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 California 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."

ELI Implementation Steps

College of the Sequoias is in the process of aligning our campus to better serve the needs of students, faculty and staff, ultimately to support all students, but particularly our basic skills students.  The final draft of our 2008-2009 Implementation Steps is available for download through the link.

Important Literature on Basic Skills

The Literature Review from the Center for Student Success entitled Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success In California Community Colleges is the guiding document for ELI. It contains a wealth of information and resources important for our institution.

Additionally, the Legislative Analyst's Office report Back to Basics: Improving College Readiness of Community College Students has further information. ELI urges all faculty, staff and administration to familiarize themselves with these documents.

Basic Skills Initiative Newsletters

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.