Association of Community College Trustees Names Long Beach City College as 2013 Pacific Region Equity Awardee
LBCC Recognized for Increasing Success of Diverse Student Population
Long Beach, CA – Long Beach City College (LBCC) Superintendent-President Eloy O. Oakley and the Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees received the 2013 Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Pacific Region Equity Award for their leadership in setting policies, championing an environment of inclusivity, and ensuring results for the enhancement and expansion of opportunities for their diverse student population.
“During very tough fiscal challenges, the Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees have provided admirable and continuous leadership for the advancement and student success of our diverse student body,” said Superintendent-President Eloy O. Oakley. “The innovative practices we have developed by implementing the Promise Pathways initiative has helped more students complete key college milestones with clear career pathways leading to certificates, degrees and meaningful careers.”
The Long Beach Community College District (LBCCD) and Superintendent-President received the ACCT Equity Award in recognition of increasing student success through the initiative Promise Pathways (P2). P2 launched in the fall of 2012 to increase the number of Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) students who successfully complete college, in a shorter amount of time. The P2 initiative places high school graduates into English and math courses based on high school grades rather than standardized assessment tests. Students enroll in these courses during their first semester to enable them to begin making progress toward their educational and career goals early on.
As a result of these two transformational innovations of predictive placement and prescriptive scheduling, P2 has significantly increased the number of incoming high school graduates who completed key college milestones, including transfer-level English and math in their first semester of college. These milestones are early indicators of success for students who want to earn certificates and degrees or to transfer to four-year institutions.
Transfer-level English completions of LBUSD graduates quadrupled, and transfer-level math completions of LBUSD graduates more than doubled. The success rates for every demographic group enrolled in P2 increased with some of the largest relative gains made by Latino and African American students, even though efforts are still needed to close the achievement gaps among student demographic groups. The program also significantly increased the number and percentage of students who enrolled full-time and achieved a semester-to-semester retention rate in excess of 88 percent.
LBCC’s outcomes in increasing student success aligns with ACCT’s priorities, and brings both regional and national visibility to promising practices in community colleges across the nation. The ACCT Equity Awards are presented to community colleges demonstrating leadership, enhancement and expansion in the following areas:
- Enrollment: growth in a diverse student population
- Successful completion: environment that fosters minority students to succeed
- College majors that lead to better paying, higher mobility jobs
- Campus environment: meeting the needs of a diverse student population
- Employment of diverse staff and promotion
- Involvement of college in minority community through outreach
- Diverse representation of board of trustees, in committees and advisory groups
- Contracting with diverse contractors and vendors
Serving its diverse student population is the top priority for the LBCCD Board and Superintendent-President. They have worked hard to redesign college programs to ensure that every student receives the necessary support to succeed. Increasing the diversity of faculty, staff, administrators, and leadership on the boards and in committees and advisory groups is also a key goal for LBCC. The College has worked consistently for years to recruit and hire diverse candidates to fill all openings, especially in its faculty, administrative ranks and leadership positions.
“On behalf of the Long Beach Community College District and the Board of Trustees, we are honored to have been selected as the ACCT Equity Awardee representing the Pacific Region,” said Jeff Kellogg, President of the LBCCD Board of Trustees. “We look forward to continuing our innovative practices to support increased student success, and to continuing our commitment to serving the needs of our diverse populations – from our student body, faculty and staff, to the community.”
Mark Taylor
(562) 254-8816
Ruthie Retana
(562) 552-6339
About Long Beach City College
Long Beach City College is one of the largest single college districts in the California Community College System. LBCC is a comprehensive college which provides quality educational programs and related students services to nearly 30,000 students pursuing a wide range of degrees, certificates, transfer and other courses of study. LBCC is recognized throughout California and the nation as a leader in efforts to improve college preparation, access and success through the Long Beach College Promise Partnership, with the Long Beach Unified School District and California State University, Long Beach, and its Promise Pathways initiative. The College has received several important recognitions including: finalist for the 2013 Exemplary CEO/Board Award of Excellence from the American Association of Community Colleges, winner of the 2012 RP Group’s Excellence in College Research Award for development of a predictive placement model, recognition by the White House Initiative for Excellence in Hispanic Education in 2010 and recipient of the California Community College Chancellor’s Office Student Success Award in 2009.
About The Association of Community College Trustees
The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) is a non-profit educational organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern over 1,200 community, technical and junior colleges in the United States and beyond. Located in Washington, D.C., ACCT is a major voice of community college trustees to the presidential administration, U.S. Congress, the Departments of Education and Labor and more.