SACRAMENTO – The California Community Colleges Board of Governors on Monday embraced an ambitious strategic plan calling for sizeable increases in the number of students transferring to a University of California or California State University campus, substantial improvements in preparing students for in-demand jobs and eliminating the achievement gap altogether.

Titled “Vision for Success: Strengthening the California Community Colleges to Meet California’s Needs,” the comprehensive report articulates a set of goals and commitments developed by a team of community college experts who spent months reviewing research and gathering input from a wide array of policy makers, employers, college faculty and staff, social justice advocates and everyday Californians. A virtual town hall yielded more than 550 comments and suggestions.

Vision for Success makes clear that a focus on getting every student to his or her defined objective will serve as the “North Star” guiding all reform efforts at every level.

“One in five Americans attending a community college are enrolled in a California community college, which makes it imperative that we remain innovative and always put students first,” said Board of Governors President Cecilia V. Estolano. “We can do better, we must do better, and the Vision for Success is a first step in a making sure that we do.”

Goals in the Vision for Success are:

• Increasing by 35 percent the number of California community college students transferring annually to a UC or CSU campus. The Public Policy Institute of California says this benchmark must be reached if California is to meet future workforce demands for employees with bachelor’s degrees. The Vision for Success calls for reaching this goal by mid-2022.

• Boosting by 2022 the number of students completing career education programs who find a job in their field of study from the current 60 percent to 69 percent.

• Increasing by at least 20 percent the number of students annually who earn associate degrees, credentials, certificates or acquire specific skill sets that prepare them for an in- demand job. This goal, set for 2022, is needed to meet future workforce demand in California, as analyzed by the Centers of Excellence for Labor Market Research.

• Significantly reducing the average number of units accumulated by students who earn an associate degree from approximately 87 to 79. Most associate degree require 60 units, and reducing the average number of units-to-degree will help students reach their educational goals sooner and at less cost.

• Reducing achievement gaps by 40 percent within 5 years and fully closing those achievement gaps for good within 10 years.

“The California Community Colleges system is the state’s engine of social and economic mobility, but our state needs us to step up the pace of improvement,” said Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley. “They know that today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce, and leaders are rightfully concerned that too few students are making it through college and achieving their dreams. Our Vision for Success provides an honest look at our performance as a system, both where we are excelling and where we are falling short, while setting out very clear goals for improvement.”

Achieving the goals set forth in Vision for Success will require a set of seven commitments that taken together can move the college system in the right direction to reach those objectives.

Focusing relentlessly on students’ end goals tops the list of commitments and serves as the North Star guiding the California Community Colleges system.

Critical in meeting this commitment is the Guided Pathways initiative, a five-year, $150-million project aimed at engaging administrators, faculty and staff to enact comprehensive changes so that all courses are designed as part of a coherent pathway with a clear outcome.

Other commitments needed to realize the goals set forth in Vision for Success include focusing more intently on the student experience when designing programs and services; pairing high expectations with high support, including addressing gaps in basic skills before students arrive at a college campus; putting data analysis at the center of the program-review process; and taking ownership of goals and performance.

The Vision for Success was developed by the Success Center for California Community Colleges, a hub for student success projects housed at the Foundation for California Community Colleges. The report was created through support from The James Irvine Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and College Futures Foundation.

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 114 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year.

For more information about the community colleges, please visit http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu, https://www.facebook.com/CACommColleges or https://twitter.com/CalCommColleges.

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has criticized the U.S. Department of Education for proposing a new rulemaking process in order to replace two rules that protect students from deceptive practices and fraud.

In a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Attorney General Becerra and 20 attorneys general underscore that the Borrower Defense Rule, which is now in limbo, would have provided a streamlined loan forgiveness process for students who have been defrauded by for-profit universities.

The second rule, the Gainful Employment Rule, would have ensured that students attending vocational programs receive an education that, at a minimum, will allow them to repay their federal student loans.

Secretary DeVos announced last month that the Department would refuse to implement both of these rules as part of a “regulatory reset” while looking to develop alternative regulations that would likely leave victimized borrowers with far les s protection.

“Secretary DeVos’ action shows what side she is on, and it is clearly not with our students,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Unscrupulous for-profit purveyors of a sham college education are celebrating and the American Dream is playing defense. As a Member of Congress, I supported reforms to the student lending system and defended regulations that protect student loan borrowers. As Attorney General, I will continue doing everything in my power to ensure that all who seek a higher education can do so without having to worry about the motives of for-profit schools.”

Becerra also challenged the department earlier this month for unlawfully delaying the implementation of the Borrower Defense Regulations, and prior to that, he urged Secretary DeVos to expedite loan forgiveness for students defrauded by Corinthian Colleges, among other actions.

The California Attorney General’s Office also led the charge against California-based Corinthian Colleges for targeting low-income, vulnerable individuals through false advertisements that misrepresented job placement rates and the value of school programs, obtaining a $1.1 billion judgement against Corinthian on March 26, 2016.

“These rules are the products of a significant amount of time and effort on the part of numerous stakeholders and the department,” write the attorneys general in the letter to Secretary DeVos. “Simply abandoning them is both a waste of departmental resources and an injustice for students. For all of the reasons discussed herein, we call on the department to fulfill its responsibilities to students and taxpayers and reconsider its decision to revoke and replace these critical protections.”

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – California Connections Academy @ North Bay, a tuition-free virtual public school serving students in grades K–12, will host a free information session for families interested in learning about its online program and individualized approach to education.

The session will take place beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 18, at Best Western El Grande Inn at 15135 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.

The school, which has opened enrollment for the 2017-18 school year, gives students in Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Colusa, Glenn and Yolo counties the flexibility to learn at home with a curriculum that meets rigorous state education standards.

The information session will provide families with an opportunity to meet with Connections Academy @ North Bay instructors and staff and thoroughly explore the school’s program and curriculum.

Other topics to be covered include how teachers interact with students in the virtual environment, personalized learning opportunities including options for accelerated learning and gifted programs, college preparation, socialization, the role of the parent or other Learning Coach, and the use of technology.

Families unable to attend this session are encouraged to attend an online information sessions.

For a full list of online information sessions, please visit http://www.connectionsacademy.com/california-online-north-bay/events.aspx.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Konocti Christian Academy’s seventh and eighth grade classes went on a six-day field trip to the East Coast this last semester.

They toured Washington, DC, Gettysburg, Mount Vernon and New York.

In Gettysburg, the students toured the battlefield and learned about the different battles.

They also learned many things about America’s history, such as the American Revolution, the Civil War, the World Wars and many influential figures.

The school reported that some of the best things about the trip were the monuments they were able to see and learn about, including the Lincoln Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the Washington Monument and many others.

While in New York, they saw the Broadway musical “Wicked,” which was great because some of the students wish to pursue a career in theater.

The school reported that the trip was extremely fun and a great learning experience, and all of the students and staff would do it again if they could.

They also are thankful that they were able to go on the trip, and expressed their gratitude to everyone who made it possible – either through donations of time or money – for them to have the life-changing adventure.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Konocti Unified School District Bond Oversight Committee will meet on Tuesday, July 11.

The committee will meet at 6 p.m. at the Carol McClung Conference Center, 9430 Lake St. in Lower Lake.

On the agenda are updates on bond projects, bond receipts and expenditures.

There also will be the opportunity for public comment.

The next meeting of the Bond Oversight Committee will take place on Oct. 10, also at the district office in Lower Lake.

SACRAMENTO – California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley on Wednesday announced that Laura Hope, dean of instructional support at Chaffey College, will join the state Chancellor’s Office as executive vice chancellor for educational services beginning in August.

Hope will replace Dr. Pamela Walker, who has announced she is retiring after serving three years in the Chancellor’s Office and 25 years of total service in various leadership positions in the community colleges system.

“We are grateful for Pam Walker’s leadership and longstanding commitment to our colleges and students,” Oakley said. “Fortunately, we have found another outstanding leader who is stepping up to guide our academic affairs and student services divisions as we enter a critical phase in improving student outcomes. Laura Hope has a track record of implementing strategies that help students succeed, and we are excited to have her on board.”

Oakley said Hope will play a central role in the widespread adoption of the Guided Pathways framework in California community colleges.

The approach, supported by a $150 million investment contained in the recently signed state budget, involves redesigning colleges to provide students with much clearer roadmaps for achieving their goals along with the support services needed for academic completion.

Hope started at Chaffey College in 1990 as an English professor, and during nearly 20 years as a faculty member, she served on the Academic Senate, was elected Faculty Lecturer of the Year, co-founded Puente and Turning Point in the California Institution for Women.

She also served as a primary architect for Chaffey’s Basic Skills Transformation, which led to the college’s Success Center network, an effort that has been widely emulated throughout California.

In 2008, Hope became dean of instructional support, which included the Success Center, Faculty Success Center, distance learning and student learning outcomes.

Laura Hope earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in rhetoric and composition from California State University, San Bernardino.

In her new role, Hope will oversee the Chancellor’s Office division of student services and special programs – which provides leadership and technical assistance for policy and programs that support student access, equity and success – as well as the division of academic affairs, which provides leadership and technical assistance to enhance the capacity of colleges in the areas of academic planning.

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 114 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year. For more information about the community colleges, please visit http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu.