As we near the end of the 2009-2010 academic year, El Camino College students can celebrate significant academic improvements. For the past year, EC’s retention rate (82 percent) and success rate (66 percent) are the highest they’ve been in the past five years. This means more students are staying in school and passing their classes! This is a tribute to the dedication of our excellent students and EC’s improvements in the quality of student services and instruction.
To help students, EC’s Academic Senate has been working diligently to improve the student experience. For example, we recommended that grade distributions be broken down by teacher and made available for students. We believe this will help students make informed decisions when choosing classes.
The Academic Senate is primarily responsible for creating and revising academic policies. Together with the Associated Students Organization, we revised the policy on Academic Honesty and Standards of Conduct. The Senate was thrilled when student government officers shared their thoughts with us at several meetings. Everybody at EC benefits when students share their knowledge and experience.
The Senate provides input on the academic calendar and recently helped develop a survey about EC’s winter term. If you received a survey in your EC e-mail, please take it! We wish to optimize our calendar, and need to determine how EC can best serve the most students.
The Senate recently added a sixth major institutional focus, Information and Technology Literacy. Information retrieval and ease of adopting and adapting to new technologies are critical skills in the workplace. We expect our introspection in these areas will help us improve our services and prepare students to work with technology that develops throughout the 21st century.
The Senate also adopted an AP Exam template used across California. This template will reduce confusion on which exams are helpful and what scores are required, thereby making transition between EC and other colleges and universities easier.
Finally, the Academic Senate has been working to increase the linkage between the Torrance campus and the Compton Education Center.
For example, the two most recent meetings of the Academic Senate either took place at Compton or were conducted as a video conference at both sites. The video conference idea, by the way, was partly inspired when I saw two EC students communicating on their laptops by Skype. Faculty often learn from students!
The 2009-2010 Academic Year has seen some important academic developments and successes. We look forward to 2010-2011.
The views expressed in Campus Insight are those of the author’s. They do not represent the views or opinions of the Union, its staff, editorial board, or advisers.