2017 Equity Executive Summary

In 2017 Student Equity was tasked with developing a new plan integrated with Student Success and Support Services (SSSP) and the Student Success in Basic Skills initiatives.  The purpose was to ensure collaboration among plans so that resources could be effectively leveraged.  Initiative coordinators met and developed a series of surveys in which constituent groups provided feedback on integrated goals and activities.  The College also conducted the Equity Plan gap analysis to ensure that our goals and activities were appropriately addressing Equity gaps.  The plan and activities were then shared with constituent groups and approved in Fall 2017. 

In developing the Integrated Plan with Student Equity, Student Success and Support Program (SSSP), and Student Success in Basic Skills Initiative, the College chose to view Equity as the overarching driver of our goals and activities. Therefore there is not a specific Equity goal; all our goals are equity-minded as our college engages in a data inquiry process that allows for critical reflection and ongoing monitoring of success gaps, thus equity practices are embedded in all activities and goals surrounding the integrated plan. 

Institutional research from the 2015-2016 Student Equity Plan revealed that Hispanic/Latino, African American, Low-income, and Male students experience the most disproportionate impact within three or more of the five success indicators: access, course completion, ESL and basic skills completion, degree and certificate completion, and transfer.  Upon review of this year’s data, those gaps remain our most significant disproportionate impact.  Therefore we have chosen to keep the current target populations for 2017-2019. 

The following goals and activities were identified for the Student Equity, Student Success Support Program (SSSP), and Basic Skill Initiative:

Goal 1 Basic skills and ESL completion, including increasing the number of students successfully transitioning to college-level mathematics and English courses.

     1.1 Focused counseling support for Basic Skills / ESL.

     1.2 Increased support for Academic Support Centers, including supplemental instruction models.

     1.3 Creation and expansion of focused pathways for Basic Skills and ESL students, including FYE and accelerated models.

     1.4 Identify key economic barriers for students and provide interventions.

Goal 2 Improving success rates in degree attainment, certificate attainment, and transfer.   

     2.1 Intrusive tracking and follow-up of students through their educational pathway

     2.2 Increase access to counseling services

     2.3 Support for Transfer and Career Services.

     2.4 Increase non-credit awareness and support, including identification of potential new non-credit offerings.

     2.5 Focused pathways to degree and certificate attainment.

     2.6 Facilitate faculty and staff (both full time and adjunct) engagement in student success through professional development.       

Goal 3 Improve identification of students at-risk for academic or progress probation and provide support.    

     3.1 Intrusive intervention for probation students.

     3.2 Improved participation and follow-up in Early Alert.

     3.3 Identification of and appropriate interventions at momentum points relevant to retention and academic progress.

Goal 4 Deeper collaborations with high school districts, workforce agencies, or other community partners, particularly to increase students’ college and job readiness.

     4.1 Create workforce partnerships to collaborative develop career opportunities.

     4.2 Collaboration with feeder schools and community (e.g. adult education, foster youth, veterans) to identify and serve high risk/high needs populations.

     4.3 College pathway development for high school students

     4.4 Increase community and feeder school outreach to raise awareness regarding major selection, career goals, and certificate opportunities leading to job placement.

Goal 5: Increase student retention through focused engagement in the first year of the students’ attendance.  

     5.1 Increase opportunities for face-to-face interactions prior to and during student’s first term of attendance.

     5.2 Create a comprehensive Summer Bridge program linking to First Year Experience.

     5.3 Increased opportunities for family and students’ support networks engagement in educational experiences.

     5.4 Support for activities targeted to culturally responsive student engagement and shared experiences. Below is an analysis of our goals for Equity identified groups, the 2015 gap, the review our progress, and how goals align to the goals and activities of the integrated plan.

The chart below displays a summary of the progress made toward the 2020 goals for each target population and success indicator. It must be noted that data included in the 2014-2015 column included Clovis Community College which has since become a standalone college.  Key highlights include progress made in course completion, basic skills (English), degree and certificate completion for Male students; progress in basic skills (English) for Hispanic/ Latino students; significant progress in course completion and certificate and degree completion for African American/Black students; and progress in basic skills (Math) and ESL for Low-income students.

Although the gap in course completion and certificate and degree completion has narrowed for African American students, they continue to experience the largest disproportionate impact within basic skills (English and Math). We are hopeful that with this year’s implementation of multiple measures, improving our early alert system, intrusive tracking and follow-up services, we can begin to see this gap close. 

Summary of Student Equity Progress

Major Developments in 2016-2017

One of the major components of supporting student equity is by offering professional development to promote cultural understanding and awareness. Reedley College is a member of the National Consortium on College Men of Color which serves to build capacity necessary to support successful outcomes for men of color. Currently, the college is offering a professional development opportunity for faculty to engage in an online certificate course on Teaching Men of Color.

There are continuous on-going professional development seminars on supporting students from diverse backgrounds. In October 2016, the college hosted its first Annual Cultural Competency Summit in which over 80- faculty, staff, and administrators attended workshops on teaching and supporting students from rural areas, first-generation, ESL learners, serving  and understanding cross-communication styles. Furthermore, in October 2016, the Health Center began offering ongoing LGBTQ Ally Trainings which focused on how to create a safe and welcoming environment for students. The result of these trainings has inspired students to form Reedley’s newest student club titled “Safe Space.” These students have truly taken on a leadership role of advocacy and empowerment. 

In Spring 2017, Reedley faculty, staff and administrators established an Equity Workgroup to begin developing an Equity Framework which will be used to drive and sustain efforts to close achievement gaps for Reedley’s disproportionately impacted student populations as determined through data analysis and listed in the Student Equity Plan: 1.) Hispanic/Latino 2.) African-American 3.) Males and 4.) Low-income students.

Key Goals of this workgroup are to:

• Develop a shared definition and common language around equity, inclusion, and diversity and communicate with the campus at-large.
• Advocate for students by working together to support and encourage efforts to gain cultural awareness/cultural competency within the college community.
• Build a culture among the campus community in which we identify and eliminate any barriers AND create opportunities for our historically and underserved student populations.
• Develop an “Equity Lens” and operationalize the definition as it relates to research, practice, and student services. 
• Work with the Institutional Researcher to generate and review data so as to monitor achievement gaps.

 As Reedley works to enhance services to students, the college has engaged in a comprehensive student data collection process. In March 2017, the Research and Planning Group was hired as a consultant to conduct focus groups with four student groups: First generation, males, probation, and mixed race ethnicity students. Based on findings from the focus groups, The RP Group suggested the following recommendations:

1. Prioritize ensuring that students feel valued by and deeply connected to the college.
2. Consider student-centered practices inside and outside of the classroom.
3. Improve the promotion of resources and services available to students.
4. Consider more comprehensive financial support services to alleviate economic hardships students experience.
5. Re-examine marketing materials to ensure accurate information is being shared with prospective students.
6. Develop and implement strategies to regularly capture student feedback that is used to inform processes and practices throughout the institution.

Additionally, the College President and the Student Equity Coordinator hosted focus groups with other student populations to gain a better understanding of their needs, barriers, and challenges as it relates to their identity. The following groups at both Reedley College and the Madera Community College Center were invited for lunch and discussion with Drs. Caldwell and Murray; foster youth, DSPS, AB540 and undocumented, and interfaith students. Veterans, LGBTQ, athletes, returning students between ages 20-39 years old and returning students ages 40 years and older, will be invited for a focus group during the Fall 2017 semester. Qualitative data from this process will provide invaluable information and will be used to tailor and target student services and instruction for our students.  

Review of Past Equity Expenditures

Revenue (2014-2015) = $821,700

Expenditures

Revenue (2015-2016) = $1,138,740

Expenditures

Revenue (2016-2017) = $1,073,170

Expenditures

Revenue (2017-2018) = $1,019,512 (based on 95% allocation)

Expenditures