Courageous Conversations about Equity at Century College Ron Anderson, President Linda Baughman-Terry, Counselor Nickyia Cogshell, Chief Diversity Officer Thursday, February 7, 2013

Listening to the voices of our students

Our Equity Journey

Local Context: A Decade of Change

Then and Now: Aging population Increased populations of color and households where English is not the first language Significantly increased poverty Increased unemployment

Then and Now: Significant enrollment growth (32%) Significant growth in College employees and budget Cost of tuition has doubled ($178.56/credit) The State of Minnesota continues to divest in higher education, shifting the burden to students

Demographic Shifts

Racial CategoryFall 2006Fall 2010 American Indian/Alaskan 54.4%38.5% Black/African American 52.5% 45.0% White62.4% 64.4% Asian/Pacific Islander60.9% 73.0% Hispanic53.2% 64.7% First Term of Enrollment: Successful Course Completion Achievement Gaps

Fall 2009 to Fall 2010Fall 2010 to Fall 2011 Students of Color62.1%60.7% Pell Eligible64.8% 62.8% First Generation64.9% 63.2% Combined “Underrepresented” 66.1%63.2% ALL STUDENTS67.7% 66.2% Second Fall Persistence and Completion (cohort based) Achievement Gaps

Fall 2007 to Spring 2010Fall 2008 to Spring 2011 Students of Color31.1%33.0% Pell Eligible31.4% 35.2% First Generation37.0% 33.2% Combined “Underrepresented” 34.2%35.6% ALL STUDENTS39.9% 40.8% Third Spring Completion Rate – Graduation or Transfer (cohort based) Achievement Gaps

Planning Activities/Data CCSSE survey results reviewed (Fall 2009) Four work groups formed: –First Year Academies/Advising –Success in Gateway Courses –Developmental Education/Student Success Courses –Employee Development Centered on Student Success

Course level success data reviewed (Fall 2010) Creation of Student Success Action plans for each program, department, discipline and unit (Fall 2010) Action plans implemented (spring 2011) Planning Activities/Data

Attended the Entering Student Engagement Institute (ESEI) Spring 2011 SENSE survey results used for planning Planning Activities/Data

Key 2010 SENSE Survey Results

Kick off for ATD in Seattle (summer 2011) –Light bulb moment –Commitment to equity by college leadership Reframing opportunity –Lead to formation of core team, data team, and advancement teams Planning Activities/Data

Academic Interventions Three years of optional academic interventions: –Learning communities –Optional student success courses –Reading 0080 mentoring project (intrusive advising) –Reading 0090 mentoring project (intrusive advising)

Academic Interventions Current Interventions for –70 of sections of learning communities –Mandatory New Student Seminar for students who place into developmental reading (1,300 students) –Intrusive advising is component of NSS Data point: 67% of students in NSS in Fall 2012 were students of color

Student Support Interventions Tutors linked-to-classes ( ) –275 course sections covered –3,350 students served

Brother to Brother (B2B)

Cultural Change Broadened involvement and shared responsibility Equality versus Equity Listening to our students’ voices Listening to our own voices President’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Establishing Safety Guiding Principles for Deeper Conversations about Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity

Raising Awareness Century Race Card Conversations

Century Race Conversations u.edu/index.asp

A Developmental Approach Systemic and Developmentally Appropriate Data Driven Multidimensional Multidirectional Integrated

Deeper Conversations about Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Learning Goals impact individual development/cultural competence foster community building through engagement and meaning making offer opportunities for critical reflection and application

Deepening Our Work Conducting a baseline assessment Creating a systematic and developmentally appropriate professional development opportunities Implementing cultural competence training for managers, supervisors, and administrators Revising Human Resource policies and practices

Global Lessons Learned Importance of establishing guiding principles Consistent and clear modeling by leadership Clear messaging about focus

Global Lessons Learned Sensitivity to academic calendar Response to controversial topics Students want to talk about race The “aha” moments never end…

Personal Reflections Linda Nickyia Ron

Learning from one another

Listening to the voices of our faculty and staff