SFCC assistant professor Daniel Kilpatric says a course that shortens the length of time students spend in basic math classes will help keep students engaged.
Credits: Alexa Schirtzinger
Computer and Information Technologies Chairwoman Phyllis Baca—whose “overarching goal,” she says, is to double the number of engineers in New Mexico with an emphasis on under-represented minorities in the field—has spent the last four years creating what she calls “multiple entries and exits” in SFCC’s engineering program.
The goal, she says, is to widen career fields—so that instead of attending school for years to receive a bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering, a student can earn a certificate in computer-aided drafting or an associate’s degree in applied science.
“Life does happen,” Baca explains. “Even that one kid who’s so focused on doing the bachelor’s [degree], life might happen to him, and then suddenly they need a certificate; they just need to get out and start making money.”
Baca says widening students’ options also benefits the school.
“It’s just such a ripple effect because the kids strive for that higher goal—engineering—but they have so many outlets and inlets that we’re able to start filling our other programs,” Baca says. By providing achievable goals, she says, she’s seen calculus and computer courses fill up in unprecedented numbers.
“I’m in total, total shock,” Baca says. “The first year I came, there was one student in one engineering class, and they were thinking of closing the program.”
This year, she says, between 12 and 16 students will graduate with associate’s degrees in engineering—which is a boon not just to them, she notes, but also to fomenting a high-tech sector in New Mexico.
Baca rattles off a list of what she’s actually doing to implement that change—paid summer field studies, weekend field trips, conferences. But perhaps most importantly, Baca has developed a first-year course without prerequisites, so students have a chance to try their hand at engineering from the outset.
Kilpatric, too, has already worked to implement aspects of SFCC’s planned First Year Experience—in the form of a course that compresses his general math and pre-algebra classes into a single semester. The product, he says, will allow students to knock out their developmental math requirements in a single semester, rather than having to finish one course before they start another.
Kilpatric sees that as part of his job. “Until we get a program developed,” he says, “we kind of are the first year experience.”
Still, he says, piecemeal faculty efforts are not enough.
“We try to do a lot of things to be supportive,” Kilpatric says, “but without an overreaching program that kind of connects between the classes, it’s hard to be that effective in terms of really creating that experience for the students where they feel part of the community and they feel that they know what to expect and what’s going to be expected of them.”
Start with the staff at SFCC - the academic advisors are the worst I have ever seen!
I arrived needing a few prerequisite classes for work at UNM. I was told that my transcripts were all that was needed for placement. I had already earned a BA and an MA.
Upon arrival I was informed by a patronizing 'academic advisor' that coursework not completed within the last 5 years was 'not worth anything'. I replied that by this logic, all of the scientists at Los Alamos were non-functional, academically. The Advisor failed to see the humor or the logic in this. He huffily insisted I was to take a math placement exam 'for your own good'.
I circumvented the exam with a phone call to the instructor, who was only too happy to assist me with registration.
Several weeks later I had an uncomfortable encounter with the now enraged Advisor. In the hallway. He was completely unprofessional about it.
I passed the class with a 99 average. So the intervening 22 years failed to dull my ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide. Imagine that.
*Note to the SFCC administration: the installation of Academic Advisors who automatically regard every single incoming student as an unintelligent, uneducated and/or underperforming individual does nothing for your recruitment and retention.
Perhaps these same individuals should repeat some of their coursework since it is, obviously, more than 5 years out of date, and they are functioning below grade level.
The comment about the academic advisors being the worst ever is extremely false. I can understand this gentleman's frustrations; however his experience is an exception. My experience with the academic advisors has been wonderful. They are helpful and always trying their best to help anwser any questions a student may have. They make the transition from high school to college as convenient as possible.
Perhaps, the academic advisers are 'the worst' Homonym has ever seen, and if so, perhaps his experience is very limited. I returned to college in the summer of 2009, after an absence of almost 20 years (the most recent attempt at a degree), and encountered the same thing (previous courses work no longer valid). I consider myself extremely fortunate to have run into Calahan Fiddes, an academic advisor at SFCC. I was actually glad I retook the Algebra...I was a little rusty. I 'tested out' of the other prerequisites, and that was the end of it...I was on my way! I cannot thank the staff and instructors enough for their continued support and encouragement. As with anything in life, I realized I also had to be my own advocate, and persisted in looking for answers and solutions, when confronted with concerns or questions. I will graduate in May, having retrained in an entirely different field, and have been offered, and excepted a job in the health care. I'm have also registered for Fall 2011 classes, and plan to continue for a BA in health sciences. By the way, I'll be 65 in June, and know that many of us at SFCC seeking an 'encore' career have experienced the encouragement and support of the staff at SFCC>