Butte College’s Student Equity Program is committed to fostering diversity, inclusion, and equity while promoting a campus learning environment that encourages and supports all students in persisting toward their educational goals by increasing their retention and graduation rates. The Student Equity Program champions the rights of all students to meaningful educational opportunities and works to define and secure the full range of resources, supports, and services necessary to provide these opportunities to disproportionately-impacted students. The Student Equity Program also provides leadership and accountability to resolve systemic inequities for all Butte College students through engaged research, community outreach, professional development, and by expanding pathways for access and success and promoting a healthy and engaging campus climate.
The Student Equity Program is established in order to ensure equal educational opportunities and to promote success for all students, regardless of race, gender, age, disability, or economic circumstances. This program will focus on increasing access, course completion, ESL and basic skills completion, degrees, certificates, and transfer for all students as measured by success indicators linked to the Student Success Scorecard.
The Student Equity Program requested a full-time Assistant Director of Student Equity and was granted a full-time Program Coordinator of Student Equity. The position was filled beginning November 1, 2016.
The addition of a full-time Program Coordinator is invaluable to the Student Equity Program and to Butte College. The funding for student equity has gone from $787,674 in 2014-2015 to $1,544,529 for 2016-2017. This increase in funding requires more time and energy for decision making, budgeting, processing necessary paperwork, evaluating the effectiveness of existing activities, and reporting. The Program Coordinator position will substantially increase the capacity of the program to serve disproportionately impacted student groups in meaningful ways.
The Student Equity Program is relatively new and has just began the process of developing Program Learning Outcomes. Thus far, the SE Program has one Program Learning Outcome:
Student Equity Program staff will provide academic and student service departments with Butte College student equity data and will support faculty and staff in 1) understanding college-wide and department-level student equity gaps, and 2) taking appropriate action to eliminate those gaps.
The Student Equity Program will be working over the 2016-2017 academic year to fully develop all Program Learning Outcomes, assessment tools, and protocols for evaluating those PLOs.
The CCCCO has mandated that all student equity programs analyze five student success indicators that are well aligned with those articulated in the Student Achievement Standards: access, course completion, ESL and basic skills completion, degree and certificate completion, and transfer. In terms of course success, the college has five year improvement goals that range from 1.3-3.3%, while Student Equity Plan goals are to increase course completion rates for disproportionately impacted students by 3-15% in the same five year span. The college plans to increase ESL and Basic Skills completion rates by 3.3% and Student Equity Plan goals are to increase ESL and Basic Skills completion rates for disproportionately impacted students by 3-6% within 10 years. Within five years, the college plans to increase degree completion rates by 3.8%, certificate completion rates by 1%, and transfer rates by 15.9%. Student Equity Plan goals are to see increases for disproportionately impacted students in the following areas: 3% in degree and certificate completion and 3-8% in transfer by year 2025.
The Student Equity Program directly supports the College’s Strategic Direction in two main areas: “Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Academic Achievement” and “Enhancing a Culture of Inclusiveness.” In terms of “Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Academic Achievement,” the Student Equity Program is facilitating the success of disproportionately impacted students through each step of the Progress and Completion Model:
Connection (SE Indicator Access):
DSPS LD Specialist (60%)
Student Health Center (TOVA Units, ADHD Testing)
DSPS (VRI)
Veterans Clerk (50%)
Bilingual Call Center Representative (50%)
Outreach and Recruitment Technicians (3) (50%)
Outreach Techs (SAs, Travel)
High School Collaboration
Entry (SE Indicator ESL/Basic Skills Completion):
ESL Coordinator (100%)
ESL Program (Marketing)
ECE in Spanish Program (stipend, materials)
Math Prep Boot Camp
English 118 IAs (3) (50% each)
Progress (SE Indicator Course Completion):
Inspiring Scholars Coordinator (100%)
Inspiring Scholars Secretary (80%)
SASP Lending Library
Summer Bridge Support (textbooks, supplies, student assistants)
Childcare at the CDC
Retention Program Support Person (50%)
Retention Program Supplies
CMST Support for Foster Youth
BC Bloom
Science Connection Institute
On Course Professional Development
Black Student Union
Indigenous Peoples Club Activities
FAIR Classrooms Program
Completion (SE Indicators Degree/Certificate Completion and Transfer):
Veterans Counselor (100%)
Student Conference Opportunities (HBCU, ABC, A2Mend)
Diversity Days Support
HR Diversity Marketing Expansion
Student Communications Grad Guru
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Webpages
MESA Retention Specialist (60%)
MESA Travel
MESA Week Zero
Cultural Awareness Community of Practice
The Student Equity Program also supports the six “Enhancing a Culture of Inclusiveness” initiatives in the following ways:
- Educating the campus and community that diversity is shaped and informed by many characteristics including but not limited to ability, age, culture, education, ethnicity, gender identity, language, religious beliefs, sex, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status.
The Student Equity Program currently sponsors the Cultural Awareness Community of Practice, a workshop series that seeks to give faculty and staff the concepts to better understand and the practices to more fully meet culturally diverse students where they are at. The training aims to close the equity gaps at Butte by fostering a culture of inclusiveness, which understands that institutional change must happen in the context of reducing intersectional—not isolated—oppressions (race, gender, sexuality, ability and class). The SE program has also sponsored a number of other culturally-relevant workshops and guest speakers.
- Recruiting, hiring and retaining a diverse workforce.*
The Student Equity Program is currently working to do the following relative to hiring the best candidate while developing a more diverse workforce: 1) analyze hiring data from Butte College to get an accurate picture of hiring processes and practices, and 2) develop and provide robust unconscious bias trainings to all hiring committee members. The SE Program is committed to ensuring the activities outlined in the college’s EEO Plan are completed.
- Improving access, success, and completion of targeted student populations through the implementation of the Student Equity Plan.*
The primary responsibility of the Student Equity Program is to develop, implement, and evaluate the college’s Student Equity Plan with the aim of improving access, course success, degree and certificate completion, and transfer for disproportionately impacted student populations.
- Creating and sustaining programs, projects, and events that promote a greater understanding of diversity and equity.
All of the work done by the Student Equity Program is aimed toward creating and sustaining activities that will promote diversity and equity as values of the college in addition to developing and implementing activities that will improve the academic outcomes of disproportionately impacted students.
- Empowering and institutionalizing the efforts of the Diversity Committee, Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee, and Student Equity Committee.
The SE Program is responsible for running the twice-monthly SE meetings. SE Program staff also sit on the Diversity Committee and support the work that gets done in that forum.
- Using data to inform dialogue about diversity and equity.
The SE Program has funded most of the Research Analyst positions at our college. These analysts have significantly increased the college’s ability to provide accurate, up to date data and present it in easy-to-understand formats. This in turn has allowed for more productive, data-informed discussions and decision making campus-wide.
The Student Equity Program is relatively new and has not yet gone through the Program Review process.
Department Goals and Future Development Strategies
Student Equity Program Goals for 2017-2018:
- Research and inquiry—a commitment to 1) continually examining disproportionate impact phenomena in context to reveal culturally embedded root causes, 2) prioritizing the voices and lived experiences of students, and 3) evaluating the effectiveness of project and programmatic activities in closing equity gaps and improving outcomes
- Professional development—a structured, comprehensive approach to providing faculty and staff safe spaces to engage in courageous conversations about race, privilege, and unconscious bias as well as an emphasis on providing tools for developing inclusive and welcoming environments, individualized instruction, and representative classroom curriculum
- Targeted, student-centered interventions that mitigate disproportionate impacts for underserved populations—a collaborative, coordinated process for evaluating qualitative and quantitative student equity data and developing interventions and activities that address the unique needs of disproportionately impacted students
Strategy 1 - Office Space Remodel
The SE/SSSP Programs have secured office space on the second floor of the SAS building adjacent to the EOPS office. The modular space will need to be redesigned to support new staffing and department needs. Furniture and/or construction cannot be funded through SSSP or SE.
We have secured office space on the second floor for the SAS building next to EOPS. We will need to redesign the modular office space to align with our staffing and department needs.
Strategy 2 - Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Position
The need for a VP-level Executive Leader of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is undeniable when one considers that since fall 2006, Butte College’s population of students of color has risen from 23% to 41%. All indications suggest that this trend will likely continue for the foreseeable future. In order to meet the needs of our current and future students, the college must be positioned to consider issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all decision making. This position would work with colleagues across the institution to create a campus climate that affirms the value of diversity and equity as vital aspects of the learning environment while also articulating the importance of actively engaging diversity as part of the intellectual development of students who will compete in a global marketplace. The VP pf Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion would be indispensable as they works with faculty, staff, and student leaders to educate campus constituents about diversity issues and to help the school actualize its diversity and equity objectives. These efforts should focus on eliminating barriers to student success, preventing the recurrence of concerns expressed by students, and remedying the impact of these concerns on individual students and the campus community. Additionally, this VP position could potentially oversee programs that are currently aligned in their aims but have not had the institutional support needed to align their work in collaborative ways. Some of these programs/services potentially include Student Equity, Student Life, HSI, EEO, Study Abroad, International Program, and GEO among others. This VP position could also be responsible for creating a strategic, intentional professional development program for faculty and staff around diversity and equity issues.
While the population of students of color has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, our faculty of color has increased by 1% in that same time period and remains woefully behind at just 12%. Studies show that when minority students are taught by a minority instructor, they are less likely to drop a class and are more likely to 1) pass with a B or better, 2) take courses in the same subject, 3) choose a major, 4) persist, and 5) earn a degree (Fairlie, 2014). In order to ensure a safe and welcoming environment that provides equal opportunity for success to all students, our college needs to 1) address hiring issues including unconscious bias training, 2) provide professional development for faculty and staff on cultural competency/cultural humility and privilege, and 3) strategically plan our college-wide efforts to close equity gaps and educate all students, faculty, and staff on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Strategy 3 - Cultural Awareness Community of Practice Program Support
The Cultural Awareness Community of Practice is a workshop series seeking to give faculty and staff the concepts to better understand and the practices to more fully meet culturally diverse students where they are at. The training aims to close equity gaps at Butte by fostering a culture of inclusiveness, which understands that institutional change must happen in the context of reducing intersectional—not isolated—oppressions (race, gender, sexuality, ability and class). The goal of the program is to create a more welcoming campus environment for students of color, disabled students, queer students, and for all those living in the intersection of these identities. Individuals who go through the training will have an increased capacity to witness and an increased capacity to disrupt/question micro-aggressions, and an increased awareness of exclusionary campus spaces and the ways to make them more inclusive. Individuals will also feel more empowered to continue knowledge and skill building, capacity, and community development.
“In an educational system where whiteness is normalized, independent research has shown that teachers tend to make assumptions about behavior and achievement of students of color. These assumptions are often processed through a deficit model; teachers tend to attribute behavior issues or low achievement to deficits in a student‘s race, culture, socio-economic status, parental involvement, intelligence, self-esteem, the value of education in the family, drug use, home language, and/or the capacity to function in an educational environment with high expectations. As a result, the expectations of students of color at school are lowered (McKenzie & Scheurich, 2004; Chapman, 2007; Rocha & Hawes, 2009; Miller, Kerr, & Ritter, 2008; Quiroz, 2013; Marx, 2004). Because of these assumptions, educators plunge into conversations about socioeconomic status, language differences, and immigration and nationalism without recognizing how race filters through these topics and influences our perspectives, experiences, and outcomes? (Singleton G. E., 2013, p. 39).” (quote taken from Kristen Miles’ “To Serve All Students: The Case for Race Equity Professional Development for Public School District Central Office Staff”). The reason why the Cultural Awareness Community of Practice is necessary at Butte College is because faculty and staff need to understand how whiteness (and sexism, ableism, heterosexism, cis genderism, etc…) are normalized in their own attitudes and behaviors and the ways that these attitudes and behaviors affect the performance of those students who don’t fit these norms.
Strategy 4 - FAIR Classrooms Program Support
FAIR (Faculty Alliance for Inquiry and Research) Classrooms is a professional development opportunity that will provide a brave space for instructors to focus on accessing classroom-level data about how different groups of students are performing in their specific courses, developing and using inquiry processes to improve student engagement and completion levels, and building a community of support with like-minded faculty who are also seeking to improve opportunities for all our students. This program approaches gaps in student success as an institutional problem rather than a problem caused by deficits in student preparation or motivation. Facilitators provide a practical set of tools and processes to help faculty understand where they may need more professional development to help disproportionately impacted students succeed. The FAIR Classrooms Program approaches student equity as a data-driven inquiry process and gives faculty the opportunity to become invested in equitable outcomes for all of our student populations.
USC’s Center for Urban Education defines what it means for faculty to be equity-minded in their approach to education: “‘Equity-minded’ practitioners question their own assumptions, recognize stereotypes that harm student success, and continually reassess their practices to create change. Part of taking on this framework is that institutions and practitioners become accountable for the success of their students and see racial gaps as their personal and institutional responsibility.” The FAIR Classrooms Program provides the brave space for faculty to do this difficult, but necessary, work. Without an opportunity for individual instructors to access, process, and work to improve the equity gaps in their individual classrooms, large-scale institutional equity gaps will continue to exist.
Strategy 5 - The BC Bloom Student-Run Magazine
The BC Bloom is a student-run magazine that celebrates diversity on our campus, provides a platform for underrepresented students to express themselves, encourages intercultural communication, and further informs “dashboard” students of the resources and involvement opportunities at Butte College and in the surrounding communities. The overarching purpose of the magazine, as founder and former student Feven Mebrahtu put it, is to “subvert the dominant paradigm that trivializes and undervalues the narratives of so many, including ethnic and gender minorities, and students living with various levels of disability, disenfranchisement, or poverty.”
The2011-2014multi-yearprojectconductedbytheRPGroup called Student Success (Re)Definedidentifiedsixkeysuccessfactorstohelpingstudentsachievetheirgoals:1)Directed,2)Focused, 3) Nurtured,4)Engaged,5)Connected,and6)Valued.Thesesixfactorsrepresentareasofconnectionthatthecollegecanhelpprovidetoastudenttohelpgreatlyincreasethedriveforsuccess.ForstudentswhocontributetoTheBCBloom,thegoalistoincreaseasenseofengagementthroughparticipationinanextracurricularactivity,connectiontolike-mindedpeersoncampus,andafeelingofbeingvaluedfortheiruniquebackgrounds,experiences,andcultures.
StudentswhocontributedtotheinauguralissueofTheBCBloomwereaskedtocompleteabriefsurveyaboutthemagazine,theirexperience,andtheirinterestinfurtherinvolvementwitheitherTheBCBloomorothercampusactivities.Contributorsgivingfeedbackhavereportedhighlevelsofinterestinfurtherinvolvement,stronglevelsofconnectiontothecampusandtheirpeers,andasenseof appreciationfor theexperience ofbeingabletoshare theirownvoice.
Strategy 6 - Administrative Secretary-Grants
The Student Equity Program is requesting a full-time Administrative Secretary-Grants to support both the $1.5 million annual budget and growing programmatic needs. Currently, one Secretary supports both SE and SSSP, and both of these programs have grown beyond the scope for one person to handle. An Admin Secretary-Grants will support the SE Program in the following ways:
· Overseeing the activities of the office, including work direction for student assistants
· Performing financial and managerial accounting and business operations
· Maintaining current budget information and tracking and reporting of annual program allocations
· Processing travel, conference, and hotel arrangements for all SE-related conference travel
· Composing correspondence, agendas, minutes, spreadsheets, financials, personal service contracts
Currently, the SE Director and Program Coordinator spend a lot of time on the above tasks. If a Secretary could support the program in the ways outlined above, the other SE staff could do more professional development and student-centered activities.
Both the SE and SSSP reports were several weeks late to the Chancellor’s Office because both reports are very LARGE and fell on one person to complete at the same time. Because the current Secretary is supporting two very robust programs, she is unable to fully support either one. That is why the SE Director has to spend time creating P-1s and personal service contracts, organizing travel, developing agendas, writing minutes, and much more. These mundane tasks take away from the work the Director and Program Coordinator could be doing to close equity gaps on our campus.
None at this time
Student equity funding from the CCCCO will support all Student Equity Program requests with the exception of the VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The Student Equity Program could potentially fund a portion of this salary as long as other currently funded personnel are shifted to other sources of funding. However, this VP-level position should be a district funded position in order for the college to demonstrate its prioritization of diversity, equity, and inclusion not only as institutional values, but as intentional, strategic planning efforts.
| Original Priority | Program, Unit, Area | Resource Type | Account Number | Object Code | One Time Augment | Ongoing Augment |
| Description | Supporting Rationale | Potential Alternative Funding Sources | Prioritization Criteria | |||
| 1 | Student Equity | Facilities | $35,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| The SE/SSSP Programs have secured office space on the second floor of the SAS building adjacent to the EOPS office. The modular space will need to be redesigned to support new staffing and department needs. Furniture and/or construction cannot be funded through SSSP or SE. | We have secured office space on the second floor for the SAS building next to EOPS. We need to redesign the modular office space to align with our staffing and department needs. |
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| 2 | Student Equity | Personnel | $0.00 | $189,808.00 | ||
| The need for a VP-level Executive Leader of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is undeniable when one considers that since fall 2006, Butte College’s population of students of color has risen from 23% to 41%. All indications suggest that this trend will likely continue for the foreseeable future. In order to meet the needs of our current and future students, the college must be positioned to consider issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all decision making. This position would work with colleagues across the institution to create a campus climate that affirms the value of diversity and equity as vital aspects of the learning environment while also articulating the importance of actively engaging diversity as part of the intellectual development of students who will compete in a global marketplace. The VP pf Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion would be indispensable as they works with faculty, staff, and student leaders to educate campus constituents about diversity issues and to help the school actualize its diversity and equity objectives. These efforts should focus on eliminating barriers to student success, preventing the recurrence of concerns expressed by students, and remedying the impact of these concerns on individual students and the campus community. Additionally, this VP position could potentially oversee programs that are currently aligned in their aims but have not had the institutional support needed to align their work in collaborative ways. Some of these programs/services potentially include Student Equity, Student Life, HSI, EEO, Study Abroad, International Program, and GEO among others. This VP position could also be responsible for creating a strategic, intentional professional development program for faculty and staff around diversity and equity issues. | While the population of students of color has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, our faculty of color has increased by 1% in that same time period and remains woefully behind at just 12%. Studies show that when minority students are taught by a minority instructor, they are less likely to drop a class and are more likely to 1) pass with a B or better, 2) take courses in the same subject, 3) choose a major, 4) persist, and 5) earn a degree (Fairlie, 2014). In order to ensure a safe and welcoming environment that provides equal opportunity for success to all students, our college needs to 1) address hiring issues including unconscious bias training, 2) provide professional development for faculty and staff on cultural competency/cultural humility and privilege, and 3) strategically plan our college-wide efforts to close equity gaps and educate all students, faculty, and staff on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion. |
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| 3 | Student Equity | Personnel | $0.00 | $69,000.00 | ||
| The Student Equity Program is requesting a full-time Administrative Secretary-Grants to support both the $1.5 million annual budget and growing programmatic needs. Currently, one Secretary supports both SE and SSSP, and both of these programs have grown beyond the scope for one person to handle. An Admin Secretary-Grants will support the SE Program in the following ways: • Overseeing the activities of the office, including work direction for student assistants • Performing financial and managerial accounting and business operations • Maintaining current budget information and tracking and reporting of annual program allocations • Processing travel, conference, and hotel arrangements for all SE-related conference travel • Composing correspondence, agendas, minutes, spreadsheets, financials, personal service contracts Currently, the SE Director and Program Coordinator spend a lot of time on the above tasks. If a Secretary could support the program in the ways outlined above, the other SE staff could do more professional development and student-centered activities. | Both the SE and SSSP reports were several weeks late to the Chancellor’s Office because both reports are very LARGE and fell on one person to complete at the same time. Because the current Secretary is supporting two very robust programs, she is unable to fully support either one. That is why the SE Director has to spend time creating P-1s and personal service contracts, organizing travel, developing agendas, writing minutes, and much more. These mundane tasks take away from the work the Director and Program Coordinator could be doing to close equity gaps on our campus. |
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| 4 | Student Equity | Operating Expenses | $0.00 | $10,000.00 | ||
| The Cultural Awareness Community of Practice is a workshop series seeking to give faculty and staff the concepts to better understand and the practices to more fully meet culturally diverse students where they are at. The training aims to close equity gaps at Butte by fostering a culture of inclusiveness, which understands that institutional change must happen in the context of reducing intersectional—not isolated—oppressions (race, gender, sexuality, ability and class). The goal of the program is to create a more welcoming campus environment for students of color, disabled students, queer students, and for all those living in the intersection of these identities. Individuals who go through the training will have an increased capacity to witness and an increased capacity to disrupt/question micro-aggressions, and an increased awareness of exclusionary campus spaces and the ways to make them more inclusive. Individuals will also feel more empowered to continue knowledge and skill building, capacity, and community development. | “In an educational system where whiteness is normalized, independent research has shown that teachers tend to make assumptions about behavior and achievement of students of color. These assumptions are often processed through a deficit model; teachers tend to attribute behavior issues or low achievement to deficits in a student‘s race, culture, socio-economic status, parental involvement, intelligence, self-esteem, the value of education in the family, drug use, home language, and/or the capacity to function in an educational environment with high expectations. As a result, the expectations of students of color at school are lowered (McKenzie & Scheurich, 2004; Chapman, 2007; Rocha & Hawes, 2009; Miller, Kerr, & Ritter, 2008; Quiroz, 2013; Marx, 2004). Because of these assumptions, educators plunge into conversations about socioeconomic status, language differences, and immigration and nationalism without recognizing how race filters through these topics and influences our perspectives, experiences, and outcomes? (Singleton G. E., 2013, p. 39).” (quote taken from Kristen Miles’ “To Serve All Students: The Case for Race Equity Professional Development for Public School District Central Office Staff”). The reason why the Cultural Awareness Community of Practice is necessary at Butte College is because faculty and staff need to understand how whiteness (and sexism, ableism, hetereosexism, cis genderism, etc…) are normalized in their own attitudes and behaviors and the ways that these attitudes and behaviors affect the performance of those students who don’t fit these norms. |
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| 5 | Student Equity | Operating Expenses | $0.00 | $5,000.00 | ||
| FAIR (Faculty Alliance for Inquiry and Research) Classrooms is a professional development opportunity that will provide a brave space for instructors to focus on accessing classroom-level data about how different groups of students are performing in their specific courses, developing and using inquiry processes to improve student engagement and completion levels, and building a community of support with like-minded faculty who are also seeking to improve opportunities for all our students. This program approaches gaps in student success as an institutional problem rather than a problem caused by deficits in student preparation or motivation. Facilitators provide a practical set of tools and processes to help faculty understand where they may need more professional development to help disproportionately impacted students succeed. The FAIR Classrooms Program approaches student equity as a data-driven inquiry process and gives faculty the opportunity to become invested in equitable outcomes for all of our student populations. | USC’s Center for Urban Education defines what it means for faculty to be equity-minded in their approach to education: “‘Equity-minded’ practitioners question their own assumptions, recognize stereotypes that harm student success, and continually reassess their practices to create change. Part of taking on this framework is that institutions and practitioners become accountable for the success of their students and see racial gaps as their personal and institutional responsibility.” The FAIR Classrooms Program provides the brave space for faculty to do this difficult, but necessary, work. Without an opportunity for individual instructors to access, process, and work to improve the equity gaps in their individual classrooms, large-scale institutional equity gaps will continue to exist. |
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| 6 | Student Equity | Operating Expenses | $0.00 | $20,000.00 | ||
| The BC Bloom is a student-run magazine that celebrates diversity on our campus, provides a platform for underrepresented students to express themselves, encourages intercultural communication, and further informs “dashboard” students of the resources and involvement opportunities at Butte College and in the surrounding communities. The overarching purpose of the magazine, as founder and former student Feven Mebrahtu put it, is to “subvert the dominant paradigm that trivializes and undervalues the narratives of so many, including ethnic and gender minorities, and students living with various levels of disability, disenfranchisement, or poverty.” | The 2011-2014 multi-year project conducted by the RP Group called Student Success (Re)Defined identified six key success factors to helping students achieve their goals: 1) Directed, 2) Focused, 3) Nurtured, 4) Engaged, 5) Connected, and 6) Valued. These six factors represent areas of connection that the college can help provide to a student to help greatly increase the drive for success. For students who contribute to The BC Bloom, the goal is to increase a sense of engagement through participation in an extracurricular activity, connection to like-minded peers on campus, and a feeling of being valued for their unique backgrounds, experiences, and cultures. Students who contributed to the inaugural issue of The BC Bloom were asked to complete a brief survey about the magazine, their experience, and their interest in further involvement with either The BC Bloom or other campus activities. Contributors giving feedback have reported high levels of interest in further involvement, strong levels of connection to the campus and their peers, and a sense of appreciation for the experience of being able to share their own voice. |
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