Accreditation - Hartnell College!!

Institutional Self Evaluation – 12-05-12
Importantly, the college provides modified or alternative assessment and testing services for
ethnic and language minority students and students with disabilities. One of the full-time
counselors in the adjacent DSPS office is trained and qualified to provide specific assessment
and testing services to DSPS students. This training and testing meets the mandates of recent
federal regulations.
In addition, students qualified to benefit from any of the college‘s categorical programs
(EOPS, CARE, CalWORKs, GEAR UP, TRIO, etc.) undergo specific and additional intake
and assessment in order to determine their learning support needs. These services employ
their own specific intake/assessment instruments and then provide follow up support services
tailored to the specific needs of each program student. As an example, EOPS and CARE
(Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education) programs tailor student orientation
programs each semester that build upon assessment and intake data. EOPS/CARE
administrators attend monthly Region VI Consortium meetings to review best practices in the
area of intake, assessment, services, and case management. The EOPS/CARE/CalWORKs
professional staff maintain counseling contact records and gather student surveys for all
counseling appointment sessions. These data enable the programs to determine the best array
of services to provide students to ensure effectiveness, responsiveness, and student success.
By ensuring the provision of assessment and placement services via morning, afternoon,
weekend, and evening scheduling at the Main Campus and two education centers, all
students irrespective of location and distance can access a testing sequence convenient to
their schedule. (http://www.hartnell.edu/students/staar/) Bilingual assessment technicians are
located at all three sites. These trained technicians allow students at education centers to
obtain assessment and placement services without having to travel to the Main Campus.
(II.B.18)
COUNSELING SERVICES SUPPORTING STUDENTS AND ASSESSMENT
The HEP Counselor maintains a flexible schedule often working evenings and weekends in
order to meet the needs of the full-time working adult or non-traditional student. This
bilingual counselor meets with both HEP-eligible and non-HEP eligible students assisting in
College wide efforts to provide targeted student support services.
An area of deficiency noted through the Counseling Department PEER review process was
an apparent inconsistency in some information provided to students. The Counseling
Department then developed a training program that all counselors, full-time or part-time, are
provided each fall and spring semesters to stay current on research, transfer requirements,
learn practices, review student retention and success data, and related topics. All adjunct
counselors are provided comprehensive, multi-hour orientation sessions and advanced
training on education plan development, transfer requirements, financial aid appeals, regional
community support services, and other topics crucial to their abilities to provide maximum
services to students. Adjunct counselors are evaluated following the timelines set forth in the
HCFA contract.
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