City College of San Francisco - California Competes

THEME III
Dialogs regarding student success, aspirations, and expectations, as well as College contributions and
limitations, are systemic across the institution and have involved virtually all constituents and resulted
in observable change, fueling further dialogs on teaching and learning which have only begun to have
additional effects on student performance. Particular projects have been dialog intensive, such as the
Extended Opportunity Program and Services (EOPS), peer-mentoring, the Multicultural Infusion Project,
the National Institutes of Health’s Science Scholars program for underrepresented groups, the African-
American Achievement Programs, the Latino Services Network, the Asian Pacific American Student Success
Program, and the Basic Skills Initiative, spearheaded by the Basic Skills Subcommittee. This two-year plus
initiative has involved monthly large-group discussions of 50 or more instructors, counselors, and other
academic support staff, in addition to smaller work group dialogs focused on specific areas related to
curriculum and support services for basic skills students. A set of recommendations was drafted in May
2005 for review by the Collegial Governance System.
Since the last WASC Self Study, a noteworthy dialog on student success was initiated during Fall 2000
with a Student Services System Review, a project involving faculty and staff within the offices of Student
Development to document and analyze service delivery and to identify best practices and areas for
improvement. These discussions, augmented by focus groups with students and teaching faculty, provided
a foundation for continued dialog. The next year, the Chancellor initiated a conversation on the organization
of Student Development which continued over a two-year period through a series of working papers
and dialogs among counseling faculty. By Spring 2002, a new organizational structure was implemented
with successive yearly assessments. In 2003 the departments involved in the reorganization began to
develop, emphasizing continued dialog within each unit to increase the accessibility, utility, and impact
of their services, efforts which resulted in concrete enhancements in all areas. Additionally, the Admissions
and Records (A&R) Office embarked on a re-engineering project involving a team of A&R staff in an
extensive dialog designed to map, analyze, and assess service delivery; a project which continues to result
in improved enrollment systems. Finally, a team of counseling faculty and staff interested in student learning
outcomes established a continuing discussion of the mission and role of the Student Development
Division with emerging outcomes aligned with outcomes identified within each of the programs and
departments. Each of these conversations has contributed to improved access and service delivery in the
Student Development units/departments.
Dialogs focusing on teaching and learning primarily occur among faculty in specific departments/programs
on an as-needed basis, such as curriculum changes, department governance, facilities, and program
planning and review. However, collaborative, cross-disciplinary instructional initiatives are emerging,
such as the Biology Department’s collaboration with the Art Department to develop the new course,
“Natural History Field Observation and Illustration”; regular presentations about nutrition made by a
biology instructor in a physical education course; and the course development work underway between
the departments of Biology and Computer Science to develop a bioinformatics course and between Biology
and Engineering to develop a bio-electrical-mechanical repair course. All of these examples reflect a culture
of collaboration that is based on both informal and formal opportunities for faculty and deans to share
information and discuss their ideas for instructional improvements.
The following two examples briefly illustrate self-reflective dialogs representing broader-based involvement.
The Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) grant-funded project has a
10-year-plus history at CCSF. Over the years, it has served about 10,000 students and can be viewed as
a model process for engaging credit and noncredit faculty across the District in discussions about teaching
methods and assignments, encouraging the use of a variety of teaching strategies, providing professional
development for best practices, and integrating academic and workplace skills in the curriculum. Over
100 instructors from every instructional department have had the opportunity to be paired with a mentorcolleague
to listen, observe and be observed in the classroom, and to engage in discussions both with
the mentor and with an entire group at monthly meetings.
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