E

C's nursing program has

voluntarily withdrawn
from the Accreditation
Commission for Educa-
tion in Nursing (ACEN)
after years of failing to meet standards
set by the accreditation service, accord-
ing to a pair of letters from Francisco
Arce, vice president of Academic Af-
fairs to Thomas Pallo, president of EC.
"Students graduating from non-
ACEN accredited colleges may not easi-
ated March 11. "Some private colleges
may not accept transfer students from
colleges that do not have ACEN accredi-
tation; some specific grants and scholar-
ships are only available to students at-
tending ACEN accredited colleges."
After reviewing the results of the last
ACEN site visit from 2013, the Nursing
Program faculty recommended with-
drawing from the accreditation body.
"It is in the best interest of the pro-
gram to withdraw from the ACEN ac-
creditation process at this time," ac-
cording to the same letter. "This will
to fully addre8sand resolve.the recom-
'mendations needed to meet the ACEN
standards."
In 2011, another ACEN site visit team
evaluated the EC Nursing Program and
recommended it be placed on warning
status. After being given two years to
resolve the initial deficiencies, the pro-
gram submitted a self-evaluation report
in the fall of 2013, followed by a site
team visit that November.
"The team findings indicated that the
Nursing Program does not meet the ac-
creditation standards in three areas, and
letter.
The fir
was regal
trative Ca
"The J
limited
munities'
advisory
Forensics delivers on last chance to c
Cellne West
Staff Writer
ECCUnirmCeline
After incredibly successful results
from their last tournament of the season,
Phi Rho Pi Nationals in Denver, the EC
debate team reflected on their eventful
year as they prepared for the inevitable
changes in their future.
"We won the Nation Championship
in debate," Francesca Bishop, director of
forensics, said.
The team award was also accompa-
nied by impressive individual results for
its members.
"Abigail Watkins was third speaker in
the nation," Bishop said, " and she took
two golds, a silver, and a bronze," she
said, "Andrew Escalante won the Fel-
lowship Award and was also top speaker
in the Lincoln Douglas debate."
EC's debate team posing with their awards after a first-place finish at Phi Rho Pi Nationals in Denver
utation.
Such results have been the norm,
rather than the happy exception this se-
mester.
"This is one of the best seasons ever,"
Bishop said, "and last year was also
spectacular."
The team's successes have set a tone
through the country for the school's rep-
"El Camino, as a collective, is typi-
cally well-known throughout our nation
because of what we do through debate,"
Frank Masi, 19, global studies major,
said.
has even placed them above other elite
schools.
"We typically do better than teams
from UCLA, Chapman, and Pepper-
dine," Masi said, "It makes people real-
ize that even though we are a community
college, that we should not be seen as

wz
Z...l
The debate team's competitiveness
Honors Transfer Program
Conference
Today the Honors Transfer Pro-
gram Conference will showcase
its members' accomplishments
and the hard work they devoted
throughout the semester from 1 to
3 p.m. in the Distance Education
Center. For more information,
contact the program at 310-660-
Careers in science
--------1-3&1.5 .
Interested in pursuing a career in
science? Attend a presentation to-
day and learn about different ca-
reers in the field. The presentation
will be held in the Natural Sci-
ence Building Room 205 (NATS-
205) from 1 to 2 p.m. For more
information contact the depart-
me.nt ext. S244.
Nursing info session
Aspiring to become a nurse?
another step toward your
The counseling department
be hosting a nursing
session in the Distance
Room on May 7 from 5 to 7
For more information, contact
counseling department 310
3S93. ext. n137
at- evaluated the bL Nursmg l'rogram ana
recommended it be placed on warning
last status. After being given two years to
resolve the initial deficiencies, the pro-
gram submitted a self-evaluation report
in the fall of 2013, followed by a site
team visit that November.
ac- "The team findings indicated that the
Nursing Program does not meet the ac-
creditation standards in three areas, and
--rhe Ae:r.-rY sne v1su ream oos-ervea
limited documentation to support com-
munities' of interest (hospital affiliates,
advisory committees) contributions to
decision-making processes for program
development," according a second letter
dated Aprill7.
[See NURSING, Page 2]
last chance to come first
Photo Courtesy of Francesca Bishop
awards after a first-place finish at Phi Rho Pi Nationals in Denver earlier last month.
has even placed them above other elite
is typi- schools.
"We typically do better than teams
from UCLA, Chapman, and Pepper-
dine," Masi said, "It makes people real-
ize that even though we are a community
college, that we should not be seen as
lesser because of that."
Since EC is not a four-year institution
or regarded as a prestigious school, the
team is even more motivated to perfect
their game.
[See FORENSICS, Page 2]
Nursing info session EC fashion show
sessiOns, we nave
the summer session so a student could
conceptually pick up 10 units pretty
easily if they are motivated," Arce said.
In addition, EC designed its summer
session with the intention of allowing
its spring semester students to transi-
tion smoothly into summer course-
work.
"You can see that it is a very short
turn around from the end of the semes-
ter to the start of the summer term, so
we thought that it would benefit the
group of students who are already en-
rolled here," Arce said.
The sessions have the added benefit
of encouraging high school students to
plan out their educational paths.
"High school students who complete
the matriculation process, which is ori-
entation, assessment and educational
planning, by March 31, are given pri-
ority registration," Arce said. "These
students will be in a good position to
enroll in this second, six-week session.
What we are trying to do is give recent
graduates a little bit of an upper edge
if they go through the matriculation."
Other administrators agreed that
the new summer sessions cater to the
needs of incoming students.
"Our placement of the second ses-
sion is such that almost any high school
senior who wants to get off to a good
start and get a leg up can do so," Thom-
as Lew, dean of Humanities, said.
A plethora of new courses have been
added this summer in an attempt to
meet varying student needs.
"We added almost 100 sections
to the summer schedule," Arce said.
"There are a variety of types of cours-
es that we offer, and it will be a pretty
comprehensive schedule."
[See SUMMER, Page 2]
/ElCaminoUnion
in pursuing a career in
Attend a presentation to-
learn about different ca-
in the field. The presentation
held in the Natural Sci-

Room 205 (NATS-

from 1 to 2 p.m. For more
ation contact the depart-
10-660-3593 ext. 5244.
Aspiring to become a nurse? Take
another step toward your goal.
The counseling department will
be hosting a nursing information
session in the Distance Education
Room on May 7 from 5 to 7 p.m.
For more information, contact the
counseling department 310-660-
3593, ext. 6137
Come out and support the Tailor
Made Fashion club as they pres-
ent "Ikon." The event is sched-
uled for 7:30 p.m. on May 9 at
Marsee Auditorium. Tickets are
$7 in advance and $10 at the door.
For more information, contact Dr.
Vera Bruce Ashley at 310-660-
3593, ext. 3346.
@ECCUnion
You.,.r..-r
/ECCUnion
n area liospital for treatment.
!ebit card theft in
.chauerman Library
Apri123, 12:20 p.m.-Officers
sponded to the station regarding
theft report. A female student
ted that her debit card had been
len out of her purse, which had
en inside the library.
icyclist stops for no one
April 23, 2:30 p.m.-An
cer attempted to conduct a
_'fie stop on a male subject who
ts riding his bicycle against
'fie on Manhattan Beach
IUievard, adjacent to Alondra
'k. The subject tried to evade
officer by refusing to stop
continued to ride his bicycle
hbound through Alondra Park.
subject, a male non-student,
ly stopped his bike and was
'sted for evading a police
cer and was transported to
Torrance Police Department,
're he was booked.
admill accidents
pril 28, 12:50 p.m.-An
Iy female student walked
the Police station lobby and
sted to have paramedics
ine her. The student had
using a treadmill in her PE
when she lost her balance
ll to the ground, sustaining
ons to her head, knees and
Paramedics were notified
Mthen they arrived, they
orted to the student to an
bspital for treatment.
ical aid call for chest
;
il 28, 1:38 p.m.-Officers
ed to the pool regarding a
I aid call. A female student
ating in her swim class
periencing chest pains.
dies were immediately
and arrived on scene. The
!was transported to an area
t for treatment.
~ - .. . 0 '" La\,L lUUIIQ In rne
FORENSICS, Continued from
Page 1
"I think it is also because we
are coming from a community
college, that we need to prove that
we're not the dropouts from high
school, that makes us so competi-
tive, and typically we are incred-
ibly competitive and we do very
well at tournaments," Masi said.
Since the team is only allowed
to take approximately a dozen
people to nationals, qualifying
for one of these positions is tri-
umph in itself.
"It is so competitive," Brittany
Hubble, 21, communications ma-
jor, said. "There are only so may
slots. Just making it to nationals
is probably the most stressful
part."
While the debate team is at
the height of their performance,
there are concerns their trajec-
tory could plateau.
"I think we have had the two
best years, but I don't think it's
going to last," Bishop said.
Her worries center around
maintaining the team's perfor-
mance despite changes in coach-
ing personnel.
"Diana Crossman retired a
year ago and it hasn't been the
same," Bishop said. "We were
lucky to get a part time coach
to take over, and he is fabulous,
SUMMER, Continued from
Page 1
The design of the summer ses-
sions was also meant to help stu-
dents complete the courses that
they need to graduate on time.
"Most students who plan to
transfer wind up one or two class-
es short and the summer gives
them the opportunity to take that
class and focus on just that one
course," Lew said, "My daugh-
ter would not have been able to
transfer after two years if classes
were not available."
Thus far, students believe that
the advertised changes will in-
deed help them meet their goals.
dards dealt with "Educational
but we're not going to be able to
keep him unless he gets hired full
time.
"We might be able to keep him
for a year, but after that, he'll get a
full time job somewhere, and we
are not going to be able to keep
this up. The program will have a
big decline," Bishop added. "If
you are a good coach you don't
stay part time for long. It's really
hard to find someone good."
In addition to faculty poten-
tially leaving, the team will also
be losing some top competitors
who will soon be transfering out.
"We're losing a lot of people
this year, "Bishop said. "We're
losing eight out of 12 that went
to nationals. We're only getting
three people back, so we need to
recruit."
The team will be losing many
of these members to good four-
year schools.
"Two of our graduating mem-
bers are going on a debate schol-
arship to Lewis and Clark, four of
them got into UCLA, and one is
going to debate at Cal State Long
Beach," Bishop said.
When key players leave, the
team is left with the task of re-
cruiting new players to replace
them.
"It's like any sports team
where they have rebuilding
years," Bishop said.
"I think that it's a great oppor-
tunity to take more classes and it
works to our advantage," Eliza-
beth Menegazzo, 26, business
management major, said. "I think
a lot of people can really take ad-
vantage of this."
Students who hope to graduate
sooner also feel they can make
good use of the new summer ses-
sion schedule.
"It will allow me to take more
classes rather than cramming my
prerequisites," Brandon Neher,
30, radiologic technology, said,
"I think the new summer ses-
sions will help me get out of here
sooner."
~ --'""'':u ;JU.L J ~ V l
nursing preparation."
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