April 2016

The most recent California Community College Chancellor’s Office Student Success Scorecard includes a new metric, “Skills Builder.” It measures an employment outcome rather than traditional completion (degree, certificate or transfer). Skills Builder students attend community colleges to maintain or add to their skill sets for ongoing employment and career advancement. The metric indicates the median percent change in wages for students who completed higher-level career and technical education (CTE) coursework and left the system without achieving traditional outcomes. Students in the COM 2012-13 cohort showed a 15.5 percent positive median earnings change compared to 13.4 percent statewide. This is promising news for the College, our CTE program, and our local economy. COM’s full Student Success Scorecard is available online.