San Diego City College welcomed current adjunct faculty member, Alisha J. Bettencourt, Ph.D. in the psychology department as the new faculty assessment coordinator in May 2022.
“I started my career in education as an elementary school teacher,” Bettencourt said. “Then I shifted my focus toward psychology once I realized my motivation came from learning about students and their behavior.”
Dr. Bettencourt has been teaching psychology at City College since January 2019 as an adjunct instructor, including lecturing a course in psychology of lifespan development and general psychology. In May 2022, she took on a new leadership role as faculty assessment coordinator to support the growing campus culture and to review and revise assessment of Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for instruction.
“I first saw the benefits of a community college through my mom. She thrived because of her college’s flexibility,” Bettencourt said. “That is what I love about City College. They let students lead here and really provide them with specialized support.”
As faculty assessment coordinator, Dr. Bettencourt explains that the exciting new opportunity permits City College to hyper focus on their needs as a whole institution from faculty and student needs to graduating and transferring students.
“Faculty have been responding positively,” Bettencourt said. “I am learning so much from our history degree majors, English Language Acquisition, to our dance programs.”
Training and new ways to think about SLOs can be expected to launch later this fall.
Additionally, Dr. Bettencourt is an honors contract instructor and serves as a co-advisor to Kristen Cole, Ph.D., for the City College chapter of the National Psychological Honors Society, Psi Beta. The organization encourages professional development and psychological literacy of all students at two-year colleges through promotion and recognition of excellence in scholarship, leadership, research, and community service.
Psi Beta will take part in City College’s Club Rush on Wednesday, October 12, a campus-wide Halloween celebration, and has plans to present a panel of professional psychologists to speak to the college.
Bettencourt holds a Ph.D. in psychology from Capella University, a Master of Arts in education from Oklahoma City University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from the State University of New York at Potsdam.
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Established in 1914, San Diego City College serves as the educational cornerstone of downtown San Diego. A 60-acre urban campus, City College serves more than 13,000 students a semester, offering 200 majors and degrees and 1,800 classes. City College is part of the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD), one of the largest of California’s 73 community college districts, which also includes Mesa College, Miramar College, and the College of Continuing Education. For more information, visit www.sdcity.edu.
Contact: Cesar Gumapas, Information Officer at [email protected].