Approximately 65,300 students at 93 colleges in 31 states participated in the CCSSE (pronounced cess-see).

The CCSSE was administered to full-time, part-time, half-time and quarter-time community college students. It solicited input over two broad categories that dealt with institutional practices and student behaviors and their effect in promoting student learning and retention.

Palo Alto is a diverse college that reaches rural, urban, non-traditional and traditional students. With all the diversity that is tied to this South Side college, there is one word that kept coming up from everyone who was interviewed: values.

Dr. Ana M. “Cha” Guzmán, president at Palo Alto College, is proud that Palo Alto scored high on the CCSSE, and she believes that she owes the success of the survey to the value system that is shared among the people who provide services and support.

“That really shows that the faculty and the staff are working together with the same value system,” she said.

Students were asked if the experience they had at Palo Alto contributed to their knowledge, skills and personal development. Responses from the students survey were “quite a bit” and “very much.” Guzmán wants students to understand themselves and to find the power within them to be successful. She said that the faculty does a very good job of assisting students in enhancing their personal development.

The skill labs are another benchmark where Palo Alto received a favorable response from students. Students may take advantage of free writing help in the English Learning Center, Room 105 in the Social Sciences Building. The new Science Tutoring Center assists students who need help in science and chemistry. The center is located in the Math/Science Building, Room 105. The Math Learning Center, located in EL, Room 115, also provides free help to students. The number of students seeking help has tripled since 2002.

Lydia Casas, a Math Instructional Skills Specialist from the Math Learning Center, said that the Math Learning Center has the full support of the faculty and that is why they are so successful. The Math Lab provide numerous workshops for students who need help with College Algebra. They also offer beginner’s graphing calculator workshops along with graphing only workshops. Casas spoke highly of the seven tutors who have been working at the Math Lab for more than a year.
“The tutors care about the students, and they want to make sure the students feel comfortable and ask for help when they need it,” she said.

Daniel Gutierrez, a junior at Texas A&M - Kingsville, received an Associate’s of Art Degree at Palo Alto College. Gutierrez only completed the fourth grade before receiving his GED in 1996. He then enrolled at Palo Alto College in 1997. Gutierrez said that the support that he receives from the instructors, skill labs, tutors and fellow students is the reason why he’s achieving his goals.

Gutierrez said that the quality people that work at the skill labs motivate him to set higher goals for himself.
“I feel the best that I have ever felt in my life,” said Gutierrez.

Palo Alto College will once again take part in the CCSSE survey that will be randomly administered on March 22, 2004, through April 2, 2004. The statistics on the previous CCSSE can be found on the CCSSE website at www.CCSSE.org.