Think Equitably, Act Locally: Ensuring Equity and Collective Advocacy in California Community Colleges

Over a million students of color attend California’s community colleges, gaining technical skills and education that prepares them for transfer and a variety of different trades and careers. Last year, each of California’s community colleges submitted their Local Vision Goals for a funding formula that would allocate resources according to student needs, not just enrollment. 

It’s all part of the college system’s efforts – in this case, called the Student Centered Funding Formula (SCFF) – to align funding with improving student success and closing equity gaps. Advocates across the state see this as an opportunity to keep community college leaders focused on better serving students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.

While this effort is a step in the right direction, our review of the community colleges’ local goal submissions suggests that many fall short. In order for Student Centered Funding Formula Local Vision Goals to be achieved, we must support colleges in setting equitable and actionable targets.

Our latest Equity Alert discusses why goal setting matters and includes a tool advocates can use to evaluate and push for goals that are:

• accessible and transparent to all stakeholders, 
• focused on closing equity gaps, 
• formed through partnerships with engaged community and stakeholders, and intentional about internal and external updates.