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15 Best Practices to Erase Equity Gaps

Research-based best practices that power the Moon Shot for Equity initiative

EAB has identified 15 best practices to help institutions take a hard look at their campus culture and systems to erase institutional performance gaps.

Leadership and Campus Climate

1. Train leaders in effective change management

Formal training on the change management skills necessary to lead the substantial changes required to build an inclusive campus.

Listen to our podcast on eliminating equity gaps

2. Provide equity-focused professional development

Dedicated training to develop racial literacy and racial equity problem-solving skills to ensure their continued ability to address and confront harmful policies, practices and cultural norms.

Read our blog to learn what happens when you disaggregate your student success data

3. Conduct campus climate assessments

Understand student, faculty, and staff perceptions and experiences, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and measure year over year progress on critical initiatives.

Access and Enrollment

4. Expand community-based partnerships

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Strengthen collaborations with local and regional CBOs to expand institutional diversity recruitment, enrollment, and retention efforts.

Read our blog to see how EAB is reimagining the way students apply to college

5. Offer second chances for adult learners

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Remove barriers to re-enrollment and creating flexible learning environments to enable adult students, including those who were formerly incarcerated, complete their degrees.

Read our blog to learn how to combat the community college enrollment decline

Academic Policy and Practices

6. Audit registration holds and revise policies

Participate in registration hold audit of to eliminate or revise those that are unnecessary, obsolete, or burdensome holds that prevent student progression and completion.

7. Offer retention grants for in-need students

Help students stay in school and on path to graduation by offering retention grants.

Listen to our podcast on retention grants

8. Assess and align math requirements

Align Mathematics to programs and embed them in transferable degree maps shared with participating two- and four-year institutions.

9. Offer college-level gateway courses

Redesign courses to support the placement of students in college-level writing and/or math to ensure timely progression to and through their gateway courses.

10. Create undergraduate academic degree maps

Establish clear pathways to timely completion of courses that count, reducing the time (and money) to graduate.

11. Leverage meta-majors to ease student pathways

Develop and implement credit-bearing first-year experience courses designed to provide students broad overviews of specific majors within the meta-major or programs of study.

12. Create pathways for transfer students

Streamline transfer pathways to ensure a seamless and successful transfer between institutions.

Listen to our podcast on how to become a transfer-friendly institution

Student Support and Belongingness

13. Leverage technology for proactive advising

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Enable proactive academic advising and allow advisors to focus their attention on students who need their support.

Listen to our podcast on student success technology and how it can improve equity

14. Make student care a coordinated effort

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Create a Coordinated Care Network across offices such as financial aid, career advising, support services, and counseling centers to easily coordinate and collaborate on appropriate next steps for student support.

15. Foster student belongingness

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Evaluate best practices and develop support and response plans to ensure that all students, especially those from underserved backgrounds, feel supported and valued by campus community.

Listen to our podcast to help you determine if your approach to student support is biased

More Resources

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