WHEREAS, When AB 705 (Irwin) was passed in 2017 and implemented in 2019, colleges were allowed to more broadly apply supervised tutoring to cases in which “students are strengthening basic skills” in transfer-level courses developing students' “communication/literacy skills, quantitative reasoning skills, and critical thinking skills” [1];
WHEREAS, Just 49% of community college students in 2023 were able to receive academic counseling for the year in which they intended to graduate [2], and a study conducted in 2011 indicated that the median number of advisees per advisor was 296 [3], a number that has only increased alongside the growing enrollment of community colleges since then;
WHEREAS, Inconsistent and inaccurate counseling has led to students enrolling in the wrong courses, delaying their graduation or transfer by an additional year due to missing just 1-2 required credits, with many students struggle to schedule counseling appointments as well; and
WHEREAS, Tutoring services are often ineffective because of the short session lengths, inconsistent teaching methods that differ from the professors’ and other tutors’, and tutors completing students’ homework for them instead of teaching them the concepts, which is unhelpful in helping students pass exams in class; Now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges advocate for increased funding/resources so that colleges may hire more staff, adequately compensate existing tutors and counselors, and implement comprehensive and more robust training for counselors;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate California Community Colleges work with college administrators and policymakers to establish an advisory committee with a student and faculty representative to guide spending and allocate existing funding towards peer tutoring and counseling services; and
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges advocate for colleges to have a proportional ratio of counselors to the amount of full-time students.
Citations:
[1] Implementation Guidance for Supervised Tutoring Regulations Revisions
[2] Higher Education article, Nearly Half of Students Lack Key Academic,