Student Success and Support Program
The Student Success and Support Program (SSSP) is both a program and a process designed to support and encourage student success.
The mission of SSSP includes ensuring fair and equal access to campus resources, accurate and unbiased placement, and the provision of quality guidance and support for students to reach their educational goals.
The objective of SSSP is to assist students in designing and planning their educational goals.
The process begins with admission to the college and ends when the student achieves his/her educational goal.
The purpose of the Student Success and Support Program process at Porterville College is to increase success through:
Orientation
Orientation provides entering students with a brief overview of college policies, programs and services.
Placement
Placement provides students with guidance on appropriate placement in English and mathematics courses. The goal of placement is to ensure that students maximize the probability of entering and completing transfer-level coursework in English and math within a one-year timeframe.
Academic Advising (SEP)
Every new student will be given the opportunity to meet with a counselor to develop their Student Education Plan (SEP). New students will develop an abbreviated SEP. The abbreviated plan will provide the student with a list of courses that they can take in their first two semesters at Porterville College. Students will return to the Counseling Center in their first or second semester to meet with a counselor to develop their comprehensive SEP. The comprehensive SEP will be based on the educational goal of the student and will outline all the courses necessary for the student to meet their specific goal.
Follow-Up
Porterville College is committed to supporting the success of every student at the college. Through programs such as Early Alert, faculty will identify students who are struggling. Staff at the Counseling Center will then provide the necessary resources and support services within the college and the community to assist them.
What is Student Success?
Every student should have an educational goal, a reason for going to college. Student Success is the process that allows the college and the student to form a partnership which helps attain that goal. The college asks students to commit to themselves to an educational objective and the college commits to fostering student success. To ensure the success of the partnership:
The College agrees to provide:
- An admission process
- Placement in English & math courses.
- Counseling/advising for the development of an individual education plan
- Quality instruction
- A wide variety of courses
- Referral to support services as necessary
- Follow up on student academic progress
Students are expected to:
- Attend an orientation session
- Schedule an appointment with a counselor to complete an English and math course placement
- Declare a specific educational objective or career pathway after completing 15 units of course work
- Attend classes regularly, complete assigned coursework and seek out counseling services as necessary
- Complete courses and maintain progress toward an educational goal as identified in the individual student education plan
- Seek out support services as needed
The Student Success Act of 2012, which provides the legislative guidelines for the creation of the Student Success and Support Program, requires that all entering students complete Orientation, Placement and an SEP in order to receive priority registration. Students who choose not to participate or fail to complete any of these steps will not be allowed to register until “open registration.” For more information and the full report, please visit the California Community College Chancellor’s Office website at SB1456 Student Success Act Of 2012.
