Initiatives, Student Groups and Goals

On this page you'll find more information about these elements of the Educational Master Plan, which are the focus of the strategic planning implementation effort:


Institutional Initiatives 

The college has adopted the following institutional initiatives and related strategies, with an initiative team assigned to develop actions plans for each of these: 

  • Civic Capacity for Community and Social Change  
  • Outreach
  • Retention
  • Student-Centered Instruction and Services

In addition, with equity at the core of everything the college does, a fifth initiative team is tasked with developing action plans relating to Equity and related strategies.

Initiative Strategies

Civic Capacity for Community and Social Change

  • Community-based learning initiatives where the college is connected to and concerned about the well-being of the community and engaged in projects to develop those partnerships (e.g., internships, employment or volunteer opportunities within the community, community partnerships)
  • Opportunities for students to develop their leadership capacity (e.g., peer mentor groups, tutoring, engaged learning classes, pay student government)
  • Academic learning that helps students understand the histories, roots and possible solutions to issues facing themselves and their communities
  • Students and employees develop their capacity to make a difference on campus through shared governance and other pathways (e.g., orientation, mentoring, training)

Outreach  

  • Early engagement – e.g., middle school and high school partnerships and pathways
  • Continued outreach to geographical locations with historically low college-going rates
  • Outreach to pockets of potential enrollment growth, including adult learners
  • Target pockets of enrollment growth by developing or enhancing low-overhead CTE areas and attracting non-traditional learners including adult education students. (See job projections for reference.)

Retention

  • Expanded focus to include nontraditional students (e.g., foster youth, part-time students)
  • Support for basic needs and mental health (e.g., centralized services, intrusive messaging, focus groups)
  • Proactive intervention strategies (e.g., focus groups, student fines, student employment) with a particular focus on student populations that have lower persistence rates, and on retention for spring quarter, which has seen lower persistence rates than winter
  • Greater connections between major and career options (e.g., internships, pathways to careers aligned with their major)
  • Formal and informal mentorship opportunities (e.g., mentoring, tutoring)

Student-Centered Instruction and Services

  • Professional development and support for classroom teaching (e.g., AB 705 support, high-impact practices)
  • Support for all employees in equity work (e.g., financial commitments, support for classified professionals)
  • Visioning and streamlining collegewide practices (e.g., enrollment management, curriculum, stacked certificates)
  • Staffing to support wraparound services (e.g., foster youth counselor, social worker)

Equity

  • Recognize the realities of race and ethnicity for students of color
  • Build intersectional understanding of the ways in which institutional racism shapes educational access, opportunity and success for students of color
  • Ensure that all students feel connected, directed, engaged, focused, nurtured and valued
  • Align short-term and long-term outcomes
  • Identify key actions and accountability steps – including key resources, stakeholders, funding sources and activities within a timeline


Student Population Groups 

De Anza has focused on addressing the needs of historically underserved groups in its strategic planning efforts for a number of years. These include Black, Latinx and Filipinx students, as determined by an extensive socioeconomic analysis conducted in 2006. Over the past five years, the college has been unsuccessful in closing course completion rates for Black and Latinx students. Equity gaps for Filipinx students have nearly closed; however, the gaps have widened for other groups, including foster youth, LGBTQ+, Native American and Pacific Islander students.

For these reasons, the college is now focusing on these seven student population groups:

  • Black 
  • Filipinx
  • Foster Youth
  • Latinx 
  • LGBTQ+
  • Native American
  • Pacific Islander 


Institutional Goals (Metrics)

The following metrics were adopted in the EMP for 2022-27. 

Goal 1: Outreach to Historically Underrepresented Populations

Enrollment of students residing in geographical locations with historically low college-going rates will be proportional with all other groups within the county, with a focus on enrollment of Black, Filipinx, Foster Youth, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Native American and Pacific Islander students.

Goal 2: Achieving Success Factors

The rate at which students report they feel a sense of belonging on campus will be no more than 5 percentage points different for Black, Filipinx, Foster Youth, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Native American and Pacific Islander students, compared with the rate for all other students.

Goal 3: Course Success

The annual course completion rate for Black, Filipinx, Foster Youth, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Native American and Pacific Islander students will be no more than 5 percentage points different from the rate for all other students.

Goal 4: English + Math Completion

The rate of successful completion of transfer-level English and Math in the first year for Black, Filipinx, Foster Youth, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Native American and Pacific Islander students will be no more than 5 percentage points different from the rate for all other students.

Goal 5: Transfer

The annual transfer rates for Black, Filipinx, Foster Youth, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Native American and Pacific Islander students will be no more than 5 percentage points different from the rate for all other students.  

Goal 6: Degree Attainment 

The annual rate of degrees awarded for Black, Filipinx, Foster Youth, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Native American and Pacific Islander students will be no more than 5 percentage points different from the rate for all other students.

Goal 7: Certificate Attainment

The annual rate of certificates awarded for Black, Filipinx, Foster Youth, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Native American and Pacific Islander students will be no more than 5 percentage points different from the rate for all other students.

Goal 8: Workforce Training

The rate at which students report they are employed in a field closely related to their field of study will be no more than 5 percentage points different for Black, Filipinx, Foster Youth, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Native American and Pacific Islander students, compared with all other students.

Goal 9: Civic Capacity for Community and Social Change

The rate at which students report they are able to make a positive difference for others will be no more than 5 percentage points different for Black, Filipinx, Foster Youth, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Native American and Pacific Islander students, compared with all other students.

Goal 10: Meeting Basic Needs

The rate of basic needs challenges – including homelessness, housing insecurity, food insecurity and mental health issues – reported by Black, Filipinx, Foster Youth, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Native American and Pacific Islander students will be no more than 5 percentage points different from the rate for all other students, as measured by the annual basic needs survey.

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