Change the Student Experience

A young woman with curly light brown hair clutches a laptop against her chest as she mingles in a crowd inside at a college event.

Change the Student Experience

Call to Action: Assess and make changes from an equity and social justice perspective in both the instructional and student service experience.

Assess the classroom experience and create action plans to create inclusive classrooms and embed anti-racism curriculum across disciplines.
Initiate a Cultural Competency Curriculum Audit.
Provide workshops and trainings on student centered syllabi.
Provide training and mentoring on effective teaching strategies for a culturally diverse student population.
Assess student experiences with services and offices and create actions plans to create equity and anti-racist experiences.
Review and update of first responder and direct service training and curriculum.

Call to Action

Progress Report

Assess and Change the Student Experience

2021-2022 Actions	Responsible Parties	Status	Completed
1. Launch NameCoach at Mission College.	NameCoach Implementation Team: Raiida Thompson, Edward Fedalizo, John Spencer, Brian Miller, Ken Songco	NameCoach was launched under the leadership of Raiida Thompson and the NameCoach implementation team. NameCoach is now available to all faculty and workshops have been held in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 to promote/teach faculty how to use the tool	Yes
2. Continue efforts to improve the onboarding experience (i.e. CCC Apply application; improving Steps to Apply language, etc.)	Onboarding/Matriculation Work Group.	The Onboarding/Matriculation Work Group worked with students from the Student Leadership and Engagement Institute in Spring 2022 to obtain feedback on how we can improve the onboarding process. Our SLEI student provided us with some immediate and more long-term recommendations which have been shared with the college and the work group will look at what can be done in Summer 2022 to improve the Steps to Apply website	In Process
3. Provide trainings and workshops around equity focuses, culturally responsive and anti-racist curriculum, syllabi, and instructional practices.	TBD	No movement on this item yet.
4. Conduct audits of curriculum for cultural responsiveness, inclusivity, and teaching about historical and systemic racism.	TBD	No movement on this item yet.
6. Review and update curriculum and course for first responder occupations .	TBD	No movement on this item yet.
7. Re-launch the Student Leadership and Engagement Institute.	Office of Student Equity and Success	The Student Leadership and Engagement Institute was re-launched in Spring 2022. Nine students enrolled in the program and seven teams were formed. Each team comprised of 1-2 students in each project who are tasked with working in partnership with other staff, faculty, and admin across campus for their respective projects. The projects for this semester/focus are as follows: Caring Campus, Student Equity Plan Institute (SEPI), First Year Experience (FYE), Online Orientation, Onboarding/Matriculation Work Group, and Mental Health/Welness Committee (Equity Mindset Conference, and Wellness Wednesdays). The students presented their final projects to the Mission Community on Friday May 6th in conjunction with The Community of Praxis as part of a Symposium. They reported their findings and shared our recommendations for the college.	Yes
8. Incorporate student feedback from student surveys, point of service surveys, and other methods to make changes to practices and communications (such as Steps to Success, Cranium Café, and student notices related to enrollment and financial aid.)	Research Office	No movement on this item yet as the Research Analyst position is still vacant. OM: speak on some of the opportunities we've seized to make changes based on student feedback, there are a few examples.
9.. In partnership with ASG, establish a student events workgroup to provide resources, support, and coordination in the planning of events that celebrate the history and culture of our diverse student body.	Mission College Cultural Communication Alliance and ASG	No movement on this item yet. Add language tied to our various cultural events.
10. Improve and streamline process for students to submit preferred name on Canvas/Class Roster.	TBD	OM: Veronica can speak on the evolved process as we wait on District IS to finalize the fully automated process.

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2020-21 Actions

2020-21 Actions	Status
1. Provide trainings and workshops around equity focuses, culturally responsive and anti-racist curriculum, syllabi, and instructional practices.	Professional Development Co-Coordinators have introduced some training within the College Hour.The Community Of Praxis (COP) will further address part of this goal. Further work to emerge from faculty participating in USC Equity Alliance session on integrating Equity into the curriculum as well as through the IEPI Partnership Resource Team. Next steps to specify a faculty lead role and put out a call; work to include developing “bite size” and interactive resources to share with faculty.
2. Develop an equity-focused guide to curriculum and syllabi development.	Faculty and Instruction leadership are committed. Initial discussions held at Department Chair Meetings; planning in process through the IEPI Partnership Resource Team process with implementation to begin Fall 21.
3. Conduct audits of curriculum for cultural responsiveness, inclusivity, and teaching about historical and systemic racism.	Faculty and Instruction leadership are committed. Initial discussions held at Department Chair Meetings; planning in process through the IEPI Partnership Resource Team process with implementation to begin Fall 21.
4. Provide implicit bias testing and related training across the college in partnership with the district.	Mission College hosted a Community Conversation on Implicit Bias during its All College Day in late January 2021. The entire campus was invited to take the Implicit Association Test and create an understanding and awareness of implicit bias and how it plays out in our everyday lives. This was co-facilitated by Karen Gee, Psychology Faculty, and Ken Songco, Director of Student Equity and Success. A Follow Up Community Conversation on Implicit Bias was conducted in March 2021 to go over the Six Interventions to Tackle Implicit Bias from Georgetown University and to reflect on one or two interventions participants can try either in the workplace or in their daily lives.
5. Establish a work team to apply for and plan for the implementation of a student UMOJA program.	Umoja counselor, Umoja community task force is formed, A2MEND participation. Strategic plan to grow and support UMOJA and support for African American students.
6. Establish a work team to plan for the re-introduction of the Student Leadership and Engagement Institute.	The Professional Development Co-Coordinators have been tasked with reviewing options for implementation. Further discussions to be held with implementation delayed until 2021-2022.
7. Incorporate student feedback from student surveys, point of service surveys, and other methods to make changes to practices and communications (such as Steps to Success, Cranium Café, and student notices related to enrollment and financial aid.)	Early Alert Redesign Project – Student feedback collected on Early Alert messaging. Equity convening in March is focused on support services. Have those participants take the lead on this initiative. Already engaged in analysis of steps to success.
8. In partnership with ASG, establish a student events workgroup to provide resources, support, and coordination in the planning of events that celebrate the history and culture of our diverse student body.	ASG has been limited in events due to COVID; Exploring a partnership with the Mission Cultural Communication Alliance and ASG in order to ensure students have the necessary support to organize and implement relevant cultural and historical programming.
Additional Activities to Support This Priority	Social Justice Program: The Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences launched a brand new Social Justice Program and AA-T degree in Fall 2020. This new rich curriculum presents students with courses on Social Justice, Race and Ethnicity, Gender Studies and LGBTQ Studies. Most recently, the college moved the LGBTQ studies class to zero textbook cost. OER Zero Textbook Cost Program: According to the ASCCC California Community Colleges #RealCollege Survey from March 2019, 50% of California Community College students were food insecure in the prior 30 days, 60% or respondents were housing insecure in the previous year, 19% of respondents were homeless in the previous year. These insecurity rates were higher for marginalized students, i.e. for students from LGBTQ, African American, Latinx, Native American communities.The cost of textbook also has disproportionate effects on minoritized populations as exemplified by higher reported educational difficulties (such as avoiding or failing a class due to textbook costs) for Latinx Students compared to white students according to a presentation by ASCCC OERI representatives at MC Academic Senate Fall 2020 special session devoted to OER. The above quoted insecurities were most likely exacerbated by the Covid pandemic. To help address these equity gaps during the pandemic, Mission College implemented a number of successful initiatives such as the Second Harvest Food Bank, Mission College Food Assistance program, Emergency Assistance funding program and the Mission College Laptop/WiFi Hotspot loan program. Thanks to funding from the Land Corporation and efforts of district Chancellor and MC Academic Senate, Mission College instituted an OER fund in Spring 2019 designed to help faculty increase the use of OER materials and transition their classes to ZTC status. According to our Spring 2021 MC OER Report, our number of ZTC sections has increased. For example, for spring semesters, it rose from 42 sections in Spring 2019 to 84 sections in Spring 2020 and 251 sections in Spring 2021. Student savings from the 2019-2020 OER funded projects will be above $100,0000 and these annual savings will continue subsequent years. MC Academic Senate and MC faculty are continuing to work hard to increase the number of ZTC classes and thus help eliminate barriers to education and close equity gaps for all Mission College students, particularly those from minoritized groups. Mission College Laptop/WiFi Hotspot Loan Program.Second Harvest Food Bank. Emergency Assistance Funding program.Free online mental health counseling.Food for Textbooks program.