WHITTIER – Río Hondo College this fall kicked off a Student Success Teams (SST) initiative to provide students with support as they pursue their academic goals, an element of a Guided Pathways framework that aims to boost student success.

The initiative gives students access to online Career Coach and Programs of Study sites to guide them through their academic journeys.

The Career Coach offers a self-paced personal survey to help students make choices about their academic and career choices that align with their strengths and interests. The Programs of Study site provides information about the array of certificates and degrees offered at Río Hondo.

The College’s SST personnel are trained to support students within their Areas of Interest in making decisions about their class schedule, financial aid, transfer application(s), work readiness, and counseling support.

“These two new tools will help students discover careers that match their passions and develop a specific pathway to achieving those career goals,” Acting Superintendent/President Teresa Dreyfuss said. “It’s a terrific new tool in the toolbox of success.”

The tools are an element of the California Community Colleges’ Guided Pathways framework for supporting student success. Río Hondo College, which expanded an already rich array of student support services after the COVID-19 pandemic began, has been recognized or the strength of its support services.

The two new tools will work in concert with those existing services, including the College’s academic and career counseling programs.

“It is more essential than ever that we help students identify these pathways to their futures,” Dreyfuss said. “Many of our students arrive on campus with little previous guidance or a deep understanding of how to navigate the complexities of higher education.”