Butte College�s Student Equity Program is committed to fostering diversity, inclusion, and equity while promoting a campus learning environment that encourages and supports all students in persisting toward their educational goals by increasing their retention and graduation rates. The Student Equity Program champions the rights of all students to meaningful educational opportunities and works to define and secure the full range of resources, supports, and services necessary to provide these opportunities to disproportionately-impacted students. The Student Equity Program also provides leadership and accountability to resolve systemic inequities for all Butte College students through engaged research, community outreach, professional development, and by expanding pathways for access and success and promoting a healthy and engaging campus climate.
The Student Equity Program is established in order to ensure equal educational opportunities and outcomes for students and more specifically, to promote success for all student groups who experience disproportionate impact as indicated by data in the Student Equity Plan. The Student Equity Program aims to close the college�s equity gaps by increasing access, course completion, ESL and basic skills completion, degrees, certificates, and transfer for disproportionately impacted students as measured by success indicators linked to the Student Success Scorecard.
Cultural and Community Center Space and Part-time Special Programs Clerk
The Culture and Community Center has been staffed with one 24-hour per week Special
Programs Clerk and four student assistants. The goal of the CCC is to “create a sense of unity, understanding, and mutual respect among Butte College's diverse community. The Culture & Community Center advocates for and empowers Butte College's diverse community by providing educational programs and cultural events in a safe and interactive environment where people gather to learn about themselves and others.”
During the fall 2018 semester, the CCC served approximately 500 students and planned and/or participated in 26 events including, but not limited to, the following activities: Coffee and Conversations, Lunch with Selena, Intersectionality in Queer Communities, UndocuAlly Conversations, and Day of the Dead Celebration. The CCC also became a space of healing after the Camp Fire, including circles of healing.
Student Club Support
The additional student club support funds have been used to support the Native American Club, the Black Student Union, MEChA, Pacific Islander Club, the Asian Student Association, and the Students of Color Club. These funds have been used to support off-campus activities, provide food for club meeting, purchase DNA tests for the BSU officers, support mutual club events, and provide 4-year university tours. The goal is to increase student engagement in clubs and on campus generally, and to provide social and academic support for disproportionately impacted students.
The Student Equity Program is relatively new and has not yet gone through the Program Review process.
Student Equity Program Goals for 2019-2020:
Measurable Student Equity Plan goals for each of the five indicators (access, retention, transfer, transfer-level math and English completion, and certificate/degree completion) are provided in detail in the 2019-2022 Student Equity Plan.
Additionally, the SEA Program goals are aligned with the California Community College Chancellor’s Office Vision for Success goals, as well as Butte College’s Strategic Direction and Educational Master Plan goals.
Strategy 1 - Full-Time, 10-month Culture and Community Center Special Programs Clerk
The goal of the CCC is to “create a sense of unity, understanding, and mutual respect among Butte College's diverse community. The Culture & Community Center advocates for and empowers Butte College's diverse community by providing educational programs and cultural events in a safe and interactive environment where people gather to learn about themselves and others.” The primary goal of the CCC aligns with Butte College’s values of diversity and equity and is one of the few departments on campus solely dedicated to sharing these values with students and staff. In order for the CCC to be a functional and productive space for students, we need to hire a full-time, 11-month classified staff person to operationalize the activities and student use of the space.
The Culture and Community Center at Butte College has been in existence since 2011. In order to be fully operational, a full-time Special Programs Clerk is necessary in order to ensure adequate programming related to diversity and inclusion, management of student use of the space, and supervision of student assistants to support relevant diversity, equity, and inclusion activities for students, faculty, and staff. Our focus group data from disproportionately impacted student groups including African American, Native American, and Hispanic students suggests that these student groups need more visible demonstrations of their cultures represented on campus in order to feel connected, valued and nurtured at Butte College. In order to meet the student equity goals as defined in the Student Equity Plan, we need more programming like Heritage Months on a consistent, sustained basis. The full-time CCC Clerk will give us the capacity to do so.
Strategy 2 - Entrance and Exit Celebrations for Latinx Students
The Student Equity Program is requesting funding for an on-boarding event and a special graduation ceremony for Latinx students. The on-boarding event for Latinx students, hereby referred to as Bienvenida (Welcome), is a by-invitation celebration for students who identify as Latinx. This event will be organized and hosted by Butte College professionals who identify as Latinx and will take place within the first 3 weeks of the fall and spring semesters. The purpose of the Bienvenida is formally welcome new Latinx students to Butte College and to connect them with staff and resources.
The Latinx graduation ceremony is a celebration that will be culturally relevant and highlight the accomplishments of graduating Latinx students at Butte College. This event will take place at the end of the spring semester and will include a cultural ceremony, which will be in both English and Spanish. Family members of the graduating students will be invited.
As a new Hispanic Serving Institution, it is imperative that Butte College recognize and celebrate its Latinx students, who now represent over 27% of our total student population. Additionally, our Latinx students have major equity gaps that need to be addressed. Hispanic students report more than any other group a desire to involve family in their college experience: “So, I feel like, when they come to college, getting their parents involved, I understand that coming to college is an adult thing, you’re supposed to do it on your own. But I just feel like for those first-generation, fresh out of high school students that are Hispanic, it would be amazing for their parents just to be involved, and to know what their kids are doing, and be able to have a say, kind of. I feel like that would be awesome, and helpful, really helpful for the students, because its, you know, they’re just barely getting responsibility, and they’re just getting used to the adult world so, yeah.” On-boarding Latinx students with a family-friendly Bienvenida can be an important tool for student success and retention, as has been shown at Chico State. The Bienvenida is a tool for retention by connecting students and their families to staff in order to create a community of support and networking for student success.
Celebrating student successes, especially those with wide equity gaps, is important for the campus community. It affects the students graduating, their families, the staff who supported them, and provides an opportunity for students who are still enrolled or potential students who attend the ceremony to see others from their communities graduate from college. Identity-based graduations are common in higher education.
Strategy 3 - LGBTQ Funding for Programming and Activities
The Student Equity Program is requesting funds for LGBTQ programming and activities for 2019-2020. Working with the new Queer Resource Center (QRC) and the Gender and Sexual Equity Task Force, these funds will go toward LGBTQ-specific programming and activities, including more Safe Zone trainings and guest speakers from the LGBTQ community. The funds may also be used for the purchase of safe sex products and chest binders for trans men.
LGBTQ students are new to the student equity dashboard and show significant equity gaps in course completion outcomes. After consulting with GSET, queer-identified faculty and staff, and students at the Glenn Center, it became clear that more education on LGBTQ issues for those who do not identify as LGBTQ is necessary. LGBTQ students also suggested that programming about the LGBTQ experience would help them feel connected to and valued at Butte College. Those who work in the QRC identified safe sex products and chest binders as resources that LGBTQ students have requested.
None at this time
Student Equity and Achievement Program funding from the CCCCO will support all Student Equity Program requests.
Original Priority | Program, Unit, Area | Resource Type | Account Number | Object Code | One Time Augment | Ongoing Augment |
Description | Supporting Rationale | Potential Alternative Funding Sources | Prioritization Criteria | |||
1 | Student Equity Program | Personnel | $0.00 | $65,000.00 | ||
The goal of the CCC is to �create a sense of unity, understanding, and mutual respect among Butte College's diverse community. The Culture & Community Center advocates for and empowers Butte College's diverse community by providing educational programs and cultural events in a safe and interactive environment where people gather to learn about themselves and others.� The primary goal of the CCC aligns with Butte College�s values of diversity and equity and is one of the few departments on campus solely dedicated to sharing these values with students and staff. In order for the CCC to be a functional and productive space for students, we need to hire a full-time, 11-month classified staff person to operationalize the activities and student use of the space. | The Culture and Community Center at Butte College has been in existence since 2011. In order to be fully operational, a full-time Special Programs Clerk is necessary in order to ensure adequate programming related to diversity and inclusion, management of student use of the space, and supervision of student assistants to support relevant diversity, equity, and inclusion activities for students, faculty, and staff. Our focus group data from disproportionately impacted student groups including African American, Native American, and Hispanic students suggests that these student groups need more visible demonstrations of their cultures represented on campus in order to feel connected, valued and nurtured at Butte College. In order to meet the student equity goals as defined in the Student Equity Plan, we need more programming like Heritage Months on a consistent, sustained basis. The full-time CCC Clerk will give us the capacity to do so. |
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2 | Student Equity Program | Operating Expenses | $0.00 | $20,000.00 | ||
The Student Equity Program is requesting funding for an on-boarding event and a special graduation ceremony for Latinx students. The on-boarding event for Latinx students, hereby referred to as Bienvenida (Welcome), is a by-invitation celebration for students who identify as Latinx. This event will be organized and hosted by Butte College professionals who identify as Latinx and will take place within the first 3 weeks of the fall and spring semesters. The purpose of the Bienvenida is formally welcome new Latinx students to Butte College and to connect them with staff and resources. The Latinx graduation ceremony is a celebration that will be culturally relevant and highlight the accomplishments of graduating Latinx students at Butte College. This event will take place at the end of the spring semester and will include a cultural ceremony, which will be in both English and Spanish. Family members of the graduating students will be invited. | As a new Hispanic Serving Institution, it is imperative that Butte College recognize and celebrate its Latinx students, who now represent over 27% of our total student population. Additionally, our Latinx students have major equity gaps that need to be addressed. Hispanic students report more than any other group a desire to involve family in their college experience: �So, I feel like, when they come to college, getting their parents involved, I understand that coming to college is an adult thing, you�re supposed to do it on your own. But I just feel like for those first-generation, fresh out of high school students that are Hispanic, it would be amazing for their parents just to be involved, and to know what their kids are doing, and be able to have a say, kind of. I feel like that would be awesome, and helpful, really helpful for the students, because its, you know, they�re just barely getting responsibility, and they�re just getting used to the adult world so, yeah.� On-boarding Latinx students with a family-friendly Bienvenida can be an important tool for student success and retention, as has been shown at Chico State. The Bienvenida is a tool for retention by connecting students and their families to staff in order to create a community of support and networking for student success. Celebrating student successes, especially those with wide equity gaps, is important for the campus community. It affects the students graduating, their families, the staff who supported them, and provides an opportunity for students who are still enrolled or potential students who attend the ceremony to see others from their communities graduate from college. Identity-based graduations are common in higher education. |
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3 | Student Equity Program | Operating Expenses | $0.00 | $15,000.00 | ||
The Student Equity Program is requesting funds for LGBTQ programming and activities for 2019-2020. Working with the new Queer Resource Center (QRC) and the Gender and Sexual Equity Task Force, these funds will go toward LGBTQ-specific programming and activities, including more Safe Zone trainings and guest speakers from the LGBTQ community. The funds may also be used for the purchase of safe sex products and chest binders for trans men. | LGBTQ students are new to the student equity dashboard and show significant equity gaps in course completion outcomes. After consulting with GSET, queer-identified faculty and staff, and students at the Glenn Center, it became clear that more education on LGBTQ issues for those who do not identify as LGBTQ is necessary. LGBTQ students also suggested that programming about the LGBTQ experience would help them feel connected to and valued at Butte College. Those who work in the QRC identified safe sex products and chest binders as resources that LGBTQ students have requested. |
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