Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

At Victor Valley College, every student is valued. The Victor Valley College Mission Statement serves as the foundation for programs offered and the services provided to students. The mission of Victor Valley Community College is to:

• Cultivate intellectual growth, social responsibility, environmental stewardship, cultural enrichment, and economic development. • Create exceptional and accessible lifelong learning opportunities that afford students within our expanding communities the attainment of knowledge and skills necessary for success in the global economy. • Embrace difference in our communities by integrating their wealth of multicultural knowledge and wisdom into a cohesive and resourceful learning environment for all. • Inspire innovative teaching and service with imaginative uses of collaboration and technology, fostering vibrant programs that are measurably effective in addressing student learning and community needs. • Empower each student to learn by modeling academic integrity, democratic citizenship, and meaningful contribution to society.

The Mission Statement is the foundation for the parameters which the college provides for transfer, occupational and basic skills programs as well as student services to diverse populations.

The Student Equity Plan is designed to advance the college mission by addressing the needs of those student groups that have been historically underserved. The Equity Planning process involves collecting and analyzing student success data disaggregated by ethnicity, gender, and disability, foster youth status, veteran status, and low income status in order to identify areas of strength and need. From these data, a work plan is created that leverages areas of strength and addresses areas of need.

This Executive Summary addresses the following areas: i Targeted Groups ii Goals and Outcomes iii Activities iv Student Equity Funding v Contact Person for Coordination

The data outlined in this Student Equity Plan identifies student groups that are experiencing lower success and retention rates compared to their counterparts. The Student Equity Plan contains an ambitious set of goals, activities, programs, staffing, and follow-up services to improve the access, success and retention among the targeted populations that are outlined above.

T ar get ed Gro ups Based on VVC campus data utilizing the “percentage point gap”, the student groups listed below have significantly lower rates than those who are in the highest performing groups. The chart below summarizes these findings:

Success Indicator Identified Student Groups Access Males, Veterans, Students with Disabilities Course Completion African American/Black, Foster Youth Basic Skills Pathway Completion - English African American/Black, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Native Alaskan, Hispanic/Latino Basic Skills Pathway Completion - Math African American/Black, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Students with Disabilities Degree and Certificate Completion African American/Black, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Native Alaskan students. Black/ African- American, Students w/ Disabilities, Transfer Males, Low- Income, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Native Alaskan students.

Go als and Out co me s Our principal goal is to increase rates of success in each area by 5% (or close the gap) for each underserved group within 4 years (2020).

1. Increase access by 5% (or close the gap) by 2020 of this plan for males, students with disabilities and veterans. 2. Increase course completion by 5% (or close the gap) by 2020 of this plan for students who are African American/Black, Low- Income, current or former foster youth and females. 3. Increase basic skills pathway completion by 5% (or close the gap) by 2020 of this plan for students who are African American/Black, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Native Alaskan, Hispanic/Latino and students with disabilities 4. Increase degree and certificate completion by 5% (or close the gap) by 2020 of this plan for African American/Black, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Native Alaskan students. 5. Increase transfer rates by 5% (or close the gap) by 2020 of this plan for students who are Black/ African- American, Students w/ Disabilities, Males, Low- Income, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Native Alaskan Act ivit ies The following activities will begin the process to increase rates of success for identified groups:

• Programs, events and services to promote student engagement, mentoring and advising • Activities to develop and strengthen cohort learning models (first year experience programs, learning communities, etc.) • Activities to create events and programs to bring awareness to financial aid requirements/changes, importance of educational plans and setting goals, academic/student services support • Outreach and Recruitment to underrepresented and/ or underserved groups • Establishing partnerships with community agencies (city and county) • Increasing opportunities for professional development • Activities to increase the importance of collecting and analyzing success indicator data for at-risk student groups

A number of the activities listed will improve or strengthen activities that already exist or are currently in progress. The college will increase the opportunities for a culturally-responsive teaching and learning professional development, strengthening Math and English pathways to serve and improve academic success to underserved student groups, develop a summer bridge preparation program to assist students identified in the Equity Plan to improve completion through basic skills English and Math courses to complete college level courses and increase the amount of course-embedded tutoring offered by the college. Activities are also associated with several of the programs and services associated with the SSSP, such as increased outreach initiatives to identify and communicate with all student groups, extending orientation services to student groups who have identified equity gaps, and increasing the number of activities that assist underserved students in developing educational plans and pathways. The plan will also strengthen African American/ Black, Foster Youth and Veterans services and explore additional data to help the college community understand these equity gaps in a more distinctive way.

In addition to improving our existing services, the college will engage underserved students by increasing our outreach/communication through marketing materials and social media. The college will also support and increase participation in the student ambassador program (peer mentor) with an emphasis on recruiting and mentoring students who belong to groups that have an identified equity gap. Finally, the development of Umoja and MESA academic programs that serve underrepresented students.

S t ud e n t E qu i t y F u n d i ng The Student Equity budget that is outlined in this section includes figures that the college intends to allocate to increase access and student success among our targeted populations. The figures that appear in the following sections are grouped based on the following areas: Staffing, Support for Veterans and Foster Youth, Support for First Year students, Support for Categorical Programs, Support for Basic Skills, and Activities and Actions. S t a ff i n g $928 , 000 • Director, Academic Success and Equity Programs, (3) First Year Experience Counselors, Admin Secretary I; Adjunct Counselors; Research Analyst, (2) Program Specialists, Tutors P r o f e ss io n a l a nd S t ud e n t D e v e l o p m e n t $71 , 500 • Professional Development for administration, staff and faculty to work with targeted populations and have a focus on student success and equity A cce s s $50 , 000 Student Equity Conferences • Senior Day Events for feeder high schools to focus VVC programs and services • New Student Welcome Day- Event for 1st year students • Provide targeted outreach and recruitment to high school, middle school, and elementary students and parents, community, and faith based organizations, and local agencies. Special emphasis on increasing college access for Black and Latino males, English Language Learners, and Learning Communities (First Year Experience, Umoja, Puente, STEM and Rooted Scholars) • Increase the Rambassador program for peer-peer advising and outreach that trains our current student body to support students in our targeted populations. • Pilot Programs and Outreach to at-risk students (tutoring, supplemental instruction, marketing, outreach, etc.) A c t ivi t i e s a n d A c t io n s $100 , 000 • Development of First Year Experience with Cohorts for African American/ Black students, Foster Youth, Basic Skills, STEM and other target populations. • Development of a Summer Bridge Program for FYE, Foster Youth, and other target populations. • Development of Rooted Scholars/ African American/ Black, Dreamers student center at VVC • Provide additional resources and assistance to Veterans geared towards helping veterans transitioning from service member to student, such as, workshops, counseling, tutors, and other student support services. T r a n s f e r $78 , 474 • College Tour for Umoja students to attend a HBCU college tour to increase transfer rates by providing awareness of requirements for out-of-state universities. • Field Trip/ Conference and College Tour for Puente to attend The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) national conference and UC campuses to increase transfer rates by providing awareness of requirements for in/out-of-state universities. • Additional Staffing for the Transfer Center and Transfer Fairs on VVC campus Supp o r t f or Ca t e g o r i c a l P r o g r a m s $ 115 , 000 • Provide signs, banners, A-frames, brochures, flyers, and marketing to advertise categorical programs • Provide additional staffing, professional development, student employment for stated categorical programs • Provide student success kits (backpack, binder, notebooks, calculator, pens, pencils, scan-trons, green books, flash drives) • Provide basic skills textbooks to Puente, Umoja, FYE, Foster Youth, and Veterans. Supp o r t f or B a s ic S k i l l s $115 , 000 • Development and Implementation of supplemental instruction • Provide training for all faculty and students who utilize supplemental instruction. • Pilot a Summer Bridge program for targeted populations to increase Math and English completion rates through basic skills to completion of college level course. • Provide additional tutors and marketing for the Writing and Math Success Center.

Total Allocations: $1 , 458 , 474

Co n t a c t P e r s o n / S t ud e nt E qu i t y Coo r d i n a t or

The Associate Dean, Student Equity and Success serves as the primary contact for this Student Equity Plan. The Associate Dean, Student Equity and Success reports to the Executive Vice President, Instruction and Student Services, Dr. Peter Maphumulo. The Associate Dean is charged with coordinating the college’s student equity efforts on campus. The Associate Dean, serves on the college’s Student Success and Support Program Committee, Student Services Committee, and the Dean’s Council. Herbert L. English, Jr. currently serves as the Associate Dean; he can be reached at H e r b e r t . E n g li s h@vv c . e du and (760) 245-4271 ex. 2394.