1. Opportunities to Engage
First Year Students at a Community
College

2. OVERVIEW
 Identifying the need for change
 Implementation strategies
 Evaluation: Work in progress

3. Background
Nine college districts are piloting the Hobsons Starfish Degree Planner and Early Alert
software which began in Fall 2015. Teams from the California Statewide Education Planning
Initiative and Hobsons are working closely with college IT personnel and student service
representatives to discuss technology planning and implementation for the pilot college
campuses.
Los Medanos College is part of the Contra Costa Community College District which includes
Contra Costa College and Diablo Valley College. While Los Medanos College is the lead in
the pilot, we are taking a district-wide approach, including our sister colleges in the project.
We are working closely with the California Community College Tech Center to develop best
practices in implementation for new colleges coming on board.

4. Contra Costa Community College District (CCCCD)
 There are 113 California Community Colleges- CCCCD is made up of 3
colleges: Contra Costa College, Diablo Valley College, and Los Medanos
College.
 All three colleges are Colleague schools
Los Medanos College
 Currently using
 Ellucian Student Planning Tool
 Colleague Degree Audit
 No early alert system in place at the time of implementation
 How we are doing it
 Auto-upload from Colleague
 Continuing to use current degree audit system
 Started with existing Hobsons Degree Planner then transitioned to Starfish Degree Planner midway
through implementation

5. Identifying the Need for Change
Step 1: Evaluating current technology and its
capacity for supporting more student centered
practices.
Step 2: Identifying the needs of the institution from
various perspectives: Student, Faculty, Staff, and
Administration.
Step 3: What is on your institution’s wish list?

6. Implementation Strategies
Identify your Implementation Team
 LMC has a team for Degree Planner and Early Alert
 Includes representation from Admissions & Records,
Success & Retention Programs, Counseling, Welcome
Center, Faculty, and IT
 Districtwide Implementation Team

7. Implementation Strategies
Develop Communication Strategies/Marketing
 Starfish Conversations
 Taking the show on the road: Academic Senate,
Classified Senate, Student Senate, Shared
Governance…
 Workshops & Trainings
 Classroom Visits
 Drop-In Lab Hours

8. Implementation Strategies
Who gets to go first?
 Learning Communities, Extended Opportunity
Programs & Services (EOPS)
How to prepare and provide support?
 Developing materials for faculty/staff use
 Consulting on best practices within the
department/classroom
 Providing support during initial implementation in
testing phase (i.e., Transcripts)

9. Implementation Strategies: Resources

10. Implementation Strategies: Resources

11. Faculty/Staff/Administrator
Student
?
Implementation Strategies: Work Flows

12. Implementation Strategies: Work Flows
Student Success & Retention Programs(SSRP)
Goals and objectives
 Research and develop best practices working with “at risk” student populations
 Student Success Workshops/Seminars
 Fostering collaborative relationships on and off campus
 Oversee development and implementation of Starfish Early Alert Retention tool
• Intrusive Case Management
• Follow up on alerts, referrals, and other tasks submitted by Starfish users
• Facilitate training and workshops on implementation of Starfish Early Alert
• On campus technical support of Starfish Early Alert
• And more…
• Staffing
• 2 FT- SSRP Counselors
• 1.5 FT- SSRP Coordinators
• 1FT – Office Assistant

13. Implementation Strategies: Work Flows
Department: SSRP
 Run report and filter by flag type. (Retention Program Office
Assistant)
 Contact the students with general concerns.
(Coordinator/Student Ambassador)
 Schedule a follow-up counseling appointment with a Retention
Counselor.
 Close the loop. (Coordinator/Counselor)

14. Evaluation: Work in Progress
 Identify a decision making process for changes that can
potentially impact the district
 Districtwide monthly meetings
 Informal work group meetings for respective implementations
 Develop check points along the way
 Be responsive to recommendations/feedback
 Understand limitations – such as limitations imposed by current
institutional practices

15. QUESTIONS
Contact Us:
Robin Armour
Director, Admissions & Records
rarmour@losmedanos.edu
Carla Rosas
Director, Success & Retention Programs
crosas@losmedanos.edu