ICEC EPIC Student Support Model

The Program of Practice

Adult learners often come to Inland Career Education Center with goals that are deeply personal and life changing. Many are returning to school after interrupted educational experiences, balancing work and family responsibilities, managing personal stressors, and rebuilding confidence in their ability to succeed academically. While classroom instruction is essential, ICEC recognized that academic support alone was not enough to address the full range of barriers impacting student attendance, persistence, completion, and transition.

Many students needed more than access to courses. They needed structure, encouragement, accountability, and timely support when life circumstances began to interfere with their educational progress. Students also needed help developing executive functioning skills such as time management, organization, initiative, emotional regulation, and self advocacy. Without a coordinated system, support could become reactive rather than proactive, and students could disengage before staff had the opportunity to intervene.

ICEC identified the need for a formalized, schoolwide student support model that would address both academic and nonacademic barriers. The goal was to create a system that would help students remain connected, persist through challenges, access resources, and see their education as part of a larger pathway toward college, career, family stability, and long term opportunity.

The Response

In response, ICEC developed the EPIC Student Support Model, which stands for Equity, Persistence, Intervention, and Care. EPIC is a structured student support framework designed to meet adult learners from the moment they enter the program and continue supporting them through completion and transition.

The model begins with intentional onboarding and orientation. Students are introduced to program expectations, attendance requirements, academic planning, goal setting, digital platforms, student support resources, and transition opportunities. This early structure helps students understand what is expected of them while also making clear that they are not navigating the process alone.

EPIC also embeds executive functioning workshops into the student experience, particularly for Adult Basic Education students. These workshops focus on time management, organization, taking initiative, emotional regulation, stress management, and self care. By addressing these foundational skills, ICEC helps students strengthen the habits needed to persist in school and move toward completion.

The model includes a coordinated referral and intervention system through social emotional learning referrals, Student Success Team referrals, and College and Career Readiness referrals. These processes allow teachers, counselors, interns, and support staff to identify student needs early and respond with targeted interventions. Students may receive support with academic concerns, attendance, emotional regulation, crisis needs, mental health referrals, resource navigation, and transition planning.

ICEC has also expanded its support capacity through partnerships with Cal State San Bernardino and Loma Linda University. Graduate level social work and school counseling interns work alongside ICEC staff to provide student follow up, mentorship, workshops, resource connections, and campuswide engagement activities. In addition, ICEC’s partnership with San Bernardino Valley College brings counselors to campus twice per week to support registration, educational planning, FAFSA, college transition advising, dual enrollment, and career pathway exploration.

Through EPIC, student support is no longer separate from instruction. It is embedded into the educational journey and designed to help students stay engaged, feel supported, and continue moving forward.

The Unique Features of the Program

The unique strength of the EPIC Student Support Model is that it brings multiple support systems together into one coordinated framework. Rather than treating student challenges as isolated issues, EPIC recognizes that adult learner success is connected to academics, wellness, family responsibilities, confidence, resources, and future planning.

One of the most unique features of EPIC is its focus on executive functioning as a student success strategy. ICEC intentionally teaches skills such as organization, time management, initiative, stress management, emotional regulation, and self care because these skills directly impact persistence and completion. This approach helps students develop not only as learners, but as individuals managing the demands of school, work, and life.

Another unique feature is the integration of social emotional support with academic intervention. Through structured referral systems, students can be connected to counseling support, mental health referrals, crisis support, and community resources. This creates a more responsive and compassionate support system that allows staff to intervene before students disconnect from school.

EPIC also strengthens transition planning by embedding College and Career Readiness throughout the student experience, not only at the point of completion. Students are exposed early to college, career, dual enrollment, certificate programs, degree pathways, financial aid, and workforce opportunities. This helps students begin to see their diploma or GED as one step in a larger journey.

The weekly Student Support Report is another important feature of the model. Through regular audio and video updates, instructional staff are informed about available resources, student events, district and community opportunities, wellness supports, and engagement activities. This communication system helps ensure that teachers are aware of supports and can share timely information with students.

EPIC is also strengthened by ICEC’s community partnership accountability model. For students connected to public benefit programs, ICEC collaborates with caseworkers, when a release of information is in place, to provide enrollment verification, attendance documentation, and course completion updates. This creates an added layer of consistency and support that helps students remain engaged and accountable.

Together, these features make EPIC a comprehensive, student centered, and scalable model for adult education.

The Outcome

Since the implementation of the EPIC Student Support Model in 2023, ICEC has observed positive growth in student attendance, persistence, retention, program completion, student accountability, support utilization, self advocacy, and transition readiness. The model has helped create a stronger culture of connection by ensuring students have access to structured support, timely interventions, community resources, and clear pathways beyond completion.

EPIC currently supports approximately 1,200 academic students annually who are pursuing a high school diploma or High School Equivalency. Through structured onboarding, executive functioning workshops, counseling support, social emotional referrals, Student Success Team interventions, College and Career Readiness referrals, and community partnerships, students are receiving more consistent and coordinated support throughout their educational journey.

The outcomes are reflected not only in participation data, but also in the changing student culture across ICEC. Students are engaging more actively in workshops, support services, campus events, and transition planning opportunities. They are demonstrating greater willingness to ask for help, advocate for themselves, and take ownership of their educational goals.

The EPIC model has also contributed to increased transition readiness. Through the ongoing presence of San Bernardino Valley College counselors on campus, monthly College and Career Readiness workshops, FAFSA support, dual enrollment opportunities, and exit interviews, students are better prepared to move into postsecondary education, career technical education, workforce training, and employment pathways.

ICEC has also seen the impact of this coordinated support system through increased student involvement and the highest levels of participation in ICEC’s graduation ceremony to date. This reflects more than program completion. It reflects a stronger sense of belonging, persistence, pride, and connection among adult learners who are continuing their educational journey despite significant life challenges.

Overall, the EPIC Student Support Model demonstrates that when adult learners are supported through equity, persistence, intervention, and care, they are more likely to remain engaged, complete their goals, and transition into future opportunities with confidence.