Program & Schedule 

 Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Breakfast on your own

  8:00 – 9:30IRPE Newcomers Session

  9:45 – 11:00Welcome and Keynote Panel

11:00 – 11:25Coffee Break

11:30 – 12:30Breakout Session 1

12:30 – 1:45Lunch and Awards Ceremony

  1:50 – 2:50Breakout Session 2

  2:50 – 3:15Coffee and Snack Break

  3:20 – 4:20Breakout Session 3

  4:30 – 5:00Sponsor Product Demonstration Sessions

  4:30 – 5:15Dashboard Showcase

  5:00 – 6:00Reception

  6:00 – 8:00Fun on Wheelz

  7:00 – 9:00Game and Puzzle Night

 Wednesday, April 10 | 8:00–9:30 am

What Your Boss And Your Mother Didn’t Tell You About These RP Streets

Are you new (or newish) to the institutional research, planning, and effectiveness (IRPE) community? If so, join us for a panel discussion and networking session focused on what to expect in your first one to three years in IRPE and how to best position yourself for success. A continental breakfast will be provided.

 Wednesday, April 10 | 9:45–11:00 am

AI in Community Colleges: Cultivating Innovation, Ethical Practice & Data Security

Join us for an enlightening keynote panel discussion focusing on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in community college settings. Explore strategies for fostering a culture of innovation and experimentation among faculty, staff, and students while ensuring adequate training and support for successful implementation. Learn how AI-powered predictive analytics can identify and address roadblocks to student success, and discover methods for integrating AI-enhanced learning platforms into the curriculum to personalize learning experiences for diverse student populations. Delve into the ethical considerations surrounding AI implementation, including privacy concerns and bias mitigation, while addressing the potential impact on higher education professionals' roles. Additionally, gain insights into best practices for data privacy and security in AI-driven initiatives, ensuring the protection of sensitive student information.

Panelists: Aeron Zentner, Coastline College; Leia Yen, Global Community College Transfers/University Southern California; Rodrigo Gomez, San Diego Miramar College

 Wednesday, April 10 | 11:30 am–12:30 pm

Disaggregating the Trends of Students’ Paths: Descriptive Analysis of Guided Pathways at Irvine Valley College
Track: Research & Evaluation
Room: Centennial C

The Guided Pathways framework seeks to provide a structure to assist students in selecting their major and remaining on this path to successful award attainment. This project seeks to provide context to the story of how students from various sociodemographic backgrounds at the aggregate level have been impacted since the inception of this program at Irvine Valley College (IVC). This study provides data for the past ten years on students’ enrollment, retention, completion of transfer-level English and math, completion of certificates and degrees, and transfer rates. This project also examines these indicators by ethnicity/race, gender, first-generation status, educational goals, and student enrollment status. Has the college made adequate changes to increase our outcomes and reduce equity gaps? As a data-driven college, we strive to improve and become student-ready by reflecting on the changes we have made due to the Guided Pathways framework.

Presenters: Brandee Idleman, Jeremy Prim, and Marcela Reyes, Irvine Valley College

Project P: A Method of Collecting Student Voices in an Engaging Way
Track: Research & Evaluation
Room: Centennial D

Welcome to Project P. Researchers can use this qualitative data collection method as an alternative to focus groups or open-ended survey items to collect student voices. Attendees will learn how to conduct, customize, and conclude their own Project P. One of the goals of this session is to allow researchers without extensive qualitative research training to capture student voices as a complement to their quantitative work. The ability to elevate student voices creates an opportunity to move data from static to dynamic, thereby becoming more actionable.

Presenter: Marcell Gilmore, Mt. San Antonio College

Exploring Geographic Barriers to Transfer for Latinx Students Living in University Education Deserts
Track: Research & Evaluation
Room: Barcelona/Casablanca

Transferring from community college to university offers a key lever for increasing income equality. Over 750,000 Latinx students enroll in a California community college annually—85% classified as low-income. However, while Latinx students represent the largest demographic group, only 2% successfully transfer within two years and only 31% within six years. Research has shown that location is integral in students’ college-going decisions, with a positive association between the number of college options close to a student and the likelihood of college enrollment, especially for Latinx students. This session will share research findings from a study exploring the role of university proximity as a barrier for transfer-motivated community college students, notably Latinx and low-income students. We will also discuss implications for practitioners in rural communities and provide practical examples of how institutions can inform local efforts to improve transfer with this information.

Presenters: Darla Cooper and Daisy Segovia, The RP Group

What’s on the Agenda? Moving Toward a More Student-Ready Institution Through Strategic Planning of Research Efforts
Track: Planning & Institutional Effectiveness
Room: Tokyo/Vancouver

The San Diego Community College District Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Research has developed a flexible research agenda template to facilitate prioritized, focused, and intentional research studies in addition to reducing unnecessary ad hoc data requests. This session will present four examples of what these multi-year research agendas can look like, how the use of strategic research plans can better ground researchers and practitioners alike in institutional and departmental goals that center student success and equity, and how this model can improve the quality of program evaluations in the service of creating a more student-ready institution.

Presenters: Natalia Alarcon, Stephen Bass, and Jaime Seiverd, San Diego Community College District

The Missing Many: Decoding MIS Categories to Highlight the Systemic Masking of Native Students
Track: RP Toolbox
Room: Melbourne

Despite having over 700 students on Sierra College’s campus with American Indian and Alaska Native ancestry, only 94 are officially reported due to masking under racial and ethnic “Hispanic/Latinx” and “Two or More” MIS and IPEDS categories. Using expanded race and ethnicity definitions, the session has been developed to empower participants with a deeper understanding of data collection practices, practical methodologies for accurate reporting, and exploration of the impact on diverse student outcomes. We want to open the room for discussion and share tools and data design. We will encourage educators and practitioners to explore relevant questions and leverage the expanded definitions for more inclusive and accurate representation of student demographics.

Presenters: Jessica LaCourse and Randy Lehr, Sierra College

 Wednesday, April 10 | 1:50–2:50 pm

Leveraging Real-Time LMS Data for Outcome Tracking and Timely Intervention: Evaluating a Summer Math Boot Camp
Track: Research & Evaluation
Room: Centennial C

Like many colleges, Long Beach City College (LBCC) continues to struggle to improve success rates in our math courses. Despite many programs designed to support struggling students, Student Service staff have perennially struggled to identify and reach out to students before it is too late. However, real-time Canvas grade data now allows for service providers to intervene as soon as possible, if they can be provided with this data in an organized and actionable manner. In this presentation, attendees will learn how LBCC accesses, processes, and ultimately uses Canvas data in real time in order to support the faculty and staff who conducted a summer math boot camp and now are tracking the progress of these math students throughout the fall semester. This will include detailed coverage of the multiple systems LBCC uses for this process such as Python, R, MS SQL Server, and Tableau.

Presenters: Andrew Fuenmayor and Luke Liang, Long Beach City College

 – Noncredit to Credit Alignment Lab - A Framework to Equity for Noncredit Students
Track: Planning & Institutional Effectiveness
Room: Centennial D

Noncredit students’ experience and student support funding has not been equally provided at community colleges. In 2021, San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) was accepted as one of 14 community college institutions nationwide to participate in the noncredit credit alignment lab. This work is based on five tenets: (1) treat all students as students; (2) bBuild pathways between noncredit and credit credentials; (3) align departments and governance; (4) make programs credit worthy or credit-based; (5) remove barriers to transition. In this presentation, we will show the data points and facilitation by Institutional Research that propelled this work in our district and helped identify the clear strategies needed to make SDCCD student-ready for its noncredit students (a nontraditional population). Three key strategies are: (1) early outreach; (2) onboarding support; (3) comprehensive support services. Resources and the framework will be shared so your institution can learn from our journey and be at the forefront of noncredit to credit alignment leadership.

Presenters: Jacqueline Hester, San Diego College of Continuing Education; Marc Grabiel, San Diego Community College District

Improving Transfer Success in California Community Colleges With Funnel Analysis and Decision Trees
Track: RP Toolbox
Room: Barcelona/Casablanca

As an integral part of the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) Vision 2030 goals for system-wide equity and student success, the research and data analytics team leverages data to inform decision-making regarding transfer policies and initiatives. This presentation will share our team’s original research, aiming to deepen the understanding of CCC students’ transfer pathways and identify opportunities for fostering equitable transfer success. The presentation will delve into two data analysis tools employed by the team: (1) a funnel analysis, providing visual insights and pinpointing areas for improvement along students’ transfer pathways and (2) a decision tree analysis, revealing factors contributing to challenges and successes along these transfer pathways. Attendees will gain insights into why these tools are particularly adept at facilitating comparisons across various stages along the transfer pathways and between different student groups, promoting a nuanced examination of transfer success in an equitable manner.

Presenters: Shuai Li and Rachel Zhou, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

Embedded Tutors: Making a Difference for Diverse ESL Students
Track: Planning & Institutional Effectiveness
Room: Tokyo/Vancouver

At Irvine Valley College (IVC), English as a Second Language (ESL) courses include an embedded tutor (ET) to help students with their writing. ETs became particularly prudent in fall 2019 because of AB 705, which led to a shorter ESL sequence and an increase of ESL students directly enrolled into transfer-level English courses with ESL support. Data shows ESL students who met with an ET had higher pass rates. However, students who choose to meet with an ET are different from those who do not; therefore, we conducted propensity score models. Students who met with an ET were more likely to pass their course, taking into account their background characteristics (e.g., ethnicity, first generation status, age), but results show some students benefited more than others. Furthermore, the survey results showed some students found ETs and workshops helpful, and they would like to see more ETs available on other courses.

Presenter: Marcela Reyes, Irvine Valley College

Identifying and Supporting Student Parents: Learning From Points of Attrition
Track: Planning & Institutional Effectiveness
Room: Melbourne

Attention to college access and success among student parents has been galvanized by the implementation of AB 2881. According to the latest basic needs survey, over 26% of students are living with at least one child. Many of them report their children experience food insecurity. In another recent survey, 38% of students reported dependent care as one of the key reasons for course withdrawal and college stop-out. Building on existing onboarding processes and practices, Bakersfield College’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness strives to streamline processes to identify student parents and conducted an in-depth analysis of the fall 2022 incoming student-parents starting from application to enrollment and persistence. This study is intended to brainstorm ways to identify and estimate students who are parents, address the systemic barriers and challenges in their student journey, share key takeaways of this study with the IRPE community, and provide additional guidance and information to support equitable outcomes and thus promote diversity and inclusion in our institution.

Presenters: Kristin Rascon, Kern Community College District; Sooyeon Kim, Bakersfield College

Student Use of Office Hours and Similar Outside of Class Engagement: An Exploratory Study
Track: Research & Evaluation
Room: Melbourne

The use of office hours by students has been the subject of limited study. There is evidence that student attendance at office hours and other forms of faculty-student interaction contribute to their success in courses, but there is only limited work on the intrinsic and external factors that influence those interactions. In the spring of 2023, a collaboration between the Office of Institutional Research and faculty at Porterville College resulted in this exploratory study on the factors that contribute to faculty-student interaction, how that interaction contributes to student success, and advice faculty have for their peers for encouraging such interaction.

Presenter: Michael Carley, Porterville College; Kristin Rascon, Kern Community College District

 Wednesday, April 10 | 3:20–4:20 pm

 – Faculty Impact on Black Student Success (RP Outstanding Project of the Year Award Winner)
Track: Research & Evaluation
Room: Centennial C

Over three years ago, Norco College began an exploration of the factors related to Black student success. Starting with the data, faculty ethnicity and other variables were analyzed to identify any correlates with Black student success. With the support of an advisory team comprised of faculty, classified professionals, and administrators, results of the analysis were given context and direction for next steps. As this project continued to unfold, faculty with high Black student success rates were brought into a faculty inquiry group which resulted in the Faculty Impact Survey (FIS). The final step of this project was to use the results of the FIS to identify which practices and approaches had the strongest impact on Black student success. Come join this session to find out the results of this important research and how you can involve your college in this project. The process, survey, and predictive model will be shared so participants can replicate the study at their colleges.

Presenters: Greg Aycock and Caitlin Busso, Norco College

Spotlight on STEM Calculus 1: Impact of Preparatory Pathways on Completion
Track: Research & Evaluation
Room: Centennial D

By July 1, 2024, colleges are required to evaluate their STEM calculus pathways and determine the pathway that helps students maximize completion of STEM Calculus 1 in two years and STEM Calculus 2 in three years. As part of the process, the Multiple Measures Assessment Project (MMAP) team conducted a statewide analysis, as well as individual college analyses to help colleges determine their next steps in complying with the law. This presentation will unpack the statewide analyses (both descriptive and a regression analysis), delve into the results at the college level, and help colleges understand their options for certification. Attendees will be given time to ask questions and better understand the research and compliance requirements in order to serve as a resource for their campuses during the transition period.

Presenters: Terrence Wilett, Cabrillo College; Mallory Newell, De Anza College; Loris Fagioli and Kevin Hsu, Irvine Valley College; Daisy Segovia, The RP Group

Enrollment Rebound: Leveraging Findings From the Chancellor’s Office’s Enrollment Monitoring and The RP Group’s College Attendance Survey
Track: Planning & Institutional Effectiveness
Room: Barcelona/Casablanca

In alignment with the Vision 2030 goal of increased, equitable enrollment and more active outreach to potential students, this presentation will focus on statewide and regional enrollment trends pre and post pandemic with an emphasis on student groups that have experienced the sharpest declines in enrollment such as Black and Filipino students, students with disabilities, and low-income students. The presentation will use actual enrollment figures along with quantitative and qualitative data from The RP Group’s College Attendance Survey to provide insight into the behaviors and experiences of current and prospective California community college students. The presentation will also provide opportunities for attendees to hear from one another about strategies they’ve used to increase enrollment, share successful practices and local data insights, and a space to generate additional ideas together.

Presenters: Allison Beer and Ruth Latendorf, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office; Alyssa Nguyen and Michelle White, The RP Group

Neurodiversity Affirmation in Higher Education: Creating Advocacy While Constructing Measurable Outcomes
Track: RP Toolbox
Room: Tokyo/Vancouver

Community colleges are open-access institutions that are designed to serve their communities. A portion of the students that attend community colleges are neurodiverse and need different supports to be successful in their educational pursuits. Neurodiversity is the acknowledgement that neurological differences, such as autism, dyslexia, or ADHD, are normal differences in human cognition. The concept of neurodiversity pushes against the notion of inferiority, but instead acknowledges strengths. It is important for community colleges to look at neurodiversity and to try to identify it within studies, as these students may have different support needs than their neurotypical peers. Neurodiverse students need community and a sense of belonging, which can stem from activities such as the first year experience. Understanding neurodiversity and creating positive supports can increase student success and may help in gainful employment for this population.

Presenter: Kristin Rascon, Kern Community College District

Does Guided Pathways Work?
Track: Planning & Institutional Effectiveness
Room: Melbourne

This session will share important evidence from multiple qualitative and quantitative research studies—including a multi-campus difference-in-difference design—indicative that elements of the Guided Pathways framework are effective in improving equitable student outcomes. See evidence that an institution-wide rollout of high quality, freely accessible program maps has moved the needle on student outcomes at the campus level for transfer, persistence, unit accumulation at time of degree award, and transition from noncredit to credit, as measured in the student success metrics dashboard. Attendees will learn how to analyze differences in Student Success Metrics outcomes associated with scaling Guided Pathways innovations, how to calculate on-path percentage, and how to download program map data—or, alternatively, develop buy-in to implement data-capable program mapping.

Presenter: Craig Hayward, Kern Community College District

 Wednesday, April 10 | 4:30–5:00 pm

Nuventive
Room: Melbourne

The Right Information at the Right Time: Leveraging the Nuventive Platform for Data-Informed Improvement.

 As Institutional Planning, Research, and Effectiveness professionals know all too well, using (qualitative and quantitative) data to demonstrate improvement is often easier said than done. In this session, we will explore how the Nuventive Improvement Platform facilitates data-informed improvement for multiple institutional processes, from annual planning and program review to learning outcomes assessment and strategic planning (and everything in between). We will pay particular attention to how IRPE professionals can leverage the Nuventive Platform’s information panel to provide information in context for these various processes, ultimately ensuring that stakeholders across the institution have easy access to relevant, accurate, and consistent data when making decisions.

Precision Campus
Room: Tokyo/Vancouver

Precision Campus Instructor Equity Reports and Enrollment Dashboards

See how Foothill and De Anza Colleges leveraged Precision Campus to send Disproportionate Impact reports to each instructor, and how those reports inspired conversations within the departments. American River College will show a new enrollment dashboard, how it was designed, and how it was received by the President and her cabinet.

Tableau
Room: Barcelona/Casablanca

Building a Modern Analytics Platform with Tableau

Higher education is an increasingly data-driven field. To make sense of what is happening today and plan for tomorrow, higher education institutions need to combine high-level views of organization and population changes with drill-down capabilities for true decision-making power. Tableau can help you break down silos so that you can see the College as a whole and make better decisions that affect student success. As higher education institutions evolve and transform, institutional research departments need to quickly analyze more data to help set priorities and inform strategic decisions across campuses.

 Wednesday, April 10 | 4:30–5:15 pm

An Overview of Noncredit at Long Beach City College: Enrollment and Efficiency
Room: Centennial Ballroom A/B

This dashboard demonstrates the relationship between noncredit enrollment and noncredit FTES. Since the pandemic, noncredit enrollments at Long Beach City College have increased significantly. Despite this growth, apportionment claimed has not increased proportionally. This issue vexed decision makers and provided the impetus for better understanding this data. By leveraging the 320 report and data from attendance accounting in PeopleSoft, our office has been able to create a deeper understanding of our noncredit offerings in ways that were not previously possible. 

Presenters: Richard Francais and Andrew Fuenmayor, Long Beach City College

Improving Analytical Processes for Campus Climate Survey Data Using Tableau
Room: Centennial Ballroom A/B

At Long Beach City College, we conduct a comprehensive Student Campus Climate Survey. As with any survey, the time-intensive nature of the analysis can result in instances of data being overlooked; it may be examined only once and subsequently forgotten. To avoid this outcome, we have taken great effort to integrate ongoing analysis of our survey so as to maximize analytical insight. In this presentation, we will present the layout of the Tableau visualization developed for analysis.

Presenters: Andrew Fuenmayor and Carolina Lepe Diaz, Long Beach City College

Leveraging Canvas and Tableau to Close Equity Gaps in Course SLOs
Room: Centennial Ballroom A/B

This dashboard showcase explores how to leverage Canvas and Tableau with the goal of supporting faculty in implementing equity-driven changes through the analysis of equity gaps revealed in SLO data. During this presentation, we will focus on how we utilize Canvas data to build our Tableau dashboard design that includes equity filters that display the Canvas data in an easy-to-understand visualization. Lastly, we will focus on how faculty utilize the dashboard to conduct an equity-focused analysis of course SLO data to inform their implementation of equity-driven actions that work toward closing equity gaps and sustaining an inclusive culture that enables students to thrive.

Presenters: Andrew Fuenmayor, Jennifer Holmgren, and Hayden Nguyen, Long Beach City College

Teaching Data to Close Systemic Equity Gaps: What the Counselors Institute Taught Me About Data Teaching
Room: Centennial D

Participating in active data communication and teaching will provide our institutions the ability to work more closely with our end users while also building relationships with them. This can help lead to better dashboards and more data literacy, leading to better informed decisions for our students rooted in equity-minded ideas. By teaching our users how to read data, we can have fruitful conversations about how to use the data and better understand the issues others in our institutions face. The first step is establishing the base knowledge and building up from there.

Presenters: Michael Gracia, San Diego College of Continuing Education

Institutional Effectiveness Supporting Equity: Benefits of Creating a Tableau Equity Planning Dashboard
Room: Centennial D

Student equity plans are focused on boosting achievement of student populations experiencing disproportionate impact as measured by specific “success indicators” (successful enrollment, completion of transfer-level math and English, persistence and completion). Based on this data, each California community college is responsible for developing a plan that identifies gaps, details goals, outlines strategies, and measures progress in addressing disparities that are discovered. While the CCCCO provides such data to the colleges, for many colleges—small colleges or those with local characteristics that impact CCCCO data sets—CCCCO data does not provide the level of disaggregation necessary to create a thoughtful equity plan that truly addresses student needs. To address this challenge, and to support the student equity planning process, Lake Tahoe Community College created a dashboard using Tableau Cloud to supplement the CCCCO data and allow additional disaggregation of populations to identify disproportionate impact and appropriately target services.

Presenters: Elizabeth Balint and Laura Salinas, Lake Tahoe Community College

Disaggregating Data for Equity: Racial-Ethnic Disparities in California Community Colleges
Room: Centennial C

Aligned with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Vision 2030 goals to support equity in student access, success, and support, this project utilizes novel data analysis to better understand the racial/ethnic makeup of the California community colleges student population. This presentation will share Chancellor’s Office analysis of the new Chancellor’s Office Management Information System data element of expanded race/ethnicity (SB38) first implemented in 2019. Specifically, it will explore how the system can improve race/ethnicity data disaggregation for American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN), Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (NHPI), and Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) students. The analysis will include disaggregation within these racial/ethnic groups, focusing on Vision 2030 priority student populations, including low-income students, students with disabilities, and students from historically under-resourced regions in the state. This expanded race/ethnicity analysis will facilitate conversations on how the Chancellor’s Office can improve equity analysis of Vision 2030 goals, student outcomes, and racial disparities across the system.

Presenters: Allison Beer and Rujun Yang, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

 Wednesday, April 10 | 6:30–8:00 pm

Join RP Conference Committee Member Hawk McFadzen (Compton College) for an evening ride through Long Beach, led by Val Stephens from Pedal Movement, a local bike sharing company. Meet in the hotel lobby at 6:30 pm and don’t forget your wheelz. Didn’t bring any? No problem. Pedal Movement has a bike rental hub one block from the hotel. We will walk to the hub together after meeting in the lobby.

 Wednesday, April 10 | 7:00–9:00 pm | Barcelona/Casablanca

After a full day of conference programming, wind down with a fun evening playing games and/or puzzling. Join RP Conference Committee Members anytime between 7:00 to 9:00 pm! An assortment of activities will be provided, but feel free to bring your favorite game or puzzle to share with others.

 Thursday, April 11, 2024

  7:30 – 8:30Breakfast

  7:30 – 8:30Breakfast with the Board

  9:00 – 10:15Opening Plenary and Birds of a Feather

10:15 – 10:40Coffee Break

10:45 – 11:45Breakout Session 4

11:45 – 12:45Lunch

12:50 – 1:50Breakout Session 5

  1:50 – 2:15Coffee and Snack Break

  2:20 – 3:20Breakout Session 6

  3:30 – 5:00CCCCO Briefing and Closing Plenary

 Thursday, April 11 | 7:30–8:30 am

Join The RP Group and members of our Board of Directors for breakfast on Thursday, April 11, 7:30–8:30 am!

Come meet Pam Mery, Board President for The RP Group, and your regional representatives! Bring your questions and learn more about...

• Who's on the Board?

• What does the Board do?

• What is it like to be a Board member?

• Which Board positions are open starting July 1, 2024?

• How are Board members elected and selected?

 Thursday, April 11 | 9:15–10:15 am

Birds of a Feather discussions are designed to provide an opportunity for conference attendees to engage with each other about specific topics of interest. RP Conference 2024 topics include:

• AB 705 & 1705

• Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Women in IRPE

• CAIR

• Engaging Resistance & Facilitating Topics Related to EDI 

• IRPE Office Leads

• IRPE Research Analysts

• Sexual Orientation Gender Identity (SOGI)

• Vision Aligned Reporting

 Thursday, April 11 | 10:45–11:45 am

An Experiential Learning Reflection: Applying Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Institutional Effectiveness Operations
Track: RP Toolbox
Room: Centennial C

This session offers an insightful exploration into the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in shaping institutional effectiveness practices. The presentation delves into how AI technologies have revolutionized data analytics, decision-making processes, and overall efficiency in operations. The session provides a reflection on experiential learning derived from integrating AI tools, emphasizing the enhanced capacity for predictive analytics, coding, inclusive editing, and automated administrative tasks. We will also discuss the challenges and ethical considerations in AI deployment. The session will host collaborative discussion among participants to foster a more collective understanding of AI’s role in shaping future institutional effectiveness strategies and practices.

Presenters: Erik Cooper, California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office; Aeron Zentner, Coastline College

The Time Is Now for Equitable Dual Enrollment
Track: Research & Evaluation
Room: Centennial D

Dual enrollment (DE) is called out in the Governor’s Roadmap for the CCC and the system's Vision 2030 plan. A common flavor of DE is the College and Career Access Pathway (CCAP) program, which allows college districts to enter into agreements with K-12 districts to offer college courses on site at the high schools. Despite the intent of “expanding dual enrollment opportunities for students who may not already be college bound or who are underrepresented in higher education,” past expansion has not been equal for all student groups. One challenge with growing DE equitably is that colleges rely on high school partners to recruit students for the program. Oftentimes, the most convenient courses for partners to fill are those that serve high-achieving students, limiting access to some groups. What practices can colleges change unilaterally to advance equity? What information can IRPE offices provide to help inform partners?

Presenters: Traci Fahimi and Vinh Nguyen, Irvine Valley College

What Lies Beneath: A Deeper Dive Into Better Understanding the Recent Decline in California Community College Enrollment
Track: Planning & Institutional Effectiveness
Room: Barcelona/Casablanca

The COVID pandemic recently contributed to community college enrollment declines in California and nationally. While enrollment numbers are trending up, we are still below the numbers observed before the pandemic. After a more comprehensive examination, it is evident that there are also economic and societal factors that contributed to the enrollment declines. This session will highlight enrollment trends both at the national level and in the state of California. The presenters will also highlight what specific student populations have been most impacted by the recent decline in enrollment and will elaborate on potential research bias with specific populations. In addition, this session will discuss key economic and societal factors that contributed to recent enrollment declines. Lastly, implications and next steps for community colleges and researchers will be discussed.

Presenters: Marcell Gilmore and Jaime Rodriguez, Mt. San Antonio College

Advancing Educational Justice: A Case Study of Implementing Equitable Placement and Completion Reform in California Community Colleges
Track: Research & Evaluation
Room: Tokyo/Vancouver

The California Community Colleges system has been leading in reforming its remedial education system—recognized as the most significant civil rights issue in community colleges for decades—to address persistent equity gaps in student success. This session aims to offer participants an overview of a policy timeline highlighting federal and state laws that have shaped the educational landscape for Black and Latinx students. Subsequently, the session will share insights from the collaboration between community college faculty and IRPE practitioners in advancing equitable placement, completion, and success policies. In conclusion, the session will provide valuable research, tools, and resources to drive equitable placement, completion, and success, focusing on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Presenters: Denise Luna and Vanessa Romo, The Education Trust, West; Michelle Beard, Ventura College

Cultivating Success: A Journey to the Aspen Prize Through the IR Lens
Track: Planning & Institutional Effectiveness
Room: Melbourne

Imperial Valley College was the co-winner of the 2023 Aspen Award for Community College Excellence. This presentation will reflect on the institutional research perspective and outline the success metrics, innovation, and interventions that led to the Aspen Award. Focusing on the key areas of equity, access, completion and transfers, this presentation will expand on campus culture, partnerships, and student support programs at the college. We will discuss the student outcome metrics and key indicators and the rigorous two-year process of the Aspen Prize. This session will outline the journey from a rural Hispanic Serving Institution and the challenges and successes that paved the way to this recognition of being one of the top community colleges in the nation.

Presenters: Jose Carrillo and Oliver Zambrano, Imperial Valley College

 Thursday, April 11 | 12:50–1:50 pm

  – Amplifying Student Voices - Riverside College’s Student Street Team
Track: Planning & Institutional Effectiveness
Room: Centennial C

In an effort to become more student-centered, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness at Riverside Community College (RCC) includes a three-student Street Team. These student workers provide valuable, direct feedback informing planning, communication, student equity, and how to better connect students with RCC’s supports. Having students embedded in the Institutional Effectiveness Office has encouraged more student-centered research and several “aha” moments. The students have helped staff to collect and share student feedback, amplifying student voices. They have also created solutions to some of the gaps they have identified.

Presenters: Mia Armenta, Emily Escoto, Wendy McEwen, and Joudi Sawas, Riverside City College

Show Me the Gay-ta! Elucidating LGBTQIA+ Data Practices to Elevate and Support Student Success
Track: Research & Evaluation
Room: Centennial D

The RP Group, in partnership with the Foundation for California Community Colleges, launched a survey of the CCC system to better understand LGBTQIA+ data practices and usage. Forty-nine colleges and districts participated and at least four participants were selected for follow-up interviews. This presentation will dive into the results of the study, providing attendees with promising practices and next steps to take back to their colleges to ensure that when we say “student-ready,” we are including LGBTQIA+ students.

Presenters: Hawk McFadzen, Compton College; Jaime Seiverd, San Diego Community College District

Making the Most Out of Excel for Presenting Your Data
Track: RP Toolbox
Room: Barecelona/Casablanca

Excel is one of the most-used tools in offices around the world. But due to the rise in popularity of software like Tableau and PowerBI for data reporting and data visualization, most people don’t take advantage of many of the tools that Excel offers for data reporting and data visualization. By using three key components in Excel—formulas, conditional formatting, and macros—research offices can increase the efficiency of their reporting production while maintaining high-quality levels of data visualization.

Presenter: Juan Salcedo, San Diego Continuing Education

Exploring Dual Enrollment’s Statewide Role in Expanding Access and Improving Equity in Higher Education
Track: Research & Evaluation
Room: Tokyo/Vancouver

The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office is undertaking a Vision 2030 strategy to expand dual enrollment access and equity across the state. As the system focuses on the expansion of dual enrollment, individual districts and campuses will need to have a clear research and analysis plan in place to ensure dual enrollment is expanding in a way that is equitable, consistent, and helps set California’s high school students up for success. This session explores a statewide analysis of current progress toward ensuring students can complete 12 units of dual enrollment coursework while also looking toward how to expand access in a way that advances equitable and just outcomes for all students—especially the state’s most marginalized.

Presenter: Christopher Ozuna, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

Understanding Cultural Complexities: A Qualitative Study of Black and Latino Community College Men
Track: Research & Evaluation
Room: Melbourne

This qualitative study examines how institutional agents engage with Black and Latino community college men. It studies how their understanding of the opportunities and struggles of Black and Latino men inform their engagement practices with these students. Ultimately, this study seeks to demonstrate the pivotal roles of institutional agents in their academic success.

Presenter: Liza Chavac, University of California, Los Angeles

 Thursday, April 11 | 2:20–3:20 pm

All About Transfer-Level Math: Research Insights on Throughput, Pre-Calculus, and Odds of Transfer
Track: Research & Evaluation
Room: Centennial C

In the past year, the IRPE Office at Citrus College conducted research intending to improve the completion rate of transfer-level coursework. In this session, we will share longitudinal data in transfer-level math throughput, delving into findings from two impactful research projects. First, the pre-calculus validation study examined the throughput of students enrolling in calculus directly compared to those taking pre-calculus before advancing to calculus. Second, the transfer odds ratio study integrated student equity and Guided Pathways, shedding light on the significance of transfer-level math course completion and successful transfer to four-year universities. We will also discuss actions and efforts undertaken at the college to increase completion rates in transfer-level math.

Presenters: Anthony Delgado, Yueyi Huang, and Xiaoran Yu, Citrus College

Leading Change Through Equity-Focused Annual Planning and Program Review
Track: Planning & Institutional Effectiveness
Room: Centennial D

This session will focus on how the Office of Institutional Effectiveness (IE) at Long Beach City College (LBCC) collaborated with college leadership to redesign the college’s Annual Planning and Program Review (APPR) process to be data driven and user friendly while intentionally focusing on closing equity gaps in student success. The session will include a brief history of LBCC’s APPR process followed by a demonstration of the revised APPR process components. The revised APPR templates that include specific equity-focused data analysis questions, corresponding Tableau dashboards that provide the ability to easily disaggregate student achievement data, and template requirements for equity-minded goals, activities, and resource requests will be shared. Supports that the Office of IE provides for APPR will also be discussed, including our researcher liaison model for data analysis. Finally, participants will have the opportunity to learn about specific programs and services that have effectively utilized this process to implement equity-driven plans leading to improvements in equitable student achievement.

Presenter: Jennifer Holmgren, Long Beach City College

3 ½ Strategic Tools to Overcome Barriers and Promote Evidence-Based Change for Your Equity Initiatives
Track: RP Toolbox
Room: Barcelona/Casablanca

One of our functions as IRPE professionals is to highlight opportunities for improvement and motivate decision-makers to address any deficits our research discovers. However, we are faced with many barriers that limit our effectiveness for inspiring change. During this session, we share how our office identified barriers to affecting change and leveraged 3 ½ strategic tools to overcome them. We demonstrate how these tools were critical in enabling Modesto Junior College (MJC) IRPE staff to effectively support decision-makers through the lens of two equity-driven research projects: Student Basic Needs and Employee Climate. We discuss the implementation details and lessons learned that ultimately led to MJC establishing a food pantry for students and creating affinity groups for college employees.

Presenters: Amanda Cannon and Caterina Grossi, Modesto Junior College

Equity in Action: Evaluating the Impact of the 2023 Hartnell College Math Academy on Student Outcomes
Track: Planning & Institutional Effectiveness
Room: Tokyo/Vancouver

Join us as we explore the intersection of research, planning, and institutional effectiveness in the context of fostering equity in transfer-level math at a Hispanic Serving Institution. We will present a comprehensive evaluation of a summer bridge program designed for community college students enrolled in transfer-level math courses. Through pre- and post-intervention data, we will assess the program’s impact on student participation in academic support services, their persistence, and their math outcomes. The presentation not only defines equity within our research framework but also highlights strategies employed by Hartnell College to inspire change. Our findings contribute actionable insights, demonstrating how evidence-based interventions can drive equitable outcomes in math education and inform institutional planning.

Presenters: Carlos Aguilar, Jason Garrett, Brian Palmer, John Perez Jr, Dr. Gayle Pitman, and Layheng Ting, Hartnell College

Net Equity Change: A New Calculation to Evaluate the Equity Impact of Programs
Track: Research & Evaluation
Room: Melbourne

This session will introduce the “net equity change” calculation. As researchers, we are often asked, “Are we moving the needle on equity?” It has been difficult to provide a quantitative answer with regards to specific programs. A program can impact equity by the combination of two effects: (1) it can improve the outcome rate for disproportionately impacted (DI) groups more than for other groups, and (2) it can provide its services to a higher proportion of those DI groups. The “net equity change” metric calculates the combined impact of these two effects by calculating the expected number of successful outcomes and compares that to the actual outcome count. It also gives the relative contribution of the two ways of changing equity. The session will describe the calculation, provide a spreadsheet that does the calculation, and describe the use of the calculation at Mt. San Antonio College.

Presenter: John Barkman, Mt. San Antonio College

 Thursday, April 11 | 3:30–5:00 pm

The Chancellor’s Office update will address Vision 2030 and how it is shaping Chancellor’s Office projects; updates on MIS data elements and dashboard releases; and information about Chancellor’s Office data and research priorities and projects.

Presenters: Allison Beer and Erik Cooper, California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office

 Friday, April 12, 2024

  8:00 – 9:00Continental Breakfast

  9:00 – 12:00Post–Conference Workshops