College Prep, Transfer Pathways May Address Tepid College Completion Rates

Starting to prepare for college in high school is already too late, experts say.

A student works outside on his laptop in Orange, Calif., on Oct. 14, 2020. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Low college achievement rates identified in a new policy study in California’s San Joaquin Valley stem from a lack of college readiness and confusing transfer processes, experts say.

Despite the valley’s high population of 4.3 million people, just 57 percent of high school graduates in the region go on to attend public or nonprofit colleges, according to data from the Public Policy Institute of California. The institute also observed that a mere 26 percent of ninth-grade students in the San Joaquin Valley were “on the path” to achieving a four-year degree.

Although the San Joaquin Valley is located in an agriculturally-rich region—it’s the southern half of California’s vast, fertile Central Valley—few residents in the area work in the industry, according to the data. Only 9 percent work in agriculture, and most live in urban areas, suggesting that students are not choosing farm-related labor jobs after they graduate from high school.

While a number of factors are behind the region’s tepid four-year graduation rate, the institute’s August report highlighted one driving factor: “lower than average college readiness.”

Some experts say students can remedy this problem by preparing for college as early as possible, to set themselves up for baccalaureate achievement.

“Starting our service models in high school is already too late,” said Orquidea Largo, associate vice chancellor and chief outreach officer for the Center for Educational Partnerships at the University of California, Merced.

During a virtual event this week discussing the study’s results, Largo was one of three panelists who discussed key reasons students are failing to achieve higher degrees in the San Joaquin Valley.

“We need to support our students’ academic preparation in mathematics and English language arts, support our English learners, to ensure that when they start their high school experience, they are well informed about what those requirements are,” she said, referring to college preparation. 

“It has to begin before a student even enters high school,” said Tressa Overstreet, executive director of college and career readiness with the Fresno Unified School District.

During the panel discussion, Overstreet stressed the importance of spending time “with our youngest students, to begin to develop that mindset, that ‘I am college material.’”

According to the institute’s study, a second major barrier facing southern Central Valley students is the low transfer rate from community colleges to undergraduate colleges and universities. The data showed student transfer rates in the valley’s community college districts were between 32 and 41 percent.

The low transfer rate is a problem the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium—an organization that collaborates with college institutions in the valley to address education needs—is working to fix, through a new program called the Central Valley Transfer Project.

Benjamin Duran, the consortium’s executive director, said during the panel discussion that community colleges in the valley are working on creating “transfer pathways.” Those paths will make it easier for students to transfer to a university to complete a four-year degree, by outlining the courses needed to move forward.

Duran highlighted the “Program Pathways Mapper” online software tool, which offers California valley students a customized plan to help them align their academic journeys with their long-term career goals.

The online tool is available for Central Valley community college students to use and can be used alongside online course catalogs at valley schools to form customized education roadmaps, according to its website.

“We think it’s going to have a huge impact on the transfer numbers,” said Duran.