Strategic Vision for Equity 2021-2025
Accountability Statement
With the tremendous efforts that must occur to provide more equitable student experiences, accountability becomes an important element in that process toward change. To be accountable is essentially taking initiative and ownership of the work to create equitable outcomes. This can be accomplished individually within one’s day-to-day responsibilities, culturally within the practices of one’s department and in collaboration with colleagues, and structurally through administrative procedures, policies, and strategic planning.
The Foothill community will establish their role in the plan toward equity by defining what actions they can take to address issues laid out in the plan – individually, culturally, and structurally. The Office of Equity will partner to brainstorm and refine ideas, bring in additional stakeholders who have power to concretize those ideas and ensure the college remains focused on students and continues to center race. The Office of Equity will be responsible for checking-in with the campus community to help them assess their implementation efforts, and provide support with further consultation and advocacy for resources needed. As implementation, assessment, and sharing of lessons learned occurs, so will opportunities for synergy and coordination of efforts.
We as a college commit to the Strategic Vision for Equity plan as a living, ongoing vision. Planning, implementation, and evaluation are ongoing and dynamic, allowing the college to pivot and shift as we learn what works. As the campus moves from planning to action, it will be essential to then create appropriate milestones that will guide the campus in determining the timeline for evaluation of proposed activities. Ideally, all milestones will be assessed and reported on annually. However, some assessments may be more appropriate to conduct with more or less frequency.
Communication will be key in moving the work forward as folks are all in different points in their efforts. Some, having already implemented a number of interventions over the years, may need less consultation or direction, while others will desire a more substantial partnership from the Office of Equity or other departments to get their activities off the ground. Wherever an individual or area may be in the work, it will be important that the campus community be kept abreast of what is occurring and any results that are being produced. Reporting could occur at events as large as Opening Day, or in more focused spaces such as division meetings or governance. Each division/department/office, as part of their own action plan development, will establish appropriate venues for providing updates on progress of work, along with timelines for assessment and reporting.
Setting institutional goals for equity also requires keen attention paid to how administrators intend to lead our college in these efforts. This strategic vision for campus equity was sourced directly from the students, staff, faculty and administrators that make up our campus community. Administrators are now provided with an incredible opportunity to continue including the whole campus community in setting the vision of Foothill College. Operationalizing this equity vision positions administrators to champion the equity work occurring in their areas and advocate for the resources necessary to do this work.
With a commitment to inclusivity in vision-setting, administrators can play a critical role in creating the conditions for meaningful conversations within their areas about racial equity in their work. This requires active engagement in professional development to deepen their own understanding of equity; prioritizing these conversations as an integral part of the work of their teams; and fostering a culture of ongoing reflection and assessment of these efforts. As Foothill embarks on this new process of enacting change on our campus, our community must remain open to feedback about the work. To do so, the administrative team must work together, along with leaders across the campus, to help create collegial and safe environments where students, staff, and faculty are welcomed and encouraged to speak their mind. To foster the integrative, cross-functional work necessary, and to effectively leverage its networks of leadership and influence, attention must also be paid to the dynamics of positionality within the administrative team itself in order to ensure open dialog from diverse perspectives.
This plan will be a significant shift from the siloed work that has historically occurred. However, cross-campus engagement, assessment, and reporting can only improve our understanding of how students are served and help to prevent duplication of efforts. Given that this visionary plan has come together, not as a state mandate but rather a college collaborative effort, constructed by the voice of the campus community, this plan provides a unique opportunity to hold ourselves accountable to our scope of equity work, demonstrated in our commitment and accountability to our values, our personal growth, and to results.