Middle Leadership Academy

2021-22 Cohort

Ten campus teams participated in the 2021-22 Middle Leadership Academy.

 

Team project summaries are listed below:

Team Lead: Janet Pinkley, Head of Access Services

The rising costs of textbooks increase non-tuition costs for students while also impacting access to course materials, academic success, and time to degree. CSUCI has been a leader in textbook affordability with the successful OpenCI initiative but they need to continue to maintain and expand the work being done in this area, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The Channel Islands team focused on non-tuition costs for students because with the return to campus this year, they observed many faculty that had adopted OER or other affordable textbook alternatives are returning to traditional and costly textbooks.  The Channel Islands team plans to (1) explore the potential regression in OER efforts across campus and (2) try to minimize reversion to costly course materials.  

Team Lead: Ernesto Guerrero, Director Academic Advising & Anna Benscoter

The Channel Islands team focused on the disenrollment of students for non-payment with a plan to (1) examine the issue of disenrollment of students for non-payment and the subsequent impact on historically underrepresented groups and (2) examine whether this disenrollment practice is equitable (by race, socioeconomic status, etc.) and if it promotes student success in terms of retention and time to degree. If not, the team wants to create a new process that addresses these inequities while still fulfilling our fiduciary responsibility to the University.

Team Lead: Michael Lee, Prof & Chair, Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies

East Bay is 22nd in the CSU in terms of the equity gap for underrepresented minority (URM) students and 23rd in the gap for Pell eligible students. The gap has not improved and has been exacerbated by the pandemic and the shift to online learning. The East Bay team focused on student equity gaps with a plan to (1) develop tools, with appropriate visuals to illuminate opportunity gaps at the individual and departmental levels.(2) To generate self-reflection protocols for faculty to use in examining longitudinal grade data within the larger institutional context. (3) To support individual, strategic, data-informed changes needed to promote equitable student success.

Team Lead: Maria Iturbide, Associate Professor of Psychology

The Humboldt State team is focusing on equity gaps in retention and graduation rates for underserved students with a plan to (1) develop programming and assessment centered on equity, antiracism and cultural bias into specific practices, mindsets, and course outcomes to reduce equity gaps. (2) To build sustainable programming with ESCALA alumni leaders to engage a greater number of faculty and staff in equity work. (3) Finally, to assess the effectiveness of the program through changes in faculty and staff mindsets, campus climate and student outcomes.

Team Lead: David Zeigler, Director, Undergrad Studies

The Sacramento State team is focusing on equity gaps with a plan to (1) develop a framework to include cultural competency in instruction in high impact STEM courses with low completion and (2) identify courses or pathways for redesign built upon the principles of cultural competency and subject matter knowledge. They will also focus on (3) developing strategies for practicing cultural inclusion and proficiency in the classroom and (4) building community partnerships with stakeholders across programs and levels around cultural competence.

Team Lead: Martha Escobar, Project Rebound Executive Director & Associate Professor, CSUN

Project Rebound was created in 1967 to matriculate formerly incarcerated people directly to San Francisco State University. Project Rebound has since expanded to a consortium of 14 CSU campuses. Rebound campuses seek to understand the challenges and opportunities formerly incarcerated students encounter. Project Rebound plans to take data gathered in a Basic Needs survey of Project Rebound students to create  data-driven strategies to mitigate housing and food insecurities faced by Rebound students.

Team Lead: Brian Bedford, Associate Dean, Strategic Initiatives, College of Continuing Education

The Adult Re-Entry Learners team is focusing on re-entry learners with a plan to (1) identify and categorize system-level policies and practices that may act as barriers for re-engaging stopped out adult learners and for those learners to persist to completion. (2) Develop ideas for addressing those barriers, as well as ideas for system-level policies and practices that would better support returning learners. The intention is to share this work at the system level, creating an opportunity to collaborate and promote best practices for returning and adult learners.

Team Lead: Adam Petersen, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Academic Success

The CSU San Marcos team represents the new OUGS/Learning and Tutoring Services/Student Life Centers collaboration.  The LTS Directors and the SLC Directors have met and propose to work together to integrate academic support and the Student Life Centers.

Team Lead: Brandon Price, Interim AVP, Student Success

The Stan State team is returning to focus on Black student success with a plan (1) to explore factors that contribute to or hinder Black student success by conducting qualitative and quantitative analysis of factors found at the CSU Stanislaus and at comparison institutions. Also to (2) identify relevant, effective strategies to improve Black student success at the campus level.

Team Lead: Long Phan, Peer Mentor Coordinator & Rigoberto Flores, Director, New Student and Family Programs

The San Jose State team will develop an initiative to increase overall First Year persistence and eliminate equity gaps. The project will take a pilot program, Spartan Village, and develop it more intentionally after a quick start-up due to a Chancellor’s Office grant.  The team plans to (1) examine the relationship between Summer Bridge, Orientation and Spartan Village, (2) make the Spartan Village sustainable after the pilot grant period, and (3) use the pilot program to contribute to the improvement in First Year persistence and eliminate the Equity Gap.