Office of the President

Educational Equity Policy Statement

Executive Memorandum 92-016 May 05, 1992

From: Robin S. Wilson, President

Subject: Educational Equity Policy Statement

On the recommendation of the Faculty Senate, I approve this Policy Statement on Educational Equity.

EDUCATIONAL EQUITY POLICY STATEMENT

California State University, Chico recognizes the need to institute extraordinary measures to increase the numbers of students on campus from underrepresented populations and to retain them through graduation. These groups include, but are not limited to, African-Americans; American Indians; Asian Americans/Southeast Asians; Latinos; and disabled students. This institution is committed to achieving educational equity as an integral component of its mission to address the educational, cultural, social, and material needs of the citizens of California and the nation. The goal of this policy is to seek a student population at California State University, Chico that more faithfully reflects the demographic characteristics of the University's service area and the state, both now and in the future.

It is well understood within the Chico State academic community that the success of programs intended to recruit, retain, and graduate underrepresented students depends on the active participation of all members of that community. It is the policy of CSU, Chico, therefore, to allocate sufficient resources to establish and sustain campuswide cooperative programs that facilitate the identification, recruitment, retention, and graduation of students from these underrepresented populations. The President and the Vice Presidents for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs will take the lead in achieving these goals. The University's commitment to the rapid realization of educational equity will require, at a minimum, the following:

  • Programs and procedures to monitor and report efforts to identify, attract, retain, and graduate students from populations targeted by this policy statement. This data is critical to efforts to increase the number of underrepresented students who successfully complete their education at CSU, Chico.
  • Intervention strategies involving faculty, staff, and students that will increase the percentage of matriculated underrepresented students. These strategies will be tailored to the needs of specific underrepresented student populations.
  • Mentoring programs involving administrators, faculty, staff, and students that increase persistence rates and promote academic excellence. These programs will be tailored to the needs of specific underrepresented student populations.
  • Recruitment of administrators, faculty, and staff from these underrepresented groups to increase the diversity of the university community and to provide students with role models during their education at Chico State.
  • Policies to increase the participation of underrepresented students in campus life activities that will promote their retention and graduation from California State University, Chico.
  • Augmentation of curriculum to more fully incorporate a diversity of cultural, intellectual, and educational perspectives.
  • Allocation of resources to accomplish these goals in accordance with the timelines established in the Educational Equity Coordinating Council's report of October 1991.