Programs & Courses

Foothill College has supportive services designed to help you earn a degree or transfer to a four-year university.

In a  Learning Community, you take classes with other cohort members and work with a team of instructors an counselors to improve your reading, writing and critical thinking skills. Our bridge programs are an opportunity for you to master key math and English concepts. Ask about which ones may be best for you when meeting with a counselor after taking your assessment tests.

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  Summer Bridge English

  The Summer Bridge English Program helps students refresh their reading, writing, and grammar skills to be better prepared for the placement test, their first college English course, and all writing intensive courses across the curriculum.

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  Summer Bridge Math

  The Summer Bridge Math Program is an opportunity for students to improve placement testing scores by mastering key math concepts. With this foundational knowledge, students are more successful in math courses, including intermediate algebra and beyond.

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  Accelerated English Pathway

  English 1 S&T is a two-quarter integrated reading and writing course that focuses on techniques of critical reading, critical thinking, and written communication. The course is designed for students who place into the basic skills/pre-collegiate English, but successful completion of 1S/T satisfies Foothill General Education requirements for Area II English; IGETC; and UC/CSU transferability (five units). In addition, the course is supported by a two-quarter, four-unit co-requisite in student- managed portfolio development. In this course, instruction surveys basic theory, design, and implementation strategies for student-managed portfolios, with emphasis on the reflective and evaluative processes necessary for portfolio development.

  English Dept

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  Statway

  This program allows students who are Liberal Arts or Social Science majors to move through elementary algebra to complete a transferable statistics course in two quarters.

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  Math-My-Way

  Math-My-Way helps students develop math confidence and grasp basic math concepts. It includes a hands-on series of self-paced math learning modules that combine patient, caring, understanding instruction with a group of students who have similar math skill levels. Along with the small groups and one-to-one attention from math instructors, Math My Way includes computer and paper drills, and computer games.

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  First Year Experience

  FYE is a one-year learning community that provides first-year college students the resources and support needed to successfully transition to college. Students begin in pre-collegiate English and/or Math and in three quarters, move through the sequence to complete college-level coursework (English 1A) or Math 220, along with four UC/CSU-transferable GE courses in disciplines such as History, Sociology, and Art. Students receive support from a team of instructors, librarians, peer mentors, and counselors, as well as participate in on-campus community activities.

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  Puente Project

  The mission of the Puente Project is to increase the number of educationally underserved students who enroll in four-year colleges and universities, earn degrees, and return to the community as leaders and mentors to future generations. Students enroll in the English 1S&T pathway, paired with dedicated counseling and service/mentoring opportunities.

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  Umoja Community

  Umoja, a Kiswahili word meaning unity, is a year-long learning community and critical resource at Foothill College is dedicated to enhancing the cultural and educational experiences of African American and other students.

  Umoja pairs English, communication, and math together in a three-quarter program that begins with English 209 (pre-collegiate reading), English 110 (pre-collegiate writing), or the English 1S&T pathway.  Students also take courses in Psychology and Counseling.

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  STEM Core

  STEM Core at Foothill College is a cohort-based learning community seeking to increase the number of underrepresented students in the fields of engineering and computer science. Students in the program will be guaranteed admission into the three-quarter sequence, take courses together, and compete for high-quality paid engineering and computer science internships at places like NASA Ames and Lawrence Livermore Lab.

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  Foundations Lab

  The Foundations Lab provides a one-on-one environment and is staffed with instructors who have shown strong empathy and patience toward different learning styles and needs in both basics skills math, chemistry and English course assistance.

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  Teaching and Learning Center

  The Teaching and Learning Center provides reading and writing supplemental instruction for students in both pre-collegiate and collegiate level courses.

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  STEM Center

  The STEM Success Center provides a comfortable and supportive environmentto study and receive help from knowledgeable tutors for students studying science, technology, engineering, math, accounting and economics.

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  Owl Scholars

  The Owl Scholars program supports students in basic skills English, math, and ESL by reaching out to students early in the quarter and helping provide resources for their success. For example, the Owl Scholars program connects students with financial resources to buy books or classroom materials, and/or they may help students connect to counseling or tutoring.

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  Extended Opportunities Programs and Services (EOPS)

  The EOPS program provides support services and programs for financially needy and educationally disadvantaged students to achieve their goals, including, obtaining job skills, occupational certificates or associate degrees, and/or transferring to four-year institutions. Services include assistance in textbook purchases; academic and personal counseling; peer advising; peer tutoring; and a summer college readiness program. The program also provides, based on available funding, calculators and laptops on loan; computer lab and printing; field trips to regional four-year universities; and scholarships for transfer and continuing students.

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  Pass the Torch

  The Pass the Torch program was designed to help at-risk students earn the highest potential grade in a specific course in order to advance to the next level of instruction. The program links students who excel in English, ESLL, and math, with students who want support in these same core classes. Students are paired in one-on-one study teams that include a “leader” (peer tutor) and a “member” (tutee). Leaders are students who have completed one of the Pass the Torch core courses with an A grade and are recommended by an instructor. Over its history, the program has seen its students transfer to and graduate from institutions such as Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Hastings College of Law, among others.

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