Kimberly Wicoff and Laurie Scolari in conversation with Amee Godwin, of ISKME, for CompletionMatters.org, Conversations on College Completion

Kimberly Wicoff, CLIP Lead, City and County Government of San Francisco, CA, (on right) and Laurie Scolari, Associate Dean of Outreach and Recruitment Services, City College of San Francisco, (on left) discuss the work, learnings, and challenges that are part of the three-year Communities Learning in Partnership (CLIP)-funded partnership between the city of San Francisco, City College of San Francisco (CCSF), and San Francisco Unified School District to increase the number of students earning postsecondary credentials.

This SF team of partners is using key indicators around student “loss points”, and designing programs and policy changes to support students through enrollment processes and college pathways, particularly for African American and Latino students. With data around a 5-step matriculation process, the SF team is now implementing innovations, such as FRISCO Day, to enroll those not yet college-bound; a registration policy change to give first-time students first crack at courses they need for on-time completion; and the Summer Bridge program to smooth the transition to college especially the oft-misunderstood placement test process. They are keenly focused on the role of business and community partners around support services, competency-based standards, and future curricular alignment and college readiness supports in partnership with the K-12 system.