Guided Pathways Archives

On April 6, Cosumnes River College received news that it was selected as one of the 20 California community colleges to take part in the California Guided Pathways Project from 2017 to 2019. Membership in the Project provided CRC structured support as the college undertook the work of developing and setting students on specific paths built upon comprehensive program plans with clear success milestones and learning outcomes that align with, and map to, the expectations of our transfer university partners and the needs of the workforce.

Participation in the California Guided Pathways Project includes a college commitment to:

Restructuring how the College delivers academic programs and students services to all incoming students
Aligning curriculum and mapping of courses, academic programs, and learning outcomes to university transfer needs and workforce needs
Implementing focused professional developed for faculty, staff, and administration in support of developing guided pathways
Working with a Project coach to help implement various aspects of comprehensive guided pathways reform
Attendance of a designated core team of administrators, faculty, and staff at six guided pathways working meetings over the next two years
Formative evaluation of the project and collection of data on for specific metrics of student success identified by the Project

CRC began drafting its application to the California Guided Pathways Project after CRC faculty and staff, who attended the IEPI Guided Pathways Workshop on December 7/8, articulated specific goals for guided pathways at CRC. Prior to submission of the application, Academic Senate provided extensive feedback and input which resulted in what the Project has admitted was an exceptionally strong application. CRC’s goals for guided pathways implementation include:

Placing every student in a cohort or house, with cohorts mapped to careers/meta-majors/academic clusters
Identifying the academic and student support services needed within each cohort or house.
Exploring the Educational Planning Initiative, and other technology, to give employees, including instructional faculty, a student profile view, and to give students a clear dashboard of their programs, their future schedule of classes, and an opportunity to explore different scenarios of what on-time completion could look like given the needs, desires, and attendance plans of the individual student.

The California Guided Pathways Project will help 20 California community colleges implement an integrated, institution-wide approach to student success by creating structured educational experiences that support each student from point of entry to [the] attainment of high-quality postsecondary credentials and careers.

Resources

Press Release CA GP Comm College Selected 2017 (PDF)
Institute 1 Webinar (PDF)
Advance Work Institute (PDF)

CASSL Colloquium – Davis Jenkins

On Wednesday, August 16, 2017, Dr. Davis Jenkins, co-author of Redesigning America's Community Colleges, was the honored speaker at the annual CASSL Colloquium. Over 100 students, staff, faculty, and managers from Cosumnes River College, American River College, and Sacramento City College were on-hand as Davis built a strong case for transforming how colleges can better meet the needs of students by transforming from a "cafeteria college" to a "guided pathways college." Foremost in the development of guided pathways is the goal of addressing common expectations of students including: understanding what career and educational paths and options the college experience offers them, how long it would take and how much would it cost to attend college, and where students can get the necessary (and good) information needed to make informed decisions.

During his presentation, Davis emphasized the intentionality of building guided pathways that will work for CRC and for each individual community college involved in transforming how best to allow for student access, persistence, and success. Starting with end goals in mind, the intentional work of building guided pathways includes:

Clarifying and building program maps that lead to tangible outcomes of specific career opportunities and/or clear transfer options.
Redesigning how the college invites students into its programs with a focus on exploring available career and college options from the start, including partnering with k-12 schools to allow students to explore possible pathways to success before even entering college.
Keeping students on their chosen specific pathways including how the college provides support services, and how the college counsel students to reach their goals.
Ensuring that learning occurs through a focus on specific outcomes, contextualizing and/or rethinking general education so that GE means something for students beyond a number of units they must take.

In his presentation, Davis provided a variety of examples of how community colleges across the nation have built guided pathways. Based upon what he knows of the work that CRC has completed so far in our transformation to guided pathways, Davis is optimistic that CRC is on the right "path" to success.

Davis Jenkins' Presentation (PDF)

Beginning Work & Courageous Conversation

In the Spring 2017 semester, the College began the work of developing guided pathways. The promise of guided pathways includes:

increased student success
increased persistence and completion
increased enrollment

Our District Strategic Plan and our new College Strategic Plan all support the development of guided pathways.

A Courageous Conversation on guided pathways was held on Tuesday, April 18, 2017 from 12:00 - 1:20 p.m. in the Winn Center Community Room. The Conversation was a first start for everyone to ask questions of what designing and implementing guided pathways means for CRC, our students, and our faculty and staff. At the center of our guided pathways work will always be students.

Student Conversation Regarding Choosing General Education Courses and Major

February 22, 2018, Recital Hall

Session Notes (PDF)

Figuring out which courses to take can be confusing. CRC wants to change the way it recommends courses to students so that you can save time and save money. The college already lets you know what courses you need to take to complete a major. Now, the college needs a process to let you know which specific General Education (GE) courses you should consider given your major. The goal is to provide all students with a complete set of recommendations as to which courses you should take, (and in what order), so that you can more easily, and efficiently, complete your degree or transfer pattern. But, before the college decides how to go about recommending specific GE courses to you, it seems like a good idea to understand how students currently choose GE courses. It also seems like a good idea to understand how you currently choose your major. Join other CRC students in a campus conversation about picking GE courses and picking your major. Hear how other students make their choices, and let the college know how you make your choices.

The Center for Professional Development organized two events on campus: Student Conversation--What Do Our Students Really Need? and Employee Conversation--Pathways and the Importance of Employee Relationships.

The Guided Pathways PD Institute on General Education Spring 2019

The Guided Pathways PD Institute on General Education
Spring 2019
Jan. 16, 2019
8:30 am-12 pm, Winn 150

Guided Pathways & General Education: Where Are We Now & What Options Work Best for CRC Students?

Why do students take your course for GE? General Education provides a common educational experience for students. While the State prescribes GE course requirements, CRC faculty ensure that general education courses cultivate knowledge, skills, and values that are characteristic of a learned person. But, how will CRC decide which GE courses will fit with students’ interests and academic/career goals?

This PD institute will:

engage participants in understanding GE
provide a context for how GE considerations relate to guided pathways implementation
highlight possible GE approaches used by other colleges
give participants a chance to voice their perspective on future college GE directions within a Pathways framework and contribute to “conversation draft” proposal for a thematic approach to GE at CRC.

Resources

They're sometimes controversial among faculty, but – love them or hate them – theme-based general education "pathways" programs, in which required coursework is grouped into academically or socially relevant themes for a more meaningful undergraduate experience, are a growing trend. Or so it appeared Friday at a standing-room-only session on pathways at the American Association of Colleges and Universities’ annual conference here. Asked by panelists who had introduced theme-based general education requirements at their institutions, about a dozen attendees -- mostly administrators -- raised their hands. Asked again how many attendees were considering such programs, nearly all answered in the affirmative....

General education is the traditional method by which institutions expose students to a wide array of disciplines, help them identify their academic interests, and become well-rounded graduates. Unfortunately, this is often not how general education plays out in practice. Without much structure to support their exploration, students end up selecting courses based on convenient times or the opportunity to take classes with friends, a lost opportunity to orient their course selection around their personal goals.

Some institutions, however, are confronting this planning gap by adding new structures to their general education requirements.

General Education is included in the Ontario college curriculum to help graduates gain insight into the diversity, complexity, and richness of human experience. By expanding their aesthetic, cultural, historical, scientific, and philosophical awareness, graduates are equipped to participate actively and fully in society and to recognize the values of social responsibility and good citizenship.

To support these goals, general education at Algonquin College will be delivered via discrete courses that address one of the following five themes:

Arts in Society
Civic Life
Social and Cultural Understanding
Personal Understanding
Science and Technology

Read General Education Lifesaver article (PDF)

Ohio University offers “themes” that can help you focus general education (and College of Arts & Sciences requirements) around topics you are interested in. The themes also provide ways for small groups of students and faculty to get involved in solving 21 ^st century issues.

Faculty Forum on General Education Alignment

October 5, 2018

Meeting notes (PDF)
Presentation Slides (PDF)
Examples of GE Alignment by other colleges (PDF)

Student Conversation – Get More Out of College: A Thematic Approach to General Education-March 27, 2019

Student Conversation

These shared principles are aspirational, not prescriptive. They describe who we are trying to become and include flexibility for exceptions.

Our districtwide Guided Pathways work:

Puts students first
Focuses on equity
Values effective, timely communication
Values relationships
Is collaborative
Is led by faculty and classified professionals and is supported by administration, with input from students
Is structured to foster timely completion
Is fully resourced
Reflects and values the unique cultures and communities of each of the colleges

Our goals are to:

Connect students early and often to the people, programs, and services they need to succeed
Simplify the student experience by removing barriers and providing clear, consistent, and timely messages to students
Encourage career/major exploration early and often so that students make more informed decisions
Provide personalized, proactive support to students to help them find an educational path and stay on it
Create scalable and sustainable solutions

Presentations

The following presentations are by Rob Johnstone and Kay McClenney:

The Case for Urgency (PDF)
Design Principles for Multi-College Districts (PDF)

Innovation, Data, and Tech to Guide Students

Omid Pourzanjani, Visiting Vice Chancellor for our State Chancellor’s Office, provided a presentation to better our understanding of technological solutions being developed and/or considered that may support our Guided Pathways efforts. With all of the Guided Pathways work underway we must implement technological solutions to enhance our user experience and create efficiencies. Vice Chancellor Pourzanjani provided an update on the CCC Apply Re-Design to inform our planning in regards to AB 705 implementation and onboarding our students.

The session with Vice Chancellor Pourzanjani was held on Monday, September 24, 2018 from 8:30 am to 11:00 am in the Board Room.

Digital Futures Presentation (PDF)

Guided Pathways Archives

Resources

Spring 2019 Meetings

Fall 2018 Meetings

Fall 2018 Documents

Spring 2018 Meeting Notes

Spring 2018 Documents

Fall 2017 Meeting Notes

Spring 2017 Meeting Notes

CASSL Colloquium – Davis Jenkins

Beginning Work & Courageous Conversation

Student Conversation Regarding Choosing General Education Courses and Major

The Guided Pathways PD Institute on General Education Spring 2019

Guided Pathways & General Education: Where Are We Now & What Options Work Best for CRC Students?

Resources

Faculty Forum on General Education Alignment

Student Conversation – Get More Out of College: A Thematic Approach to General Education-March 27, 2019

Presentations

Innovation, Data, and Tech to Guide Students