Fullerton College was awarded $1.5 million over the course of three years to improve

students’ progression rate from basic skills to college-level classes.

The award came from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

California community colleges were eligible to apply for up to $1.5 million and FC is one of 43 colleges in the state to receive the grant.

The Board of Governors approves all the grants in mid-May. Once finalized, funding for FC will begin July 1, 2016 until June 30, 2019.

The state defines basic skills as the foundational skills necessary for students to be successful in college.

FC’s basic skills classes are those that are below transfer level and include developmental classes in English, reading, math, and English as a Second Language.

To apply for the grant, faculty from different departments and divisions, including English, math, reading, ESL, counseling, social sciences, and automotive collaborated to introduce the Fullerton College Pathway Transformation Initiative.

“The idea is to build on the programs that are successful now and to continue to find new ways to help as many students as possible,” said Director of Basic Skills and Support Programs, Kristine Nikkhoo.

According to the FC News Center, The Pathway Transformation Initiative consists of four project areas – a course-placement process, which integrates multiple measures of assessment to increase persistence and completion rates, a direct placement, which will provide support to students who determine for themselves that they can be successful in college-level courses, content-alignment, which supports students enrolled in automotive and social science courses, and a proactive student services process, which integrates FC’s thriving Growth Mindset instructional initiative with counseling.

Currently a Basic Skills Initiative is already in place at FC. The Entering Scholars Program is one basic skills program that embeds tutors in classes and provides extra tutoring support free of charge to students outside of class.

In ESP, tutors are embedded in both basic skills and transfer-level English and Reading classes.

The Supplemental Instruction Program at FC is also a form of embedded tutoring. SI leaders attend all classes and provide extra support as well.

“The new grant will help more Fullerton College students reach their goals in less time, whether it’s completing their college-level classes and transferring to a university or earning their degree or certificate,” Nikkhoo said.

The faculty look forward in bringing new methods and to continue assisting students.

“We were very excited to learn from the California Community College Chancellors Office that Fullerton College will be the recipient of a Basic Skills and Student Outcomes Transformation Program grant.” President Schulz said. “This funding provides the college with a unique opportunity to apply innovative practices focused on increasing the number of students accessing college level Math and English.”