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Background
El Paso Community College (EPCC) has a Hispanic enrollment of over 80 percent on each its five campuses. El Paso , the West Texas city on the border with Mexico, is 78 percent Hispanic. One-quarter of its residents live in poverty.
Of the nearly 10,000 first-time-college students who took the college’s placement test in 2003-2004, 98 percent needed at least one developmental course; 38 percent were placed in developmental math, reading and writing courses. Despite the efforts of more than 500 full-time and part-time staff teaching developmental education and English as a Second Language courses, it takes many EPCC students four semesters to move into credit courses.
Achieving the Dream Goals
EPCC’s top priority is improving students’ placement test results and performance in developmental education courses. A secondary priority is improving language proficiency of the students (7.6 percent) who enter through the English as a Second Language program. The college will
- Place fewer first-time-college students in developmental education courses;
- Reduce the time it takes students to complete developmental education courses;
- Develop an ESL program that moves students quickly to college-level courses.
EPCC is collaborating with local school districts and the University of Texas at El Paso to realign K-16 curriculum and share instructional content and student data. Efforts to improve college readiness include having students take placement tests in high school and receive intervention before they graduate. The college also plans to restructure its developmental education curriculum, supplemental instructional services, and ESL programs are planned as well.
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