Gavilan College ranks above average in student success among
similar community colleges, according to a report released this
week by the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community
Colleges.
Gavilan College ranks above average in student success among similar community colleges, according to a report released this week by the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges.
The “Accountability Reporting for the Community Colleges” was performed by an independent panel of college researchers. The study, released Thursday, compiled data comparing “peer institutions” – those schools that serve areas with similar per capita incomes and whose students earned similar scores on mathematics aptitude tests.
The report compared all community colleges in California using six factors that are considered indicators of student success: student progress and achievement, the percent of students who completed at least 30 units, the “persistence rate” for students, the percent of course completion for vocational courses, the percent of course completion for basic skill courses and the improvement rate for basic skills classes.
Gavilan College outperformed its peer group average in all categories.
“This will allow us to have a benchmark to monitor continued improvement,” said Gavilan College President Steven Kinsella.
Jamie Ashford, 19, has been at Gavilan for four semesters, and plans to transfer to a four-year institution after the spring. Gavilan has prepared him and his classmates well for their futures – whatever they may be, he said.
“I think that the atmosphere at Gavilan … lends itself a lot more to actually get yourself to someplace you’ll be successful, and someplace you actually want to be,” Ashford said.
The report coincided with the release of another independent survey on the state of community colleges in California. This study, reported by the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy at California State University, Sacramento, found that only one-quarter of students at community colleges succeed in transferring to a four-year college or obtaining a two-year degree within six years.
Kinsella said the second study made some valid points, but misses the mission of community college.
“This perception that we have to send them all the way through the program to get an associate degree or transfer and get a bachelor’s degree is not necessarily what’s right for everyone,” Kinsella said.
Many Gavilan students are working adults who take classes in order to improve their workforce ability, and not necessarily pursuing a four-year degree, he said.
Alice Joy covers education for the Free Lance. You can reach her at 637-5566 ext. 336 or at aj**@fr***********.com.
