President/CEO Message

February 11, 2021

Campus Community,

Welcome to the spring 2021 semester! Like many of you, I am looking forward to this semester and assisting our students in meeting their educational goals. I want to thank everyone involved in the planning for the Spring 2021 Professional Development events held yesterday and today. I heard the rumors "Where was Curry?", "Why did Curry provide a video for today?" and "He wasn't there in real-time." As I mentioned in my President/CEO Message - February 8, 2021, this week, I am required to participate in the U.S. Department of Education's Fundamentals of Federal Student Aid Administration training. If I do not complete the training, we will not be able to provide federal financial aid at Compton College during the 2021-2022 year. This week, I am learning a lot and fulfilling my obligations as your president/CEO as required in our Financial Aid Program Participation Agreement. I am looking forward to completing my last day of training tomorrow.

My PowerPoint presentation from Spring 2021 Professional Development Day 2 is available here. In my presentation today, I talked about COVID-19 and the eventual return to campus in fall 2021 and how I am supportive of a gradual return to campus. At this moment, I am gathering information and will be scheduling meetings and campus forums to discuss the fall 2021 semester. No decision for fall will be made anytime soon. However, I need your creative input as it relates to fall 2021. As I mentioned today, my number one priority is to keep you and our students healthy and provide a safe environment.

The President/CEO Message - February 11, 2021, includes COVID-19 information and other campus-related updates.

Compton College COVID-19 Update

Los Angeles County's current risk level is Tier 1 (widespread), according to California's "Blueprint for a Safer Economy." OnFebruary 10, 2021, there were 3,434 newly recorded confirmed cases in Los Angeles County. The county now has a total of 1,155,309 reported cases (including cases reported by Long Beach and Pasadena Health Departments). For more information, go to publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/data/index. According to the Compton CCD Pandemic Outbreak - Emergency Operations Plan, Compton College continues to operate at Level Four - Severe Infection Rate.

Spring 2021 Enrollment Update

As of today, February 11, 2021, Compton College has generated 1,189 FTES for the Spring 2021 semester; the fill rate is currently 52%, and our seats filled is 7,826. The Spring 2021 Enrollment Report is available here. Spring classes begin on February 16, 2021. A list of open sections is available here.

I have requested Sheri Berger, Vice President of Academic Affairs, to offer additional sections in the spring eight-week session. I am concerned about enrollment, and therefore we will continue to offer classes to meet our students' needs.

Join Compton College's Black History Month Celebration Virtually

Compton College's annual month-long celebration each February in observance of Black History Month honors the achievements of black Americans and brings awareness to their significant role in U.S. history. This year's celebration will take place virtually, with a variety of events being offered via Zoom. Members of the community are invited to attend any or all of Compton College's virtual events celebrating Black History Month free of charge. For more information, click here.

Spring 2021 Student Resources Available

It's not too late to apply for free resources for the spring semester. Laptops, Wi-Fi hotspots, food, housing referrals, headphones, and financial assistance are available to currently enrolled students via the Student Resources Form, available here. CARES Act emergency grants are available to those students who have experienced financial hardship and expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information and to apply for a grant, visit the CARES Act Grant Program webpage www.compton.edu/studentservices/financialaid/ComptonCollegeCARESActProgram.

Connecting Students to Their Guided Pathways Division Dean

If Compton College students are having difficulty connecting with their instructor outside the "classroom," please refer them to the dean for the Guided Pathway Division(s) corresponding with their course. To determine which Guided Pathway Division their course falls under, go to www.compton.edu/gpdiv/index. Students may also connect with a counselor to access online student support services and discuss concerns. Compton College counselors are available online via Cranium Cafe. Click here for more information.

Survey Measures Student Media Preferences

Collaborating with Interact Communications and the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, Compton College will be promoting a "Statewide Media Preferences" survey to help us understand which media Compton College students use most, and by extension, how we can better communicate with them. The survey will be open from February 15 through April 11, 2021.

Compton College students will be asked to complete a series of questions about their media preferences. At the end of that survey, participants will have the chance to enter an opportunity drawing. Faculty and staff, please encourage your students to participate in the survey; current Compton College students, be sure to check your @compton.edu email next week for more information and a link to the survey.

California Guided Pathways Demonstration Project

The California Guided Pathways (CAGP) Demonstration Project launched its first cohort in 2017-2019: https://www.caguidedpathways.org/. The CAGP is led by the Foundation for the California Community Colleges. The CAGP cohort experience aims to help teams explore the nuances of operationalizing Guided Pathways work. Their goal is to empower college teams to take the work of Guided Pathways back to their college campus and move forward on implementing or evolving Guided Pathways. CAGP created a second cohort and asked for proposals. Compton College applied to join the California Guided Pathways (CAGP) Cohort 2020-2023, and Compton College was accepted. CAGP only selected 20 colleges in this second cohort.

Compton College will participate in an upcoming virtual consultant meeting. This will be a space to present a specific current challenge/problem of practice in the college's Guided Pathways work to colleagues from other CAGP colleges. Compton College will hear from colleagues as they collectively problem solve and share ideas. The two topics that Compton College will focus on is related to case management, specifically within the Tartar Success Teams. The two topics are:

Student Engagement: what does proactive in-reach look like within a meta-major/Guided Pathway Division.
Communication: what does this look like for each Compton College Guided Pathway Division, including what it is (content) and how often.

For more information on Compton College Guided Pathways and the CAGP, please contact Dr. Cesar Jimenez, Acting Vice President of Student Services, at cjimenez@compton.edu.

Compton Community College District Board of Trustees Meeting

The Compton CCD Board of Trustees' next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 16, 2021. The closed session begins at 4:00 p.m., with the open session commencing at 5:00 p.m. via Zoom Meeting. Information on how to access the Compton CCD Board of Trustees meeting is available here.

Final Thoughts

In closing, as mentioned in my presentation from Spring 2021 Professional Development Day 2, Edquity released the report regarding our students who receive emergency aid. Compton College students who received emergency aid via Edquity were twice as likely to graduate. The full report is available here. As mentioned in the President/CEO Message – January 25, 2021, regarding the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (HEERF II), emergency aid will be a critical component in the proposed Compton College HEERF II Budget.

Tomorrow is Friday, and the campus is closed. Please do not schedule any Zoom meetings. I will complete the last day of my required Fundamentals of Federal Student Aid Administration training, and at least it's only for half the day.

Keith Curry, Ed.D.
(preferred pronouns: he/him/his)
President/CEO
Compton College