Guiding Principles | Cascadia College

Guiding Principles

Cascadia has established its own E&I policy. We also collaborates with the state's community and technical college system to develop strategic initiatives intended to drive change and assess progress.

 

Equity & Inclusion Policy

Cascadia champions meaningful representation of all people’s identities and diverse backgrounds on campus and advocates for consequential inclusion in hiring, decision making, and leadership at all levels. Cascadia maintains that equity and inclusion are institutional priorities and are demonstrated by:

  1. the hiring and retention of qualified individuals in classified, exempt, and faculty positions that represent diverse communities;
  2. engaging in proactive outreach and retention efforts to students who represent diverse communities;
  3. continuing to develop, provide, and support courses that create significant learning experiences around equity, diversity, and power through active learning, critical thinking, communication, and interaction.
  4. allocating relevant and appropriate resources for the implementation of this policy;
  5. being culturally responsive, sensitive, and cognizant of Cascadia’s diversity in campus-wide communications;
  6. providing on-going professional development and learning opportunities regarding equity and inclusion topics;
  7. including an intersectional lens during the decision-making process that affects different segments of the campus community;
  8. conducting annual assessments of Cascadia’s equity and inclusion goals;
  9. providing constructive accountability in order to advance the equity and inclusion goals at Cascadia; and,
  10. engaging in the continual work to eliminate institutional barriers based on biological sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, socioeconomic status, age, military and veteran status, disability, language, culture, and religious beliefs.

Inclusive Campus Pledge

The University of Washington Bothell and Cascadia College are committed to being inclusive, transformational, and engaged institutions of higher education. For that reason, UW Bothell and Cascadia College declare our shared campus to be an inclusive and hate-free zone, and we hereby pledge and reaffirm our commitment to:

  • remain equal opportunity institutions that do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender and/or sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, veteran's status, genetic information, or national origin, citizenship or immigration status;
  • support and protect the safety, security, and well-being of all our students, faculty and staff regardless of their national origin, immigration status or citizenship;
  • help students achieve their academic goals regardless of national origin, immigration status or citizenship;
  • protect student information in accordance with all applicable privacy laws, including FERPA;
  • honor academic freedom and the venerable tradition of a campus as a place for a free and open exchange of ideas; and
  • support First Amendment rights, but never tolerate unlawful harassment, threats, or hate crimes as defined under our student conduct codes or applicable laws.

We commit to this pledge on behalf of our students, faculty, and staff for the betterment of our institutions and the communities we serve.

Signed on January 17th 2017 by Cascadia College President Eric Murray and UW Bothell Chancellor Wolf Yeigh.

Campus Climate Assessment Plan

In May of 2021, the Washington State Legislature enacted Senate Bill 5227 relating to diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism at institutions of higher education. Included in that Bill (section 3) is the requirement for all colleges to conduct campus climate assessments (CCAs) and campus listening and feedback sessions. (SBCTC CCA Guidance)

  • Each college must submit a plan by July 1, 2022 overviewing their plan and progress on their implementation.
  • CCA findings must also be posted on your college website.

College Contextual Work

We have strategic initiatives based on a decade of listening, data (See Appendix A: Strategic Plan Equity Initiatives (2021-2022, 2022-2023). Examples of the listening, dialogs, and data include:

  • Over multiple years, the College community engaged in Cavolines, DIAs (non-instructional Day of Inquiry and Assembly)
  • 2019-2022 The Executive Director of Equity and Inclusion, conducted an Intercultural Development Inventory to assess intercultural competency among the college community.

Identify plan actions

  • Foundations (1/3 employees have completed, goal for 22-23 is to reach 50%)

Action Plan for 2022-2023

Term Action Owner(s) Outcome(s)
Summer 2022 Identify CCA tool(s) for students and employees E&I Council Work team

Identify Tool

Develop implementation plan
September 2022 Review student success disaggregate outcome data  

Identify gaps, gates, and barriers
Fall 2022 Launch the Community Voices (strategic plan initiatives: Scholars, Diversity & Equity Center, student leaders, and other EDEI, Guided Pathway Assoc. Dean, Director IE

Capture qualitative feedback to dive deeper in the student and employee experience to supplement quantitative data.
Fall 2022 Deploy CCA tool(s) Director IE

Capture climate data
Fall 2022 Focus October DIA or drop-in services to discuss data EDEI  
Winter 2023 Summarize feedback, draft actions for 23-24 strategic plan EDEI  
Spring 2023 Review impact/outcomes of 22-23 E&I strategic initiatives EDEI  

Next Action Steps

  • May E&I Council
    • Review the plan
    • Identify a summer workgroup to identify survey tools in collaboration with IE
  • Summer
    • Develop student feedback plan

Resources

Completed        
Mission Outcome
  1. Increase student and employee diversity
  2. Increase equity outcomes for students and employees
 Increase student and employee equity outcomes    
Objective Create a sense of belonging and establish a support network Ensure an equitable starting point for employees Connect with Indigenous Community  
Initiative, Activity, Program Establish employee affinity groups Remodel the hiring process through an E&I lens Implement the Equity Advocate program for hiring committees Co-create a land acknowledgment with Indigenous Community
Governance Body & Executive EDEI, E&I Advisory Council      
Performance Indicators Employee retention Employee demographics Employee year-by-year retention rates Candidate demographics for semi-finalists and finalists Progression & retention rates
Measure: Long-term Outcomes Increase hiring and retention rates among systemically non-dominant employees Increase hiring and Retention of systemically non-dominant employees Increase hiring of systemically non-dominant employees Increase:
  • Sense of belonging
  • Indigenous students and employees
  • Retention of Indigenous students & employees
Data Source ctcLink data HR data HR data HR data ctcLink data HR data Student & employee surveys
Continued          
Mission Outcome
  1. Increase student and employee diversity
  2. Increase equity outcomes for students and employees
  1. Increase student success
  2. Increase equity outcomes for students
  1. Increase employee diversity
  2. Increase employee equity outcomes
  1. Increase student success
  2. Increase equity outcomes for students
  
Objective Create a sense of belonging and establish a support network Guarantee an equitable starting point for students Ensure an equitable starting point for employees Guarantee an equitable starting point for students  
Initiative, Activity, Program Expand the Cascadia Scholars Mentorship Program (second year, 1st year of full program) Expand High School Students of Color / Social Justice Conferences Translate CCF and other program materials into additional languages (delayed due to funding) E&I Foundations Expansion to reach 50% of employees (program expansion) Conduct an English and Math placement and success data review (delayed due to capacity)
Governance Body & Executive EDEI, E&I Advisory Council EDE&I VPSLS, VPERP EDE&I VPSLS
Performance Indicators 1st 15, 30, 45 credits # Participants Increase in BEdA enrollment # New participants Initial placement levels by placement source
Measure: Long-term Outcomes Increase retention and completion rates amongst systemically non-dominant students
  • Increase new FTE
  • Increase enrollment of systemically non-dominant students
 Increased enrollment in BEdA
  • Increase sense of belonging
  • Retention of systemically non-dominant employees
 Completion rate of program level Math & English at 45 credits (disaggregated)
Data Source ctcLink data Event data ctcLink data ctcLink student data Program data Placement data ctcLink data
New    
Mission Outcome Increase student and employee equity outcomes
  1. Increase student and employee diversity
  2. Increase equity outcomes for students and employees
Objective Connect with Indigenous Community Create a sense of belonging and establish a support network
Initiative, Activity, Program Hire an AIIS Faculty Program Coordinator and launch program Community Voices: Annual climate and experience feedback
Governance Body & Executive VPSLS, EDE EDE&I
Performance Indicators Enrollment 1st 15, 30, 45 credits # Responses
Measure: Long-term Outcomes
  • Improve sense of belonging for American Indian and Indigenous students
  • Increase retention and completion rates amongst systemically non-dominant students
 Increase retention and completion rates amongst systemically non-dominant students
Data Source Student Voices Program Assessments ctcLink Data Program Assessments ctcLink data

Survey Results Presentations:

Cascadia College - DEI Strategic Plan (2022-2023)

Like many community colleges Cascadia has a broad mission to serve our community defined by our service district. Our new strategic plan puts a focus on what matters most within that broad mission. During the fall of 2020 we explored our mission as a community to consider whether the current language resonates with what matters most. To some extent, we have spent the last two years identifying what matters most to us: the success of our students and employees, with a special emphasis on ensuring the success of systematically non-dominant* students and employees.

This focus aligns with our long-standing values: Cascadia College believes that every person's background, which includes identifiers such as ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and ability, helps enrich the lives of others when an environment is conducive to the expression of that identity. It is our deep commitment to provide a space where diversity, equity, and inclusion thrives and leads to social justice, another important concept on our campus. Our culture seeks and supports diversity, equity, and inclusion. We firmly believe everyone's history contributes to the collective success of our community. Further, our focus aligns with our supporting agencies, SBCTC, and the NWCCU. (Cascadia College Strategic Plan)

College Mission Outcomes

Our College mission outcomes guiding our strategic plan center all of us on what matters most:

  • Increase student success
  • Increase our diversity
  • Increase equity outcomes for our students and employees
Planning Approach

With the impact of COVID in mind, we identified the following principles to guide us in creating a strategic process and plan that allows our community to thrive during this unique time in our institutional journey:

  • Focus on what matters most – our students and employees
  • Engage in strategic planning to purposefully initiate change within the institution
  • Accept that all work is important, not all is strategic
  • Demonstrate mission fulfillment by constructing a living document that will continue to evolve so that we can be nimble, flexible, and adaptive during these uncertain times.
Cascadia's Annual Strategic Planning Cycle

We have adopted continuous improvement as our planning style to give life to our Plan. Continuous improvement brings strategic plans to daily work by adopting a continuous cycle (think – plan – do – assess – think…) that we are building into an annual process utilizing non-instructional days so as to bring together our entire community for strategic work (demonstrated in figure 1).

Institutional Effectiveness:
  • The EDI plan represents a significant initiatives in Cascadia Colleges Strategic Plan and our established institutional effectiveness program.
  • The EDI plan will be included in our 2023 NWCCU Mid-Cycle report as a exhibit of mission fulfillment.
Transparency:
  1. Ensure the plan is an accessible document.
  2. Post to the Cascadia website.
  3. Provide routine updates throughout the year during public Board of Trustee meeting.
Public Metrics:
  • Assessment sources include web metrics, ctcLink data, and internal surveys.
  • Public outcome dashboard will be available fall 2022.
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