Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA)

What drove the California Community Colleges to start its diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility journey? 

• We’ve come together around bold goals laid out in the system wide Vision for Success to improve student outcomes. Diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility is a foundational principle underpinning the Vision and informs all our efforts. 
• In 2020, we faced overlapping crises that included a once-in-a-century pandemic and an uprising for racial justice. At that moment, leaders across the California Community Colleges knew that we had to respond and take bold action to further advance DEIA and anti-racism in our system. 
• We took action commensurate with the urgency of the moment. Our faculty and staff helped lead the COVID-19 recovery and responded to the needs of our surrounding communities during an unimaginable crisis.
• We further solidified our commitment to dismantle systemic racism in our colleges and address barriers to student success. We recommitted ourselves to creating a culture that values every single individual who steps foot on our campuses, but we still have work to do.

Why is diversity, equity and inclusion and accessibility important to the California Community Colleges and its students?

• Our diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts provide a road map to making campuses safer, more inclusive and accessible, and more welcoming for minoritized students and underserved student groups.
• These initiatives promote diversity in hiring, aim to eliminate cultural bias in teaching and curriculum, and help to counteract systemic racism through institutional transformations. 
• They aid in leveling the playing field and expand opportunity, helping more students reach their end goals.

Why is the system focusing on staff diversification? What impact will diversifying faculty and staff have?

• Faculty and staff are the heart of our institutions, and they should be reflective of the students and community we serve.
• Research shows that all students, regardless of background, benefit from a diverse faculty and are better educated and prepared for leadership and professional competitiveness.
  • Diverse faculty and staff are more likely to integrate a variety of cultural learnings into a curriculum and are more likely to exhibit cultural competency with students of diverse backgrounds, ultimately benefiting all students.
  • Diversification also improves retention rates for faculty and staff by making our system more inclusive for faculty of all backgrounds.
• The fact remains that our faculty and staff demographics are not keeping pace with the diversity of the students we serve. The biggest disparity between faculty and staff and students is among self-identifying Black and African American students and Latinx demographics. And that disparity is growing.
• Together, we can advance the systemic change required to ensure an equitable education for all students and a supportive environment for staff and faculty.

What are the California Community Colleges’ diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility priorities?

• We measure progress on our DEIA journey in three core outcomes: cultural diversity, promoting equity and fostering inclusion.
  • Cultural diversity: Commitment to culture and policies that support people in all the ways their lives differ.
  • Promoting equity: Removing advantages and barriers to provide everyone the same access to opportunities.
  • Fostering inclusion: Students and employees feel supported and valued and are able to be their authentic selves.

Beyond staff diversification, how else are the California Community Colleges and the Chancellor’s Office advancing the DEIA journey?

• We believe that our system is a powerful force for breaking down systemic inequities, which is why everything from the Vision for Success core commitments to Guided Pathways is based on a central commitment to DEIA and anti-racism.
• We’ve developed and adopted a comprehensive DEIA Integration Plan that lays out concrete changes to structures, policies and practices that will remove barriers to equitable student success. Since 2019, core recommendations from the DEI Integration Plan have served as the guide for our DEIA and anti-racism work.
• In 2020, we developed a “Call to Action” that articulates concrete ways that the Chancellor’s Office, college leadership and stakeholders across the state can advance DEIA and anti-racism in our system.
• The DEI Implementation Workgroup has created a robust, ready-to-use series of more than 60 strategies to support staff diversification through recruitment, retention and support.
• Through the Chancellor’s Office, we are equipping districts and colleges with the tools and support they need to create accountable and equity-centered practices at the local level, including:
  • Integrating DEIA competencies into employee evaluations and tenure review.
  • Updating the student grievance process to allow students to raise and resolve acts of racism, microaggressions and discomfort.
  • Encouraging more mentorship opportunities between students and faculty.
  • Provide professional learning resources focused on institutional bias, structural racism, and their impact on campus culture and student success.

Who is involved in the California Community Colleges’ diversity, equity, inclusion and accountability efforts?

• Every person within the California Community Colleges system has a crucial role to play in creating a more diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible workforce – from unions to the Academic Senates, Board of Governors and the Chancellor’s Office. As part of the DEI Integration Plan, we have all come together to advance faculty and staff diversification and respond to this urgent call to action.

How will California Community Colleges know these efforts are helping students? 

• We measure progress on our DEI journey in three core outcomes: cultural diversity, promoting equity and fostering inclusion.
  • Cultural diversity: Commitment to culture and policies that support people in all the ways their lives differ.
  • Promoting equity: Removing advantages and barriers to provide everyone the same access to opportunities.
  • Fostering inclusion: Students and employees feel supported and valued and are able to be their authentic selves.

Why will DEIA and anti-racism work help everyone succeed?

• We are all in this together. Research shows that all students, regardless of background, benefit from a diverse faculty and are better educated and prepared for leadership and professional competitiveness. At the same time, diversification also improves retention rates for faculty and staff by making our system more inclusive for faculty of all backgrounds.
• By lifting up diverse, unique perspectives in our curriculum and learning, we contribute to DEIA and anti-racism efforts and pave the way for allies and other peers to be a part of the work.
• Together, we can advance the systemic change required to ensure an equitable education for all students and a supportive environment for staff and faculty.