Strengthening Student Success Conference
Breakout Session 1
Wednesday, October 7 | 11:25 am – 12:25 pm
Reclaiming Value: “Invisible Returns” for Adult Comebackers
Strand: Advancing Equitable Institutions
Room: Garden 1
For comebackers—adults who stopped out and returned, or are considering a return—the question of whether college was worth it is especially charged: Economic returns are real but uneven, and institutional design shapes who benefits. Drawing on California-specific ROI research, interviews with 27 adult degree-completers, and reflections from a student presenter who experienced ROI firsthand as a comebacker, this session examines how returns vary by race and degree type, and how ROI extends beyond wages to include confidence, identity, durable skills, and generational impact.
Participants will calculate simplified ROI scenarios, map invisible returns from comebacker narratives, and identify institutional friction points shaping who benefits. Centering what students say college was actually worth to them—not just what the data says it should be—is itself an act of reclamation.
Presenters: Laura Bernhard, California Competes; Kate Mahar, Shasta College
Are Students Even Reading? Turn Concern Into a Literacy Movement
Strand: Achieving Equity in the Classroom
Room: Garden 2
Amid rising concerns about declining reading habits and literacy rates among college students, Santiago Canyon College (SCC) faculty felt compelled to rethink what meaningful, equitable literacy engagement could look like on campus. By transforming a large donation of children’s books into the Community Literacy Library, SCC developed an intergenerational, culturally responsive hub where students reconnect with reading, families gather around shared story experiences, and the campus refocuses on student-centered, equity-minded learning.
This session highlights how SCC used community partnership, creative problem solving, and disruption-informed design to build programming that supports applied learning, family literacy, and cross-segment collaboration. Participants will explore adaptable, low-cost strategies for creating literacy-rich spaces that strengthen belonging, academic confidence, and community connection across their own campuses.
Presenters: Amy Freese and Sarah Shawesh, Santiago Canyon College
Credit by Exam? Yes, We Can! (And So Can You!)
Strand: Navigating Disruption in a Shifting System
Room: Garden 3
The session provides practical information and hands-on opportunities to develop a credit by exam mechanism for a key course in your discipline, whether you are in the humanities, career education, or another area. Information will also be provided on how common college platforms such as Canvas can be leveraged to develop exams and track student success post-exam.
The session builds on the example of Glendale College’s credit by exam model for English C100. For students such as reverse transfers, who have significant life experience, or who may not have been able to take an exam currently used for credit by exam like the AP exam, offering credit by exam improves students’ completion of key courses, degrees, and certificates.
Presenters: Sarah McLemore and Paul Vera, Glendale College
From Data to Action: Advancing Black Student Success Through Equity-Centered Practice
Strand: Creating Support Systems for Students and Employees
Room: Garden 4
This session explores how Victor Valley College is advancing Black/African American student success through data-informed, culturally responsive strategies. Participants will examine a comprehensive support model that integrates Umoja, Student Engagement Centers, peer mentorship, and equity-minded instruction to improve persistence, completion, and transfer outcomes.
Using disaggregated data and student voice, the session highlights both progress and ongoing equity gaps, including gains in enrollment, completion, and belonging. Attendees will learn how targeted interventions, such as dedicated spaces and community, can be scaled to support disproportionately impacted students. Participants will leave with practical strategies and an actionable framework to apply equity-centered practices within their own institutional contexts.
Presenters: Hakeem Croom, Todd Scott, and Daniel Walden, Victor Valley College
The ZTC Blueprint: Turning Data Into Access
Strand: Advancing Equitable Institutions
Room: Harbor
Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) work is about more than affordability; it is an equity-driven, data-informed strategy that improves student success. This session highlights how one college scaled from three ZTC sections in Winter 2021 to nearly 400 by Fall 2025, saving students millions of dollars while expanding access to course materials.
Open Educational Resources (OER) and ZTC efforts are incomplete without a strong commitment to accessibility. Learn how to quickly evaluate the accessibility of OER materials using a simple web-based tool, and discover strategies for efficiently sharing accessibility information with your Disability Office and campus bookstore.
Participants will explore practical strategies for implementing and sustaining ZTC, including XB12 coding, building an OER data dashboard, and aligning efforts with institutional goals. Through real examples, shared resources, and interactive reflection, attendees will connect these approaches to their own practice. Grounded in equity, this session will demonstrate how removing textbook costs ensures all students start with immediate, accessible materials and leave with clear, actionable next steps.
Presenters: Emil Mubarakshin and Ashley Sparks-Jama, Los Angeles Mission College
Leveraging LBCC’s Data Infrastructure to Strengthen Equitable Planning & Improvement in Student Services
Strand: Creating Support Systems for Students & Employees
Room: Pacific
This session highlights how Long Beach City College’s Institutional Effectiveness team leveraged its participation tracking infrastructure to support planning, process improvement, and equity-minded decision-making across student services. By combining program tracking, standardized institutional metrics, and student climate data, the team created a scalable, consistent approach for student services to understand who they serve, how students experience services offered, what success outcomes look like for their specific student populations, and where equity gaps persist.
This work helps a broad range of student services move beyond isolated and time-consuming metric tracking toward a more coordinated approach that aligns with institutional priorities while reflecting each service area’s unique focus. Participants will leave with a practical framework for building data infrastructure that strengthens planning, improves services, and centers equity.
Presenters: Carolina Lepe Diaz, Andrew Fuenmayor, and Margarita Obregon, Long Beach City College
Built By Us, For Us: How Classified Professionals Are Leading Equity Transformation
Strand: Humanizing Professional Learning & Leadership Development
Room: Salon 1
Classified professionals shape the student experience across every department—yet equity-focused professional learning has rarely been designed with them in mind. This session shares Mission College’s Classified Equity Certification Program (ECP), the first of its kind in the California Community Colleges, built by classified professionals, for classified professionals.
Grounded in Mission College’s Equity Framework—whose CORE of self-love, joy, balance, and spiritual grounding mirrors this year’s conference theme—the ECP has grown to include modules on AI literacy and neurodivergency. Hear from ECP alumni through testimonials, which will include student voices, engage in an Equity-in-Action Plan activity, and leave with a ready-to-adapt toolkit—reflective journal prompts, a course outline, implementation templates, and a stakeholder engagement guide.
Presenters: Kristal Dela Cruz, Lusyna Kim Narvaez, and Vianey Topete, Mission College
Aligning Community Engagement & Research: Strategies for Building Relationships & Shared Outcomes Assessments
Strand: Sustaining Partnerships and Networks for Student Success
Room: Salon 7/8
What does it take to build a shared sense of purpose across decentralized student support programs without diminishing local identity or expertise? This session examines how Mt. San Antonio College leveraged intentional community‑engagement strategies to strengthen partnerships between Academic Support Centers and Institutional Research, clarify shared values, and develop cohesive assessment tools across historically siloed programs.
Using the college’s Proximity Model as a case study, presenters will illustrate how structured dialogue, collaborative meaning‑making, and shared decision‑making can promote institutional alignment and a more student‑centered support experience. Participants will see how core values were translated into practical survey instruments and equity‑minded assessment practices and will leave with actionable ideas for building more connected, coherent, and responsive student support systems on their own campuses.
Presenters: David Sarabia and Melissa Vang, Mt. San Antonio College
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