Community College | Public 2-year

Central Lakes College

A Strategic and Collaborative Approach Towards Educational Equity

Integrating Equity-Focused Metrics into Planning and Budgeting Processes at Central Lakes College

The Problem

Central Lakes College (CLC), a prominent public community college in Minnesota with campuses in Brainerd and Staples, stands as a beacon of educational opportunity in the region. As a part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, CLC is committed to fostering an environment of inclusivity and equity. To align with the statewide initiative, Minnesota State Equity 2030, CLC has embarked on a transformative journey to close educational equity gaps across various dimensions by the end of the decade.

The Action

To meet the objectives of Minnesota State Equity 2030, CLC has integrated progression metrics and equity-focused questions into its planning and budgeting processes. The college incorporated select questions from the Budget Equity Blueprint, leveraging the Prioritization Rubric to guide funding allocation decisions. This approach ensured that budget requests from various departments were aligned with the college's equity goals. Furthermore, CLC fostered a culture of collective responsibility by engaging all employees in discussions about student learning outcomes, assessment, work plans, and strategic priorities prior to the annual budget request submission.

The Results

By integrating the toolkit into the budget process, CLC ensured that funding allocations were aligned with the college's equity goals. This strategic approach enabled CLC to prioritize initiatives and programs that directly contribute to closing educational equity gaps.

CLC's proactive engagement of employees fostered a culture of collective responsibility and collaboration.

By incorporating assessment practices into planning and budgeting processes, CLC enhanced its ability to identify and address institutional practices that may impact student outcomes.

“This work is important so that we can better support our guided pathways and transfer priorities, equity work, and strategic goals for the college. We need to ensure that we have the financial means and resource allocation process to support the ideas that will move the dial on equity and equitable student outcomes.”
Kari ChristiansenVice President of Administration Services

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