About GPS

Mt. SAC Guided Pathways to Success (GPS)

Mt. SAC was one of three community colleges in California to join the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) national Guided Pathways initiative in Spring 2016.  We are now in our third year of implementation as part of the California Community Colleges Guided Pathways Initiative.

What is Guided Pathways?

The Guided Pathways Model creates a highly structured approach to student success:

1. Provides all students with a set of clear course-taking patterns that promotes better enrollment decisions and prepares students for future success
2. Integrates student and academic support services in ways that make it easier for students to get the help they need during every step of their community college experience

Four Pillars of Guided Pathways

The CA Community Colleges Guided Pathways Initiative consists of four pillars:

1.  Enter the Path: Help students begin their college journey by ensuring that clear curricular pathways to employment and further education are established.  Mt. SAC faculty have mapped all of their degrees and certificates.  These course sequence recommendations or pathways maps are grouped into 9 career areas and are available at: https://www.mtsac.edu/guided-pathways/
2. Choose the Path: Orientation and advisement changes are under way to help students choose and enter their pathway.
3. Stay on the Path: Academic and student support services are aligning with the Guided Pathways framework to ensure that students stay on the path and complete their educational or employment goals.
4. Ensure Learning: Research is supporting the work of the campus to include student, faculty, manager, and staff voices to ensure that learning is happening with intentional outcomes.

Guided Pathways: A Cultural Framework

The core of Guided Pathways at Mt. SAC is to get the college ready for students.  Equity, access, and inclusion are the precepts of Guided Pathways.  The work we are doing keeps the student experience at the center of our planning.

Contact Us

This cross-campus initiative involves more than 50 members and is tri-chaired by Sylvia Ruano, Elmer Rodriguez, and Michelle Nava