Institutional

This assessment evaluates the effectiveness of the 2026 Earth Forward Event, hosted at Estrella Mountain Community College, in supporting student learning related to environmental literacy, sustainability, and engagement with career pathways in life sciences and conservation.

This assessment evaluates changes implemented for the Spring 2026 Arizona Data Center Alliance event at EMCC. Based on feedback from the previous year, the event format was redesigned to reduce the number of panel discussions and expand networking opportunities between students and industry professionals. The updated structure featured two focused panels representing IT and technician career pathways and significantly increased networking time with industry partners.

Additional contributors to this include ALL volunteers across campus as well as the Open House Planning Group:

Laura Porritt

Angela Ho

Gerniah Liburd

Miyah Gaston

Nahum Cabrera Olivas

Tracy Tanner

Alissa Manzoeillo

The following also helped with planning and organizing this event:

Laura Porritt

Tracy Tanner

Alissa Manzoeillo

Gerniah Liburd

And the many........many.....many volunteers who participated.  Thank you!

With OPIE data from AY 22-23, MAT instructors have implemented instructional best strategies to improve student retention rates from Fall 23 to Fall 24.  To contribute to the EMCC Strategic Goal of increase college retention and persistence by reducing the within semester withdrawal rate from 16% to 14% by 2026, MAT instructors have implemented and documented (monthly) instructional best practices, as well as reported (monthly) the number of students retained in their courses.

• Continue to review processes and look for ways to simplify/streamline whenever possible.
• When there are continual pain points, challenges, or overly complicated processes use that to identify a solution. Put your time toward finding/creating/requesting automation to improve the process. It will take additional time in the beginning to determine and implement a solution. Once the solution is implemented it will make up for the extra time it took to identify/make the changes.

The assessment of the game’s effectiveness was based on participant feedback, which was overwhelmingly positive. All participants rated their overall experience and engagement as excellent. Despite the high ratings for the format and interactive elements, there was variability in the perceived enhancement of knowledge regarding accreditation and assessment, suggesting areas for improvement in content delivery.

This assessment evaluates changes made to the Spring 2025 Data Center Alliance event at EMCC, hosted in collaboration with iMasons. Following the initial 2024 event, several enhancements were implemented, including expanded panel offerings, increased marketing efforts, the addition of industry tabling, and the incorporation of national best practices from Northern Virginia Community College. Attendance nearly doubled, student engagement significantly increased, and the event resulted in a $10,000 industry scholarship commitment for AIT technician students.

The necessity for the laptop checkout program became evident in the academic year 2019-2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and students were required to complete the Spring 2020 semester online. The laptop checkout process was identified as a need by students who did not have the proper equipment to complete a course(s). The results indicated that the course completion rate of students who checked out a laptop is consistently close to students who did not check out a laptop.

The "Let’s Get Ready Together" Open House at EMCC was a welcoming and informative event designed to prepare students and their support networks for the upcoming semester. With over 344 students and their support systems in attendance, the event featured faculty, staff, and representatives from multiple departments, offering guidance on academic, financial, and personal resources available on campus. Through lab tours, campus tours, and one-on-one interactions, attendees gained familiarity with campus facilities, course expectations, and support services.

The ET (embedded tutoring) program was not sustained after the 22-23 academic school year.  Student surveys from Spring 22 report 62% of respondents say having an embedded tutor helped them feel comfortable asking for help; 60% of respondents report having an embedded tutor deepened their understanding of course topics and concepts; 49% of respondents report the embedded tutor improved their critical thinking skills.

Keywords: Nontraditional students, resiliency, grit, academic success, higher education, community college