Robust advising and other support is essential, especially in major selection, for special populations, and for students who are not making progress or fall off-track. Retention and graduation rates, as well as decreases in the achievement gap, may be attributed to these efforts.8

c. Non-academic student supports have a crucial role in building relationships, clarifying goals for college and career, navigating college systems and processes, and addressing conflicting demands of work, family, and college. These support services


should be integrated into students’ primary academic experience rather than offered separately.8

d. Inconsistent and poorly organized resources on programs of study lead to difficulties for students in making decisions about programs.8

3. Stay on the Patha. Behavioral research and research on learning suggests that it is motivating for

students to see how they are proceeding along their chosen path. Thus, it is critical to provide frequent feedback to students on how they are progressing, both to encourage students who have reached important milestones and to help students who are not making progress or who are off-track.”8

b. Collaboration with feeder schools is necessary to develop college-readiness. Intrusive support facilitates success in college-level coursework, particularly for very underprepared students and special populations. Intrusive supports include additional resources for students in “gateway” courses for each program. Students must be able to easily access and monitor their current progress as well as what they need to do to complete their program. Systems should be developed to identify at-risk students and intervene effectively. Struggling students seeking entry to limited-access programs, such as nursing, require assistance to develop viable career alternatives. Course scheduling should ensure that students can take the courses they need when they need them, and course availability should enable students to plan their lives consistently from semester to semester, while completing programs in as short a time as possible.8

c. “The focus on college completion argues forcefully for open admissions colleges to go beyond access as the single most important mission. If this is the case, student failure to complete can no longer be justified as the student’s burden or that they have a right to try and fail.” 16, 27

d. Cohort models facilitate success and retention. Two examples are City University of New York and Queensborough Community College, both of which employed cohorts with consolidated schedules and intensive supports. Both colleges dramatically improved degrees awarded and transfer rates.3, 27

4. Ensure Learninga. Program outcomes need to be well defined and aligned with skills and knowledge

required by transfer institutions and employers.28, 29

b. Faculty assess achievement of program outcomes regularly and use the data to inform decisions about changes to courses and programs, as well as to design targeted professional development. Students and faculty have access to assessment results.11

c. Importance should be given to ensuring that programs are aligned with student goals for employment and further education, and that students know and understand their state of progress toward these goals.8


d. “Nursing reveals...that there is a large group of students who seemingly have a goal, but they are also in need of clarifying their plans and weighing suitable alternatives. Those who don’t are at a significant risk to drop out. Reducing this loss would be a clear demonstration of systemic change; ...reviewing and rethinking the nursing program pipeline is critical for students of color. These students are under-represented in nursing degree graduates and over-represented in the group that ...end up simply leaving college because they have not developed a viable alternative plan.” More generally, the authors suggest that gatekeeper courses present opportunities for both intensified support and to explore alternative careers and reevaluate goals.16

e. Stackable credentials provide opportunities for students to gain valuable work experience while continuing their education to gain career advancement and increase their earnings; these “include aligned entry and exit points” as part of the educational pathway.3

f. Meaningful partnerships with area employers provide opportunities for hands-on learning, align education and training with available jobs, and engage students in authentic experiences that inform career and academic goal setting.

B. Planning, Implementation, Early Outcomes, and Evaluationa. The full Guided Pathways model suggests employing specific actions within

planning, implementation, early outcomes, and evaluation.30 Within planning — professional development, technology infrastructure, and faculty and staff commitment are essential. Implementation includes the four pillars of guided pathways (clarify the path, enter the path, stay on the path, and ensure learning). It is also highly suggested to track early outcomes and continuously evaluate progress.7

b. Program design and/or redesign should take into consideration student identity references and their morphing status through time. Historical characterizations and categorizations of community college students based on higher education literature and those ascribed by organizational members of an institution, may impede new ways of understanding new generations of students. Levin et al. found the following:

i. Faculty tend to focus their definition of student identities on a student’s individual academic needs and emphasize the need for better academic preparation. Mathematics and English performance were of particular concern.

ii. Administrators viewed students on a grander scale rather than individually, which promotes efforts such as developing robust developmental programs or new pedagogical approaches. It is less contextual.31

c. Disaggregating data for specific student populations such as returning adult learners, students with disabilities, distance education students, is recommended for future research to look into heterogeneous understandings of community college students.

d. Reducing complexity in scheduling by offering courses in coherent and predictable ways that enable students to better organize their family and work obligations and


ensure that courses that students need are offered when they need them can further help students to complete programs.15

e. Seven strategies employed by private career colleges to structure their institutions and facilitate student success include eliminating bureaucratic hurdles, reducing confusing choices, providing college-initiated guidance that minimizes the risk of student error, investing in counselors and eliminating poor advice, quickly detecting costly mistakes, and reducing conflicts with outside demands.31, 32

C. Summary Of Research From The 2014-15 FIT Report

� Pathway is defined as a “highly structured educational experience around and through an area of study” and is characterized by multiple entry and reentry points and limited choices to minimize anxiety associated with too many choices. Limited choices also reduce the likelihood of a student choosing courses that are incongruent with their educational plan, and mitigate the impact of those choices.33

� High impact practices emphasize strong starts and early connections, include clear coherent pathways with integrated (“inescapable”) support services, accelerate student progress toward completion, embed learning in context of career goals/interests, scale practices to reach all students at the college, and include strategic professional development supports.34, 35 Specific high impact recommendations include:

☐ Intake practices utilize career assessment measures and teach students the importance of preparing for placement tests

☐ Intrusive/integrated advising and early alerts visible across support services (counseling, faculty advisor, instructor, Success Center, etc.)

� Organizational changes in support of student wayfinding:36, 37

☐ Technological supports are essential to monitor and implement effective advising and counseling services, and to communicate efficiently and directly with students.

☐ Structure practices around key momentum points along the path from entry to completion/transfer.

☐ Limit options to 1-2 programs for undecided students.


References1 Johnstone, R. (Nov. 2017). Equity, Economic Mobility, and Guided Pathways. CCSSE Institute. http://www.ccsse.org/center/institutes_workshops/2017ssi/presentations/2017_SSI-Morning_Keynote_Session.pdf

2 California Community Colleges Guided Pathways. (Feb. 2018). Collecting Student Voices for Guided Pathways Inquiry and Design: Why Do It, How It Works, and What It Looks Like in Action. http://cccgp.cccco.edu/Portals/0/StudentVoicesInquiryGuide_Full_May14.pdf

3 American Association of Community Colleges. (2014). Empowering Community Colleges to Build the Nation’s Future: An Implementation Guide. Washington, DC. www.aacc21stcenturycenter.org.

4 Chaffey College Guided Pathways Data. (2018). Measuring Your College’s Effectiveness on Transfer, Employment, and Earnings Gains.

5 Chaffey College. (2017). Chaffey College Institutional Case Statement for Guided Pathways at Scale.

6 Patten, E. (2016). Racial, Gender Wage Gaps Persist in U.S. Despite Some Progress. Pew Research Center.

7 American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), Achieving the Dream (ATD), The Aspen Institute, Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE), Community College Research Center (CCRC), Complete College America, The Charles A. Dana Center, Jobs for the Future (JFF), National Center for Inquiry and Improvement (NCII), and Public Agenda. (May 2017). Model for Guided Pathways: Planning, Implementation, Evaluation.

8 Bailey, T., Smith Jaggers, S., and Jenkins, D. (2015). Redesigning America’s Community Colleges: A Clearer Path to Student Success. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

9 Johnstone, Rob (2015). Guided Pathways Demystified: Exploring Ten Commonly Asked Questions about Implementing Pathways. National Center for Inquiry & Improvement.

10 Chaffey College (2018). Student Focus Group Protocol, see Appendix A.

11 Jenkins, D., Lahr, H., and Fink, J. (Apr. 2017). Implementing Guided Pathways: Early Insights from AACC Pathways Colleges. CCRC Report.

12 Dadgar, M., Smith-Arillaga, E., Buck, D., Sinclair, B., Fischerhall, C., & Brown, K. (2017). Bringing Student Voices to Guided Pathways Inquiry and Design. Oakland, CA: Career Ladders Project.

13 Chaffey College. (2015). Chaffey College Student Pathways FIT Report, 2014-15.

14 Kalamkarian, H., Karp, M., and Ganga, E. (2017). What We Know About Technology Mediated Advising Reform. Part Two: Advising Redesign as a Foundation for Transformative Change. Community College Research Center. https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/publications/what-we-know-technology-mediated-advising-reform.html

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15 Jenkins, D., & Cho, S.-W. (2013). Get With the Program ... and Finish It: Building Guided Pathways to Accelerate Student Completion. New Directions for Community Colleges, pp.27-35.

16 Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. (2017). Role of Community and Technical Colleges in Producing Nursing Graduates: Rethinking the Pipeline for Guided Pathways. Research Report 17-1.

17 The Guided Pathways Self-Assessment Tool for California Community Colleges

18 Jenkins, D., Lahr, H., Fink, J., & Ganga, E. (2018). What We Are Learning About Guided Pathways. Part 1: A Reform Moves From Theory to Practice. New York, NY: Columbia University, Teachers College, Community College Research Center.

19 Booth, K., Cooper, D., Karandjeff, K., Large, M., Pellegrin, N., Purnell, R., Rodriguez-Kiino, D., Schiorring, E., and Willett, T. (Jan. 2013). Using Student Voices To Redefine Support: What Community College Students Say Institutions, Instructors and Others Can Do To Help Them Succeed. www.rpgroup.org

20 Tinto, V. (2008). Access Without Support Is Not Opportunity. https://vtinto.expressions.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Council-of-Independent-Colleges-2008-Keynote.pdf

21 Community College Research Center, CA. (2016). Last Awards by Program and Race.

22 Chaffey College Curriculum Committee. (2016). Status and Viability of the University Studies Program A.A. Degree Final Report.

23 Renick, T. Vice Provost and Vice President For Enrollment Management Services and Student Success. Approaching Student Success With Predictive Analytics. https://success.gsu.edu/approach/

24 The Pathways Collaborative. (May 2017). Tools For Leaders. https://www.pathwaysresources.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/PathwaysLeadersToolkit-04192018.pdf

25 Chaffey College. (Last update, Mar. 2018). Hope and Mindset: Theories and Strategies. http://www.chaffey.edu/titlev/strategies.html

26 Dweck, C., Walton, G., and Cohen, G. (2014). Academic Tenacity: Mindset, and Skills that Promote Long Term Learning. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. https://ed.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/manual/dweck-walton-cohen-2014.pdf

27 American Association of Community Colleges. (2014). Empowering Community Colleges to Build the Nation’s Future: An Implementation Guide. Washington, DC. www.aacc21stcenturycenter.org.

28 Bailey, T., Jaggars, S. S., & Jenkins, D. (2015). What We Know about Guided Pathways: Helping Students to Complete Programs Faster. Research Overview. Community College Research Center.

29 Community College Research Center. (Mar. 2015). Implementing Guided Pathways: Tips and Tools.

30 American Association of Community Colleges Guided Pathways Resource Center. (2018). Guided Pathways Model. https://www.pathwaysresources.org

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31 Levin, J. S., Viggiano, T., López Damián, A. I., Morales Vazquez, E., & Wolf, J.-P. (2017). Polymorphic Students: New Descriptions and Conceptions of Community College Students From the Perspectives of Administrators and Faculty. Community College Review, 45(2), 119–143.

32 Deil-Amen, R. and Rosenbaum, J. (Mar. 2003). The Social Prerequisites of Success: Can College Structure Reduce the Need for Social Know-How? Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 586, Community Colleges: New Environments, New Directions, pp. 120-143

33 Center for Community College Student Engagement. (2014). A Matter of Degrees: Practices to Pathways (High Impact Practices for Community College Student Success). Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin, Program in Higher Education Leadership. https://www.ccsse.org/docs/matter_of_degrees_3.pdf

34 Center for Community College Student Engagement. (2012). A Matter of Degrees: Promising Practices for Community College Student Success. Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin, Program in Higher Education Leadership. https://www.ccsse.org/docs/matter_of_degrees.pdf

35 Center for Community College Student Engagement. (2013). A Matter of Degrees: Engaging Practices, Engaging Students (High-Impact Practices for Community College Student Engagement). Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin, Program in Higher Education Leadership. https://www.ccsse.org/docs/matter_of_degrees_2.pdf

36 O’Banion, T. (2011a). Guidelines to Pathway Completion. Community College Journal 82 (1): 28-34. https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/17994531/student-success-completion-terry-obanion-montan

37 O’Banion, T. (2011b). Learning, Teaching, and College Completion. 21st Century Commission On The Future of Community Colleges, pp 62-71.

38 AB 705: California Community Colleges Assessment and Placement. https://assessment.cccco.edu/ab-705-implementation/

39 Chaffey College Institutional Research, Curriculum Committee Research Request. (Feb. 2017). Degrees Awarded Universities Studies, Associate Degree Transfer (ADT), and Other Degree Awards.

40 Hope, L. (2018). The Evolution of the California Community Colleges. Community College League of California, Classified Leadership Institute.

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https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/17994531/student-success-completion-terry-obanion-montana-university-

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https://assessment.cccco.edu/ab-705-implementation/

https://assessment.cccco.edu/ab-705-implementation/


I’ve spoken to quite a lot of students who have dropped completely, and the majority of the time is they don’t have paper and don’t have supplies. They have like two out of three of the requirements to be in EOPS, or they don’t qualify to be in DPS. And they don’t have the supplies or they don’t have the money to continue. ‘Without the programs I wouldn’t be here.’ ‘I don’t work, I’m just trying to better my life and better my daughter’s life.’ ‘I am a single mom.’ ‘I have had a rocky life...’ But I feel like all students are in need of that [support], not just us. I feel like that would be a good beneficial thing for everybody. I would think [providing those supplies] would bring up our scores of graduation and people walking, because the main thing I hear people say is ‘I don’t have supplies’, ‘I don’t have a Scantron.’ They might be small things to some people.


Appendix A: Student Focus Group Protocols

Introduction (5 Minutes)

The Student Experience (Ask for student volunteers to read this as an intro)Volunteer 1 - Chaey is one of 20 colleges in California participating in the California Guided Pathways project. The project will redesign the College so that students have a clearer, more eicient path to their educational and career goals. Your contributions to the Guided Pathways conversation will help shape future recommendations about the student experience at Chaey College.

Volunteer 2 - “The phrase “student experience” refers to the series of interactions between the student and the college. The student experience starts when prospective students first make a connection to higher education, and it continues through to that student’s exit.

Volunteer 3 - Throughout this complex journey, students interact with college personnel (such as instructors and counselors), college structures and systems (such as placement exams and class scheduling) and college policies (such as rules around retaking courses). Each of these interactions makes an impact on whether students will continue on in their studies toward successful completion or whether they will drop out along the way.”

Choosing A Path to A Career and Choosing Classes (30 Minutes)

1. Let’s begin with those of you who have decided on a career already. Describe your process in choosing a career/ identifying your career interest.

a. What resources at Chaey were helpful in exploring your career interests?b. How is Chaey helping you determine a program of study aligned with your career interests?

2. What is Chaey doing to clarify the following:a. What skills your current program or coursework is helping you to develop for your chosen careerb. What courses to take and whenc. What to do if you are struggling with core coursework or if a class you need is not availableadditional education (e.g. bachelors / masters requirements)d. What could Chaey do to clarify the above (2a-2d)?

3. For those of you who have chosen a program of study/career, how do you decide which courses to take? What factors influence your decisions?

a. Do you know which courses you need to take next semester? If not, how will you find out?b. Where can you get the most helpful information on which courses to take each semester?c. What do you think works well when it comes to choosing your courses every semester?d. What has been your experience in registering for the courses you need?

i. Are the classes available at days, times, and locations you need?ii. What do you think could improve?

4. For those who have not chosen a program of study/career, how do you decide which courses to take and what influences your decision?

a.Ttime, location, other?b. What do you think could improve?

Systems and/or Barriers (30 minutes)5. Has anyone changed your program of study along the way? Why?

a. What processes or resources were helpful in the transition from one program to another?b. What obstacles have you encountered in transitioning from one program to another?c. When questions arise, how has advising/counseling helped you make decisions about classes to take?

6. For those who have not decided on a program of study, what resources would help you to make that decision? a. What other information do you need to make a decision?b. What do you think the college could do to help you and other students decide on a program of study that is aligned with a career?

7. Have you or anyone you know had to stop attending college or drop out before finishing their program of study? Why do you think that happened?

8. What kinds of things can the college do to help students overcome their biggest challenges and stay in school?

Closing Remarks (10 minutes)Now, we are close to the end. We have talked about a lot of things. Let’s take a moment to think through what might be most important when it comes to helping more students hang in there and finish their programs of study or degrees. Would anyone like to share any final thoughts you may have on this—maybe something we talked about, or something that just occurred to you.

Appendix A: Student Focus Group ProtocolsAppendices


Appendix B: Classified Focus Group Protocols

Introduction - (10 minutes) Let’s go around, introduce yourself, and tell us how long you have worked at Cha�ey College, which department do you work in, and what is your role?

The Student Experience“Cha�ey is one of 20 colleges in California participating in the California Guided Pathways project. The project will redesign the College so that students have a clearer, more e�icient path to their educational and career goals. Your contributions to the Guided Pathways conversation will help shape future recommendations about the student experience at Cha�ey College. While adding extra support programs can assist struggling students, these programs are unable to address barriers to completion that might be fundamental to the institution and/or its programs of study.” - Completion By Design (five-year Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation initiative)

Classified Perception of the Student Pathway Experience (60 minutes)“The purpose of this focus group is to hear participants’ perspectives on the student pathway experience.”

1. What is the greatest gap in the College’s e�orts to help students along their path to their academic and career goals?a. What interactions do students have with your program or department’s policies and structures? How do these interactions help students through their journey or perhaps introduce obstacles?

2. How much of our students’ educational outcomes are the result of external factors (programs of study, college structures, systems and processes)?

a. Give specific examplesb. Statewide, data show that the vast majority of students are earning degrees in Interdisciplinary Studies (see data for Cha�ey as well). How can we ensure that all degrees or programs at Cha�ey lead to viable transfer and career outcomes?

i. Interdisciplinary Studies/University Studies definition: Instructional programs that include those subject field designations which involve more than one major discipline without primary concentration in any one area; University Studies fall under Interdisciplinary Studies, and provides for a wide distribution of courses that contribute to a balance of intellectual interests in a particular discipline. (Source: Chancellor’s o�ice, http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/collegePrograms.aspx?collegeID=921&txt=Cha�ey%20College&mjrID=490000)

3. The following are examples of e�orts that the college is doing to support student success (e.g Faculty Success Center, Student Success Center, GPS, and Faculty Advising).

a. Are there any other strengths in the College’s e�orts to facilitate students’ academic/career pathways?b. How do we reduce or eliminate isolation between our departments and programs and better integrate, restructure, and/or realign the College’s departments and programs to better serve or support the Guided Pathways e�orts? How can we purposefully and meaningfully integrate resources and programs that support our students into their educational experience? (Provide handout of the college’s organizational chart)

Time Permitting (20 min)4. Identify a disproportionately impacted student population. How does the college’s programs and services help or hinder the ability of these particular students to complete their programs?

a. How do college and state policies a�ect the progression of these groups?b. Are there subgroups within this larger group that we should support?

5. What kinds of preparation and support would classified sta� like to receive to help them promote and support the student pathway experience?

a. Time/Space?b. Professional development opportunities?

Appendix B: Classified Focus Group Protocols


Appendix C: Faculty Focus Group Protocols

Introduction - (10 minutes) Let’s go around, introduce yourself, and tell us how long you have worked at Cha�ey College and in which discipline do you teach and/or support the student experience.


Faculty Perception of the Student Pathway Experience (60 minutes)“The purpose of this focus group is to hear participants’ perspectives on the student pathway experience.”











Appendix C: Faculty Focus Group Protocols


Appendix D: Manager Focus Group ProtocolsAppendix D: Manager Focus Group Protocols

Introduction - (10 minutes) Let’s go around, introduce yourself, and tell us how long you have worked at Cha�ey College and what areas of the college are you responsible for?


Management‘s Perception of the Student Pathway Experience (60 minutes)“The purpose of this focus group is to hear participants’ perspectives on the student pathway experience.”












Appendix E: Summary Of Recommendations And Findings From The 2014-15 FIT Report

(Relevant to guided pathways efforts)

◉ Support services must be mandatory, and are currently available on an individual, voluntary basis:

☐ Office hours (students do not know their purpose or how they may benefit from this service)

☐ Career Center/Career exploration workshops

☐ Tutoring, Supplemental Instruction, Success Center workshops

◉ Stop-outs and dropped/withdrawn students should be monitored. Exit interviews or required meetings for drops/withdrawals would help identify needed supports.

◉ Support services, events, and resources need to be offered equitably at all three campus locations.

◉ Advice and information needs to be consistent among counseling, faculty, staff, and students at all campuses to avoid confusion and misunderstandings.

◉ Communication and miscommunication gaps persist at the college. Critical information (events, scholarships, deadlines, policies, resources, and other information) is a barrier to student success. A centralized mode of communication would benefit all stakeholders.

◉ Counselor specialization and collaboration (e.g. with Success Guides, Faculty Advisors, and others) is needed, including equal access at all campuses.

◉ The LifeMap model at Valencia College provides an example of website design centered around career exploration. Students choose either a brief (10 question) or extended (60 question) assessment and the program identifies career areas of interest. From there students can link to a variety of careers, view salaries and job prospects, and importantly, link to programs of study at the college that support this career pathway.


Faculty Inquiry Team | 2017-2018

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