Self

• 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 Career and Transfer Center collaborated with the Administration of Justice Studies Program to develop a customized resume handout that maps course and program outcomes to the NACE Career Competencies. This tool seeks to help students communicate their classroom experience into career-ready, transferable skills. Initial feedback suggests faculty satisfaction and engagement with career services as a result of the handout, improved Career Navigator confidence to guide specific career skill conversations, and improved resume quality.

GradAppaLooza (Transfer and Job Fair) is an annual event organized by Estrella Mountain County Community College's (EMCC) Career and Education Planning team, in coordination with Workforce Development, Admissions and Records, and Advisement! This event is aimed at providing opportunities for students transitioning to the next phase of their academic or professional journey.

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.

An independent honors student completed a project in ACC212 that the subsequent semester was piloted as a group assignment for an in-person course. The project provided the real-world application of producing a product and calculating and analyzing the associated production costs. An update to this CATS will be provided with a comparison of the student population who completed the group project versus those who did not upon completion of the Spring 2025 semester.

The purpose of this assessment is to explore the potential benefits of reintroducing Lab Write-Ups in science courses at EMCC as a means to enhance students’ science literacy. Lab Write-Ups provide an opportunity for students to share their data collection experiences, interpret results, and engage in scientific reading and writing. They also allow students to incorporate findings into their understanding of the natural world.

This assessment aimed to evaluate how artificial intelligence (AI) impacts student learning by enhancing their ability to craft specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART) goals. Students in FYE101 often struggle with creating SMART goals, and this course assignment had students use AI to support the refinement of their drafted goals. Students were tasked with developing an academic SMART goal, engaging with an AI tool of their choice to improve it, and reflecting on their experiences with these tools.

This CATs explores the use of a game-based learning activity, modeled after Taboo©, to boost student engagement, communication skills, and conceptual understanding across disciplines. Students worked in pairs to describe and guess course-specific terms without using certain "taboo" words, reinforcing complex concepts while improving verbal and listening abilities. Mixed-methods assessments revealed increased engagement, deeper understanding, and enhanced skills critical for STEM, healthcare, humanities, and social sciences.

Traditional classroom level assessments does not always perform the way instructors intend it to, as it is highly subjective and internalize instructor biases. Traditional grading systems pit students and instructors against each other by making grades a commodity that students must negotiate with the instructor, instead of building trusting relationships that allow for students to learn from their mistakes, take risks, and be creative.

Café Mariposa is an open pedagogy and experiential learning project. Students engage with the content and the campus community in a relaxed atmosphere where they can build Spanish vocabulary, and hone listening and interpersonal communication skills.

When finding derivatives using the chain rule, a common student error is to "forget the chain".  By visually confirming the derivative equation they calculated matches the derivative graph generated by Desmos, students can confirm correct rule choice and correct application of rules.  If the graphs don't match, students can then make small changes to their equation until the derivatives match.

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