technical and academic education, and/or to work. Puente is a learning community for academically disadvantaged students aimed at increasing the number of students who transfer to four-year colleges and universities, earn degrees, and return to the community as leaders and mentors. Because data such as retention, persistence, success, completion, and probation and dismissal find a disproportionate number of African American students underachieving, UBAKA was developed during fall 2007. It aims to increase the retention and persistence rates of African American students, using a cohort learning community model (IIA2d-2, IIA2d-3). In recent years, much emphasis has been placed on meeting the demands of basic skills students, whose needs are being addressed through the Basic Skills Learning Collaborative (BSLC) and the Basic Skills Initiative (BSI). BSLC received financial support through a Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching SPECC grant to work on ways to strengthen basic skills instruction. Recent efforts to focus on basic skills instruction at Laney have resulted in increased tutoring opportunities for students, the formation of teaching communities involved in reflective inquiry, curriculum transformation through classroom research, and the training of nine basic skills faculty in Reading Apprenticeship, a methodology that crosses disciplines and focuses on classroom community and students’ meta-cognitive awareness of the reading process. The newly trained faculty members have, in turn, delivered workshops on reading during professional development days. The vocational education faculty is also involved, thereby increasing faculty awareness of basic skills issues outside the core disciplines. The BSLC brought colleagues from 16 Northern California community colleges to Laney in the first regional conference on Faculty Inquiry, held November 9, 2007. The conference included presentations on teacher research, faculty inquiry, student resistance, teaching reading across the curriculum, technology and teacher training, and a student panel (IIA2d-4, IIA2d-5, IIA2d-6). Furthermore, some professional development workshops have focused on diverse learning styles, including reading and writing workshops, lectures on
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closing the achievement gap, and teaching students of color. Department chairs report regular discussions concerning learning needs and styles, pedagogical approaches, and student performance (IIA2d-7, IIA2d-8, IIA1-14). Evaluation The college meets the standard. Laney College students experience a variety of classroom modes of delivery, which can include the use of technology and participation in learning communities. In the past few years in particular, much emphasis has been placed on developing the basic skills of students, an effort that has reached across disciplines and which is further being institutionalized through college-funded efforts. Furthermore, a variety of delivery modes, teaching methods, and professional development workshops are ongoing at Laney. All of these efforts are aimed at meeting the diverse needs and learning styles of the Laney student. Planning Agenda None. II.A.2.e The institution evaluates all courses and programs through an ongoing systematic review of their relevance, appropriateness, achievement of leaning outcomes, currency and future needs and plans. Description The college has established processes and procedures—including curriculum review, program review, development and assessment of SLOs, and unit plans—for the systematic review of its courses and programs. Existing degree and certificate programs are to be reviewed for consistency during the program-review process by evaluating and validating the appropriateness of degree and certificate requirements and course content (IIA1a-4). Currently, program reviews are conducted every three years, with unit plans following annually. After departmental faculty completes program reviews, they undergo analyses by the division dean, and recommendations and priorities are shared with other colleges that have a comparable disciplinary program