President/CEO Message

JuLY 1, 2021

The state of California has a budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. I am currently reviewing the California Budget Act of 2021 and the Senate Bill -132 Postsecondary Education Trailer Bill. Furthermore, Lizette Navarette, Vice-Chancellor, College Finance, and Facilities Planning, released the 2021-2022 Budget Agreement: At-A-Glance Summary, which is available here. As mentioned in the President/CEO Message - March 1, 2021, we requested extending the Compton CCD's Full-Time Equivalent Students Hold Harmless Provision from 2025-2026 to 2028-2029. Unfortunately, this request was not included in the California Budget Act of 2021. During the 2021-2022 year, we will continue to advocate for this critical extension request for Compton College and Compton Community College District.

In the President/CEO Message - June 7, 2021, I shared my interest in utilizing the institutional dollars from the American Recovery Plan Act to cancel students' unpaid enrollment fees from spring 2020 to the present. Included in the Senate Bill -132 Postsecondary Education Trailer Bill is the following language:

(n) (1) A community college district may use available emergency relief funds provided by the federal government to waive the fee requirements established pursuant to this section for a student who has not paid the fee due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(2) A community college district may use the authorization established pursuant to this subdivision only to waive the fees of students that are unpaid due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. A participating community college district shall first waive the unpaid fees of low-income students and students from underrepresented communities.

Suppose Senate Bill -132 Postsecondary Education Trailer Bill is approved by the California State Assembly, California State Senate, and signed by the Governor. In that case, I will then take a resolution to the Compton CCD Board of Trustees to waive/cancel students' unpaid enrollment fees from spring 2020 to the present. Included in the enrollment fees will be their student activities, student representation, and health center fees. The goal is to present this resolution at the July 20, 2021, Compton CCD Board of Trustees meeting, with a recommendation for approval. Thank you to the many of you who provided creative feedback on this recommendation.

The President/CEO Message - July 1 2021, includes COVID-19 information and other campus-related updates.

Compton College COVID-19 Update

Los Angeles County's Daily COVID-19 Data webpage reports 422 newly recorded confirmed cases in Los Angeles County as of 6 p.m. on June 30, 2021. The county now has a total of 1,250,240 reported cases (including cases reported by Long Beach and Pasadena health departments). For more information, go to publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/data/. Compton College is operating at Level 3 - Moderate Infection Rate according to the Compton CCD Pandemic Outbreak - Emergency Operations Plan.

Summer and Fall 2021 Enrollment Update

As of today, July 1, 2021, Compton College has generated:

425 FTES for the Summer 2021 term. Our fill rate is currently 70%, and our seats filled is 3,108.
396 FTES for the Fall 2021 semester. Our fill rate is currently 15%, and our seats filled is 2,517.

Today's enrollment snapshots are available here.

A list of open sections for the second eight-week session is available here.

The fall semester begins Saturday, August 21, 2021, with weekday classes beginning on Monday, August 23, 2021. Please encourage students to apply and register as soon as possible as some sections are already full.

In-Person Services Available on Campus

The Library-Student Success Center, Bookstore, Cafeteria, and select enrollment services are available on campus without an appointment beginning Tuesday, July 6, 2021. New and current students may access these services Monday-Thursday (hours depend on the service area). Enter the campus from Artesia Boulevard, where individuals will have their temperature checked and be given a visitor pass after specifying what service area they want to visit. Hours of operation are available on the Compton College website.

Active Construction Sites on Campus - Restricted Access

We have three active construction sites on campus. For the safety of employees and students, access is restricted to construction employees only. DO NOT ENTER construction sites without written permission from Compton College Chief Facilities Officer Linda Owens. You may email her at lowens@compton.edu for more information.

Vaccine Incentive for Summer 2021 Students - July 12, 2021, Deadline

Students enrolled in summer 2021 at Compton College may enter for a chance to win some great prizes! Students must complete the form online: http://ow.ly/TUnc50FaYOg (proof of vaccination required on form). Students may refer other eligible students to increase their chance of winning.

Students can call the St. John's Student Health Center at 213-640-8100 to make an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccination for free.

President/CEO Closing the Loop

In the President/CEO Message - June 17, 2021, I provided the approved funding for the Faculty Teaching and Learning Professional Development Proposals. The funding for all Faculty Teaching and Learning Professional Development Proposals is for the 2021-2022 year only. These proposals are not funded ongoing for future years. This year, we will evaluate all these proposals and determine the process for future Faculty Teaching and Learning Professional Development Proposals and identify potential funding sources.

At the July 20, 2021, Board of Trustees meeting, I will request approval from the Board of Trustees to transfer funding to fund the ongoing budget augmentations from the 2020-2021 year for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. The ongoing budget augmentations were included in the 2020-2021 College Plan Annual Reportt on pages 5-8.

Compton Community College District Board of Trustees Meetings

The next Compton CCD Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 20, 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

Over the next couple of weeks, we will be having many conversations about evaluating our programs and activities, especially those associated with one-time and ongoing funding to ensure those programs and activities are being implemented and understand the impact/success the program is having at our institution. I have asked Lauren Sosenko, director of institutional effectiveness, to develop reporting tools for the 2021-2022 year. Furthermore, we will begin having conversations on how this process will connect to the ongoing program review process at Compton College.

In closing, please be safe and have a wonderful holiday weekend.

Sincerely,

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