Student Issues / Attending College

A majority of California’s school districts, community colleges, and four-year universities are participating in CalPASS, a groundbreaking program that is improving their students’ academic success.

The CalPASS program makes student achievement data from kindergarten through college available to teachers of all levels. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that CalPASS “has collected 346 million student records on 25 million students, including information on demographics, student performance and test scores.” However, students’ test scores are not connected to any personal or identifying information. Instead, teachers, professors, and administrators at all levels of California’s public education system can view the data trends, using the information to determine their instructional decisions.

CalPASS, which stands for California Partnership for Achieving Student Success, is based in Grossmont Community College in San Diego. It was started in 1998, when Brad Phillips, then the director of research, planning, and academic services at Grossmont, realized that there was no existing channel through which he could ascertain how students from his two-year college were performing academically after they transferred to four-year colleges. Phillips decided that he needed to create such a system so that teachers and administrators could use the information to improve how students are taught.

From the CalPASS website: "Cal-PASS Plus, created through leadership and funding by California Community College Chancellor’s Office, is an accessible, actionable and collaborative pre-K through 16 system of student data.

Cal-PASS Plus’ mission is to provide actionable data to help improve student success along

Smartphones in Community Colleges

Community college students often work in addition

Students all understand the benefits of internships, but have you explored the advantages of an apprenticeship? In today’s competitive job market, apprenticeships are becoming more popular than ever. For example, at Guam Community College, the number of apprenticeship program participants has reached a historical high.

Similar to internships, apprenticeships provide excellent opportunities for students to work alongside industry professionals, gaining hands-on experience, mentorship, and real-life guidance. Most apprenticeships focus on vocational trades and crafts, providing an excellent way to strengthen your resume and skills before entering the workforce.

This video reports on apprenticeship programs in community colleges.

Apprenticeship Opportunities

Apprenticeships are generally reserved for skill-based careers and services, and community college students pursuing studies in the following categories may benefit most from apprenticeship experiences:

• Boilermakers
• Bricklayer masons
• Building maintenance personnel
• Carpenters
• Drywall hangers
• Ceramic tile setters
• Cement finishers
• HVAC technicians
• Maintenance electricians
• Fire sprinkler installers
• Elevator constructors
• Floor layers
• Manufacturing plant electricians
• Insulators
• Ironworkers
• Plumbers
• Painters
• Roofers
• Sheet metal workers
• Sheet metal workers
• Telecommunication technicians

Offering apprenticeship opportunities in all of the aforementioned categories are schools such as Lane Community College, located in Eugene, Oregon, wherein students are encouraged to “Learn the aspects of a highly skilled occupation through on-the-job training and related instruction.” Better yet, students can simultaneously earn an income during their apprenticeship.

Additionally, with apprenticeship experiences, students can effectively apply information learned in the classroom to experiences in the “real world.” From an employer’s perspective, apprenticeships help the student bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical

While all mentoring programs help improve student performance and graduation rates, some community colleges are finding that minority mentorship programs are even more beneficial. Colleges across the country are celebrating the outstanding results achieved through the collaborative efforts of on-campus minority mentoring programs. As the Education Resources Services Center articulates, “Mentoring is a process that can increase the retention of minority students, with larger numbers graduated and hired for faculty positions.”

To discover the benefits of minority mentoring opportunities, consider what some of the top-performing organizations have been able to achieve with their local community college support.

In their paper, Institutionalizing Mentoring in Community Colleges, Dr. Robin Phelps-Ward and Dr. Amanda O. Latz make the point that "Opportunities for institutionalized mentoring in community colleges have the potential to manifest in the promotion and tenure process, faculty development seminars, student recruitment and admissions procedures, and throughout curriculum development. However, colleges must make a concerted effort to weave and explicitly communicate mentoring as a value through mission and vision statements, strategic goals and outcomes, and even course objectives."

This video reports on the minority mentoring initiative at Montgomery County Community College.

Examining the College Student Spectrum

According to the Community College Review-Journal, diversity among community college student populations is constantly shifting. In fact, recent US Census Bureau reports show that 42.3 percent of African Americans enrolled in college programs

The "freshman 15" and "sophomore 10" are a phenomenon that seems to plague community college students on every campus. Gaining weight often arrives hand-in-hand with the start of the school year, especially during the first years of college.

To combat issues related to obesity, excess weight, and poor lifestyle habits, community colleges across the country are providing students with weight loss support. Through these programs, perhaps the freshman 15 may become a phenomenon of the yesteryears!

Free Community College Weight Loss Programs

To help students enjoy weight loss success, community colleges have implemented unique and diverse programs to cater to individual dieting needs. For example, as Chron News reveals, Alvin Community College (ACC), located in Texas, now provides students with an innovative online weight loss class. Titled "Lose Weight and Keep it Off," the ACC course has been designed in cooperation with the world's largest resource and provider of online classes for adult students, ed2go. Through the expert guidance of Donna Acosta, ACC's registered dietician and nutrition instructor, all participants will learn about weight loss strategies, including:

• Sensible eating
• Simple habits of weight loss
• How to maintain weight loss results and keep the pounds off

Clark State Community College (CSCC), with campuses in Springfield and Beavercreek, Ohio, has created an event to stimulate even more weight loss motivation. To help students pursue the path to better health, CSCC leaders encourage students to participate in weight loss contests sponsored and conducted by the college's