Equity Self-Assessment Tool (ESAT)

• Decolonize Curriculum and Decenter Dominant Discourse

  Discourse should be inclusive of multiple perspectives including non-dominant, critical, and racially minoritized backgrounds. Instructor is able to locate the course and course topics within larger sociopolitical context.

• Inclusive Images and Representation

  Images and media reflect the intersectional diversity of SMC student body, varying relational and family structures. African American, Latinx, Native, and Asian people are depicted in a variety of empowering positionalities.

• Cultural Connection and Social Relevancy

  Instructor applies course material and creates activities that require students to connect the course topics to their own and other’s sociocultural backgrounds.

Curriculum	Equity practice
Decolonize & Diversify	Scholarship includes Black, Latinx, non-Western, and critical perspectives. Positions course topics within sociopolitical context. Recognizes the construction of knowledge traditions & creates opportunities for racially minoritized students to shape them.
Inclusive Images	Images are diverse, include Black and Latinx people in varying family structures and societal roles. Students analyze representation and power in discourse.
Cultural Connection	Instructor consistently makes class material culturally and socially relevant. Instructor provides opportunities for students to personalize class material and apply course constructs to daily life.

• Sense of Community and Belonging

  Faculty member creates opportunities for meaningful connection with instructor and between students. Intentional messages are sent that communicate investment in student engagement and success in the course and beyond.

• Collaborative Learning

  Course allows space for students to work cooperatively, share their learning experiences, and engage in inquiry with the instructor and each other. Instructor nurtures and promotes student capital valuable in knowledge production and the creation of helpful learning tools and processes.

• Safe(r) Space

  Instructor intentionally creates classroom environment that is a physically, culturally, and emotionally safe environment for students to learn and take intellectual risks. Instructor engages in ongoing efforts to promote a classroom environment that prevents identity-based and psychological harm, foster restorative dialogue and is committed to social justice and racial equity.

Classroom Environment	Equity Practice
Community & Belonging	Course communications deepen student connections with one another, to instructor, and the college. Activities cultivate an authentic learning community in which all members learn and grow through commonalities and differences. Course connects campus community to local community and history through practices such as Land Acknowledgments.
Collaborative Learning	Students work together cooperatively or share throughout in ways deeply interwoven with the topic of the lesson(s). Course provides opportunities for students to contribute to a collaborative learning experience through sharing real-life experiences, narrative and storytelling, and exploring their cultural capital. Course is fully student-centered inviting students to participate in the creation of knowledge.
Safe(r) Space	Instructor intentionally creates safe space for all student identities and demonstrates awareness of their own positionalities, privilege, and biases through course syllabus, policies, and pedagogical practices. Instructor demonstrates an ability to facilitate difficult discussions, addresses microaggressions as teachable moments, and provides appropriate support & affirmation as needed.

• Access and Technology

  Given digital barriers and differences in access to course including types of devices, internet connectivity, and digital literacy, instructor chooses media and technology commonly accessible for students using varying devices and for which there is widespread technological support. Course technology policies respect student agency and privacy (e.g. cameras, proctoring).

• Direct Connect: Student Support

  Instructor outlines and provides direct access to on-campus and community student support in areas such as: academic support, basic needs, and financial/emotional/psychological wellness.

• Universal Design for Learning

  Align course content and activities with the three core Universal Design for Learning principles—multiple means of a) representation, b) action and expression, and c) engagement.

Teaching Practices	Equity Practice
Access & Technology	Instructor uses technology that is highly accessible with mobile-friendly design. Instructor surveys students to identify technological gaps and computer literacy, and adapts modes of instruction. Students are not forced to turn on their cameras. Instructor connects students to technological resources.
Direct Connect & Student Support	Instructor outlines or provides direct connection within Canvas to student support resources or invites student service representatives to class to provide clear explanations and pathways for on-ground and online students to access and utilize all needed resources.
UDL	Instructor emphasizes and affirms diversity in learning. Instructor provides multiple means of engagement; gives choice & promotes autonomy. Instructor encourages personal reflection & contextualized learning. Course material is presented through multiple means of representation.

Instructor characteristics and behavior contribute to student retention, success, and equitable learning outcomes. Instructors should strive to be affirming, success-oriented communicating high expectations, and foster meaningful relationships with students to promote student engagement and retention, especially for our most vulnerable African American and Latinx students.

Instructor Behaviors	Equity Practice
Self-Awareness & Reflexivity	Instructor uses multiple forms of data to engage in intentional reflection to transform self and pedagogy. Instructor practices cultural humility, is open to asking questions, and demonstrates a willingness to admit when they make a mistake or they don’t know something.
Authentic Relationships	Instructor engages in thoughtful, authentic communication with students. Personally knowable, demonstrates appropriate transparency. Engages in relationally based, high-impact strategies.
Professional Development	Instructor engages in ongoing professional development focused on equity and issues of concern for African American and Latinx students.