Title: New Horizons Program
Student Planner Document
College: San Diego City College
College Contact:
Elena Adams,
Director, or Mary Ann Kruse, Program Coordinator
1313 12th Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
619-388-4540;
eadams@sdccd.net
Description:
The ultimate goal
of the program is to enable students with barriers to education,
training, and employment to be more successful through better time
and life management. San Diego City College’s New Horizons program
conducted a needs assessment that determined that single parent and
displaced homemaker students have similar concerns. These include
where to locate child or medical care, how to access transportation
options, time management issues, questions about resumes and
interviews, etc. The staff was also faced with increased demand for
service and thus the need to streamline services. They decided to
develop a planner than would enable students to manage their time,
access resources, and understand career options. The Planner
includes:
• Student services available at San Diego City College
• A 16-month calendar with no dates in order to increase the
usefulness and decrease the cost per/semester
• Career Development Tips including:
• Career selection
• Career Opportunities
• Non-traditional careers
• Employment Development techniques including:
• Preparing for, finding, and keeping a job
• Resume writing
• Life skill Strategies on Effective Parenting, Money Management,
Stress Management, Time Management
• Community and Emergency Resources
• Personal Directory
The project coordinated with the graphic design department and
development costs were kept to a minimum by having graphic design
classes compete to design the cover of the planner. Because much
writing was done prior to design and layout decision, considerable
re-writing had to take place. To avoid this, starting with the
layout (size and shape) is suggested, allowing for the writing to
fit the design. The planner was funded via a mini-grant from the San
Diego Regional consortia for $3,400. There was a $200 prize for the
winning cover design. Printing was $2.12 each and 1500 were printed
for a total of $3380.
The planner was sent and marketed to all vocational education
instructors at San Diego City College. The students who have
received and used the planner have reported back that the use of a
planner has made their educational and personal lives more focused,
organized, and enabled them to plan their time and classes more
effectively.
Mary Ann Castellanos, a New Horizons student, and Academic Planner
user, says that she is better able to see the future outcome of her
goals as she has them listed and broken down in steps week-by-week.
Additionally, she says that she likes that she can see the path her
education will take as she has it listed by semester. She says that
it makes her better able to “see the light at the end of the
tunnel.”