By his own admission, 21-year-old music major Devon McPherson is not very good at math.
So, he comes to the Math Tutorial Lab in West Campus’ IDC building for help in pre-calculus “every day for at least a little while.” He’s convinced that the 12 hours a week pays off.
McPherson uses words like “friendly, patient and smart” when he describes the tutors. He considers them well read in different forms of math, and capable of breaking down otherwise difficult concepts.
“If it wasn’t for this, I would not be passing the course,” he said.
So, if even more state money gets subtracted from City College, how do we fund programs like the Math lab that, according to the school’s office of institutional research, are proven to help students’ performance, complete courses, and transfer?
Over the summer, the college had no idea what cutbacks to expect from the congressional budget makers in Sacramento, or how the lab and other tutorial services would be affected.
Along with everything, the school’s Partnership for Student Success, a package of services that have provided assistance to students struggling in any number of classes, was in jeopardy. Programs like the Math Tutorial Lab, the Writing Center, the Athletic Achievement Zone, and Gateway faced drastic cutbacks.
The options, from wishful thinking that the governor would find money, to a hope for continued federal stimulus, weren’t encouraging. Gateway itself speculated for weeks over hypothetical figures in the hopes of preparing an appropriate response.
Last spring, they had nearly $164,000 budgeted to pay all its tutors. This fall, that figure was cut to $90,720.
So, when Superintendent-President Andreea Serban attended the Academic Senate on Oct. 14 and affirmed that her office would defend the Partnership for Student Success, her words were more than welcomed.
“In this time of extreme budget crises, the administration has firmly stated that the mission of this college is student success,” said Sheila Wiley, co-director of the Gateway program.
Serban stated the college’s commitment to making funding for the partnership a permanent line budget item. That means that no matter what does or doesn’t come this way from Sacramento, that program will be protected.
Those are reassuring words for Wiley, who relishes the prospect of not having “to beg, borrow, steal or plead.”
“This is huge,” said Wiley
More specifically, the “huge” is a sum of $460,000 being fought for that could keep the partnership operational through the next academic year.
The Academic Senate voted in support of protecting the partnership on Oct. 14. The College Planning Council discussed the protection on Nov. 3, and has scheduled to vote on it Tuesday, Nov. 24.
Wiley is confident that current budgets will at least be matched next semester because of Serban’s commitment.
“The school is moving forward for student success,” Wiley said.
“When you say tutoring,” Wiley said, “many students think remediation,” a word that means fixing something defective. “But we’ve hit that entire concept out of the park. It’s amazing.”
Back in the Math lab, tutor coordinator Alison Chapin oversees a busy hive of computations.
“It’s been busier this semester in terms of students coming into the lab,” she said.
Half an hour before closing on a Friday afternoon, it’s hard to find a seat. Chapin explains that cuts in the spring subtracted around two to three hours that they’re open each day, but students concerned about their grades keep coming.
As she sees it, two additions would benefit the Math Lab-“more space and more tutors.”
If the Council votes to support Serban’s plan Nov. 24, not only does Chapin get what her program needs to continue, but students like McPherson will still have the means to succeed.
