Activist Angela Davis delivers a lecture at Mission College.

Implement Actions of Equity Plan

Call to Action: 

  • Focus the campus to implement specific actions called for in the Equity Plan
  • Provide sufficient resources and staffing to coordinate and support our anti-racism and equity work
  • Audit training and requirements for recruitment, hiring, and evaluation for equity in the process, for increasing representation, and for identifying social-justice minded candidates.

Call to Action

Progress Report

Commit to Structural Changes

2021-2022 Actions Responsible Parties Status Completed
1. Carry out the True Community Initiative which combine the efforts of Guided Pathways, SEAP, Caring Campus, and Mental Health and Wellness.
  • True Community Planning Team: Vianey Topete, Amanda Marshall, Jorge Murillo, Zita Melton, Nohemy Chavez, Dean Tolbert, Ken Songco, Lusyna Narvez, Manuel Salazar

In the fall of 2021, the “True Community” team, consisting of four initiative groups, Guided Pathways, the SEA Council, Caring Campus, and Mental Health and Wellness, presented at all college weeks to nearly 170 members of the Mission College community. The team’s goal was to “widen the table” and gather new volunteers to do institutional change work on ten separate projects, projects which were chosen based on the college’s mission, data suggesting areas for improvement, and the larger “Vision for Success” goals from the state. The driving piece of data is that Mission College has 75% of its students as part-time students, and those students’ return fall-to-fall at nearly 33% lower than the nation’s retention rate for a two-year college. Thus, all projects were designed to influence retention at the college. The presentation gathered 50 volunteers across the ten teams to engage in the work. This document provides a brief review of the outcomes of that work for this academic year. 
1: Student Orientation
 After meeting weekly all year, the Orientation team presented a proposal to make an online orientation “required”, without major penalties in place, to all shared governance bodies at Mission and then on for district and BOT approval. This project was approved, and Gaozong Park, who leads the team, will be implementing this work across the summer and fall of 2022. The goal of this project is to get far more than the current 30% student participation rate in orientation so that students as a body are more aware of the services offered at the college and about the best onboarding steps. 
2: Early Alert
 A team of faculty, classified staff, and administrators met weekly across the year. They took up the previous team’s work, approved the recommendations, and generated a rubric for Early Alert software evaluation. The team reviewed four products and proposed Drop-Rate Detective as the best tool. This proposal went to all shared governance bodies and went on for district review. District IT determined that while the proposal was well thought out and many parts usable, they could not support separate systems at WVC and Mission. Thus, Mission will be engaging Starfish as its retention software tool in the next academic year. 
3: Faculty/Staff Onboarding
 This team met weekly for the year and passed a proposal through shared governance to have an intentional onboarding of all new staff members. Three major components were part of the proposal. First, there will be an onboarding website for Mission College. Second, a welcome day will occur for all new hires during the two institute weeks each year. Finally, the current mentoring programs will continue through the Academic Senate and the Classified Senate, and the Executive Cabinet will determine its administrative mentoring options as needed. 
4: First-Year Seminar
 A team of faculty, staff, and administrators met all year and brought a proposal to the COU department to consider writing a true FYS course that would be required by all students matriculated in a degree program at the college, with some noted exceptions. The COU department will uptake the project of learning more about the opportunity in the fall of 2022.

5: Program Mapping
 The program mapping team revied approval to purchase a “program mapper” from Concentric Sky, and it began the work in the Spring of 2022 to map all academic programs. A core team of Kelly Neary (BIO), James Baker (COM), and Donnelle McGee (ENG) all produced maps and provided a soft department chairs training in May of 2022. The team is ready to provide the full training in the fall of 2022 during institute week; and all maps should be complete before the holidays of 2022 so that they are live on the web by January 1, 2023. 

6: 30/45 Unit Audit
 This GP team did meet in the fall of 2022, and acknowledged that without Institutional Research, it was not possible to establish the needed date for this work. The goal was to identify when students at the college took classes not aligned with their academic plan because on average, Mission students graduate with nearly 97 units (3-year average).
7: Capstone Transfer Pathway
8: Mental Health and Wellness Committee
 The Mental Health and Wellness Committee in collaboration with the Office of Student Equity and Success held its 2nd annual Equity MINDset Conference. Dr. LaTonya Reese-Miles delivered an inspirational keynote speech to elevate the importance of mental health and her journey as an African American woman supporting students of color as a leader in higher education the nonprofit sector. Thereafter, a Community Conversation with Students was facilitated where students shared their insights about their experiences at Mission and what we can do better to provide more mental health and support services during this time. 
9: Caring Campus Initiative
The Caring Campus Initiative has been sustained through partnership with Caring Campus leaders and SLEI students who worked with them in Spring 2022 to survey students on how we can make Mission College a more caring campus. Feedback from the survey will be shared with the Office of Student Equity and Success the that information will be used to help inform activities to consider as part of the new 2022-25 Student Equity Plan
10: SEA Work Group and Professional Learning 
 The Equity Pedagogy Community of Praxis (CoP) was implemented with the 2nd cohort in Fall 2021 and 3rd cohort in Spring 2022. MC Academic Senate has endorsed the scale out of the CoP model to five academic departments in AY 2022-23. The Anti-Racism Dialogs were implemented in Spring 2023. Offered in hybrid mode, four dialogs provided built campuswide understanding and discussions focused on the follow topics: Equity Literacy; Understanding of Race in American Society; Decolonizing the Community College Classroom; and Examining the Harmful Effects of White Dominant Culture. Finally,  eight faculty members from the Equity Pedagogy Work Group participated three part Data Dialog Workshop series.  The series centers on a) building faculty capacity around issues of equity, b) conducting data inquiry to identify and reflect on patterns of inequity, and c) taking action, shifting practices, and monitoring change to improve individual practices and classroom success. Discussions were facilitated with faculty to reflect on their data and their practice to come up with immediate and long-term strategies to mitigate equity gaps in the classroom. The campus is now looking at ways to scale out the use of data dashboards campuswide to drive equity-based inquiry and action. 

Yes
2. Continue using the Call to Action website to provide progress reports on Call to Action priorities. 
  • Office of Student Equity and Success and Marketing Office
 The Call to Action website has been launched and the 21-22 actions will be updated by late May 2022. Yes
3. Continue adding including and anti-racist messaging on campus (i.e. Be the Change, Black Lives Matter.)
  • TBD
 Highlight the signs that were developed.  Yes
4. Continue adding inclusive and anti-racist messaging in prominent locations on the college website and in social media.
  • TBD
 ongoing.  
5. Continue coordinating with District Human Resources and the District EEO Advisory Council to review and update policies and practices related to recruitment, hiring, and retention to increase representation from historically underrepresented and marginalized communities, address systemic barriers, and promote candidates with a social justice and equity perspective. 
  • District EEO Advisory Council: Jasmine Phan, Amy Vu, Debra Williams, Donnelle McGee, Virginia Marquez, Xuan Lu, Paul Williams, Ryan Ng, Dr. Eric Ramones, Sean McGowan, Prachi Samant, Danielle Ramirez-King, Ken Songco
 ongoing.  
6. Develop an ongoing cycle for campus climate assessment using the student, faculty, and classified/administrator assessment instruments provided through the Equity Leadership Alliance  
  • Research Office 
 No movement on this item yet as the Research Analyst position is still vacant.   
7. Submit the 2022-2025 Student Equity Plan and more intentionally work with key shared governance groups and major initiatives in writing up the plan. 
  • Office of Student Equity and Success and Guided Pathways Co-Chairs
 The Student Equity Plan Institute (SEPI) Team was formed in January 2022 and the team has met through the semester to begin developing the 1st draft of the new equity plan. The Guided Pathways Leads and the Director of Student Equity and Success are co-leading the SEPI team and our 1st draft will be worked on throughout the summer and in time to share out at a Student Equity Plan Summit scheudled during Fall 2022 All College Week  In Process
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2020-21 Actions
2020-21 Actions Status
1. Statement of Solidarity Call to Action forum.Hire an UMOJA counselor (target Spring 2021) to support the development and implementation of an UMOJA program. 
  • UMOJA counselor hired. An English faculty position to support UMOJA is in-process to be hired for Fall 21. The college is waiting on state approval for its application to formally implement UMOJA. If approval delayed, the college will move forward with planning an alternative program until approval is received.
2. Review the organizational structure and college budgets to increase personnel and resources in support of equity and support of student basic needs and within the Office of Student Equity and Success.
  • The President announced a commitment to an ongoing Administrative support position for the Office Student Equity and Success. An interim position was hired late Fall 2021.
  • A comprehensive budget summary was developed, leveraging resources across sources and identifying dedicated funds for equity work. College leadership committed to providing ongoing funding.
  • VPSS and President reviewing an organizational restructure at the administrative level.
3. Implement a finalized SEA Council structure which includes a primary function to monitor progress and support goals and actions within the Student Equity Plan and Call to Action framework.
  • SEA Council identified defined workgroups. Workgroup structure will be revisited following Spring term for effectiveness and alignment with identified priorities. With re-launch of Guided Pathways, opportunity to revisit alignment and structure within college governance structure.
4. Create a communication plan and progress report for sharing progress and challenges on a recurring basis. 
  • Still to do: Figure out where to place updates on a website in the spirit of transparency. All updates and resources can be added onto this page. All resources, training links, status reports, etc. can be included on a webpage. Equity office and EC will take lead on this, in collaboration with Marketing.
5. Create a dedicated webpage that highlights the campus’ commitment and progress towards creating an anti-racist and equity-minded community and which serves as a home for resources and information.
  • To be created in Spring 2021; to be administered by the Office of Student Equity and Success in consultation with Executive Cabinet. The Office of Student Equity and Success is working with the Marketing Department to come up with a draft site in late March. The site should be completed by the end of the Spring term.
6. Add inclusive and anti-racist messaging on campus, including “Be the Change” and “Black Lives Matter.”
  • Be The Change” lettering installed in prominent location in front parking lot.
  • Diversity walk language will debut as part of the opening of the Central Plaza in late Spring 21.
  • College President has committed to prominently placing “Black Lives Matter” on campus. In process to identify artists for potential mural on campus center as supported by B.A.E.
  • Preparations for community opportunity to add to mural in late Spring 21.Longer term: identify other messaging to display on campus (acknowledge our history, Ohlone Tribe, represent other communities on campus.)
  • Future activity: Schedule another Diversity Walk, in which representatives from different communities physically walk the campus and identify areas to enhance messaging or remove barriers.
  • Funding identified to update to website front-page to revise our front page experience with an emphasis on visuals/imagery that allows us to be more responsive/flexible with website updates.
  • Will include placement of Equity Video prominently on front page.
7. Add inclusive and anti-racist messaging in prominent locations on the college website and in social media. 
  • Marketing has been tasked to increase presence on webpage and social media. Next steps to be determined.
8. Coordinate with District Human Resources and the District EEO Advisory Council to review and update policies and practices related to recruitment, hiring, and retention to increase representation from historically underrepresented and marginalized communities, address systemic barriers, and promote candidates with a social justice and equity perspective. 
  • The WVMCCD offers a mandatory Screening Committee EEO Training for all members of a hiring committee. The training is entitled, “Hiring the Best While Developing Diversity in the Workplace: Legal Requirements and Best Practices for Screening Committees.” The District EEO/Advisory Council has created a 2020-201 Goals & Action Plan to re-evaluate the district’s hiring process through an equity lens.
  • Mission College faculty, classified professionals and managers who sit on this Council are involved with this plan. The goals are as follows: Goal #1: Establish the baseline.
    • Goal #2: Set a diversity target.
    • Goal #3: Identify and recruit. EEO monitors.
    • Goal #4: Assess marketing campaign and job announcements.
    • Goal #5: Conduct a review of current recruitment procedures.In Fall 2020, District HR has identified and recruited EEO Monitors among District HR staff to sit on hiring committees towards the prevention of race and color discrimination in hiring .EEO monitors now sit on all full-time faculty and administrator recruitments. EEO monitors also participated in a webinar training in Spring 2021. The training was recorded and will be used for future EEO trainings. In all Mission College full-time job applications, an equity-based question is now included in the requisition specific questions section. Mission College hiring committee chairs have been encouraged to include equity-based interview questions as part of the 1st and 2nd level interviews. The President and VPI are convening a meeting of active hiring committees to share perspective and expectations for committees around equity and opportunity in determining finalists to continue to second round interviews.
9. Develop an ongoing cycle for campus climate assessment using the student, faculty, and classified/administrator assessment instruments provided through the Equity Leadership Alliance.
  • Mission College will conduct the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) in Spring 2021.
  • A Race/Ethnicity Pilot Survey will be included to help understand students’ experiences with racism, inclusion, and belonging at Mission College.As a member of USC’s CA Community College Equity Leadership Alliance, Mission College plans on participating in the National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climates in Fall 2021.