President/CEO Message

May 20, 2021

You know you are in too many Zoom meetings when the participants apologize to you because they know you have been in Zoom meetings all day. The worst part was I was unable to attend the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) week event today. Hopefully, I can review the recording. As we continue to implement the Tartar Completion by Design framework, Guided Pathways, and Tartar Success Teams, the number of student engagement activities on campus (via Zoom) should be celebrated. This year, even in this remote environment, the entire campus and been coordinating various events. I want to thank everyone for your involvement in the planning and coordination of all the student activities that have been held this academic year.

The President/CEO Message - May 20, 2021, includes COVID-19 information and other campus-related updates.

Compton College COVID-19 Update

Los Angeles County's current risk level is Yellow Tier (minimal), according to California's "Blueprint for a Safer Economy." On May 19, 2021, there were 255 newly recorded confirmed cases in Los Angeles County. The county now has a total of 1,237,899 reported cases (including cases reported by Long Beach and Pasadena Health Departments). For more information, go to http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/data/index.htm. Compton College is operating at Level 3 - Moderate Infection Rate according to the Compton CCD Pandemic Outbreak - Emergency Operations Plan.

Safe Return to Campus

The Compton College Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Report includes the days and times that areas on campus are occupied and the maintenance schedule and vendor assigned to the HVAC system. The Compton College HVAC Report has been updated to include offices and classrooms that will be occupied during the summer 2021 term, including the in-person Enrollment Services and Library-Student Success Center locations and schedules. The report is available here.

Summer 2021 Enrollment Update

Summer 2021 registration is proceeding slightly ahead of last year's pace. As of today, May 20, 2021, Compton College has generated 253 FTES for the summer 2021 term; the fill rate is currently 35%, and our seats filled is 1,847. The Summer 2021 Enrollment Report is available here. A variety of 8-week and 6-week classes are available for registration, including some 6-week classes that start on July 6. Please encourage interested students to sign up as soon as possible as the first set of low enrolled classes will be reviewed for possible cancellation on Tuesday, June 15.

We are implementing the following outreach and recruitment strategies for the 2021-2022 year:

Allocating funding from the Compton College Recovery Fund for strategic recruitment with an outside firm to College Promise eligible students (17-21 years old) and working adults between the ages of 25-24 years old who are from our community and are not attending Compton College.
We will continue implementing the Career Education marketing campaign with Graduate Communications that was discussed in the President/CEO Message - April 26, 2021. The partnership with Graduate Communications has begun, with progress being made on the new webpage templates.
The Compton College Call Center that was discussed in the President/CEO Message - March 1, 2021, focuses on re-engaging former Compton College students who were enrolled in spring 2020 and not enrolled in spring 2021 and encouraging them to enroll for summer and fall 2021.
We also have a contract with Blackboard to provide outreach assistance to students enrolled at Compton College before spring 2020 and not enrolled in spring 2021.
Our Educational Partnership Department will continue to recruit graduating seniors from our local high schools and provide registration assistance for dual enrollment for summer and fall 2021.

Our community relations department is implementing the following marketing activities for summer and fall 2021:

Summer and fall 2021 registration information is available on the Compton College website, on the MyCompton student portal, and Canvas.
Current students were sent a summer registration reminder email via their @compton.edu email on April 15, 2021; the fall registration reminder will be sent next Tuesday, May 25, 2021.
Registration information and links to the class schedule - both the online searchable and the PDF versions - have been shared on the College's social media channels.
Instead of printing the summer and fall 2021 class schedules, a postcard will be mailed to nearly 130,000 District residents this month.
The summer and fall 2021 ad campaigns will include bus shelter posters, on-air radio ads, digital/online ads, and paid social media posts.

In the upcoming weeks, I will be reviewing the recommendations from April 30, 2021, Planning Summit, where the summit focused on Compton College Enrollment Management; and allocating $100,000 from the 2021-2022 Compton CCD Budget in support of the Compton College 2024 Enrollment Management Plan activities.

More information on the above outreach and recruitment strategies will be included in future President/CEO Messages.

Collaborative Governance Process

As part of the Collaborative Governance process, I want to encourage all employees and students to visit the Compton College Campus Committees webpage to review committee meeting agendas and minutes. Although you may not be a member of a particular committee, it is essential to understand the work being done campuswide as committees collaborate with faculty, Classified staff, and students on specific programs and initiatives.

As a follow-up to my President/CEO Message - April 5, 2021, we will host our first Collaborative Governance Training Session for faculty, Classified staff, and managers/supervisors on Tuesday, June 1, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. The link to the Zoom meeting is available here.

Data Sharing to Increase CalFresh Participation

One of the goals I mentioned in my President/CEO Message - January 7, 2021, was a data-sharing agreement with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) related to CalFresh food assistance. A memorandum of understanding was approved at the May 18, 2021 Compton Community College District Board of Trustees Meeting. The data-sharing agreement with the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, and the California Student Aid Commission food assistance overall goal is to continue to increase the number of Compton College students who are aware of and are signing up to participate in the CalFresh food assistance program. The Compton College-CalFresh Data-Sharing MOU is available online here.

Once again, I genuinely appreciate Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell for connecting Compton College to the Los Angeles County DPSS and encouraging us to think outside of the box related to our students' housing and food insecurities.

The next partnership we are working on is with the Los Angeles County Internal Services Department to address strategies to Delete The Divide. We have held three meetings with the Los Angeles County Internal Services Department. We are focused on three areas: Establishing a Technology Center at Compton College, Strong Workforce partnerships, and Compton College employees having access to data about the population we serve. More information on the new partnership with the Los Angeles County Internal Services Department will be provided in a future President/CEO Message.

Final Thoughts

In the President/CEO Message - May 17, 2021, I shared information on the Governor's May Revision of the 2021-2022 state budget. For the past couple of days, I have received many emails and phone calls regarding our Student Housing Project. Included in the Governor's May Revision is $4 billion in one-time funds over two years for student housing grants to be administered through the State Treasurer and the California School Finance Authority. Sixty percent of the funds are intended for community colleges for either new construction or renovation of existing properties, to be targeted to colleges serving underrepresented students. Compton College will be exploring all of our options as it relates to this new funding. Earlier this week, I was asked by EdSource to comment on the Governor's May Revision. My comments are available here.

At the May 18, 2021 Board meeting, the Compton CCD Board of Trustees approved Compton Community College District Resolution No. 05-18-2021A - Affirming Compton Community College District Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. A copy of the resolution is available here.

In closing, I want to thank all our Classified Staff members for everything they do for Compton College and Compton CCD. I know this is Classified Appreciation Week, and we want to make sure we say we appreciate you.

Please be safe, and tomorrow is Friday! Once again, I have too many Zoom meetings on a Friday.

Sincerely,

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