Rate My Professor Debi Cozzoli

Debi Cozzoli serves as an Instructor of Psychology in the Liberal Arts and Pre-College Division at Portland Community College's Southeast Campus. She holds a PhD in Psychological and Brain Sciences from the University of California, Santa Barbara, earned in 2011 under the advisement of Professor Karen Szumlinski, and a BA in Psychology from Dominican University of California. Prior to her full-time faculty appointment effective September 1, 2019, with an annual salary of $58,244 at Step 4, Cozzoli worked as a temporary Instructor of Psychology at Portland Community College. Her career at PCC began earlier, with involvement in the Psychology program as early as 2017-18.

In 2017-18, Cozzoli acted as the Coordinator of the Psychology Program and a full-time temporary member of the Subject Area Council (SAC) at the Southeast Campus for two terms. She authored Sections 3A, 3B, and 3C of the Psychology Program/Discipline Review and served as its editor, facilitating a collaborative effort among SAC members to align the curriculum with APA Guidelines 2.0 and PCC Core Outcomes, while contributing to assessments and program improvements. As co-SAC Chair for Psychology with Cynthia Golledge in 2021-22, she led the Annual Discipline Update, analyzing enrollment data showing consistent strength above 800 Student Full-Time Equivalents (SFTE) over three years despite faculty reductions and COVID-19 impacts. Her leadership emphasized student success strategies, including addressing inequities in course success rates by gender, race/ethnicity, and Pell eligibility; requiring course materials to align at least 90% with the Course Content and Outcome Guide (CCOG); and establishing the Equitable & Inclusive Teaching in Psychology subcommittee in September 2021 to identify effective resources and teaching methods. The SAC under her co-chairship advocated for reduced class enrollment caps to 25 students to enable more intensive coaching and support, and participated in the 2021-22 Integration Year for Learning Assessment Consortium (LAC) assessment focusing on the PSY 201A Signature Assignment. Cozzoli supports open educational resources, adopting OpenStax Psychology for PSY 201 and PSY 202 courses. She has shared her community college teaching experiences through the University of California, Santa Barbara's Teaching Careers Speaker Series, discussing instructor responsibilities, student engagement, and career transitions in Portland's higher education landscape. Additionally, she participates in Oregon higher education initiatives, including the Transfer Council.