EXECUTIVESUMMARY
Introduction
AtPierceCollege,everystudentisvalued.ThePierceCollegeMission Statementservesasthe foundationforprogramsofferedandtheservicesprovidedtostudents.ThecollegeMissionStatement reads:"PierceCollegeisastudent-centeredlearninginstitutionthatoffersexcellentopportunitiesfor accessandsuccessinadiversecollegecommunity."IthashistoricallybeenpartofthePierceCollege missiontoreach outtoandservetraditionallyunderrepresentedcollegestudents.TheMission Statementfurtherreads:"Thecollegededicatesallofitsresourcestoassiststudents inidentifyingand achievingtheireducational,career,andpersonalgoals."TheMissionStatementisthefoundationfor
theparameterswhichthecollegeprovidesfortransfer,occupationalandbasicskillsprogramsaswellas studentservicestodiversepopulations.
TheEquityPlanisdesignedtoadvancethecollegemissionbyaddressingtheneedsofthosestudent groupsthathavebeenhistoricallyunderserved.TheEquity Planningprocessinvolvescollectingand analyzingstudentsuccessdatadisaggregated byethnicity,gender,disability,fosteryouthstatus, veteranstatus,andlowincomestatusinordertoidentifyareasofstrengthandneed.Fromthesedata, aworkplaniscreatedthatleveragesareasofstrengthandaddressesareasofneed.
TargetGroups
Basedonouranalyses usingthe"80%Rule"outlinedby theEquityPlaninstructions,theEquityTask Forceidentified severalstudentgroupswhoachievesuccessatsignificantlylowerratesthanthosewho are inthehighestperforminggroups.Theteamidentified equitygapsinmorethanone measureamong studentswhoidentifyasAfricanAmerican/Black,Latino,fosteryouth,men,andveterans,whilethe
teamidentified anequitygapinonemeasureamongstudentswhoareFilipino,studentswhoarelow income,andstudentswithadocumenteddisability.Wefoundthatthe"Transfer"measure hadmore
equitygapsthananyoftheothermeasures.Thechartbelowsummarizesthesefindings:
SuccessMeasure / UnderservedStudentGroupsAccess / StudentswhoareFosterYouth,Veterans,male
CourseCompletion / StudentswhoareAfricanAmerican/Black,FosterYouth
BasicSkillsPathwayCompletion-ESL / StudentswhoareLatino
BasicSkillsPathwayCompletion-English / StudentswhoareAfricanAmerican/Black,Latino
BasicSkillsPathwayCompletion-Math / StudentswhoareAfricanAmerican/Black,Latino
DegreeandCertificateCompletion / Studentswhoaremale,AfricanAmerican/Black,Latino
Transfer / StudentswhoareAfricanAmerican/Black,Filipino,Latino, Veterans,lowincome,andstudentswhohavea documenteddisability
*Thesedataonlyincludegapsfordisaggregatedcohortsof30studentsormore.Forsmallercohorts,qualitative datawillbe usedtoidentify need.
Goals/Outcomes
Ouroverarchinggoalistoincreaseratesofsuccessineachareaby5%(orclosethegap)foreach underservedgroupwithin3years.Belowisalistofeachindividualgoalbrokendownbyareaofneed:
1. Access
a.Increaseaccessby5%by2017forstudentswhoaremen.
b.Maintainno equitygapinaccessforstudentswhoidentifyasfosteryouthand students whoidentifyasveterans.
2.Increasecoursecompletionby 5%by2017forstudentswhoareAfricanAmerican/Blackandfor studentswhoidentifyasfosteryouth.
3. Increasebasicskillspathwaycompletionby 5%by2017forstudentswhoareAfrican
American/BlackinEnglishand mathforstudentswhoareLatinoinESL,English,andmath.
4.Increasedegreeandcertificatecompletionby5%by2017forstudentswhoaremale,forthose whoareAfricanAmerican/Black,andforthosewhoareLatino.
5. Transfer
a.MaintainnoequitygapintransferratesforstudentswhoareAfricanAmerican/Black. b. Increasetransferratesby5%by2017forstudentswhoareLatino,Filipino,veterans, studentswhoare low-income,andforstudentswhohaveadocumenteddisability.
Activities
Oncethesegapswereidentifiedandgoalswerewritten,theTaskForceexploredexistingprogramsand servicesthatservedthesegroupsaswellasthoseactivitiesthatarecurrentlyunderdevelopment throughtheStudentSuccessandSupportPrograms,BasicSkillsInitiative,andAchievingtheDream initiatives.Then,thegroupcompletedagapanalysis,identifyingservices thatarenotunderwayor underdevelopment.Basedon thatgapanalysis,additionalactivitieswereaddedtotheEquityPlan.The activitiesvarywidely,butamongthoseactivities,severalthemesemerged.Thosethemesincluded:
•Activitiesaroundincreasingstudentengagement/mentoring/advising.
•Activitiesaroundstrengtheningcohortlearningmodels(e.g.learningcommunities,accelerated pathways,etc.).
•Activitiesaroundincreasingopportunitiesforongoing,cohesiveprofessional learning opportunities.
•Activitiesaroundcollecting,analyzing,anddisseminatingmoredataaroundsuccessindicators forunderservedstudentgroups.
•ActivitiesaroundconnectingPierceCollegewithexistingcommunityagenciesforresources, recruitment,partnerships.
•ActivitiesaroundadvertisingexistingPierceCollegeprogramstounderservedgroups.
•Activitiesaroundcreatingprogramstosupportstudentsincreatingeducationalplansandgoals.
Severaloftheactivitieslistedimproveorstrengthenactivitiesthatalreadyexistorarecurrentlyunder development.TheseactivitiesrepresentanalignmentoftheEquityPlanwithothercollege plans.For example,theteamalignedtheEquityPlanactivitieswithseveralothersthatarealreadyunderway throughtheBasicSkillsInitiativeandtheAchievingtheDreaminitiative;examplesofthisalignment includedevelopingaculturally-responsiveteachingandlearningprofessionaldevelopmentseries, strengtheningmathandEnglishpathwayssothattheyaremoreaccessibletounderservedstudent groups,developingarobustassessmentpreparationprogramtoassiststudentsidentifiedintheEquity
PlaninplacingintohigherEnglishandmathcourses,andincreasingtheamountofcourse-embedded tutoringofferedbythecollege.Activitiesarealsoalignedwithseveraloftheprogramsandservices associatedwiththeSSSP,suchasincreasedoutreachinitiativestoidentifyandcommunicatewithall studentgroups,extendingorientation servicestostudentgroupswhohaveidentified equitygaps,and increasingthenumberofactivitiesthatassistunderservedstudentsindevelopingeducationalplansand pathways.Theplanwillalsostrengthenfosteryouthandveteransservicesandexploreadditionaldata
tohelpthecollegecommunityunderstandtheseequitygapsinamorenuancedway.
Inadditiontoimprovingourexistingservices,thetaskforcehasrecommendednewactivitiesbasedona gapanalysis.Thetaskforcewillrecommendthatthecollegecreatea"StartingStudentsoffRight" handbook/website tohelp facultyidentifyandinterveneonbehalfofunderservedstudentsearlyinthe semester.Thecollegewillengageunderservedstudentsbyincreasingouroutreach/communication throughsocialmedialikeTwitterandlnstagram,andthroughstudentclubsandcampusofficeswhere studentgroupsthatarehighlightedintheStudentEquityPlanareoverrepresented.Thecollegewillalso continuetodevelopapeer-to-peermentorprogramwithanemphasisonrecruitingandmentoring studentswhobelongtogroupsthathaveanidentifiedequitygap.
Resources
Thetaskforcehaspreparedabudgetthatconcentratesmostoftheresourcesonclosingtwogaps:The basicskillscompletiongapandthetransfergap.Thisdecisionwasmadebecausethesetwoareashave thehighestnumberofgaps,andtheyalsohavethehighestnumberoflarge(overa60%)gaps.Among theremaininggaps,moreresourceswillbededicatedtoclosingthecoursecompletiongapthanthe othertwogaps;thereasonforthisisthatthecoursecompletiongapaffectsthelargestnumberof students.Resourceswillbesplitevenlybetweenclosingtheaccessgapandthedegree/certificate completiongap(SeeTable1).A1.0FTEfacultycoordinatorwillbehiredfromthesefundstomeetthe overallcoordination,institutionalresearch,andprofessionallearningneedsassociatedwiththisplan.
WhilethisplanrepresentsanestimationofhowthecollegewilldistributeEquityresources,thetask forcewillcontinuetoworkthroughthespring2016semestertocreateamorenuanced,integrated,and comprehensivespendingplanforactivitiesthatwereaddedinthisrevision.Collegestakeholderswho are interestedinleadingtheseactivitieswillcompletefundingrequestsinwhichdetailedspendingplans willbeoutlinedandintegrationtoothercollegeplanswillbeclearlydemonstrated.Thisfundingrequest isincludedasAttachmentA.
ContactPerson/StudentEquityCoordinator
AnEquityCoordinatorwillbegininspring2016.Untilthattime,thecoordinatorsfortheEquityPlanare: CrystalKiekel
Co-Chair,StudentSuccessCommittee
818-719-6414
EaricPeters
VicePresident,StudentServices
818-719-6418