Currently there are several isolated programs focusing on cultural awareness on a campus that has over 75% students of color. These programs are primarily in the Student Services Division and exist as clubs and the celebration of cultural holidays.
Los Angeles Harbor College
Active in Achieving the Dream:
2011 - present
Participating Institution
What We Are Doing:
Student equity continues to be a high priority for Harbor College. The college is committed to maintaining its wide array of student diversity that reflects the surrounding communities. Therefore, increasing the access and success of students is reflected in the college’s primary goals for joining Achieving the Dream. Its plan for equity focuses on specific goals for developing programs and services to address the under‐preparedness of Hispanic, African American, and disabled students in the areas of math and English, specifically to increase their retention, completion, graduation, and transfer rates.
Harbor College’s goals are to:
- Offer innovative, learner-centered instruction in all college programs to promote effective learning
- Maintain an environment where students and all college personnel have a voice and an opportunity to participate effectively in governance
- Optimize and be accountable for the responsible use of all financial resources
- Collaborate with local and global communities and organizations to enhance opportunities that are beneficial to their students, the college, and its mission
- Ensure a campus community that values diversity and promotes a climate of mutual respect, personal and professional growth, effective communication, and teamwork
The college also recognizes the need to involve more stakeholders – students, faculty, and community residents – in planning and decision-making.
Who We Are:
Los Angeles Harbor College is one of two community colleges serving the South Bay region of Los Angeles. The college mainly serves students from Harbor City, Carson, San Pedro, Gardena, Lomita, Wilmington, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Since its beginning in September 1949, Harbor College has grown from a technically oriented college into a comprehensive institution of higher learning in order to accommodate the fact that most of the populations the college serves will, in some capacity, work for the Port of Los Angeles, Southern California’s aerospace industry, or the oil refineries. They are increasingly the primary drivers of the Southern California economy.
As of Fall 2009, 72% of Harbor College’s population was part-time students, with 28% describing themselves as full-time. The school population is about 40% male and 60% female. Nearly half (46%) of the student population was comprised of Hispanic and Latino students, and 16% of students identified as Asian, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. The majority (63%) of students were under the age of 25, and the overall graduation rate for the Hispanic student population that graduated within normal time of completion for their program was only 21%.
Student Success Strategies
Los Angeles Harbor College is using the following strategies to impact student success:
Los Angeles Harbor College currently offers one method of orientation for students not enrolled in specially funded programs. This orientation is an online orientation for the select number of students who choose to take the college English and math placement exams.
The campus is participating in the 3CSN http://3csn.org/ (California Community College Success Network) Acceleration Program focusing on developmental math.
