Problem Statement
Like many CSU campuses, SSU sought to diversify its student population without considering how to identify and support the needs of historically underrepresented, underserved students. In 2021, 60% of enrolled students identified as URM, Pell Grant recipients, and/or first-generation students, up from 44% in 2011. Equity gaps exist between the historically underrepresented and general student populations in terms of persistence and graduation rates. While SSU has decreased equity gaps as part of the CSU’s Graduation Initiative 2025 and corresponding Equity Priorities from the CSU Chancellor’s Office, the gaps persist. The Equity Culture Collective (ECC) is working to eliminate them.
Solution
Goal 1: Support integrative professional growth for faculty, staff, and administrators
The ECC will start by working with staff and faculty to implement institutional changes to better support students' success and faculty/staff who engage in equity work. We will propose rethinking the purpose and structure of existing meetings (e.g. School, Division) to integrate professional growth opportunities.
Goal 2: Review and update policies
To support institutional culture change, we will partner with faculty governance to focus on the Re-appointment, Tenure, and Promotion (RTP) Policy, the Periodic Evaluation of Temporary Faculty Policy, the Syllabus Policy, and the Program Review Policy. By integrating equity-focused language in these four policies, SSU will demonstrate how the institution values equity work. We see this as an opportunity for departments and faculty to showcase their equity work through their RTP process, syllabi, and program reviews.
Goal 3: Create a Promotional Mark and Marketing Materials
For the last portion of phase one, we will create a promotional mark for ECC that faculty, staff, and administrators that partner in this work. The mark serves two purposes: 1) to help students identify faculty/staff who participate in SSU’s equity efforts and might know how to support URM, Pell, and first generation students and 2) to highlight potential collaborators or mentors for faculty/staff interested in equity work. Additionally, we will create materials to show faculty, staff, and administrators how they can get involved and what we are doing as a group.
Conclusion
At Sonoma State we pride ourselves in providing high-touch and high-quality instruction. Students often form impactful relationships with faculty and staff that lead our graduates on to upward trajectories. We are capable of taking a student that may have reservations and support them through their educational journey as they learn about themselves. As our students learn what they are capable of, they envision paths after graduation that they may not have considered otherwise. It is time for us to ensure that ALL of our students have the support they need to experience the unique educational experience of Sonoma State.