Counseling Division Dean’s Summary

The following Dean’s Summary outlines the trends, needs, budget priorities and new directions being taken in the Counseling Division. The trends consider both institutional and environmental catalysts for change, and the budget priorities are with consideration of both institutional changes and new state-wide mandates. New initiatives include responding to the rapidly accelerating online instructional and student services needs of the students and institution.

Part A – Trends: Describe the broad trends you see within your division/area. Cite specific internal or external data when necessary. Please include any trends you see in technology and staff development/training needs.

  1. Broad initiatives responding to trends emerging in Counseling Division
  2. Transformative counseling services to accommodate continually changing federal and state regulations as well as new technologies
  3. Front Desk Counseling & ”triage” services
  4. Customized SEP formats for Financial Aid, new students, re-entry workers, etc.
  5. Group and online service delivery formats
  6. “Embedded” counseling services
  7. Continued commitment to service area high school constituencies by preserving Early Decision and counselor liaison activities
  8. Responding to acute needs of the student body and community including:
  9. Diminishing transfer opportunities to public CA colleges/universities
  10. Increasing need for mental health services
  11. Employment and re-training services for dislocated/unemployed workers
  12. Veteran students returning from active duty
  13. Increasing online services including online advising and other student services
  14. Increasing college-wide role in institutional planning of class schedule, meeting FTES Enrollment targets, student success, and new areas of administrative responsibility including Community Education, Student Life, Health Center and grants such as the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College to Career Training and Medi-Cal Administrative Activities revenue-generation/student retention program
  15. Areas of need to address these broad initiatives and trends emerging
  16. Restoration of counseling faculty and classified professional positions lost in last four years
  17. Online counseling platform
  18. Institutional support for Degree Works (scribing up to current catalog and transfer general ed)
  19. Increased mental health services
  20. Increase in PSCN FTEF for First Year/Semester Experience Courses in partnership with
variety of discipline faculty
  1. Information Technology support for registration priority changes, mandatory matriculation
Registration hold for new, non-exempt students, and Degree Works maintenance
  1. Student Center refurbishment proposal to facilities committee
  2. Assessment and Online Services labs connection door to facilitate large groups

Part B – Staffing Priorities: Prioritize the most urgent and immediate staffing requests that need to be fulfilled.

  1. Full-time Transfer Counselor/Coordinator
  2. Full-time Mental Health Counselor/Coordinator
  3. Full-time Student Success and Support Programs (Student Success Act) Counselor/Coordinate
  4. Full-time Student Counseling Assistant
  5. Full-time Student Life/Services Assistant

Part C – Enrollment Management Priorities: Describe the changes or adjustments that need to be made to enrollment management and FTEF allocations.

The Psychology-Counseling discipline provides instruction for three Associate Degrees (Liberal Arts,
Liberal Studies, Human Services) and several Certificates (Case Management, Multicultural Awareness
(2), CSU-GE Breadth, IGETC). The Human Services Associate Degree and three Certificates in Human
Services are Career-Technical Education Programs as defined by the CCCCO, and the Liberal Arts
Degree program is the largest major/degree program on campus. The Liberal Studies degree program is
articulated with the CSU to provide a pathway for the teaching profession. The CSU-GE Breadth and
IGETC transfer certificates provide a vehicle to “graduate/certify” students who are transferring with a
Chabot College credential, contributing to our certification/graduation rates of students who would
otherwise transfer without obtaining any Chabot College Certificate or Associates Degree.
The PSCN discipline is the smallest discipline with a current allocation of just over 3.0 FTEF. This reduced allocation is down from a 5.0 FTEF just two years prior. This reduction represents a near 40% cut to the FTEF for PSCN. This reduction has been made in spite of the strategic directions of the PSCN discipline
to certify and graduate more transfer students and maintain CTE pathways per the direction of the
CCCCO.Additionally, all of the PSCN discipline courses are taught within load, so reducing sections does not
reduce adjunct instruction expenses as it would if the courses were taught by adjuncts. Reductions to the
PSCN discipline only allow for less adjunct reductions in other instructional divisions, several of which
have non-CTE, non-Transfer G.E., non-basic skills course sections that were being preserved while the
CTE, Transfer and basic skills supporting PSCN courses were reduced. Thesefactors should be
consideredwhen the CEMC is making decisions about enrollment management in regards to PSCN.
Additionally, the Counseling Division has a strategic role in the new “College Up” FYE program proposal
in its discipline leadership contributions in this effort to better meet our mission, values, goals and
objectives including preserving CTE, Transfer and basic skills courses for matriculating students, and increasing graduation/certification rates.
Therefore, the PSCN discipline is requesting FTEF of closer to 4.0 for FY 13-14, and 5.0 for FY 14-15.

Part D – Supplies, Services and Equipment Priorities (4000, 5000 & 6000 categories): Please include your spreadsheet indicating your priorities (i.e. Priority 1, 2 or 3).

Please attach spreadsheet

Part E – Challenges and New Initiatives: Describe current challenges and most promising new initiatives in your area.

The Counseling Division has been a leader in several new initiatives:
Preserving counseling access through continually evolving Front Desk Counseling format
Partnering with BSI, PRBC, Title III, & ACWIB to enhance supports for new students & workers
Developing new priority registration system to respond to budget reductions and the newly
legislated Student Success Act
Streamlining a variety of counseling administrative practices to increase service capacity
Developing grants and revenue streams to aid the division and institution as a whole
Updating website resources “in-house” to enhance online student experience and effectiveness
Positioning the college for future HSI grant resources through supports for Chicano/Latino
Community
The main challenges are:
Lack of support staff, counseling faculty and technological support for website and online
counseling services
More and more students, increasingly underprepared for college and seeking counseling
services that cannot be provided due to severe and disproportional budget reductions to
Counseling and Matriculation
Student Success Actlegislation that requires moreCounseling services and interventions
without identifying requisite resources; Re-casting of Matriculation while funding is reduced 62%
Reductions in PSCN discipline sections taught within load that do not contribute to adjunct
expense savings
Lack of Matriculation hold on new, non-exempt students causing half of all new, matriculating
to easily avoid assessment, orientation and program planning that has documented success in
Increasing student persistence
Lack of common course numbering between colleges causing un-necessarily burden on
Counseling resources to determine “equivalencies” between college discipline courses
Lack of consistent Academic Policy Council to efficiently deal with policy issues
Increased regulatory requirements for Financial Aid, Athletes, Veterans and other special
populations that impact the significantly reduced counseling resources
Lack of online counseling platform to meet the advising needs of online learners

Part F –Was there anything else that you feel needs to be included that was not already included?

Chabot College Counseling Division directly contributes as a key institutional player in the
Student success and equity mission of the college, but has suffered over $700,000 per year reductions to the general fund and matriculation over the past four years.
Through innovative service structures and continuous improvement strategies, Counseling
at Chabot serves far more students than our bay area counterparts, and this proven level of
outstanding service should be rewarded with more institutional support
Counseling faculty teach important Certificate, Associate Degree and Transfer curriculum, and
these instructional programs should be recognized and supported by the CEMC
Counseling has developed resources that have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to
the college bottom-line general fund; these contributions should be rewarded with institutional
support for FTEF and Classified Professional staffing priorities identified through this review
The Counseling Dean has taken on additional areas of administrative responsibility, saving
The college hundreds of thousands of dollars per year; these contributions should be rewarded
with institutional support for FTEF and Classified Professional staffing priorities identified
through this review