Riverside County Research Articles

Land preservation policy effect or neighborhood dynamics: A repeat sales hedonic matching approach

We offer an improvement on the traditional hedonic property value estimation by using a repeat sales matching estimator applied to a policy context where the distance to nearest permanently protected preserves changes over time. We use several strategies to control for unobserved heterogeneity with data from multiple transactions on the same residential parcels from Western Riverside County in Southern California. We have developed data on the conversion to permanent preserves over a 16-year period. We present an empirical strategy to differentiate geographically broad treatment effects from neighborhood unobservables using Coarsened Exact Matching.

Process of Development of a County-wide Crisis Care Plan - Riverside County, California, 2016-7.

Introduction: Disasters with substantial impacts to the health care and public health systems can have multiple reverberating effects, including the need to alter the medical standard of care as well as centrally control scarce medical resources. A current crisis care plan can help to establish an ethical and operational framework for stakeholders before such a disaster takes place. However, there are few examples of such a plan that cover large areas and health jurisdictions. This article describes the process of developing such a “Crisis Care Plan.”Methods: Plan developers from the Riverside County Department of Public Health and Riverside County Emergency Management Department first developed an ethical framework for decision making, followed by the development of a full operational crisis care plan with conditions for activation, life cycle and deactivation. The plan was then reviewed by major county stakeholders, including local emergency medical services, the county medical association and the hospital association, and additional comments incorporated. Before the final plan is implemented it will be submitted for public review and provider training materials will be developed.Results: The development of a prerequisite ethical framework helped to reduce the risk that the operational plan would cause or exacerbate care disparities by informing a blinded, objective process for evaluating resource requests centrally prior to distribution. The ethical framework served to establish the grounding principle of all lives having an equal claim on value. Stakeholders recognized the need for such a Crisis Care Plan and agreed with the underlying ethical principles. Stakeholders also contributed useful recommendations to enable the plan to operate in as successful a manner as possible under the difficult conditions within which it would exist.Discussion: The development of a clear ethical framework and the early identification and involvement of stakeholders can enable even very large health jurisdictions to construct crisis care plans that enable the best care under difficult circumstances, while protecting individual rights and incorporating the concerns of the public and the health care community.

Using DNA Barcodes to Evaluate Ecosystem Health in the SWRCMS Reserve

The Western Center Academy (WCA) Charter School and Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC) are located on the Southwestern Riverside County Multi-Species Reserve (SWRCMSR). Developed in 1992, the reserve is home to at least 8 sensitive bird, animal, and plant species. Although the reserve is protected against direct human influence, within a 100-mile circle of SWRCMSR live more than 21 million people with their indirect impact on the environment. Our goal was to determine if the reserve is protecting the species within by analyzing the genetics of those species to determine if there is a healthy amount of genetic diversity in the populations within. We collected insects at MSJC Menifee campus and in the SWRCMSR to evaluate how human impact affects the genetic diversity of insects. MSJC served as the site that was impacted by human activities and SWRCMSR served as the site that was not impacted by human activities. The School Malaise Trap Project (SMTP) selected 160 of our specimens, sequenced their genetic barcodes, and entered the data into the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD) for analysis. Using the BOLD website and a Clustal Omega tool, we compared the genetic sequences in the insects we collected to measure genetic differences in the two populations of insects. The results from the two collections seem to show that the nature reserve insect population is a younger population with genetic changes possibly acquired by gene flow from immigration. The insect population at MSJC appears to be well developed, but isolated genetically.

Neofusicoccum luteum as a pathogen on Tejocote (Crataegus mexicana)

Tejocote ( Crataegus mexicana ), a small pome crab-apple-like fruit, is becoming economically important in California with increasing production, so consideration of diseases that hinder the yield is important. Diseased trees of tejocote were observed in four orchards of Riverside and San Diego Counties of California. Ten symptomatic/asymptomatic samples were studied from each of the orchards. Five most frequently isolated fungi were identified on the basis of morphological characters and sequence data of the internal transcribed spacer ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 and partial β-tubulin gene. Three isolates were identified as Neofusicoccum luteum and two as Phomopsis sp. Pathogenicity tests were conducted by inoculating detached shoots of healthy tejocote trees. Significant lesions were observed on all shoots inoculated with the three N. luteum isolates (designated UCR1190, UCR1191, and UCR1192), but not on the shoots inoculated with other isolates or the non-inoculated controls. Results indicated that all three N. luteum isolates are aggressive pathogens on tejocote. This pathosystem should be further studied with a goal of designing appropriate disease management strategies.

An extirpated lineage of a threatened frog species resurfaces in southern California

AbstractSouthern California has experienced widespread amphibian declines since the 1960s. One species, the Vulnerable California red-legged frogRana draytonii, is now considered to be extirpated from most of southern California. In February 2017 a population ofR. draytoniiwas discovered in the southern foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains of Riverside County, California, near the edge of the species’ historical distribution. This population belongs to an mtDNA lineage that was presumed to be extirpated within the USA but is still extant in Baja California, Mexico. This discovery increases the potential for future, evolutionarily informed translocations within the southern portion of this species’ range in California.

Environmental change, shifting distributions, and habitat conservation plans: A case study of the California gnatcatcher.

Many species have already experienced distributional shifts due to changing environmental conditions, and analyzing past shifts can help us to understand the influence of environmental stressors on a species as well as to analyze the effectiveness of conservation strategies. We aimed to (1) quantify regional habitat associations of the California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica); (2) describe changes in environmental variables and gnatcatcher distributions through time; (3) identify environmental drivers associated with habitat suitability changes; and (4) relate habitat suitability changes through time to habitat conservation plans. Southern California's Western Riverside County (WRC), an approximately 4,675 km2 conservation planning area. We assessed environmental correlates of distributional shifts of the federally threatened California gnatcatcher (hereafter, gnatcatcher) using partitioned Mahalanobis D 2 niche modeling for three time periods: 1980–1997, 1998–2003, and 2004–2012, corresponding to distinct periods in habitat conservation planning. Highly suitable gnatcatcher habitat was consistently warmer and drier and occurred at a lower elevation than less suitable habitat and consistently had more CSS, less agriculture, and less chaparral. However, its relationship to development changed among periods, mainly due to the rapid change in this variable. Likewise, other aspects of highly suitable habitat changed among time periods, which became cooler and higher in elevation. The gnatcatcher lost 11.7% and 40.6% of highly suitable habitat within WRC between 1980–1997 to 1998–2003, and 1998–2003 to 2004–2012, respectively. Unprotected landscapes lost relatively more suitable habitat (−64.3%) than protected landscapes (30.5%). Over the past four decades, suitable habitat loss within WRC, especially between the second and third time periods, was associated with temperature‐related factors coupled with landscape development across coastal sage scrub habitat; however, development appears to be driving change more rapidly than climate change. Our study demonstrates the importance of providing protected lands for potential suitable habitat in future scenarios.

Nocturnal Velvet Ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) of Joshua Tree National Park, Riverside County, California with the description of three new species

The diversity of nocturnal velvet ants at Joshua Tree National Park (JTNP) is investigated along with seasonal activity. The diversity of velvet ants found at JTNP is compared to the diversity of velvet ants found at the Algodones Sand Dunes, Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center, Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and the Nevada Test Site. Diagnoses and a key are provided for the velvet ants of JTNP. Forty-one species in six genera, based on 10,202 specimens collected from a transect of 14 sampling sites transitioning from the Mojave to the Sonoran deserts, are found to inhabit areas in and around the park. Odontophotopsis dalyi, O. odontoloxia and Photomorphus schoenwerthi are described as new species. Odontophotopsis (Odontophotopsis) ambigua Mickel (1983) is a junior synonym of O. delodonta Viereck (1904), new synonym. The females of too few of the species are known, so only the males are treated. A key to all of the species and illustrations for those species not previously illustrated are provided for the males.

Identification and Characterization of Citrus tristeza virus Isolates Breaking Resistance in Trifoliate Orange in California.

Most Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) isolates in California are biologically mild and symptomless in commercial cultivars on CTV tolerant rootstocks. However, to better define California CTV isolates showing divergent serological and genetic profiles, selected isolates were subjected to deep sequencing of small RNAs. Full-length sequences were assembled, annotated and trifoliate orange resistance-breaking (RB) isolates of CTV were identified. Phylogenetic relationships based on their full genomes placed three isolates in the RB clade: CA-RB-115, CA-RB-AT25, and CA-RB-AT35. The latter two isolates were obtained by aphid transmission from Murcott and Dekopon trees, respectively, containing CTV mixtures. The California RB isolates were further distinguished into two subclades. Group I included CA-RB-115 and CA-RB-AT25 with 99% nucleotide sequence identity with RB type strain NZRB-G90; and group II included CA-RB-AT35 with 99 and 96% sequence identity with Taiwan Pumelo/SP/T1 and HA18-9, respectively. The RB phenotype was confirmed by detecting CTV replication in graft-inoculated Poncirus trifoliata and transmission from P. trifoliata to sweet orange. The California RB isolates induced mild symptoms compared with severe isolates in greenhouse indexing tests. Further examination of 570 CTV accessions, acquired from approximately 1960 and maintained in planta at the Central California Tristeza Eradication Agency, revealed 16 RB positive isolates based on partial p65 sequences. Six isolates collected from 1992 to 2011 from Tulare and Kern counties were CA-RB-115-like; and 10 isolates collected from 1968 to 2010 from Riverside, Fresno, and Kern counties were CA-RB-AT35-like. The presence of the RB genotype is relevant because P. trifoliata and its hybrids are the most popular rootstocks in California.

EBird records show substantial growth of the Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin sedentarius) population in urban Southern California

ABSTRACT The sedentary subspecies of Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin sedentarius) was originally endemic to the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California, but it colonized the mainland at the Palos Verdes Peninsula sometime before 1966. In the decades since, its population has expanded in Southern California. I tracked its growth using eBird checklists. The mainland range of S. s. sedentarius has grown from ∼70 km2 in 1970 to ∼13,000 km2 today, representing an increase of ≤23% in the total range of the species as a whole. Its main habitat within Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and western Riverside counties is urban parks, gardens, and campuses. The range expansion of S. s. sedentarius seems to be driven by food availability—although, given that it is found in urban habitats that the other subspecies, S. s. sasin, does not seem to utilize, a subtle change in the ecology of the 2 subspecies is also implied. Analysis of eBird data suggests that breeding S. s. sedentarius met S. s. sasin ne...

Wayneburnhamite, Pb9Ca6(Si2O7)3(SiO4)3, an apatite polysome: The Mn-free analog of ganomalite from Crestmore, California

Wayneburnhamite (IMA2015-124), Pb_9Ca_6(Si_2O_7)_3(SiO_4)_3, is a new mineral from the Commercial quarry, Crestmore, Riverside County, California, where it occurs as a metasomatic mineral on fracture surfaces in vesuvianite/wollastonite rock. Wayneburnhamite crystals are sky-blue hexagonal tablets and prisms up to 0.5 mm in maximum dimension. The streak is white. Crystals are transparent to translucent with vitreous to resinous luster. The Mohs hardness is 3½, the tenacity is brittle, the fracture is conchoidal, and there is no cleavage. The calculated density is 5.271 g/cm^3. The mineral is optically uniaxial (+), with w = 1.855(5), and e = 1.875(5) (white light). The pleochroism is E sky blue and O lighter sky blue; E > O weak. Raman and infrared spectra are consistent with the crystal structure, but suggest a very minor hydrous component. The empirical formula (based on 9 Si apfu) is (Pb_(8.33)Sr_(0.04)□_(0.63))Σ900(Ca_(5.40)Cu^(2+)_(0.27)□_(0.33))Σ6.00Si_9S_(0.21)O_(32.64)Cl_(0.05). Wayneburnhamite is hexagonal, P6, a = 9.8953(9), c = 10.2054(7) A, V = 865.40(17) A^3, and Z = 1. The eight strongest lines in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern are [d_(obs) in A(I)(hkl)]: 4.95(52)(110); 4.45(64)(111); 3.550(77)(112); 3.232(54)(120); 3.086(100)(121); 2.847(60)(300); 2.798(48)(113); and 2.734(83)(212). The structure determination (R_1 = 3.01% for 1063 F_o > 4σF) shows wayneburnhamite to be an apatite polysome isostructural with ganomalite, differing only in that the site occupied dominantly by Mn in the structure of ganomalite is occupied dominantly by Ca in the structure of wayneburnhamite. The structure refinement of wayneburnhamite appears to represent a rare case in which the approximate locations of the Pb^(2+) 6s^2 lone-electron pairs can be seen as electron density residuals.

Pomegranate dieback caused by Lasiodiplodia gilanensis in California

During the summer of 2009, decline of young pomegranate trees was observed in several orchards in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California. Symptoms were characterized by overall poor spring growth and dieback of one to multiple branches. Sunken lesions and cankers were observed on trunks and branches of diseased trees and cross sections revealed discoloration of the wood. A total of 25 symptomatic young trees (three to five year-old) cv. Wonderful were sampled from five different orchards in Riverside County in an attempt to determine the canker causal agent/s. Following isolation in culture medium, white fluffy and fast-growing fungal colonies that became light- to dark-green with age were isolated consistently from the margin between the discolored and healthy tissues. Morphological characters along with DNA sequence analyses of three gene regions, including the ITS1–5.8S–ITS2, and part of the β-tubulin, and translation elongation factor 1-α allowed the identification of the botryosphaeriaceous fungus Lasiodiplodia gilanensis. Koch’s postulates were completed in two year-old pomegranate trees cv. Wonderful under field conditions. Twelve months after inoculation, L. gilanensis isolates showed to be highly virulent producing lesions of up to 21 cm in length. This study reports for the first time the fungus L. gilanensis as a pathogen of pomegranate trees causing cankers and branch dieback.

Innovative Mobile Clinics Serving Children and Families of Riverside County With Limited Access to Behavioral Health Services

Innovative Mobile Clinics Serving Children and Families of Riverside County With Limited Access to Behavioral Health Services

Abiotic and Biotic Mortality Factors Affecting Asian Citrus Psyllid (Hemiptera: Liviidae) Demographics in Southern California

Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), is an invasive citrus pest in California that vectors a bacterium that causes the deadly citrus disease huanglongbing. From 2014–2015, 116 experimental D. citri cohorts were monitored to determine survivorship, life table parameters, and marginal rates of mortality of immature D. citri at three sites in Riverside County, CA. D. citri cohorts of ∼200 eggs were established on potted Citrus volkameriana (Rutaceae) plants. Field deployed cohorts were protected with fine or coarse mesh enclosures, sticky barriers, or left unprotected. Egg through adult emergence rates were used to assess the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors on psyllid survivorship rates by life stage. Predation of immature D. citri by larvae of Allograpta sp. (Diptera: Syrphidae) and Chrysoperla sp. (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) comprised 86% of all observed predation mortality. When protected from all other arthropods, parasitism by Tamarixia radiata (Waterston) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) comprised 21% of the total marginal rate of immature D. citri mortality from September to November in 2014 and 2015. Overall, D. citri net reproductive rates were reduced by 55–95% when exposed to natural enemies, indicating the importance of the classical biological control agent, T. radiata , and generalist predators in reducing D. citri densities in urban areas of southern California.

Identification, Distribution, and Pathogenicity of Diatrypaceae and Botryosphaeriaceae Associated with Citrus Branch Canker in the Southern California Desert.

Several members of the families Botryosphaeriaceae and Diatrypaceae are known as canker and dieback pathogens of a number of woody hosts. Because desert citrus production in California can occur in proximity to table grape production, it was suspected that fungi associated with grapevine cankers might also be associated with citrus branch canker and dieback decline. To determine the fungi associated with branch canker and dieback disease of citrus in the southern California desert regions, surveys were conducted from 2011 to 2013 in the major citrus-growing regions of Riverside, Imperial, and San Diego Counties. Cankered tissues were collected from branches showing symptoms typical of branch canker and dieback. Various fungal species were recovered from necrotic tissues and species were identified morphologically and by phylogenetic comparison of partial sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2), β-tubulin gene, and elongation factor 1-α genes with those of other species in GenBank. Four fungi, including Neoscytalidium hyalinum, Eutypella citricola, E. microtheca, and an unnamed Eutypella sp., were associated with branch canker. N. hyalinum was the most frequently recovered fungus from symptomatic tissues (31%) followed by E. citricola (10%), E. microtheca (4%), and the Eutypella sp. (2%). In pathogenicity tests, all fungi caused lesions when inoculated on 'Lisbon' lemon (citrus) branches. Lesions caused by the Eutypella sp. were significantly longer than those of the other Eutypella spp.; however, they did not differ significantly from those produced by N. hyalinum. The most-parsimonious unrooted trees based on the combined data of ITS and partial β-tubulin gene region sequences showed three distinct clades of Eutypella spp. (E. citricola, E. microtheca, and an unidentified Eutypella sp.). Similarly, ITS and partial translation elongation factor 1-α gene region sequences differentiated two species of Neoscytalidium, N. hyalinum and N. novaehollandiae. Identifying the diversity, distribution, and occurrence of these fungal pathogens is useful for the management of citrus branch canker and dieback disease in the desert citrus-growing regions of California.

Organizing Temporary, Subcontracted, and Immigrant Workers

Since 2008, Warehouse Workers United (WWU) has organized thousands of low-wage warehouse workers in Southern California’s Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, many of whom are temporary, subcontracted, and immigrant workers. Warehouse Workers Resource Center (WWRC), formed in 2011, has provided additional legal services and other resources to warehouse workers. Combining protest tactics, a legal and media strategy, and a commodity chain organizing strategy, WWU and WWRC helped warehouse workers to win back millions of dollars of stolen wages and to pass new regulatory legislation for employers of warehouse workers. In coalition with other labor organizations, they also obtained an agreement by Walmart to improve its workplace safety standards. This case study, based on field research and interviews with key informants, provides important lessons for those seeking to organize marginalized workers in other industries and regions.

Risk factors for "late-to-test" HIV diagnosis in Riverside County, California.

Patients diagnosed late in the course of HIV infection are at an increased risk of negative health outcomes and are more likely to transmit HIV to others. Using the CDC's definition for AIDS, we analyzed case report data from persons diagnosed with AIDS within 12 months of an HIV diagnosis (“late-to-test”) in Riverside County, CA, between 2009 and 2014. Of 1385 HIV cases, 422 (30.5%) were late-to-test. Factors associated with late-to-test were: having no insurance (P = 0.005), being Hispanic (P = 0.002) and being between 45 and 64 years of age (P < 0.001). Females (P = 0.013) and those in the eastern region of Riverside County (P = 0.002) were less likely to be late-to-test. In the absence of universal HIV testing, interventions to decrease late testing are needed.

Mapping Changes in Desert Pavement Surfaces of the Lower Colorado Desert of Southern California using Landsat Time Series Analysis

Potential disturbance of desert soils from renewable energy development in southern California is receiving increasing attention due to potential impacts on air quality and greenhouse gas emissions. This study was designed to quantify and map, for the first time, changes in desert pavement surface area using 20 years of Landsat satellite image data across the Lower Colorado Desert. Landsat-derived maps of geomorphic surface classes from 1990 to 2014 for the Lower Colorado Desert area showed that a relatively stable area of around 1920 km 2 was covered by well-developed desert pavements prior to 2014. Based on 2014 Landsat imagery, coverage of well-developed pavements within solar energy development boundaries of the Lower Colorado Desert area totaled to 421 km 2 , the majority of which (>82%) were located in eastern Riverside County. If disturbed as a result of construction activities, these desert pavements could become a source of dust from exposure of the underlying fine particle layer.

Characterizing the Microbial Sulfur Metabolizing Community of the Salton Sea Geothermal System

Reduction of sulfur compounds has been proposed to be the earliest form of respiration, appearing 3.5 billion years ago as a mechanism for oxidation-reduction cycling in a nutrient-deficient environment. Today, sulfur-based respiration is common in environments where the availability of electron acceptors is limited, such as deep subsurface environments. The anoxic, high-temperature fluids ejected by the Salton Sea mud volcanoes is one such environment. Located in the Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California, USA, the Salton Sea Geothermal System is a diverse ecosystem consisting of the endorheic Salton Sea, salt pools, petroleum seeps, and mud volcanoes. Water and various gases are collected in the subsurface of these volcanoes, heated, and bubbled out in a continuous cycle. Here, microbial life is diverse, ranging from thermophiles, halophiles, and obligate and facultative anaerobes. Characterization of the community has been performed via a wide-reaching 16S rRNA community analysis and by an isolate-specific analysis. This dual method allows for both breadth and depth in the characterization of sulfur metabolism in the mud volcanoes. Community analysis has been approached in two ways. In the first method, DNA is extracted from raw mud samples, followed by PCR amplification targeted at the highly-conserved 16S RNA region of the genome, isolation of specific amplicons by cloning into an E. coli vector, and amplicon purification and sequencing. In the second method, the 16S amplicons are sequenced directly using high throughput sequencing techniques. Sequences are checked for quality and high matches are used for alignment and phylogeny building. By using both methods we are able to gain a more complete picture of the entire community present in this deep subsurface environment. In addition to using community analysis, we have isolated sulfur and thiosulfate reducing microbes from this system. One of the isolates was characterized in detail and determined to be a novel anaerobic, hyperthermophilic archaeon that grows only in the presence of thiosulfate and ferric iron as electron acceptors. Genome annotation identified several candidate genes proposed to be involved in hydrocarbon oxidation and sulfur respiration. The isolate is neutrophilic, growing optimally at 90°C and 0–3% w/v NaCl. 16S rRNA sequence analysis places this isolate within the genus Pyrobaculum, a group of hyperthermophilic Crenarchaeota, and a neighbor joining phylogenetic tree from 16S RRNA sequence alignments was constructed. Based on genotypic and phenotypic differences between this isolate and the established members of the Pyrobaculum genus, the isolate is concluded to be a new species, for which the name Pyrobaculum igneolutum is proposed. Characterization of the metabolic schemes of the microbial life responsible for sulfur reduction is of great importance to the elucidation of complex biogeochemical cycling and is of practical relevance to cleaner hydrocarbon oxidation in the oil industry. Support or Funding Information This project is supported by NSF award MCB 1518306. Figure 1Open in figure viewerPowerPoint The 16S neighbor joining phylogenetic tree of the Pyrobaculum genus and related species, with Pyrobaculum igneolutum included. GenBank accession numbers are provided in parentheses. Introns were removed prior to alignment. Each number indicates the bootstrap value from 1000 trials. Bar, 1 substitution per 100 bases. Figure 2Open in figure viewerPowerPoint The effect of (A) pH, temperature, and (C) NaCl on the growth of the isolate.

Phenology of Asian Citrus Psyllid (Hemiptera: Liviidae), With Special Reference to Biological Control by Tamarixia radiata , in the Residential Landscape of Southern California.

Since its discovery in 2008, the pestiferous Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), has become widely established in residential citrus trees throughout southern California. In 2011, Tamarixia radiata (Waterston) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), a host-specific parasitoid of D. citri , sourced from Punjab Pakistan, was introduced into California as part of a classical biological program aimed at suppressing D. citri populations in urban areas. Despite these release efforts, little is known about the population dynamics of D. citri in urban citrus or the efficacy of T. radiata in controlling psyllid populations in urban-grown citrus. To address this shortcoming, the population phenology of D. citri was monitored biweekly for 2-3 yr on five different host plants (Rutaceae) at 11 residential sites across Riverside and Los Angeles Counties in southern California. Citrus flush growth patterns and parasitoid activity levels were also assessed. Urban D. citri populations were present year round at each site, with highest densities occurring over July through November. Temperature was an important indicator of overall D. citri densities with positive correlations across all life stages. Regularly flushing lime trees consistently supported the highest densities of psyllid eggs and nymphs, while equally vigorous flushing curry leaf plants supported the highest adult densities. While T. radiata activity was detected at all sites, average year-round percent parasitism was low throughout the study, averaging <5% in 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Norco College’s Summer Advantage Program: Leading Change to Increase College Readiness

ABSTRACTNorco College, in Riverside County, California, developed the Summer Advantage program in 2012. This program is designed to reduce the number of students placed into precollegiate-level courses and increase first-year retention through participation in academic workshops, intrusive advisement, and college orientation. After four years, the Summer Advantage program has proven to be highly successful. A significant number of students who participated in the program have since enrolled in, and completed, college-level courses in English and math. In 2015 the program won the prestigious Bellwether Award for Instructional Programs and Services. This case study seeks to determine how a summer college readiness program can impact student success and whether Kotter’s eight steps to transformational change contributed to the success of Norco College’s Summer Advantage program. Information was gathered from Norco College’s website, the binder it provided to the University of Florida’s Institute of Higher Education for consideration for the Bellwether Award, and an interview with Monica Green, Vice-President of Student Services at Norco College. Kotter’s eight steps to leading change were used as a framework for examining the steps Norco College took to implement Summer Advantage. The outcomes of this study will help guide other educational institutions in their efforts to implement transformational change and increase college readiness levels and completion rates.