Strategic Priority #4
INCREASE ACCESS, AFFORDABILITY, AND EQUITY
Saint Mary’s will embrace its heritage as an institution committed to placing the advantages of a quality education “within reach of all” by increasing the availability of financial support to increase access to the College and its myriad programs. We will enhance affordability by developing transparent and accessible transfer pipelines with California community colleges and by increasing the flexibility of academic programs to improve the time to degree. We will increase access to high impact practices, particularly for first generation and low income students. Saint Mary’s will advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging across our campus community.
Initiatives
We will be updating this page with our accomplishments as we execute the Strategic plan.
2021-2024 Accomplishments
This priority encompasses a wide range of initiatives that directly and indirectly support student success, and the focus of the past years has been on direct impact on students.
Resources for Students
We, along with three California Catholic Universities, received a $1,533,300 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to lead a three-year initiative to support the creation and use of open educational resources (OER), educational texts and classroom materials that are provided via no-cost access, with re-use, re-purpose, adaptation and redistribution by others permitted, across four California private institutions. Student Life expanded student support services, such as Counseling and Psychological Services and Health Center, to graduate student populations, as well as established the essential needs program to support students across a spectrum of core needs related to housing, food, financial, and healthcare security and access, as well as access to technology, textbooks, and transportation.
Accessibility
ITS and Marketing and Communications completed accessibility enhancement on SMC websites, and our website now meets global legal requirements and standards, including ADA, WAG, Section 508, and EN 301549 compliance. A well attended keynote speaker and workshop with Dr. Maribel Jiménez, focused on "Transforming Hispanic-Serving Institutions for Equity and Justice: Using Strategic Planning to Drive Servingness."
Updated: July, 2024