Strengthening Student
Success Conference 2026 

Partnerships with educational institutions, community and faith-based organizations, and government agencies help students feel connected to our colleges. Effective cross-sector collaboration requires strong communication, ongoing relationship-building, and race-conscious practices aligned with institutional goals.

Career Education (CE), California Adult Education Program (CAEP), and K-12 transition programs rely on active partnerships to support smooth student pathways. Stronger connections with UC and CSU campuses improve transfer preparation and experiences. Community organizations extend our reach and help students transition into college.

We seek presentations that highlight partnerships that connect and strengthen professional networks across systems and that align with local institutional goals and Vision 2030 while supporting student success.

Examples:

• Coordinated K-12 and college transition efforts (dual enrollment, early/middle college, bridge programs, career/college planning)
• Intersegmental partnerships with CSU and UC
• Programs supporting adult education students, including SB 554 dual enrollment and pathway alignment
• CE programs connecting students, educators, and employers for workforce development and pathways to certificates, degrees, and transfer
• Regional initiatives or consortia that effectively support student advancement
• Partnerships with community organizations that provide equitable services for racially minoritized, financially insecure, justice-impacted, or otherwise underserved students

California community colleges have been at the forefront of transforming teaching and learning to achieve equity in the classroom; however, these efforts can often seem siloed and faculty may feel isolated in their work. We are seeking presentations that highlight culturally responsive, antiracist, and active learning practices—such as decolonizing curriculum, addressing students’ affective needs, expanding learning beyond the classroom, and using technology to improve outcomes. A key emphasis is understanding what structural or cultural changes were required, how those changes occurred, and who contributed to the work.

This strand also highlights strategies that strengthen student connection, integrate academic support into instruction, and expand equitable online learning. We are looking for examples of equity-minded course design, faculty collaboration, tutoring and library support, and the use of technology or open educational resources. Additionally, we invite work that incorporates social justice, service learning, activism, and community engagement to promote race consciousness and equity.

Examples:

• Scaling online learning while addressing inequities and overcoming structural barriers
• Creating culturally rich, equity-minded, and race-conscious syllabi
• Using student experiences to shape teaching practices
• Implementing high-impact instructional strategies
• Supporting the affective domain through metacognition, belonging, and habits of mind
• Faculty collaboration on redesigned co-requisite courses
• Strengthening academic support in online and in-person settings
• Expanding use of open educational resources (OER) and Zero-Cost Textbook initiatives
• Collaborative curriculum and pedagogy across disciplines, including ESL and Career Education
• Courses and activities centered on social justice, service learning, activism, volunteerism, and community engagement to promote race consciousness and equity

Many colleges are building compassionate, holistic support systems that address the basic needs of both students and employees. We seek presentations that demonstrate how institutions are tackling food and housing insecurity, financial instability, and physical and mental health challenges. A key emphasis is on colleges that have made poverty reduction and increased economic and social mobility central to their mission, supported by strong structures, partnerships, and cross-campus collaboration.

Examples:

• Campus food pantries and clothing closets
• Housing assistance for unhoused students or others who have lost their homes, such as victims of floods, fire, and other natural disasters
• Programs or services that assist students with basic needs to help keep them in school or return to school
• Integration of Career and Employment Centers with Guided Pathways to help students enter the path with career counseling and find jobs both on and off campus that enable them to stay on the path through completion
• Campus structures and integrated approaches that make receiving support unavoidable
• Development of college structures, such as student success teams or pathway teams, that create a campus culture in which all college personnel are responsible for student success and meeting student needs
• How colleges are implementing the requirements of AB 132 or assisting in the completion of Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) applications
• Redesign or implementation of stackable certificates
• Partnerships with industry partners to increase student work experiences

California’s community colleges are investing in intentional, systemic improvement through professional development and leadership training that builds inclusive, participatory, and equitable institutional cultures. We are interested in presentations that show how colleges design these learning experiences, support online and remote professional development, promote student-centered and culturally responsive practices, and cultivate leadership that drives institutional transformation.

We believe professional learning centers culturally responsive curriculum, support systems, and practices that close equity gaps. This strand focuses on how colleges are developing culturally relevant, humanizing professional learning and leadership practices to advance equity.

We seek presentations that understand that equitable education requires not only technical skill but also deep awareness of diverse histories, structural racism, implicit bias, and the impact these forces have on student experiences.

Examples:

• Professional learning that addresses ways to build diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in employees’ everyday practice
• Structures such as professional development centers, academies, and programs that foster culturally positive practices
• Leadership that creates courageous, community-building spaces for students and employees
• Collaborative learning models like inquiry groups and communities of practice
• Leadership development at all levels, including faculty and middle leadership
• Strategies that help leaders navigate crises affecting colleges and students

California community colleges continue to work to actively dismantle structural inequities through intentional institutional redesign. This effort has focused on going beyond mere acknowledgment of disparities—rather, it is an active and ongoing process that uses liberatory thinking to eliminate or redesign harmful procedures and policies to improve outcomes for historically minoritized students.

We seek presentations that show how to break down silos and connect programs that began as single initiatives. We are particularly interested in presentations that highlight how integrated planning can lead to integrated action and how that action can create equitable institutions.

We are also interested in presentations that demonstrate a college’s commitment to a focused vision and linked planning and research, including accreditation preparation and Guided Pathways work. In particular, we are interested in highlighting how institutions are learning from this work, how Guided Pathways aligns with related equity initiatives, and how student voices inform solutions that close gaps between intention and impact.

Examples:

• Embedding Vision 2030 goals into equity-centered transformation
• Using the Student-Centered Funding Formula to rethink resource allocation
• Embedding equity into institutional planning and action
• Ensuring students have real influence in governance and committees
• Accreditation preparation aligned with integrated planning
• Redesigning course sequences and meta-majors
• Integrating academic support directly into classrooms
• Strengthening Promise programs
• Advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion through hiring and institutional culture
• Addressing AI’s impact on teaching, learning, and academic integrity
• Implementing technologies that support holistic student success

California’s community colleges are facing rapid and far-reaching disruption. From canceled federal grant programs, shrinking budgets, and the rollback of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) efforts, to the rapid restructuring required through the implementation of AB 1111 and AB 928, the systems that have long shaped our work are being redefined.

We seek presentations that examine how these shifts are transforming practice, policy, and student support—and invite practitioners to explore strategies for resilience, adaptation, and leadership in a time of profound change. Rather than viewing these shifts solely as obstacles, we are interested in presentations that provide a forward-looking conversation about resilience, innovation, and institutional redesign.

This strand encourages presentations on models of collaboration, governance, and student support that share how colleges are maintaining their mission in the face of limited resources, canceled grants, or changing policies that hinder our work. We are interested in hearing about new and innovative ways colleges are keeping students at the center of their work—even as the winds of change continue to blow.

Examples:

• Understanding new policy landscapes
• Managing budget reductions
• Rethinking equity work with DEIA under attack
• Navigating transfer realignment (AB 928) and/or Common Course Numbering
  (AB 1111)
• Addressing the loss of federal funding
• Dealing with the impact of artificial intelligence on teaching and learning, institutional work, career pathways, etc.