1

ShastaCollege Counseling Program Review 2004-2005

ShastaCollege

Counseling Program Review

2004-05

First Level Program Review Team

Jeroen Dragten, Program Review Chair

Dr. Carolyn Borg

Toby Bodeen

Jason Kelly

Terry Bailey

Cassandra Ryan

Idalia Huckman

Second Level Review Team

Dr. Keith Brookshaw

Tom Morehouse

Robin Darcangelo

Dr. Jane Harmon

Dr. Ramon Tello

Bob Hylton

ShastaCollege Counseling Program Review

2004-2005

Section 1: Program Description and Staff

Program Description

The general counseling program consists of academic counseling; career counseling; personal counseling; career, transfer and employment services; coordination with other related services; vocational and career assessments; teaching of orientation, career choice and student success classes; outreach counseling; and outreach services.

Program Review Process

The standards for the evaluation of the college counseling program are based on the California Community College Academic Senate document,Standards of Practice for California Community College Counseling Programs (1997), identified throughout this report by italicized print. Services evaluated include: Academic Counseling, Career Counseling, Personal Counseling, Crisis Intervention, Multicultural Counseling, Outreach, and Consultation and Advocacy. Specialized counseling programs such as EOPS, DSPS, and Student Support Services have separate program reviews.

The committee was comprised of Jeroen Dragten, EOPS Counselor and Program Review Committee Chair; Dr. Carolyn Borg, Counselor and Articulation Officer; Toby Bodeen, Transfer Center Director & Counselor; Jason Kelly, Athletics Counselor; Terry Bailey, STU 1 Instructor; Cassandra Ryan, Director of Admissions and Records; and Idalia Huckman, Career Center Coordinator. Counselors Nick Rogers, Lois Cushnie, Dr. Keri Hom, Wayne Anton, Megan McQueen, and Employment Services Coordinator Nancy Berkey also contributed to the writing. Dr. Jane Harmon, Interim Vice President of Student Services, and Victoria Hindes, Director of Grants Research, attended meetings and contributed to the process.

Staffing

Currently, there are 10 counselors working in the general counseling program. Six of these counselors are located in the Administration Building 100; one counselor is located in the AthleticBuilding 1800; one counselor is located in the BusinessBuilding 2200; one counselor is located at the RedBluffCenter; and one counselor does telephone or web counseling to the outreach areas.

Although all 10 are general counselors (not paid from special funding sources and/or restricted to certain functions), many of these counselors specialize as a result of the move toward Center-based counseling, which designated a counselor to serve a particular center or location. One counselor is assigned to the Center for Public Safety, Sports and Fitness. This assignment was a direct result of a request by the Center for a counselor trained in the regulations governing athletics; it is also consistent with the recommendation by the State Academic Senate that a counselor be specifically trained to meet the special needs of athletes. One counselor is assigned 75% time to the Center for Business, Math and Technology and 25% tech-prep articulation. One counselor was assigned to the Red Bluff Center 50% time and 50% time on the Redding campus. Another counselor is 50% counseling at Red Bluff and 50% PUENTE coordinator. One counselor is assigned 50% time to Human Development.

Another counselor is working an 85% contract. The counselor who does counseling by phone or web is a 70% employee. One counselor is 25% articulation officer and 80% assigned to the new UniversityCenter. One counselor is 50% transfer counselor and 50% Transfer Center Director. Two counselors are assigned 75% to EOPS, one works 25% in Outreach and Recruitment and one works 25% with International students. Finally, one counselor sees students for 17 hours per week for one or two-hour career counseling appointments. The remainder of his time is spent teaching STU classes and preparing for these classes. When the teaching and administrative responsibilities are removed, the result is 6.75 general counselors available to meet with students (1.85 to undesignated populations).

Because these counselors are faculty, part of their time is devoted to Senate committee assignments, mentoring new employees and serving on tenure review committees. In addition to meeting with students individually, counselors also present orientations and workshops, coordinate and present outreach and recruitment activities to all area high schools, and attend counseling and center meetings. These activities limit the number of appointments that are available for individual counseling; therefore, adjunct-counseling faculty, supplement the full-time faculty. Currently, we have a pool of eleven adjunct faculty members who are trained as counselors, with three scheduled during the current spring term.

In addition to the general counselors, there are specialized counselors who are paid out of categorical grants and funds and whose counseling activities are restricted to certain populations. These include 2.5 FTES EOPS counselors and 1 Student Support Services Counselor. The DSPS program includes two counselors; one for students with physical or mental disabilities and one works with student with learning disabilities. One counselor works full-time with the CalWORKs Program and another works full-time with the FEDRUP Program (7.5 categorical counselors).

The TransferCenter is staffed with a full-time 12 month classified student services assistant, and the CareerCenter is staffed with a 12 month classified career center paraprofessional.

When all counselors (general as well as categorically funded) are considered, four ethnic groups are represented. Diversity in expertise is also present. Two counselors have considerable training and experience in personal counseling; one counselor has training in drug and alcohol abuse; one counselor has training in rehabilitation counseling; two counselors are trained to work with athletes; one counselor has training and has worked as a counselor for students with disabilities; another counselor has a teaching credential in special education; all of the general counselors have had training in the Myers-Briggs and Strong Interest Inventory.

As the staffing numbers above indicate, because of competing demands on counselors’ time, we are short staffed in general counseling. With 10,000 total students and approximately 7 full-time general counselors, the caseload would average about 1400 students per counselor (1400:1 ratio) if all students availed themselves of these services. Of course, once students are matriculated and referred to specialized counselors, the caseload is lower. EOPS serves approximately 1200 students, DSPS serves approximately 700 students; SSS serves approximately 200 students and CalWORKs serves approximately 350 students. Subtracting those students out once they are identified and referred, the caseload would be approximately 1120 students per general counselor.

Following is the Conclusion of the Consultation Council Task Force on Counseling report to the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges adopted Spring 2003:

Following more than fifteen years of concerted effort to provide educational reform through the Matriculation Act of 1986 and AB 1725, California public community college education again confronts a dire lack of fiscal resources. The core of the community colleges, to provide access and equitable opportunity, is threatened by the dissipation of the state budget. Community colleges seek to provide access and opportunity to students who choose to better their lives; our colleges offer an experience characterized by concern for students' progress, learning, and success. It is only through information and careful academic and vocational planning, career, academic and personal counseling, support and guidance for all community college students that all students can reach optimum success. This support requires professional skills, experiences and empathy that come from the counseling faculty. Counseling programs staffed by professional counseling faculty are critical to assure that students achieve their educational and career goals.

It is clear that counseling faculty have not been provided the resources needed to provide optimum comprehensive counseling services; both the counselor/student ratio of 1:1918 and the results from the Counseling Practices Survey and the Student Satisfaction Survey demonstrate a lack of "adequate" counseling services for our students. This Counseling Task Force report confirms that California community college students currently need much better access to counseling faculty at community colleges throughout the state.

Society's need for an informed citizenry and a skilled work force, and the individual's need for intellectual and personal betterment, career exploration, and retraining opportunities do not diminish when funding diminishes. Greater numbers of students continue to swell the colleges to bursting; more counseling services are needed, not less. Yet the progress made to date in providing guidance for community college students is now in jeopardy as counseling budgets evaporate.

Recently, a Preliminary Report of the Board of Governors' Real Cost of Education Project (2003) proposed a radical increase in access to counseling services when it recommended a counselor/student ratio of 1:370. The report concluded that providing a quality education to today's California community college student would cost $9,200 per FTES, or more than twice our current funding, and that access to counseling would be a major quality cost driver.

In conclusion, the Task Force would like to communicate the following to the Governor, the Legislature, the Consultation Council, the Board of Governors, and the public: The data show that when there is access to adequate, comprehensive counseling services, student success is significantly enhanced. The data also show that access to counseling in our community colleges is inadequate by every measure. To enroll students and then deny them essential means of success is a waste of resources; given the disadvantaged status of so many of our students, it is also a compromising of the democratic ideal of universal opportunity. Both economic common sense and the demand for social justice, then, demand that California invest the resources necessary to provide adequate access to quality counseling services for the students of the California community colleges

.

Recommendations from Senate document:

1. The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges recommends that the system pursue funding to ensure that colleges make progress towards a counselor/student ratio of 1:370 as soon as possible.

2. The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges recommends that until such progress is possible that existing counselor/student ratios at our colleges not be permitted to deteriorate.

One full-time general counselor will retire in May 2005, and there are no specific plans to replace this full-time tenure track position. This counselor also serves as the Veterans Counselor, a population that is certain to increase not decrease, as vets return from Iraq. The 2004-05 year has already seen an increase of 10% vets, with 352 processed through Admissions. At this time, adjunct counselors are slated to provide the counseling services lost from this full-time counselor retirement.

Recommendation:

A replacement be hired to replace the retiring counselor and that the recommendations of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges recommendations above be adopted at Shasta College.

Section 2: Program Mission and Function

The mission of counseling services at ShastaCollege is to provide Academic counseling, Career counseling, Personal counseling, Crisis intervention, Multicultural counseling, Outreach, Consultation to the college governance process, Research, and Training.

The counseling department thereby serves the students at ShastaCollege and prospective students within the Shasta Tehama Trinity Community College District. The counseling program also provides coordination of counseling services with other related services to assist students in achieving career and academic goals. Counseling responsibilities and roles are defined in Title 5 regulations, Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges papers, and the California Education Code.

The Counseling program is an integral part of meeting the mission statement and strategic goal of ShastaCollege. The district’s mission statement includes providing open access and opportunity for success to students who have diverse backgrounds, interests and abilities. Counselors are often the first contact in encouraging student success.

Section 3: Research

What We Know About Our Students

According to the 2003-04 Fact Book, ShastaCollege enrolls approximately 10,000 students each semester, or approximately 3450 FTES. Females account for 55–60% of the student body. Fifty percent of the students are within the ages of 18 to 25, with the average age being 31. White, non-Hispanic students account for 78% of the population, while Hispanic students account for 7%, followed by American Indian, Asian, and African American ethnicities. Four to five percent of students are classified as having one or more disabilities. Of the 4- 5%, vision, hearing, and mobility disabilities account for less than 8% of the total, while students with “other disabilities” account for 50%, followed by developmental and learning disabilities.

The majority of students reside in ShastaCounty (75%), with 17% residing in TehamaCounty and 3% in TrinityCounty. Approximately 50% of the students attend during the day only, 20% during the evening only, and 30% during both day and evening. More than 1400 students registered for at least one internet course in Fall 2003.

Based on completed courses, 17% of the students complete 12 or more units in a semester. Approximately 25% of the students complete 6 – 11.99 units and 30% complete less than 6 units. In the fall of 2003, a staggering 24% (2436) of students completed no units at all. This was also the semester that the legislature increased enrollment fees to $26 per unit after registration.

Numbers of students served per year

Counseling appointment data is currently recorded in the SARS system, a relatively new scheduling system for the counseling department. The data for calendar year 2004 is the best available data at this time for illustrating the number of students served and counseling appointments scheduled.

General Counselors
Bodeen, Loring, Rogers, Mandes, Kelly, Dragten,
Cushnie (f’04), McQueen (2 mo.)Part-time counselors / Spring 2004
Jan. 1 – June 30 / Fall 2004
July 1 – Dec. 31 / Total
Appointments Attended / 2114 / 3113 / 5227
Drop-In’s / 4857 / 4688 / 9545
Group / 320 / 546 / 866
Total General Appointments / 7291 / 8347 / 15,638
Appointments – Not attended / 663 / 756 / 1419
Appointments – Cancelled / 413 / 452 / 865
Center /Program / Spring 2004
Appt Drop-in / Fall 2004
Appt Drop-in / Total / Not attended & Cancelled
Spring Fall
Business, Math, Tech (thru 11/9) / 173 / 134 / 96 / 56 / 459 / 88 / 34
Public Safety, Sports, Fitness / 631 / 57 / general / general / 688 / 10 / --
Science, Industry, Natural Resour / 225 / 8 / 87 / 2 / 322 / 18 / 27
Extended Ed / 379 / 974 / 741 / 740 / 2834 / 128 / 265
DSPS / 1020 / 0 / 1127 / 0 / 2147 / 291 / 213
EOPS/CARE / 741 / 214 / 886 / 166 / 2007 / 290 / 382
PACE / 505 / 0 / 130 / 18 / 635 / 56 / 8
Student Support Services / 265 / 0 / 328 / 0 / 593 / 86 / 122
UniversityCenter / 43 / 0 / 48 / 0 / 91 / 10 / 8
Total Center/Program Appointments / 3982 / 507 / 3443 / 982 / 8914 / 977 / 1059
Appointment Slots Unfilled / Spring 2004 / Fall 2004 / Totals
General / 68 / 16 / 84
DSPS / 95 / 36 / 131
EOPS/CARE / 462 / 546 / 1008
Extended Ed / 160 / 292 / 452
International / 119 / 120 / 239
Public Safety, Sports, & fitness / 349 / -- / 349
Science, Industry, Natural Resour / 41 / 8 / 49
Student Support Services / 365 / 301 / 666
Total Unfilled Appointments / 1659 / 1319 / 2978

Approximately 60% of general student appointments are drop-in appointments, while 20% of Center/Program appointments are on a drop-in basis. Fifteen (15%) of general student appointments either do not attend or cancel. The percentage of cancellations for some groups is significantly higher (EOPS has a 40% no-show/cancellation rate). This should improve with the continued use of students to make telephone reminder calls the evening prior to counseling appointments. Some programs have a high number of unfilled appointments. There appears to be a much higher counselor-student ratio for the general counselors as compared to the Center or program specific counselors.

Recommendations:

  1. Evaluate the overall counselor staffing levels – by program, by number of students served, by part-time counselors, by drop-in, and by group counseling.
  2. Evaluate unfilled appointment slots. Determine if availability is due to actual open appointments or projects, or data errors.

Degrees Awarded

Shasta awards approximately 600 associate degrees each year. In 1997-98, there were 594 degrees awarded and in 2003-04, there were 667 AA/AS degrees awarded. The largest number of degrees are awarded for majors in General Studies, Transfer General Education, and Nursing.

Student Majors – Spring 2005 - As reported in Datatel

1 / Business Administration & Accounting / 401
2 / Nursing, RN / 292
3 / Fire Technology & Academy / 130
4 / Administration of Justice / 113
5 / Psychology / 107
6 / Dental Hygiene / 102
7 / Engineering, General / 95
8 / Art / 93
Majors with less than 70 students (80 different majors) / 1417
Total Declared / 2750 / 28%
Undecided/Undeclared / 6185
General Studies / 644
University Studies / 159
Total Undeclared / 6988 / 72%
TOTAL / 9738

Student Satisfaction Survey – Fall 2004

Overall student satisfaction with counseling has increased based on the Fall 2004 student survey. Statement #2, “My college counselor was responsive to my needs” had a significant increase in the mean average in Agreement compared to Spring 2001. In Fall 2004 the Agreement mean average for statement #2 was 3.21 and the mean average for Importance was 3.78 producing a .57 difference. Counselors attribute the increase to several changes: (1) the move to an earlier registration (from July/August to May) permitting counseling to distribute services over several months and relaxing the experience for students and counselors; (2) the uniqueness of the Spring 2001 term, where there were four counselors new to the department, quickly trying to grasp all the new information exacerbated by telephone reception overstating available drop in counseling time; and (3) the addition of a Counseling Receptionist, to greet students as they arrive for appointments, answer quick questions, inform counselors that their appointments have arrived, and keep abreast of counselor availability.

Transfer Statistics

ShastaCollege transfers over 600 students annually to four-year universities. In 2003/04, 455 students transferred from ShastaCollege to the CSU and UC systems, more students than in any previous year. For that year, 417 students transferred to the CaliforniaStateUniversity system, 38 to the University of California, 46 to NationalUniversity, and approximately 50 to SimpsonUniversity in Redding. There is no data for students transferring to other private colleges or out-of-state universities. We estimate that another 50 students transferred to out-of-state and other private universities. The majority of students transferred to CSU Chico (227), followed by 56 to CSU Sacramento, 43 to Humboldt State University, 21 to UC Davis, and 19 to San Francisco State University.