Numbers tell a story – they just don’t always tell the whole story.
Elizabeth Villalobos knows that. In fact, it’s what she loves about her job as the Senior Research and Planning Analyst for Madera Community College.
Black and white figures in a report are important. Hard and fast quantitative data helps Villalobos in her study of what is working at the institution. But she refuses to forget the qualitative aspect of what makes education a unique melting pot.
I really like learning about people and how we can help them help themselves and meet their educational goals,” Villalobos said. “My favorite thing is when I get to work with focus groups and I hear something directly from the student that I can then relay to our faculty or administration.
As Madera Community College continues to find its footing in helping the local community attain the skills necessary to improve their lives, Villalobos is at the center of figuring out how the school can develop best practices in that process.
Over the course of an academic year, an estimated 8,000 students take part in some level of learning through the various degree and certificate programs offered by MCC. Villalobos’ job is to study the effectiveness of those programs while helping the college align with community needs.
One of the most recent successes has been her work in helping Madera develop its Speech Language Pathologist Assistants program, better known as SLPA. Through market research with regional health organizations, it was found that shortages in allied health were a major concern, especially related to speech pathology. Madera’s program gives students the chance to get a two-year certificate that will allow them to work immediately in the field at a job that pays a livable wage. Or students have the option to transfer to a four-year institution for what she calls a stackable degree – meaning what they learn at Madera can be the foundation for a bachelors or masters in the field, which can allow students greater career opportunities.
“Offering them a dead-end degree or dead end certificate does nothing for our community or students,” Villalobos said. “The numbers are part of the story, but the greater data there is our students who are just looking for upward mobility and the community college is the first step.”
While outreach to area high schools is an ongoing endeavor, a majority of MCC’s current student population consists of individuals returning to school as adults. And each of them has a different story.
From the single mother who is restarting her educational journey to provide a better life for her kids, to the veteran returning home looking for a certificate that will provide him the skills for a stable job, each voice provides a different why and how into the equation.
Though her department isn’t considered student facing, it’s those moments when Villalobos does get to engage with the community that reminds her of why she got into this field. Years ago, she thought about being a social worker, committed to helping families connect with government offered resources to get by.
Now, she has the opportunity to help MCC by being a change agent capable of having an impact beyond just a few days or weeks.
“I love that our field is moving into more of our student voice, how can we better serve our students. We’re finding more and more it’s not the academic rigor that stops our students from progressing,” Villalobos said. “What we’re learning it’s more basic needs, the idea of, ‘I’ve got to keep the lights on,’ that ultimately removes students from their educational trajectory so they can survive day to day. Generally speaking, yes the numbers matter, but the student voices behind those numbers are what really moves our work.”
