FAQ Category: Equity

SFCC’s commitment to equity, inclusion and belonging are the highest priority of the College.

All efforts and initiatives are anchored by equity, inclusion and belonging. This includes, but is not  limited to: SFCC’s infrastructure, institutional procedures, teaching and learning, assessment,  professional development, campus facility policies, data reporting, programs, marketing and public relations, technology, procedures, and program development, etc.

The SFCC Governing Board  adopts for the College through its approval process to guide the work of the College (SFCC Policy 1-1). Each SFCC Policy has a leader who is responsible for remaining current with external rules and regulations, understanding and documenting the guiding principles, and developing the procedures for that Policy. This shared commitment to Equity guides the decisions that are made on behalf of, with, and for the College and its stakeholders. https://www.sfcc.edu/about/governing-board/

• SFCC’s Marketing and Public Relations Department focuses primarily on students of color in College marketing material. In the formulation of marketing decisions, MPR examines race, ethnicity, gender identity and other aspects of institutional data to ensure marketing material is proportionate to the populations we serve. In addition, we also recognize that the very institutional nature of “college” and “higher education” is systemically biased against students of color (and exacerbated during the pandemic) and impacts people of color disproportionately. In order to uproot systemic bias we must continue to push even harder to present and build SFCC as a space where students of color (as well as students from all overlooked and underserved areas) can feel at home. 

We exercise these equity guidelines in many forms, including the photos we select for marketing collateral, the choices of regional accents and inflections of the voice talent for radio and TV spots, providing Spanish translation when appealing to Spanish-as-a-first-language individuals, and maximizing our marketing collateral for the media consumption behaviors of people of color (for example: students of color rely on mobile technology at higher rates, thus we primarily design our digital projects as “mobile first.” 

We carefully monitor that college marketing materials accurately reflect the classes, services and outcomes we promise to deliver. We also use these marketing interactions to gather data and other information in order to continuously hone the quality and efficiency of future ca((MPA))igns and further appeal to the needs and aspirations of our students of color.

Local police and paramedics are called to campus in an emergency situation when either our campus security needs help or when it is beyond their capacity.

If you are unsure of who to reach out to when you have a concern or complaint please fill out our Complaints & Concerns form found here and it will get directed to and addressed by the appropriate individual. 

SFCC’s Department of Human Resources maintains policies regarding equal opportunity of employment, discrimination and harassment. All of these can be found here. For information on similar policies as they relate to students click here. 

For every permanent job position posted there is a search committee convened to review candidates, complete first interviews and recommend candidates for hire. Each committee must have at least one trained diversity representative to ensure the committee maintains socially responsible practices throughout the hiring process. 

There are currently mandatory trainings that relate to LGBTQAI+ issues that every employee at SFCC must complete and PDAC is working to improve and expand upon these trainings. There is also a resource site that faculty can access on diversity training and curriculum. 

This kind of information is called demographics. SFCC uses demographic information to help understand the student population. It is also used to identify where there may be gaps in enrollment or other trends on campus that may need to be addressed. For instance, if there are more students of one gender than another as compared to the local population, then SFCC would look at reasons why that might be to see if there are initiatives that might be helpful in balancing that representation. 

SFCC is a sanctuary campus and the governing board issued a statement to this effect, which can be found here. 

Yes, undocumented students are welcome at SFCC. 

A database on scholarships available to SFCC students can be found here. There are multiple scholarships on the list that are particular to women, American Indians, Hispanic people and more. 

SFCC is committed to teaching Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP). CRP is grounded in three tenets: (a).  “an ability to develop students academically; (b). a willingness to nurture and support cultural competence;  and the ©. development of a sociopolitical consciousness” (Ladson- Billings, G., 2005, p. 483). 

SFCC is committed to reflecting a Culturally Responsive Pedagogy which draws from aspects of students’ cultures in an asset-based approach. This means that course materials are relevant, and increases skill acquisition, engagement, and learning outcomes (Ladson-Billings, 1995). 

To assess student learning and outcomes SFCC employs Culturally Responsive Assessment  which is mindful of the student populations the institution serves. It draws from language that is appropriate for all students when developing learning outcomes, acknowledging students’ differences in the planning phases of an assessment effort, developing and/or using assessment tools that are appropriate for different students, and being intentional in using assessment results to improve learning for all students. It calls for student involvement throughout the entire assessment process including the development of learning outcome statements, assessment tool selection/development process, data collection and interpretation, and use of results (Montenegro,  & Jankowski, 2017, p. 10). It is  “an action-based, urgent need to create contexts and curriculum that responds to the social, political, cultural, and educational needs of students; it is affirmative and seeks to identify and institutionalize practices that affirm [Indigenous]; and,  authentic cultural practices of students” (Khalifa, Gooden, & Davis, 2016, p. 1278).

PDAC had put together a group of people both within the SFCC community as well as the local Native American community to put together a land acknowledgement statement. That work is still under way. In progress.

When faculty positions become available at SFCC, the hiring authority works with Human Resources to engage in a search that spans both local and national organizations including those like HACU (Hispanic Association of College and Universities). The goal is to create a large, diverse pool of strong applicants from a variety of backgrounds. SFCC has also reviewed job postings and interview questions to follow best practices in hiring so that there are no barriers to success in the process and there is a trained equity representative on each hiring panel. SFCC continues to evaluate its internal policies and practices to continuously improve the experiences of its faculty and staff to support the retention of employees of all backgrounds.