Welcome to the Essential Learning Initiative at COS

What is the Essential Learning Initiative?

The Essential Learning Initiative embodies College of the Sequoias' commitment to the Community College Basic Skills Initiative. The CCCBSI addresses "the need to provide basic skills, and by extension English as a Second Language (ESL), education to students underprepared for college-level work, including those unable to pass the California High School Exit Exam; address the unmet needs of the California Community College System in the area of basic skills education as noted in the 2006 System Office Strategic Plan; and attend to the professional development needs of community college faculty as they seek to provide basic skills courses/programs in their efforts to ensure students succeed."

The Essential Learning Initiative Mission Statement:

The learning of fundamental academic skills does not end when students enter college or complete a preparatory course sequence. The continued development of essential literacy and numeracy to facilitate critical thinking, problem solving, and information access, lies at the heart of the Essential Learning Initiative. ELI will develop, finance, implement, and assess effective and meaningful improvements in students' foundational skills across the curriculum.

This ELI Web Site is Designed to:

• - Connect faculty and staff to best practices in basic skills from other schools in the state, from literature review and from our own campus.
• - Provide access to Budget Requests for projects to improve the development and retention of basic skills students.
• - Serve the Essential Learning Initiative (ELI) Steering Committee in our self-assessment, record-keeping, and plan implementation.
• - Track the data gathered, analyses, discussions and progress made at the College of the Sequoias.