B2B Features

1. Diversity and Access in the Bridge Program:

Ethnicity: African American students make up 20% of the students who enroll in the Bridge; 19% Hispanic; 20% Asian; 10% Filipino; 18% Caucasian. 42% of students are ESL.

Educational level: At least 29% of Bridge students have tested as upper pre-collegiate level and 23% as basic skilled (as low as 8th-9th grade math and English levels on T.A.B.E. test). 39% have not taken a placement test when they start the Bridge.

80% of Bridge students are low-income (self-report)

Age and gender: 80% of Bridge students are 25 to 55 years old, with an even distribution among age groups within this range; 53% are male.

2. Retention and Completion in the Bridge Program:

72% of students who start the Bridge pass all 3 Bridge classes, with another 9% of students who complete the program, even if they do not pass.

3. Successful Bridge students…

Continuation: Bridge students take twice as many units and stay in the Biotech programs longer than other students (attrition is 25% vs. 40% for other students in Biotech programs)
Diversity: Twice as many African American Bridge students pass Gateway* courses as non-Bridge African American students.
Success: Pass rates in Gateway courses are doubled for Hispanic and Filipino Bridge students
Completion: Double the completion rates of other Biotech students for Biotech certificates.

*Gateway refers to the pre-required science courses (Introductory Chemistry and Biolgy) for Biotech students.

Science Plus Basic Skills

B2B is an accelerated alternative to the flawed traditional basic skills sequence

Under-prepared students interested in biotech are often sent away and referred to basic skills courses that will teach them English and math skills required to succeed in the “gateway” courses – the science courses that are pre-requisites to all Biotech program certificates.

However, one of the unfortunate consequences of basic skills education at some community colleges is that they can unnecessarily delay the accrual of college credit by students. Acceleration studies have shown that if 100 students start two levels below transferable math or English, on average only 13 will persist and succeed through that transfer level math or English class (Hern, K. December 2011. Accelerated English at Chabot College: A Synthesis of Key Findings. Hayward CA. California Acceleration Project). Many students depart college before completing degrees or certificates, or even before completing their developmental sequences, which often have little in common with the subject they intend to study. This flawed traditional model is science only after basic skills.

The developmental education model implemented in the B2B program is completely different. Our model is science plus basic skills at the same time. B2B contextualizes developmental basic skills education with science so that student progress is accelerated. B2B students receive college credit, and passing the B2B is a requirement for the Biotechnology Laboratory Assistant Certificate, the first of many Biotechnology certificates at City College of San Francisco.

The B2B program has a track record of high completion rates. On average between Spring 2006 and 2008, 82% of students who enrolled in the B2B completed the program, and 83% continued on to enroll in the College’s classes and programs, including Biotechnology certificate and degree programs and an AS degree in Biotechnology.

Bridge to Biotech program at City College of San Francisco

The Bridge to Biotech and the Bridge to Biotech’s Internship program are the first steps to the Biotechnology Laboratory Assistant Certificate, which feeds into several Biotechnology Certificate Programs and an AS Degree in Biotechnology at City College of San Francisco.

Internship Program

The B2B internship component or Bridge to Biotech’s Internship program is offered exclusively to B2B students and graduates. Like the B2B, it targets underprepared and economically disadvantaged adults who wish to work in the Biotechnology field while they pursue their education at City College of San Francisco.

The internship program seeks to:

• Match participants with internship positions in Bay Area academic, government and biotechnology research laboratories;

• Monitor intern performance and professionalism throughout the internship and support mentors with the internship training as needed;

• Provide personal and professional support to students to increase success rates;

• Help students grasp scientific and technical concepts during the internship, through in-class discussions and presentations;

• Provide students with networking opportunities, job search tools and assistance after the internship.

The program includes 2 courses during the Bridge semester, which are integrated with the Bridge curriculum, but are optional for Bridge students, and provide the basic laboratory skills used in bench-type internships, as well as the soft skills required to work efficiently in a laboratory environment and apply for positions in the field. The second semester includes a 180-hour lab assistant or lab technician-level internships in Bay Area laboratories.

Between 2007 and 2009, approximately 50 students graduated from the Bridge to Biotech’s Internship Program alone, 40% of which were hired in research laboratories within a year after their internship. Some of the first interns who were hired as Lab Assistants after their internships - students who had no college degree or science background –have recently been promoted to Team Leader or to Staff Research Associate positions.

The majority of students who did not get hired in the field after completion of the program were not actively looking for work but decided to continue their education in the Biotechnology certificates as full-time students.

To find out more about the Bridge to Biotech's Internship Program, visit the CCSF Bridge's Internship program page.