By Greg Hardesty, contributing writer
Life may be like a box of chocolates.
So, too, is data, says Nga Pham, executive director of District Research, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness at Rancho Santiago Community College District.
“You never know what you’re going to get until you bite into it,” Pham said.
As far as data crunching goes, Pham has been chewing on information for the RSCCD for nearly 35 years — the last 24 years as head of the RPIE office.
She started with the community college district nearly 40 years ago when she was a student at Santa Ana College. While there, she worked part time as a financial aid adviser for incoming students.
Back then, the district’s second college — Santiago Canyon College — was just the two-building Orange satellite campus of Santa Ana College. SCC became an independently accredited college in January 2000.
Evolving needs
Pham’s long history with the district makes her the ideal go-to person for faculty, administrators, and others who need to stay on top of economic and societal trends — both locally and throughout the region.
A key goal is to keep offering the most ideal mix of courses. Things Pham and her team look at include high school enrollment, employment trends, housing income, and much more.
Pham and her staff members, working with directors of research at the district’s two colleges, also are involved in producing accountability reports to make sure the district remains in compliance with state regulations.
The groups meet monthly to assess what data is needed and how it should be used.
The work of Pham and her colleagues is necessary for the district to fulfill its mission to provide quality educational programs and services that address the needs of the district’s diverse students and communities —stakeholders whose needs always are evolving.
“Data is complicated — not just quantitative data, but information in general,” Pham said. “That’s why it’s so critical…
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