Introduction

El Camino College (ECC) is excited about its latest innovation in basic skills. This effort entitled, The Basic Skills Counseling Intervention Program (BSCIP), is a pilot collaboration between Counseling, Mathematics, and English faculty. It started in the fall of 2008 and is making a difference with students and faculty. It demonstrates how collaboration between faculty from various disciplines brings out the best and most innovative ideas.

Background

El Camino College faculty and administrators have made a long term commitment to meet the needs of students who are under prepared to progress in mathematics and English. In 2002 the College began a dialogue about the relevant issues regarding the proficiency of students in reading and writing. Faculty from Humanities, ESL, Mathematics, Human Development, Counseling, and the library worked diligently to address the basic skills needs of ECC students. This work culminated in the establishment of the Pre-Baccalaureate Task Force (PBTF) who formalized a mission statement addressing basic skills. The PBTF’s mission statement is to “assist ECC’s under prepared students by providing a coordinated, comprehensive, and institutional response to their academic and social needs.” (Jaffe, 2008)

Based on this work, the initial initiatives to meet the needs of basic skills students were:

• Additional counseling was provided to ESL students and orientations, assessment, and enrollment assistance were provided.
• Counseling interventions were implemented in mathematics and English classes
• Counselors visited classrooms to prepare students for educational plans

This program isn’t the first foray into combining student services and academic programs. In Fall 2007 the Dean of Counseling Services and the Dean of Mathematics approved a pilot collaboration of Counseling and Mathematics only which took place in Spring 2008. This pilot program inspired counseling faculty to develop the BCSIP program. In the Summer of 2007, the counseling department implemented the Academic Counseling, Student Enrollment, and Student Success (ACSESS) program that included a one stop service approach so that students were assessed, oriented, prepared educational plans, and enrolled in one day. A counselor was also assigned to follow-up with students to support their student success.

Integrated approach

These initiatives proved very successful; however, Counseling, English and Mathematics faculty realized that an integrated approach to help students succeed in basic skills courses was necessary. Additionally faculty was strongly supported by our Dean of Counseling Services, Dean of Humanities, and the Dean of Mathematics. This support is what gave the strength of this program. The Counseling faculty sought collaborations with English and Mathematics faculty to launch a coordinated instructional program that would address the academic and social needs of basic skills student s while they are taking basic skills courses.

Counseling Curriculum

During the summer of 2008 full time counseling faculty developed a curriculum that would integrate with basic skills curriculum in mathematics and English. The full time faculty met and discussed the curriculum, its delivery, and how it would be evaluated. From these discussions came the Basic Skills Counseling Intervention Program or BSCIP. The features of BSCIP are:

• Counselors work with students for 50 minutes in the mathematics and English classes once a week for sixteen weeks;
• Full time Counselors pair with full time Mathematics and English faculty and decide mutually the day of the week and which part of the mathematics and English curriculum their engagement will occur.

Counselor’s instructor’s Guide

ECC Counselors developed a counseling instructor’s guide entitled: “A Winning Game Plan to Your College Success”. This curriculum is offered in the mathematics/English classrooms. The curriculum includes six winning strategies and focuses on the students’ power to:

• Know What College Expects of Me
• Master Winning Thoughts
• Achieve Your Goals with an Action Plan
• Create an Educational Planning Worksheet
• Prepare for the Next Game

Next Steps

Although it’s too early to assess the overall impact of the BSCIP, the program has been enthusiastically received by students and faculty. The mission to address the “academic and social needs” of ECC’s under prepared students is being met through this faculty collaboration. Faculty understand the importance of not only ensuring student s master the subject matter but also that students psychological needs to become confident with their mastery of mathematics/English are equally important.

The BSCIP will be evaluated at the end of the fall semester. Students and faculty will assess the outcomes and the how the intervention performed in each classroom. Using the results of that assessment, English, Mathematics and Counseling faculty will adjust the model according to the needs of their students and those modifications will be assessed for their effectiveness.
It also provides a model for reaching under prepared students inside the classroom, so that they can integrate their knowledge of mathematics and English with their desire to succeed and to set goals for themselves. It is a major factor in making sure students are successful with their Basic Skills courses, but all courses they take at El Camino College.

The BSCIP provides an excellent example of how collaboration between Counseling, Mathematics and English faculty can make a difference in student lives. This collaboration gave genesis to new and innovative partnerships between faculty which ultimately benefits students in need of basic skills instruction.

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About the Authors:

Carol Imai

Carol Imai has a Master’s Degree in Counselor Education from the University of Southern California. She has been an academic and career counselor for over 35 years at Pasadena City College and El Camino College. Carol is also an instructor and has taught career planning for 17 years. She is a certified True Colors facilitator and trainer and has written instructors’ guide books for the college workbook, Follow Your True Colors to the Work You Love and the high school workbook, True Success.

Margaret Quiñones-Perez

Margaret Quiñones-Perez holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from University of California Los Angeles. She has worked in the field of Education since 1986, in various positions, such as: Puente Project Counselor, High School Outreach Coordinator, Basic Skills Coordinator and Lead Counselor at El Camino College.

Sabra Sabio

Sabra Sabio holds a Masters Degree in Counseling and Guidance from California Lutheran University, in Thousand Oaks, California. She has worked in the field of Education since 1999 as a generalist counselor in various student success programs (High School Outreach, Learning Communities, First Year Experience, and Puente Project). In her current position at El Camino College, Sabra is an academic counselor in the Counseling Division who also acts as a liaison for the Humanities Division.