The Report Card

A monthly newsletter that gives you the facts...

Volume 11, issue iii - December 15, 2003


Francisco Bobaoilla In 1977, Francisco Bobaoilla immigrated to the United States from Guadalahara, Mexico. "The first 12 years were very difficult," said Francisco, "I was here illegally. I could not attend school to learn English because I had to work menial jobs to support my wife and three children."  After a lot of struggle and hard work, Francisco fulfilled the "American Dream". He is now a citizen of the U.S. and the proud owner of several restaurants in King County. "I don't need to work  anymore," he smiled. "Now, I have time to go to school." Although Francisco had higher level education in Mexico, he enrolled in Green River's ABE program to help him ease his way back into college. "When I am here, I am the happiest man in the world," he exclaimed. "After I complete my AA degree, I plan to transfer to a university where I can study to become an immigration lawyer.  My goal is to help my people one day.  I will encourage them to study too. It is the best way to become successful in life."

Lyuda Zadneprovskaya

Lyuda Zadneprovskaya  left the Ukraine in search for a better life for her family. With the daunting task of learning a  different language, she enrolled in Green River's ESL program in fall 1994.  After completing two levels, she took time off to have her third child. She continued to practice what she had learned, and after a quarter at Renton Technical College, she regained the confidence to come back to Green River's academic program in winter 2000. Through the financial aid office, she was able to secure a part-time data entry job in Educational Planning. From there she was recommended for a position in the Career Center which turned full-time in 2001.  Lyuda graduated from Green River with an AAA Administrative Assistant degree and currently works as an intake specialist for Work Force Training.

 

  


Welcome to The Report Card, a monthly newsletter containing information on various topics related to institutional effectiveness. This issue is on Pre-College Instruction.
Background:

Community colleges offer a range of pre-college courses and programs to prepare students for college or employment.  Basic skills consists of Adult Basic Education (ABE) for students with less than a ninth grade education, General Education (GED) for students lacking a high school diploma, and English as a Second Language (ESL) for students whose native language is other than English.  Developmental studies consists of “brush-up” courses in math, reading, writing, and study skills to prepare students for college-level course work and are often taken along with other college-level courses.

Over the past three years, the percentage of total FTEs produced by pre-college instruction at Green River has been higher than that of the community college system as a whole.  In 2002-03, pre-college instruction accounted for 27% of Green River's total FTEs compared to 23% system-wide. (See Figure 1).

Highlights:

In 2002-03, the number of FTEs produced by pre-college instruction at Green River decreased by 7% from the previous year.  During the same time period, the number of FTEs produced by pre-college instruction system-wide decreased by 2%.

·        The number of FTEs produced by basic skills decreased by 5% from the previous year and accounted for 15% of the total college FTEs.  (See Figure 2).

·        The number of FTEs produced by developmental studies decreased by 9% from the previous year and accounted for 12% of the total college FTEs.

·        System-wide, the number of FTEs produced by basic skills decreased by 3% whereas the number of FTEs produced by developmental studies increased by 1% from the previous year. 
 

The number of FTEs produced by the various areas in basic skills and developmental studies has fluctuated slightly over the past three years except for ESL and developmental math, which have steadily increased by 12% and 11% respectively. 

·         In basic skills, the largest number of FTEs were produced by ESL (57%) followed by ABE (34%). The number of FTEs produced by ESL in 2002-03 increased by 7% from the prior year whereas ABE decreased by 24%.  (See Figure 3).

·         In developmental studies, the largest number of FTEs were produced by math (54%) followed by IESL (19%).  The number of FTEs produced by math increased by 5%  whereas IESL decreased by 34% from the previous year. (See Figure 4).

Over the past three years, Green River students who enrolled in developmental math and English completed these courses at a higher rate than students system-wide.  (See Figure 5).

·        In 2002-03, nearly 81% of Green River students who enrolled in developmental math completed with a passing grade compared to 74% of students system-wide.

·        During the same time period, 90% of Green River students enrolled in developmental English completed with a passing grade compared to 83% of students system-wide.
 

In 2001-02 academic year, 973 students enrolled in Math 097 and nearly 79% completed the course successfully with a “C” grade or better within one year.  More than 80% of the students who enrolled in college level math (Math 102,107, or 156) within one year after finishing Math 097completed these courses with a “C” grade or better. (See Figure 6).  

During the same time period, 85% of all students who enrolled in English 100 passed the course successfully within one year.  More than 76% of the students who continued onto college-level English (English 110) completed the course successfully with a “C” grade or better within one year.  (See Figure 7).

The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges developed the WABERS program to facilitate data collection and reporting of student enrollments in ABE and ESL programs. This information helps to support the progress of students and their success in the workplace and other educational areas. WABERS meets all state and federal data collection and reporting requirements. Students enrolling in ABE and ESL are tracked by level of course work and whether they have made progress with their education. Progress is measured by the percentage of students who complete one level of course work, remain at the same level of course work, or leave the program.

  • In 2002-03, 42% of ABE students enrolled in High School Completion or GED (beginning course work) completed one level while 56% remained at the same level. Nearly 24% of those enrolled in levels 2-4 (intermediate course work) completed one level while 73% remained at the same level. (See Figure 8).
     
  • In 2002-03, 70% of ESL students enrolled in levels 1-2 (beginning course work) completed one level while 29% remained at the same level.  Over 54% of those enrolled in levels 3-4 (intermediate course work) completed one level while 42% remained at the same level. For level 5 (advanced ESL), 47% completed the level while 49% remained.  (See Figure 9).

 

 

 

 

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