Despite community colleges’ mission of educational opportunity for all students, there are persistent equity gaps for students of color, low-income students, and first-generation students. Closing these gaps is a cornerstone of guided pathways work.
Addressing equity challenges requires honest assessments of data as well as institutional policies and practices. It requires having ongoing conversations that address equity issues directly. And most important, it requires listening to students to truly understand their experiences.
Below are links to three resources that help colleges explore, engage in, and advance equity on their campuses.
In addition, the Commitment to equity in student outcomes page has a broad selection of resources related to equity.
Advancing Equity Through Guided Pathways Series
These short, easy-to-use discussion guides help colleges foster critical campus conversations about strategic culture change, inquiry, and the adoption of evidence-based approaches to closing equity gaps. To develop the guides, the National Center for Inquiry & Improvement and the California Guided Pathways Project partnered with national leaders who have a deep commitment to and demonstrated experience closing student equity gaps. No guide is intended as the definitive word on its topic. Rather these resources are designed to inspire essential conversations and support meaningful action toward closing equity gaps through guided pathways implementation.
The Equity Video Vignette Series About Guided Pathways
These videos — from the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — are bite-sized vignettes that that aim to foster student success and equitable outcomes.
Voices of Pathways film series and discussion guide
Voices of Pathways is a five-part documentary film series about five colleges in the process of implementing guided pathways. The films shows transformational change from the perspectives of faculty and staff members undertaking the day-to-day work as well as the students these efforts aim to serve. They offer a different way to look at pathways — and to introduce conversations about how to engage in this critical work.