Equity Resource Bank
Advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Our colleges work to create and promote equitable programming and support for faculty, staff, and students of color and other minoritized populations on our campuses. Learn more about each college's promising practice(s) and equity resources as they work to close their equity gaps in access, retention, and completion.
Bellevue College’s Early Alert for Academic Support Program, a student success initiative, proactively integrates and coordinates campus programs, support services, faculty, and staff in support of closing the equity gap. The Early Alert for Academic Support Program strives to connect students to integral campus resources, services, and faculty that will support, encourage and empower them and their academic success at Bellevue College and beyond.
Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Pluralism and Diversity: Diversity Terms and Definitions
Bellingham Technical College has implemented Search Advocates (SA) to participate as “equity advisors” and serve on screening committees; SA collaborates with the Committee Chair/hiring manager throughout the screening process; Reviews job description and focuses on wording to be more inclusive and reducing barriers within the minimum qualifications. Opening Day Workshops specific to hiring process and search advocate role.
Cascadia Scholars Program is designed to holistically support, mentor and coach Black, Indigenous, Persons of Color (BIPOC) students during their time at Cascadia College. Selected students meet bi-weekly as a cohort throughout the entire academic year, where they will be connected to different mentors from Cascadia and the greater Seattle community. The program involves wraparound services that consist of direct connections to the Bock Learning Center, academic advising, and an equity and inclusion coach. The goal of Cascadia Scholars is to close the achievement gap and raise the graduation and retention rates among BIPOC students at Cascadia.
The Centralia College Intervention tool (CCI) is an electronic alert system that is used by faculty and staff to submit a ticket to initiate support for a student who may otherwise be suffering in silence. Using this alert system, a ticket can be submitted for excessive absenteeism, low/missing test or assignment scores, if the GPA drops below 2.0, there is a need for a tutor, or if a student is inadequately prepared for class. The tool may also be used to report behavioral concerns or the need for resources or other concerns. A student may also use the CCI for self-referral.
Clark College is striving toward racial, social, and economic justice for all members of our college community. This effort is the work of every employee and collaborative approaches are crucial to making it a reality. To support this work, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion reserves time on Wednesdays to partner with any college employee, department, or group for Work-it-Wednesday who would like to consult with our staff about how to infuse equity principles into a program, project, or initiative at any stage in the process.
Through Guided Pathways, Clover Park Technical College has focused on improving student outcomes in college-level math and English. Faculty and staff have access to continuous educational information and professional development opportunities to help integrate equity, diversity and inclusion into all that we do and who we are as a College (e.g. Diversity 101, Cultural Responsiveness Training, Coaching & Leading with Racial Equity, Quarterly EDI Book Club, EDI themed In-Service, Data Dives, BIPOC caucus). They have conducted a baseline campus climate assessment and are continuing to incorporate measurements of importance and impact into their equity efforts.
Columbia Basin College embarked on a complete redesign of our developmental mathematics curriculum and pathway, which was launched in the 2019-20 academic year. The math redesign established clear, concise, and relevant coursework/pathway into college-level math. Importantly, this meant shortening students’ paths to college level math significantly. This follows clear research by the Community College Research Center, and was furthered by consultation with leaders of the Math department in conjunction with Uri Treisman at the Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and a Title V institutionalized grant that emphasized Hispanic/Latino student success in Math.
Community Colleges of Spokane expanded the Search Advocate (SA) Program, which began in 2015. An SA is a member trained to serve on a screening committee. Their primary role is to ensure a fair and unbiased selection process by challenging and interrupting manifestations of implicit bias. The SA training has been brought in-house by a multi-unit, CCS training team. The SA training sessions are currently open to the Washington State community colleges and to SBCTC.
Spokane Community College: Center for Inclusion and Diversity
Spokane Falls Community College: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
In 2020-21, the Faculty Senate established the Equity and Inclusion Ad Hoc committee with a focus on the college becoming an anti-racist institution. The committee collaborated with members of the Edmonds College campus community. Over 200 students and employees attended the online workshops. During the academic year, the committee provided cultural proficiency workshops in divisions across the campus. Faculty plan to assess the impact of their work at the end of Spring quarter. The Faculty Professional Development Committee has focused on building cultural proficiency. They have worked with faculty to implement inclusive pedagogy and syllabi. The committee offered various opportunities for faculty to learn about trauma and how that impacts students’ success.
Starting with inventorying racial equity in an understanding that documenting common practices, to improve campus climates, is an important step to examining critical work being done to improve equity. Green River College works on integrating an equity plan into the Operational plan. Senior leadership have demonstrated their commitment to supporting equity, diversity and inclusion by supporting professional development around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for all faculty and staff. All executive staff members participated in a yearlong program, Executive Learning Series on Equity and Empowerment with the Campus Compact of Oregon, with faculty and other college leadership. The Vice President Interim organized DEI professional development opportunities for instructional deans and division chairs. They offered consultant work on DEI, completion of Intercultural Development Inventory with campus-leaders, integrating DEI into operational and functional area planning and assessment.
Equitable student success can be achieved through connections and a sense of belonging created among faculty members and students. Lake Washington Institute of Technology implemented The 4 Connections framework based on best practices identified and systemically implemented at Odessa College. Through quantitative and qualitative research, we discovered that all faculty with high in-class retention rates shared “a common thread of connectivity with their students”. From this common thread emerged four key practices: Learn and use students’ names; Check in regularly; Schedule required one-on-one meetings; Practice Paradox.
Faculty hiring focuses on equity, diversity, and student success including mission-focused job announcements, eliminating unnecessary “preferred” qualifications and supplemental questions. At the Pierce Colleges, screening committees are trained in unconscious bias. Their Human Resources department, in collaboration with the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion office, is currently auditing all recruitment materials, language used in job descriptions, and the hiring process to identify barriers.
Key points for hiring practices at Renton Technical College include: embedded Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) proficiencies in job descriptions; knowledge, skills and abilities within position announcements, and interview questions to elicit cultural competence/mindset; intentional selection of screening and interview committees representative of campus community; intentionally expansive in numbers during initial interview stage to go beyond written rendition of competencies/experience.
In 2015, Shoreline Community College adopted SmarterMeasure, a web-based survey that measures a learner’s readiness for succeeding in an online and/or technology-rich learning class based on non-cognitive indicators of success. The survey results have helped the college create equitable opportunities for students by: Identifying strategies for a student to succeed given their individual circumstances; Connecting students to campus resources they may not know exist, such as a dedicated eLearning Advisor Supplying resources that students need to help them succeed. For example, the College started a laptop check-out program for online students. Data show that SmarterMeasure is helping historically underrepresented students.
Skagit Valley College, via Maestros para el Pueblo, works with Western Washington University and various high schools in the area to help Latino/a student's achieve their goals in pursuing a career in education. Maestros Para el Pueblo encourages and supports Latino/a students and their families to fulfill their higher education goals of becoming a certified teacher and a role model for our Skagit Valley Community. Maestros Para el Pueblo promotes Latino/a student success and increases awareness and the need for bilingual/bicultural diverse teachers, especially in Mount Vernon and Burlington-Edison School Districts. The program provides the following: Promotes Latino/a student success pursuing a career in education; Increases the number of Latino/a teachers entering the teaching field; Helps remove barriers to success in college by: Finding financial resources; Providing dedicated, one-on-one advisors for guidance and counseling; Creating clear pathways to complete a degree; Connecting students and their families with staff, faculty, advisors, and financial aid personnel.
South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) has undertaken significant work to close equity gaps at the college. SPSCC has redesigned its math sequence and with a focus on getting students to complete college level math that is specifically aligned with the students chosen pathway within the first year of enrollment and placed significant focus on multiple actions designed to increase the number of students completing 45 credits. These actions include redesigning the class schedule, implementation of a new advising model, including software, creation and requirement of a college success course and significant pathways re-alignment. SPSCC also implemented the IGNITE wrap-around student services program to support historically underrepresented students in innovative ways. Participants are paired with peer mentors, dedicated educational planners, allocated fiscal resources to address financial crises and community building opportunities to cultivate a sense of belonging.
DEI Glossary of Key Terms
At Tacoma Community College (TCC), screening committees for faculty and staff recruitments now receive preliminary Hiring Equity Training with review of unconscious/implicit bias and best hiring practices for increasing the hiring of inclusive diversity, utilizing Diversity and Equity in Hiring and Professional Development's 17 Steps in the Hiring Process. Human Resources continues to identify and expand recruitment outreach activities for diverse populations while working remotely, such as use of multilingual recruitment announcements and increased visibility in online events that may attract more diverse applicants.
With the Search Advocate program at Walla Walla Community College, higher education partners with local colleges to support: staff; students and faculty of color; and the math's department work with co-requisites, self-assessment, and culturally responsive teaching initiatives. Each Search Advocate is a consultant/participant who advances inclusive excellence by asking questions to help committee members test their thinking, identifying and promoting practices that advance diversity and social justice, and minimizing the impacts of cognitive and structural biases. Tri-College Collaboration is a partnership established with the diversity officers at Walla Walla Community College and two higher education institutions, Whitman College and Walla Walla University, to offer programming to students, staff and faculty of color.
At Whatcom Community College, Employee Resource Groups are supported by the college administration and provide forums for employees to gather and share ideas about matters that affect their professional development and work at Whatcom Community College. They currently have six Employee Resource Groups: First Peoples League of Nations; Jewish Employees and Friends at Whatcom; LGBTQ+ Employee Group; Whatcom Employees of African Heritage; and Whatcom White Womxn for Racial Justice. Each group has had an active voice on campus through campus collaboration for events and activities, putting forth proposals to increase supports for Black, Indigenous and People Of Color (BIPOC) students and staff.
Intercultural Center
Strategic Plan and Equity Plan Glossary
Yakima Valley College has instituted The Write Class, a guided, online self-placement tool used for Yakima Valley College English placement. The assessment will ask about an individual's writing and reading experience, show them writing samples from different course levels, and help them choose an appropriate starting point for their English courses. This alternate means of demonstrating English 101 readiness increased the number of students who enroll in college after completing their placement. While Latino/a and multiracial students are still over-represented in developmental writing courses and under-represented in college-level writing, the placement gaps have closed considerably under our new placement methodology.
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Last Modified: 8/27/24, 5:24 PM
