Equity, Pathways, and Inclusion

The Division of Equity, Pathways, and Inclusion is committed to developing an integrated infrastructure to support and meet the needs of all our college campus community (students, faculty, staff, administrators) to reach SMC’s racial equity imperative and student success goals both inside and outside the classroom.

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How EPI is Working to Meet Our Commitments

To meet our commitments to reach SMC’s racial equity imperative and student success goals, the EPI division is driven by SMC’s equity mission and vision and strives to:

Work with the various institutional bodies and key stakeholders to develop, align, support, and assess equity-focused decision-making, programming, education, training and activities to promote and advance equity, pathways and inclusion
Foster greater collaboration, synergy, action, and change to build engaging, culturally-responsive, inclusive, and equity-centered experiences for all our college campus community (students, faculty, staff, administrators) who belong to historically racially minoritized and disenfranchised groups.
Identify and work towards removing policies, practices, and procedures that create inequitable barriers and experiences to the access and success of all our college campus community (students, faculty, staff, administrators) who belong to historically racially minoritized and disenfranchised groups.
Center a culture of care and belonging, both inside and outside the classroom, to improve the racial climate at SMC
Draw from existing scholarship and evidence-based practices to provide leadership, support, education and accountability in advancing equity, pathways and inclusion.
Work to cultivate an environment at SMC where equity and inclusion is inescapable because it’s infused in everything we do

EPI Programs, Activities, and Grants

The division of Equity, Pathways, and Inclusion is currently in our inaugural year of service and are diligently working to build an infrastructure to meet the commitments of the EPI division. To date, the EPI division has been supporting and collaborating on the following programs, activities, and grants:

National Science Foundation (NSF) Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) STEM/Equity Grant
California Trustee Fellowship Intersession Project grant with the Math Department
California Guided Pathways (Redesigning the Student Experience)
Equitizing Gateway Courses Program (EGC)
Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative (IEPI)
Student Equity Plan 2.0 (2022 - 2025)
SMC Campus-Wide Equity Audit with Hotep Consultants (2022-23)
Caring Campus Initiative
Student Equity and Achievement Program (SEAP)
The EpiCenter (formerly The Center for Teaching Excellence)
Program Maps
Student Care Teams
GPS
Direct Connect

The following guiding documents serve to focus the foundational work for the division of Equity, Pathways, and Inclusion to better meet our racial equity imperative to close equity gaps. EPI's aim is to create a campus where no student fails or misses their academic goals due to barriers created or overlooked by the institution.

Student Equity Plan 2.0

With the input of nearly 100 faculty, classified, and managers, SMC's Student Equity Plan (SEP) 2.0 is well underway! The SEP 2.0 Inquiry Phase Summary Report is now available for our Campus community to review.

The Chancellor's Office has charged us with an unprecedented method of shaping a transformational and community driven, fluid SEP (rather than transactional and compliance oriented,) which calls for SMC to be more inclusive and dynamic in our approach. To capture a wide range of experiences to contribute and engage in the work needed to advance our equity efforts, SEP 2.0 Phase 1 preliminary work was collectively developed by cross-hierarchical and cross-functional teams including faculty (both instructional and counseling), classified professionals, and managers. Our goal was to ensure that the diverse voices, unique contributions and experiences of all of our employee groups were reflected in the development of SEP 2.0.

By structuring the development of the plan in this way, it ensures that our SEP makes equity everyone’s work.

Read The SEP 2.0 Inquiry Phase Summary Report

Our Presentation Road Show went off without a hitch: EPI presented the report and templates to various SMC groups and committees before submitting to the Board of Trustees in December. The board approved and the template responses were entered into the official NOVA Online System with the Chancellor’s Office. The NOVA SEP template is a living document, and the Santa Monica College 2022—2025 SEP will continue to be developed in phases. The phases are 1) Inquiry, 2) Action Planning, and 3) Implementation and Evaluation. The focus of the summary report is on the preliminary work done over the Spring 2022—Summer 2022 to begin the inquiry phase of the Plan (SEP 2.0).

This was a truly monumental effort, especially considering the accelerated timeline, and none of it would have been possible without the hard work of so many over the last year. We value the perspectives of each and every member of the SMC community, and cannot express enough gratitude for those who came together and contributed to this phase of our 2022—2025 Student Equity Planning Cycle at SMC.

Stay tuned for more progress as SMC's Student Equity Plan 2.0 continues to take shape!

Findings from the SMC College-wide Equity Audit
Conducted by Hotep Consultants

Hotep consultants have submitted their finding report, which we are proud to share with our community.

The report was updated in June 2023 to reflect information regarding Hotep's findings on implementing equitable and inclusive instructional strategies from course design to assessment & grading, on page 9.

Read the Hotep Equity Audit Report

The SMC Division of Equity, Pathways, and Inclusion invited Hotep Consultants to present on their findings from the College-wide Equity Audit which they conducted from August through October 2022.

Dr. Lauren Ford, Katrina Pantig Naval, and founder Lasana O. Hotep of Hotep Consultants share the key findings (background, framework, overarching themes, highlights, areas of opportunity, and recommendations) of the Equity Audit and their recommendations for SMC.

Below, you will find the video recording of the open virtual session held on Thursday December 1, 2022.

PDF of accompanying Powerpoint Presentation:
Hotep Equity Audit Findings Presentation Slides

Open video with transcript in Microsoft Stream (requires SMC sign-in): Equity Presentation.mp4

Contact Us

For questions or to learn more about Equity, Pathways, & Inclusion, please feel free to email us: EPI@smc.edu

Main Phone Line
310-434-4408

View the Equity, Pathways, & Inclusion New Hire Handbook, part of the new 2024 SMC Onboarding Resources

The EPI Team:

Llanet Martín, Ph.D – Dean of Equity, Pathways, & Inclusion
Silvana Carrion-Palomares – Project Manager, National Science Foundation Grant
Eartha Johnson – Project Manager, Guided Pathways and Student Equity and Achievement Program (SEAP)
Guido Davis del Piccolo – Faculty Lead, Redesign/Guided Pathways
Paige Glaves – Administrative Assistant II

Equity, Pathways, & Inclusion

What is Equity, Pathways, and Inclusion?

How EPI is Working to Meet Our Commitments

EPI Programs, Activities, and Grants

Student Equity Plan 2.0

Findings from the SMC College-wide Equity AuditConducted by Hotep Consultants

Contact Us

Findings from the SMC College-wide Equity Audit
Conducted by Hotep Consultants