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San Diego City College Student Equity Hour Program

Fall 2015 Student Equity Mini Grant

Purpose

The San Diego City College Student Equity Hour Program (SEH) [1] will contribute to a significant, measurable, positive impact on student equity and the existing achievement gaps in student success by increasing the direct connection between at-risk students and the professors who can help them. Most of our at-risk students are taught by at-risk professors who are underpaid, and often can’t afford to spend extra time with the students who need the most help. Adjunct professors understand the concept of equity and want to help close achievement gaps,[2] but they need to be fairly compensated for this work.

Professors are uniquely positioned to help students succeed in their own classes. Professors are caught in a paradox of how to close an equity gap when they must treat all students equally? In the classroom, professors must grade objectively based on classroom performance. They must address the needs of all students equally. Outside of class, professors have more time to devote to at-risk students, to meet students’ individual needs and learning styles, and bring them up-to-speed. Professors must offer their outside time equally to all students, but they can frame the offer in new ways that don’t isolate at-risk students, and perpetuate the perception of an antagonistic relationship between professor and student, a perception that keeps at-risk students from coming to office hours for the help they need. [3] By empowering professors to work with students we go straight to the source to fund the direct connection between students and the people most able to determine their success on campus.

Goals, Objectives and Expected Outcomes

This two-month pilot program aims to improve course completion and student outcomes by expanding opportunities for students to connect with faculty outside of class.

The goal of the SEH Program is to raise “success indicators” (such as course completion, basic-skills completion, degrees, certificates, and transfer) for all students, and particularly for disadvantaged populations including / as well as foster youth, veterans, and low-income students. We will compare success indicators for all the populations outlined in Title V regulations with the expectation that outcomes should improve across the board. Trainings may be modified as data is assessed during the two-month pilot program. At the end of the two month, the program will be reviewed and may be extended, modified or may sunset, as will be determined in collective bargaining, in consultation with the Academic Senates, and considering all relevant regulations related to equity funding.

The primary expected outcome of this pilot program is that at-risk students who work closely with their professors will improve their performance and likelihood of course completion.

Activities

The program has four key components: training for faculty in identifying and reaching out to at-risk students; providing extra time for faculty to work outside of class with students who need extra help and support; facilitating dialog and cooperation between instructors to identify and expand best practices in supporting at-risk students; and assessing the program’s effectiveness as well as opportunities for improvement.

In its first phase, the Student Equity Hour (SEH) Program will be open only to part-time faculty, who are currently least accessible to students outside of class. All part-time faculty with instructional load of at least .2 (one lecture class or more) are eligible to participate. The SEH Program will begin in late September and run through mid November 2015, with final assessment by mid December.

Faculty who elect to participate in the SEH Program must apply by late September and must attend a minimum of one introductory training meeting, and one evaluation meeting. For the month of October, faculty will also be required to join an on-line faculty discussion group and to keep a weekly log of outreach efforts and work with students outside of class. Faculty will be expected to spend a minimum of one hour each week performing activities connected to the SEH Program. These may include expanded office hours for face-to-face meetings with at-risk students and/or time spent communicating with students electronically. For the duration of the program, participating faculty will write and submit a self-evaluation and provide data for assessment. Additional workshops may be offered during the pilot program to address needs that faculty discover.

Evaluation and Assessment Plan

The methods of measurement for this pilot program will include reporting by the professor during the program, a student survey, and post program evaluation based on course completion. The professors will give immediate feedback on the results of their reaching out to at-risk students in an on-line discussion board, which besides the training function as self and peer evaluation, provides data for program assessment. The final evaluation meeting encourages faculty to compare shared experiences and identify patterns useful for program assessment.

Assessment Timeline

Step 1: Discussion board mid-program assessments: October to early November

Step 2: Evaluation meeting: early November

Step 3: Reporting of course completion results: mid December

Implementation Plan

The program coordinator will send an application out to adjunct faculty through the district email list describing the program and providing an on-line application form. Professors interested in participation in the program will complete the application. The applications will be reviewed and 10 faculty will be selected. All participants will meet for training on how to identify at-risk students and enable them to overcome their fears of meeting with professors. Participants will begin helping at-risk students to succeed, while evaluating their results in journal and online discussion forum. Depending on the results and discussion, additional training may be suggested. After the hours have been completed, all participants will meet to share theirs results. The program coordinator will prepare a final evaluation of the program. Participants will be encouraged to submit final results of student success in their classes after the semester has ended. Professors will be able to answer the question: how well did the students I met with end up doing in my class? The program coordinator will revise the program evaluation based on course completion data.

Subsequent projects will be able to track success based on longer term indicators, such as degrees, certificates and transfer rates.

Implementation Timetable

Step 1: Send application to adjunct DL: mid September

Step 2: Select candidates: late September

Step 3: Training meeting: late September

Step 4: Professors meet with students: October to early November

Step 5: Evaluation meeting: early November

Step 6: Initial analysis of program effectiveness: mid November

Step 7: Gather course completion data: mid December

Step 8: Presentation of results: late December

Budget Plan

The San Diego City College Student Equity Hour Program pilot program will cost $5,000, and all money will go directly to adjunct faculty. Faculty will be compensated for 10 hours (2 hours per week working outside of class with at-risk students for the 4 weeks of the pilot program, plus 1 hour of training and a 1 hour evaluation meeting) at the rate of $50 per hour (or $500 for each faculty member who participates in the program). Faculty are required to complete at least 10 hours of service in order to be compensated.

Budget Table:

Number of Faculty	Training Session	8 Hours With Students	Evaluation Meeting	Total
10	$50	$400	$50	$5,000

This Student Equity Hours program is based on maximizing the direct connections between faculty and at-risk students. 80% of the budget goes directly to professors helping at-risk students succeed in their classes. 10% goes to training faculty on how to break communication barriers with at-risk students, and 10% goes to evaluating the effectiveness of the program.

No supplies, equipment, or additional funding are required for this program.

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[1] This proposal borrows from Deborah Dahl-Shanks’ Student Equity Hour program for Contra Costa Community College District, and Jim Mahler’s (10/13/14) open letter to Governor Brown entitled, “Dignity, Equity, and Fairness for Temporary Community College Faculty to Promote Student Success”

[2] Eagan Jr., M.K. & Jaeger, A.J. (2008). “Effects of Exposure to Part-time Faculty on Community College Transfer.” Research in Higher Education, No. 0361-0365.

Ehrenberg, R.L. & Zhang, L. (2004). “Do Tenured and Non-Tenure Track Faculty Matter?” National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper No. 10695.

Jacoby, Daniel. (2006). “The Effects of Part-Time Faculty Employment on Community College Graduation Rates.” Journal of Higher Education, 77(6), 1081-1103.

Jaeger, A.J. & Eagan Jr., M.K. (2009). “Unintended Consequences: Examining the Effect of Part-time Faculty Members on Associate’s Degree Completion.” Community College Review.

Jaeger, A.J. & Eagan, M.K. (2010). “Examining Retention and Contingent Faculty Use in a State System of Public Higher Education.” Educational Policy XX(X), pp. 1-31.

Gross, B. & Goldhaber, D. (2009). “Community College Transfer and Articulation Policies: Looking Beneath the Surface.” Center on Reinventing Public Education, Working Paper No. 2009_1.

[3] Griffin, W. et. al., (2014). Starting the conversation: An exploratory study of factors that influence student office hour use. College Teaching, 62 (3), 94-99.