Institutional Equity Plan Updates

Project Charter The project is expected to produce an Institutional Equity Plan that strives to develop a shared vision and guiding direction for actualizing our commitment to social justice and equity across the institution The scope of this plan is not to prescribe but to gather input and create guidelines and priorities for a developmental process for the institution and for the members of the institution. The plan should produce actions with measurable outcomes

Terms and Concepts Equity at ARC: Equity provides parity and student success for all. Equity meets students where they are in order for them to succeed. It is both a process and goal. Equity in student success includes: safe and nurturing environments, positive mental health and wellness, employee satisfaction, career advancement opportunities, feelings of belonging, holistic identity development, and constant progress. Broad equity efforts should yield: Improved retention, graduation rates, persistence, transfer rates, hiring rates, and promotional opportunities for marginalized and oppressed groups.

Terms and Concepts Cont’d Social Justice: Adams, Bell and Griffin (1997) define social justice as both a process and a goal. "The goal of social justice education is full and equal participation of all groups in a society that is mutually shaped to meet their needs. Social justice includes a vision of society that is equitable and all members are physically and psychologically safe and secure." Social justice is an action. Recognizing systems impact communities and individuals. Recognizing oppression is real and should be challenged. Social justice goes beyond diversity; it recognizes diversity is there but different identities have different experiences, opportunities, resources, value and protections. Social Justice should consider those who were unable to participate as well.

Fall 2018 Foundations Beginning in August 2018, the chairs (Moon Johnson and Chao) led a team of students, faculty, staff, and administrators; and the team: Created the project charter; Collected articles on higher education equity and social justice and samples of equity reports. Conducted a full day retreat to create team expectations, communication tools, and a common foundation. Created a timeline and actions steps for the process. Hired a nationally known social justice facilitator, to create a foundation on equity, social justice, and dialogue techniques. Meetings occurred three to four times per month in the fall semester.

Information and Data Collection Campus-wide Equity Town Hall; the team introduced the Institutional plan project and gathered feedback. The town hall had nearly 100 participants, and participants shared experiences, needs, and ideas for the Equity Plan. Stakeholder Listening Sessions: information collected by holding nearly 20 Listening Sessions (informal focus groups) with college stakeholders, with a focus on, but not limited to, marginalized communities. National Research/Literature Reviews: Focused on populations marginalized in higher education.

Information and Document Analysis Analyzing Team: Sub-group of the team reviewing and analyzing all documents to create a list of themes, issues, and needs for ARC. A training was delivered by an ARC research analyst (Tyler Rollins) on January 9, so the team has tools to better identify themes.

Mapping and Action Creation Sub-teams After focusing on major issues and growth opportunities, create sub-teams to focus on strategy and recommendations (e.g. Professional development programs, etc. ) Solutions and Action Planning Current level (“We are already making efforts and let’s keep this up”) Enhancements (“We have some efforts, but we need to do more or different”) Restructuring (“We need a change our structure, system, process, or organization”) Creation (“We have nothing now and need to create something”)

Outline of the Equity Plan Executive Summary: About ARC and how this plan is connected: Mission, Vision, Strategic Plan, Re-design, Councils, etc. Goals of the Equity Plan Membership of the team Process of and methods Data gathering and findings Needs Short term Long term

Outline of Equity Plan cont. Recommendations Solutions Resources Timeline and phases of implementation Priorities Institutionalization of equity plan

Outline of Equity Plan Cont. Accountability Systems for measuring outcomes Transparency and communication Conclusion and next steps in the process Limitations of the plan Appendix

Stakeholders African-American/Black, hosted with Umoja Saku Multiracial and biracial people Asian American and Pacifica Islander American, hosted with API Student Connection and PRISE Native American, First Nations and American Indian LGBTQ+ Community People with disabilities, hosted by DSPS Religious and spiritual minorities (Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Sikh, as well as other religious and spiritual identities), hosted by the Muslim Student Association Refugee and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) communities Faculty, Staff, and Administrators of color   Undocumented, DACA, and mixed-family status, hosted by UndocuScholar Resource Connection and CUSA International students, hosted by ISP Latina/o/x Non-native English speakers, hosted by the ESL department Academic Senate Classified Senate Senior Leadership Team

Questions You're Invited: Town Hall with sharing the finished Equity Plan. Date TBD (late March).