NORTH SEATTLE COMMUNITY
COLLEGE
Action Plan for People of Color Participation
and Diversity
REPORT TO THE WASHINGTON STATE BOARD
FOR COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGES
I. Statement of Vision and Commitment
In its 1990 mission statement, North
Seattle Community College made a commitment
"to create a climate that affirms and
endorses our diversity." In its mission,
the college pledges to employ a staff
that reflects the diversity of our students,
to support a diversified English as
a second language program, to implement
multicultural and gender-balanced education
throughout the curriculum, to provide
services and instruction that address
learning and physical disabilities,
to support faculty and staff development,
and to make the community aware that
we welcome diversity.
This statement was re-visited in fall
1992. At a two-day retreat called by
North's president, Dr. Peter Ku, administrators
and college council members joined together
in 1992 to develop a five-year plan
for the college. A principal element
of the plan is the commitment to cultural
diversity, as follows:
The college mission "to affirm and
endorse cultural diversity" is a strong
commitment to ensuring the rights of
all individuals to equal education and
to a collegial climate. The vision for
our future is a campus that reflects
respect for all races and diverse cultures
and teaches mutual understanding. It
involves development of a curriculum
that is inclusive of race and gender
based upon the principle that content
related to cultural pluralism belongs
in every discipline. Course outlines
should specify how this occurs. All
students who earn degrees and certificates
should have course work that enhances
their understanding of a multicultural,
multiethnic society.
Other elements of the vision are increased
ethnic diversity among faculty, staff
and students; a strong support system
responsive to students of color and
students from diverse cultures; and
a campus where events and exhibits stimulate
interest in and appreciation for cultural
diversity.
We are working to realize our vision
by augmenting state dollars with external
sources of funding. Throughout the 90's,
we need additional funding to accomplish
the following objectives:
- To reach all staff and faculty
with a strong professional program
in cultural pluralism.
- To give faculty research time to
develop and share curricular models.
- To recruit students of color and
diverse cultures into instructional
programs where they are underrepresented.
- To increase the diversity of the
faculty and staff.
- To strengthen support services
for students of color and diverse
cultures, helping them to achieve
their goals at the college and to
counsel them about employment and
further education.
- To improve the recruitment, retention,
and program completion of students
of color assisting their transition
from Seattle Public Schools to community
colleges to four-year institutions.
- To create a campus climate that
celebrates cultural diversity with
special events, lectures, artwork,
and exhibits.
II. Institutional Goals and Timelines
A. Enrollment
* Goal: North will continue to improve
the participation of underrepresented
groups: Native American, African Americans,
and Hispanic Americans.
* Goal Attainment Measure: During
the next three years, increase the enrollment
of African Americans by 20%, Hispanics
by 30% and Native Americans by 50%,
as well as at least maintaining the
current level for Asian Americans.
Between 1980 and 1992, enrollment
of students of color at North increased
from 12% to nearly 30% of students in
the state supported program. The ethnic
distribution pattern at North Seattle
Community College (72% white, 19% Asian,
5% African American, 1% Native American
and 3% Hispanic) already exceeds that
of the part of the city designated as
the college's service area. According
to 1990 census data, ethnic distribution
in North's service area is 88% white,
2% African American, 7.4% Asian, and
2.8% Hispanic.
During the past 10 years, the largest
increase in an ethnic grouping is the
enrollment of Asians. However, during
the past two years, the college also
has seen a notable increase of African
Americans. In fall 1991, state supported
programs enrolled a head count of 284
or 4% African Americans. In fall 1992
North enrolled 555 or 6% African Americans
and in fall 1993, 476 or 5%.
* Action: To achieve higher enrollment
rates, the college has strengthened
recruitment efforts through the participation
of students working in the multicultural
services office and by developing outreach
programs in the high schools.
Outreach efforts include:
- Participation in the Seattle Community
Colleges HOT Nigh school outreach
team) which visits Seattle public
high schools
- Staffing the district booth at
the National College Fair
- A community service project with
ESL and first generation students
of color at Rainier Beach and Ballard
high schools
- Visits to area high schools by
the student multicultural specialists
in diversity services
- Campus tours for high school students
- Targeted outreach activities to
specific groups, e.g., co_sponsorship
of Native American High School Day
with Indian Heritage High School,
observance of Black History Month,
etc.
- Collaboration with North's Upward
Bound
- Dissemination of information about
tech prep and Running Start to high
school students of color
New efforts to be made are:
- Development of targeted programs
for students of color such as a tech
prep project for Latino/Chicano students
- Establishment of ongoing relationships
with community based organizations
such as churches, tribal education
committees, and agencies that serve
people of color
- Publication of quarterly ads in
newspapers serving ethnic communities,
e.g., Northwest Ethnic News, International
District Examiner, La Voz, the Medium,
etc.
- Appointment of a multicultural
community advisory committee to strengthen
partnerships and collaboration with
external constituencies
B. Retention
* Goal: North will improve retention
of students, particularly in the academic
transfer program.
* Goal Attainment Measure: For degree/certificate
seeking students, the percentage of
students who leave the college during
or immediately after their second quarter
of enrollment will be no greater than
20% and current disparity between ethnic
groups no greater than 5%; the percentage
of students who leave the college during
or immediately after their fourth quarter
will be no greater than 45% and current
disparity between the groups no greater
than 3%.
At North attrition is higher among
whites, African Americans, and Native
Americans than among Hispanics and Asians.
It also is higher in the academic transfer
area than in occupational programs.
In occupational and academic transfer,
the attrition of Native Americans stands
out as particularly high.
Based upon fall 1991 data, 28% of
new students in occupational programs
planning to stay at least one year had
dropped or stopped out by spring quarter.
By ethnicity, the attrition rate is
30.4% white, 18.8% Asian, 14.3% African
American, and 40% Native American, (no
representation of Hispanic students).
In the academic transfer program, 41%
of new students planning to stay a year
had dropped or stopped out. By ethnicity,
their attrition rate by spring quarter
was 45% white, 30% Asian, 46.4% African
American, 33% Native American and 28.6%
Hispanic. By the beginning of the next
fall the attrition for all students
was 51.6%. By ethnicity, attrition was
57% white, 35.7% Asian, 59.3% African
American, 66.7% Native American, and
33% Hispanic.
* Action: North's retention efforts
currently include a variety of strategies:
- Offering one-to-one help through
the tutoring and learning assistance
centers
- A multicultural student leadership
program
- Facilitation of ethnic-specific
student clubs
- A peer counseling program of 6-9
multicultural specialists
- Faculty and staff development in
cultural diversity
- Campus-wide curricular reform that
embeds study of American ethnicities
New efforts are concentrated as follows:
- Beginning September 1995, the college
will introduce an intensive summer
orientation for 25 students of color.
This bridge program will give students
an opportunity to get acquainted with
North-campus services and staff --
and to gain practice in writing. A
faculty team, consisting of a counselor
and instructors in English and American
ethnic studies, will plan and facilitate
the orientation. During fall quarter,
the students will register in linked
courses that include ethnic specific
support groups led by master students
of color and linked with tutoring
available in the college language
center. In winter, the students will
enroll in a coordinated studies that
centers on a diversity theme. The
diversity services staff will track
student progress and require students
to obtain the counseling and advising,
tutoring, etc., that they need. The
program will be piloted in 1995 and
1996 with the hope that it will be
expanded thereafter.
- Development of a faculty and staff
mentoring/ advising program for students
of color.
- Tracking the progress of students
of color by diversity services.
- Development of financial aid packages
that provide incentives for retention
(e.g., assigning on-campus jobs to
students with work study funds, increasing
grants and decreasing loans for students
making good progress toward the degree,
etc.)
C. Completion
* Goal: North will improve program
completion of students of color, assisting
their transition from Seattle Public
Schools to community colleges to four-year
institutions.
* Goal Attainment Measure: By the
year 2000, the percentage of students
of color receiving degrees and certificates
will be proportional to the ethnic distribution
of the college population.
The number of AA and AAS degrees awarded
annually has increased 73% since 1987.
However, the numbers awarded to African
Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics
has remained very small. For example
in 1991-92, the associate's degree was
awarded to 6 (2%) African Americans,
3 (.7%) Native Americans, and 9 (3.4%)
Hispanics. The numbers of students of
color receiving vocational certificates
also is very low. In 1991-92, certificates
were awarded to 12 (4.8%) African Americans,
2 (.8%) Native Americans, and 5 (2%)
Hispanics.
* Action: Many of the activities described
under the retention goal also support
those directed toward improving student
completion rates. Specific actions that
have been taken are:
- A major thrust in the college's
efforts to increase students' completion
rates is helping them make critical
transitions. As a member of the Seattle
Coalition for Educational Equity,
North has staffed a transfer center
that focuses on providing students
of color with information about transfer
to four-year institutions. Activities
of the center include: organizing
student visits to four-year institutions,
scheduling representatives of four-year
institutions at North for one-to-one
meetings with students, and mailing
literature pertaining to transfer
to North's students of color. As noted
under the employment goal, staff in
career services and cooperative education
are working to assist occupational
students in making transitions from
school to work.
- In the nursing program, a faculty
member meets on a weekly basis with
students of color to assist them in
making progress in their studies.
- In electronics and engineering,
ESL has been integrated into the occupational
curriculum as a way to help students
overcome language barriers.
New strategies are:
- In fall 1994, the college's effort
to assist students in finding natural
groupings that promote their persistence
to completion will be extended to
three tracks for women who pursue
studies in the sciences, the technologies,
and liberal studies (WISE, WITS and
WILS). At entrance, women will be
grouped in classes and support groups
that facilitate their
sharing of interests and goals and
each woman will be advised by a program
coordinator.
- Discussion is ongoing to find strategies
that help students make connections
with faculty that promote students'
completion of associate's degrees.
D. Employment
* Goal: North will strengthen support
services for students of color helping
them to achieve their goals at the college
and realize employment and maintain
employment rates for faculty, staff,
and administrators that reflect the
diversity of our students.
* Goal Attainment Measure:
- Through an improved tracking and
reporting system, the college will
show a job placement rate for students
of color that is comparable to Caucasian
students by 2000.
- By 2000, increase the diversity
of part-time faculty to levels reflecting
the ethnic mix of the student population.
1. Data on placement of students of
color completing occupational programs
is limited. An analysis of job placement
of 19 programs tracked in the 199091
state survey shows that placement of
North's graduates is: 78% white, 12%
Asian, 6% African American, 3% Hispanic
and 1% Native American.
For the first three groups, this placement
pattern is disproportionate with enrollment
patterns of 72% white, 19% Asian, and
5% African American.
According to tracking in our cooperative
education and career services office,
the registration of students of color
in our career services office during
1993-94 was as follows:
Ethnicity, Total Number, Percentage,
*Total NSCC Percentage
Caucasian, 1537, 59%, 74%
Asian/PI, 693, 27%, 19%
Hispanic, 126, 5%, 3%
African American, 193, 7%, 5%
Native American, 29, 1%, 1%
Middle Eastern, 18, 0.7%, -
Other, 12, 0.5%, -
The actual placement rate through
the Employment Security office located
on our campus is as shown:
Ethnicity, Total Number, Percentage
Caucasian, 59, 62%
Asian/PI, 20, 21%
Hispanic, 1, 1%
African American, 9, 10%
Native American, 6, 6%
Finally, 1993-94 placements in cooperative
education are as follows:
Ethnicity, Total Number, Percentage
Caucasian, 166, 72.81%
Asian/PI, 35, 15.35%
Hispanic, 3, 1.32%
African American, 17, 7.46%
Native American, 6, 2.63%
Middle Eastern, 1, 0.44%
2. According to data received from
the state board for fall 1993, the ethnic
distribution of full-time faculty compares
more favorably with that of students
than does the part-time faculty. Asians
are underrepresented by both full- and
part-time faculty. The state report
shows the following distribution:
% Full-time Faculty, % Part-time
Faculty, % Students
7.8% Asian, 5.9% Asian, 17% Asian
6.8% Afr Am, 2.7% Afr Am, 5.2% Afr Am
3.9% Hispanic, 2.2% Hispanic, 2.9% Hispanic
1.0% Native Am, 1.6% Native Am, 1.2%
Native Am
* Action:
- In 1992-93, North implemented a
cooperative education program in order
to assist students in making the transition
from school to work and in 199394,
an Employment Security co-location
office on our campus. A major goal
of the college's cooperative education
and career services office is to strengthen
the preparation for work and job placement
of our students of color.
- Several projects related to job
placement for students of color will
be incorporated into the college's
annual career fair.
- Human development courses on job
search and placement will be revised
to include issues especially pertinent
to students of color.
- President Ku has urged the instructional
areas to seek greater representation
of people of color in all employment
classifications and especially among
part-time faculty. He regularly reviews
the affirmative action employment
report showing ethnic distribution
of staff and faculty with the members
of his cabinet.
E. Institutional Climate
* Goal: North will increase the level
of awareness among its students and
employees about issues of ethnic and
cultural diversity.
* Goal Attainment Measures:
- North's 1995-96 multicultural survey
(follow-up to the survey conducted
in 1991-92) will show an increase
in participation rates. Specifically
the rate of student participation
in completing surveys will increase
from 56 to 70%, while the rate of
employee (classified staff, faculty,
and administrators) participation
will increase from 27% to at least
60%.
- North's 1995-96 multicultural climate
surveys will show increases in student
and employee awareness regarding issues
of cultural diversity.
Among students participating in the
follow-up survey, the proportion of
respondents indicating that they have
gained greater understanding of cultural
diversity issues will increase from
42% to 75%. Additionally, the difference
in affirmative responses among students
from different ethnic groups will be
less than 5%. In the 1991-92 survey,
639 student responded out of approximately
1,100 given questionnaires. One of the
key questions was, "Have you gained
a greater understanding about people
from different cultural or ethnic backgrounds
as a result of attending NSCC?" Only
42% of students completing the survey
responded positively to the question.
The positive response rate was lower
among students of color, with 36% of
Asians, 32% of African Americans and
32% of Hispanics answering "yes."
Among employees completing the survey,
the proportion who indicated that working
at North has made a positive difference
in their cultural awareness will increase
from 73% to at least 85%. In the 1991-92
survey administered to employees, only
27% of the 450 campus employees returned
the completed questionnaires. Lowest
response rates were among part-time
faculty, followed by classified staff.
Among the employees who returned surveys,
73% replied "yes" to the question, "Has
working at NSCC helped you to gain a
greater understanding about people from
different cultural and ethnic backgrounds?"
* Action:
- As part of the Title III grant,
the climate study already is scheduled
to be administered to employees during
1995-96 as a means of measuring the
effectiveness of the curricular reform
and student leadership projects that
currently taking place on the campus.
- Central to the effort to change
the climate is the major curriculum
revision underway on the campus. The
reform began in the social sciences
where, after a review of the department's
curriculum, every full_time faculty
member had reassigned time to revise
and develop curriculum. In addition,
two new faculty were hired in American
ethnic and in Asian
studies. Beginning in 1993-94, the
reform extended to faculty in all
divisions and 14 faculty were given
reassigned time to develop courses
that will meet the new 5-credit multicultural
requirement for AA students. This
curriculum project will continue through
1995-96.
III. Individuals Responsible for
Goal Attainment
In fall 1993, President Ku delegated
responsibility for all diversity activities
to a new diversity committee, which
replaces the multicultural advisory
committee. Co-chairing the committee
are Roy Flores, vice president of student
development, and Dr. Rick Olguin, American
ethnic studies faculty.
Members are:
Marcia Barton, Humanities
Willard Bill, Social Sciences
Jeanie Boawn, Institutional Advancement
Felecia Caldwell, Human Resources
Angela Djao, Social Sciences
Eustace Esdaille, Business
Roy Flores, Student Development
Wally Fosmore, Facilities
Gwen Foyd, Electronics and Engineering
Larry Hopt, Business
Sharon Kita, English as a second language
Paul McCarthy, Humanities
Barbara McFalls, Diversity Services
Tom McIntire, Instruction
David Mitchell, Instruction
Cleo Molina, Diversity Services
Rick Olguin, Social Sciences
Barbara Pomeroy, Counseling
Judy Prince, Diversity Services
Fran Schmitt, Social Sciences
Annette Schley, Business
Suzanne Sewell, Student Government
Lynn Sharpe, English as a second language
Susan Starbuck, Women's Programs
Pedro Valverde, Electronics and Engineering
Gail Wilkie, Institutional Advancement
Edith Wollin, Humanities
IV. Resources and Funding
North supports the extensive work it
has done in cultural diversity with
state funding augmented by state minority
enhancement as well as federal and private
foundation dollars. The minority enhancement
allocation to North is approximately
$50,000 per year. Multicultural education
is one of four activities in a five-year
$2.5 million Title III grant that the
college received in 1991. The Title
III grant allocates $322,076 to this
activity over a five year period. Teams
of faculty from North also have been
participants in the summer institutes
in cultural pluralism sponsored by the
Washington Center and by the Seattle
Coalition of Educational Equity. Both
of these institutes received their financial
support from the Ford Foundation. In
the future, as the Title III grant concludes,
North will need to seek support to continue
its work from other funding sources. |
