2020-21 New Employee Equity Academy (NEEA)
Launched in summer and fall 2020, the NEEA is for all newly hired full-time and part-time faculty, classified professionals, and administrators. The purpose of the NEEA was to build upon previous campus efforts to provide onboarding and mentorship, which was a siloed approach, to evolve and provide a more deliberate and comprehensive, effort for all new FCC employees with foundational information, resources, and tools to foster student equity while orienting them to the equity-minded commitment and culture of the college. The College’s Title V staff have created and maintain a Canvas NEEA site that is an interactive resource site for all new faculty, adjunct, and full-time like. The NEEA is facilitated by an intentionally, cross-functional group of colleagues and included a kick-off for faculty and their Faculty Support Guides, event on July 8, 2020, an introduction to creating an equity-minded syllabus for faculty on July 13, 2020, and a three-day orientation for all newly hired employees. New part-time (with compensation) and full-time faculty hires engage in a year-long program of learning and reflection with their Faculty Support Guides.
Interdisciplinary Faculty Equity Lab (IFEL): Equity-Minded Tools for Reflective Teaching Practice
Launched in fall 2019 and based on FCC’s partnership with USC, CUE, IFEL is a train-the-trainer, semester-long cohort model, group of interdisciplinary full-time and part-time faculty who learn how to use equity-minded tools for reflective teaching and learning. Examples of some topics include course level data analysis, syllabi review, peer observations, institutional agents, and teaching and learning for equity.
Proposal to Grow IFEL
The Guided Pathways Coordinator, the Director of Student Equity and Success, and the current IFEL facilitator worked on a proposal to grow IFEL beyond a single, instructional faculty cohort each semester. The proposal includes having multiple Ram Equity Lab cohorts simultaneously throughout the 2021-2022 academic year and would include full-time and part-time faculty (both instructional and non-instructional), classified employees, and managers. The proposal was submitted to the College President and the President’s Executive Cabinet for review and received full support. Once fully implemented, 248 FCC employees will have completed training by Spring 2022, which will significantly contribute to shifting the mindset and practices of the campus culture.
Center for Organizational Responsibility and Advancement, Training Certificate Programs
In support of our ongoing institutional equity implementation efforts, FCC partnered earlier with the Center for Organizational Responsibility and Advancement (CORA). The administration has intentionally provided the following online certificate training programs as an open opportunity, available to all FCC full-time and part-time faculty, classified professionals, and administrators through May 30, 2022:
Progress to date:
- Unconscious Bias
- Enrolled: 368, Completed: 262, In progress: 106
- Racial Microaggressions
- Enrolled: 332, Completed: 227, In progress: 105
- Teaching Men of Color in the Community College
- Enrolled: 242, Completed: 168, In progress: 74
- Supporting Men of Color in the Community College
- Enrolled: 238, Completed: 169, In progress: 6
Equity Leadership Academy (ELA)
Due to the pandemic, the Equity Leadership Academy implementation was delayed. However, the college is moving forward with a fall 2020 start with an expected completion of the first cohort in spring 2021, the ELA will be a professional learning community of FCC administrators dedicated to supporting a leadership framework grounded in equity and informed by racial literacy, critical consciousness, and cultural fluency. More specifically, the ELA will include the following four components: Leadership Equity Training Series, Equity Leadership Learning Community (ELLC) Site, Habit-Building Challenge, and Executive Coaching. The development and implementation of an ELA is an explicit acknowledgment that structural racism is often at the foundation of any institution. Without active and intentional action to acknowledge and change societal institutions, participants, no matter how well-meaning, are in fact perpetuating the inequity and maintaining the social structure that privileges some while inadvertently or overtly destroying others. Additionally, it recognizes that leadership matters - leaders with an equity-focused framework are better equipped to lead the institution in questioning and examining systems, structures, actions, policies, and practices that impede the success of minoritized students, faculty, and staff.
California Community College Equity Leadership Alliance
In February 2020, FCC was one of the first colleges to join more than 60 other California community colleges in the California Community College Equity Leadership Alliance for the 2020-2021 academic year. Hosted by the USC Race and Equity Center (merged with the USC Center for Urban Education) and under the leadership of Professor Shaun Harper, the Equity Leadership Alliance unites leaders from California community colleges to address issues related to race, racism, and racial equity. The alliance consists of three components: Professional learning/eConvenings, access to virtual racial equity resource portal, and a campus climate surveys using the National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climates (NACCC).
2020 Black Minds Matter, Five-Part Series
This past summer, CORA (Center for Organizational Responsibility and Advancement) relaunched the Black Minds Matter webinar series. Previously, FCC was a host site for the original Black Minds Matter in 2017 as well as the replay in 2018. After each webinar, FCC held a discussion to explore what was learned in the webinar, how it impacts our students and community, and how we can take what we learned to improve the experience and outcomes for our Black and African American students. The 2020 Black Minds Matter webinars and post-webinar discussions were open to both FCC and SCCCD.
FCC Pathway Teams*
FCC created Pathway Teams to support students using a case management approach. Students are assigned to a pathway based on their current program of study. The goals of each pathway team align with the Vision for Success Goals but one goal particularly states to “Close equity gaps by providing intentional supports to students who may need them the most.” The tasks this year focused on activities for men of color to monitor their progress in school, support registration for next semester classes, and meet with a counselor to complete a Comprehensive Student Educational Plan. Each team created specialized ways to reach out to the men of color in their pathway and provide support and encouragement. Data is monitored using a Pathways Dashboard where information can be gained for each pathway regarding which students may have higher needs for support than others. Training on understanding the data and using the dashboards was provided to help support the equity efforts of the teams.
Academic Senate and Classified Senate
The FCC Classified Senate has been involved in equity work since 2015 when it presented the Safe Space Allies training, as well as an LGBTQ student panel at its annual Staff Development Day. In 2017, they welcomed Dr. Veronica Neal as the keynote speaker on Creating a “Call-in” Culture for Advancing Equity. Classified Senators and Officers attend the Classified Leadership Institute each June, taking part in the many equity-minded-focused sessions offered.
As part of its annual goal-setting process, the FCC Classified Senate decided to focus on anti-racism as the is a primary goal for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Goal 1: Demonstrate a Commitment to Anti-racism
- All members of the Classified Senate will complete at least one CORA training.
- All members will view the CCCCO webinars on anti-racism.
- All members will demonstrate with a statement of action how we applied the knowledge gained from CORA and the CCCCO webinars.
- In consultation with the Student Equity & Success Committee, the Classified Senate Professional Development Events Committee will create a professional development series of seminars and discussions to address anti-racism with a pre-and post-assessment to gauge increased awareness.
In a joint effort between the FCC Academic Senate and Classified Senate, a joint task force was formed to create an anti-racism resolution. The resolution aims to achieve the following goals:
- Denounce racism for its negative psychological, social, educational, and economic effects on human development throughout the lifespan.
- Recommend measures to strive for greater knowledge about and the celebration of diversity as well as support deeper training that reveals the inherent racism embedded in societal institutions in the United States, including the educational system, and asks individuals to examine their personal role in the support of racist structures and the commitment to work to dismantle structural racism.
- Recommend actionable measures to infuse Anti-Racism/No Hate Education in all activities and professional development opportunities to the degree that doing so is feasible.
Program Review Taskforce
The Guided Pathways workgroup formed a joint task force in collaboration with the Program Review Committee in order to apply key elements and principles of equity-mindedness and the Guided Pathways framework to Program Review. The Program Review Committee is in the process of reviewing feedback from the taskforce. Additionally, starting Fall 2020, all faculty being trained for program review to receive training on equity-minded principles and practices, and how to respond to questions about equity in their program review.
Increasing Racial & Ethnic Diversity in the Associate Degree Nursing Program Task Force
During summer 2020, President Goldsmith created a task force composed of 25 members that included community members from a variety of agencies throughout the City of Fresno, faculty, staff, and administrators from the College. The charge of the task force was to provide a Recommendation Report to the Office of the President within 45-60 days of the last task force convening. This report will propose the actions needed to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of the FCC Nursing Program. A follow-up report will be shared with the president overall. Ultimately, the task force identified recommendations for the college and faculty in the following areas: RN Program, NCLEX, Student Succes Teams, Multi-Criteria Screening, Prerequisites, TEAS Test, and the Lottery.
Police Academy Task Force
During summer 2020, President Goldsmith created a task force composed of 21 members that included community members from a variety of agencies throughout the City of Fresno, faculty, staff, and administrators from FCC. The task force met five times during the summer for 1.5 hours each session. Prior to each task force meeting, members were provided with resource materials, readings, and content to review to prepare for upcoming meetings. The task force was asked to review the learning domains (modules) which covered areas related to community relations and race matters. The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) mandates training specifications for the regular basic course (academy) as the entry-level curriculum requirement. A total of 42 individual topics (learning domains) are the foundational requirements in the training curriculum. Upon reviewing the learning domains, the following were selected as the focus of the task force work: Learning Domain 3: Principled Policing in the Community; Learning Domain 20: Use of Force; and Learning Domain 42: Cultural Diversity/ Discrimination. Based on these learning domains, the task force made recommendations to include them as part of the academy.
Student Services Common Book Read, From Equity Walk to Equity Talk
At the beginning of the fall 2020 semester, the Vice President of Student Services provided the book, From Equity Walk to Equity Talk to all the Student Services managers and coordinators. In October, the Student Services leadership team discussed the first chapters in one of the leadership meetings and strategized ways Student Services could take more specific steps to positively affect outcomes for our racially minoritized students. More specifically, the Student Services team is discussing how each service area can focus on strategic supports for African American students. The Student Services team will finish reading the remaining chapters and continue strategizing over the next few months on how to put recommendations from the book to practice.
Student Equity and Success Committee, Content Analysis Workgroups
The purpose of this workgroup is to review the main FCC website tabs (6) from an equity-minded perspective to make recommendations to the College Council to ensure college websites are equity-minded and student-centered. The committee will use an equity-minded content analysis tool developed by the Center for Urban Education (now merged with the USC Race and Equity Center). A report with recommendations will be given to the College Council to determine the next steps.
Talking Circles
Talking Circles for students facilitated by FCC Psychological Services are intended to provide SCCCD students with a safe space to express their thoughts and feelings. Our Talking Circles are organized by FCC Psychological Services but are open to all SCCCD students from any campus. Talking Circles topics include wildfires DACA, Social Injustices, and Systemic racism and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Community Support for students and staff
College Data
College data dashboard revision ensured visuals include disaggregation by race/ethnicity and gender category include non-binary. As a standard procedure, disaggregate data is included for data request projects. The IRAP office utilizes a process that aligns data requests with student equity, strategic goals, and guided pathways. A dashboard provides visuals that demonstrate the areas (division, departments, etc.) that are requesting data and the alignment of the requests. Additionally, the College Research Agenda was revised using student equity as the foundation and the College Guided Pathways framework.
Governance Restructure
The college finalized a two-year process to plan for the evolution of a governance structure that has student equity at the core. The structure includes the utilization of a faculty equity liaison on key committees/workgroups to facilitate difficult conversations and ensure the college engages in an “equity walk.”
Strategic Enrollment Management Plan
The college applied and was accepted to the Strategic Enrollment Management Program conducted by the Institutional Effectiveness Planning Institute (IEPI). The yearlong process provided the opportunity to engage in meaningful, data-driven conversations which resulted in an equity-focused Strategic Enrollment Management Plan focused on improving outcomes for racially minoritized students, specifically men of color. The SEMP used an integrated approach to ensure alignment of the 2016-2026 Educational Master Plan, 2017-2021 Strategic Plan, 2019-2022 Student Equity Plan, 2018-2022 Guided Pathways Plan, 2019-2022 FCC Vision for Success Goals Alignment, and goals aligned to our Title V First-Year Experience Program
Social Justice and Cultural Center*
The Social Justice and Cultural Center aims to educate and support students of color, LGBTQ students, and all students experiencing disproportionate impact, as well as the entire campus community, on issues related to social justice. To that end, it will serve as a research and resource center; a space for workshops, in-services, and training for faculty, staff, administrators, and students; a space for social justice-themed programming activities and events; and an engaging, validating, student-centered space designed to increase their sense of belonging, inclusion, and success. A space was recently secured for the SJCC and will launch when it is safe to return to campus.
Campus Pride Index: National LGBTQ-Friendly Benchmarks & Standards for Inclusion in Higher Education*
During the fall 2019 semester, the Student Equity and Success Committee worked with the Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning Office to administer the Campus Pride Index at FCC to better understand how the College can improve inclusion, sense of belonging, validation, and affirmation of the LGBTQ community. The Campus Pride Index for FCC was submitted to Campus Pride in January 2020 and in June 2020, the results were received. Campus Pride is the leading national nonprofit organization for student leaders and campus groups working to create safer, more LGBTQ-friendly learning environments at colleges and universities. The index is supported under the Campus Pride Q Research Institute for Higher Education and also benefits from strategic partnerships with professional organizations in higher education and related LGBTQ nonprofit organizations. During the spring 2021 semester, using the results of FCC’s Campus Pride Index results, Student Equity and Success Committee will work with key stakeholders to make recommendations on how the college can build and maintain a more welcoming and validating environment for our LGBTQ students.
English/Math Success Survey
In the spring 2021 semester, the Student Equity and Success Committee will draft a survey to identify the ways in which students of various backgrounds and identities are struggling to succeed in their English and Math courses. Through qualitative and quantitative questions, the survey will also attempt to uncover how students feel current services could be improved and what new services they are interested in seeing implemented that they feel may assist them in achieving greater success in their English and Math courses. The survey will include extensive quantitative demographic questions to allow survey results to be informative as they pertain to single and combined aspects of identity, including, but not limited to, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, English as a second language, first-generation, disability, and foster youth. The Student Equity and Success Committee will coordinate with Institutional Research on the formatting, improving, distributing, and collecting of the survey.
i * indicates current 2019-2022 Student Equity Plan activity
