Student and staff looking at computer screen

GANAS Career Pathways

As part of its HSI mission to serve growing numbers of Hispanic, first-generation, and low-income students, including transfer students, UCSC is expanding support for students completing their degrees, excelling in the professional workforce, and contributing to multicultural communities. UCSC views cultivating inclusive excellence as its defining challenge and opportunity. As the campus strives to be a racially-just Hispanic-Serving Research Institution, its mission includes eliminating inequitable outcomes in student achievement, sense of belonging, persistence/retention, graduation, and career and other post-baccalaureate opportunities.

The following grant goals were developed to improve students’ academic and career outcomes while building UCSC’s institutional capacity to increase racial equity and eliminate equity disparities.

Grant goals	Anticipated impact
Goal 1: To increase achievement (passing rates) and equity (reducing racial/social disparities) in Calculus	Increase passing rates in Math (Calculus) 11A and 11B for Latina/o and EOP/low-income students by 15% Reduce racial/social disparities in passing rates in Math (Calculus) 11A and 11B for Latina/o and EOP/low-income students compared to White students by 15%
Goal 2: To increase achievement (passing rates) and equity (reducing racial/social disparities) in key gateway major courses through co-curricular Supplemental Instruction (SI)	SI participants will earn grades in courses supported by SI 0.5 grade point higher than those of non-participants Reduce racial/social disparities in passing rates for EOP/non-EOP students by 12% in SI-supported gateway courses (Applied Mathematics, Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering, and Biology)
Goal 3: To increase career advising, internship opportunities, and financial literacy of Latina/o, low-income, and underrepresented students	100 students will have been placed in and completed in-demand career internships
Goal 4: To build institutional capacity by providing coaching support to academic and student services departments to identify and disrupt barriers in practices and policies that contribute to racial inequity	Eight departments’ racial equity action plans will be developed, implemented, and shared as demonstration sites to incentivize others on campus and beyond to replicate equity-mindedness.

Grant initiatives

The GANAS Career Pathways project strives to support Latiné, low-income, and underrepresented students by removing barriers that impede their success at UCSC and preparing them for rewarding careers once they graduate. It sets out a comprehensive three-level plan for a) curricular redesign with faculty; b) co-curricular interventions with students; and c) disrupting institutional constraints with equity practices and policies (Hurtado & Alvarado, 2015; Hurtado, 2019).

Following an extensive review of disaggregated student outcomes, campus reports and strategic plans, and relevant research, the following activities were developed to meet the grant’s goals.

Redesigning calculus in the life sciences

Implements a comprehensive overhaul of curriculum and pedagogy with active learning and problem-solving sessions and a focus on inclusiveness and equity. This redesigned course sequence is taught by instructors whose refinements inform the final framework. More faculty will be trained and supported in adopting the framework, which will strengthen consistency and coherence in students’ academic pathways.

Project Supplemental Instruction (SI) and Leadership Program

Prepares and assigns highly trained SI student leaders to key gateway courses with DFW rates (students making Ds, Fs, or withdrawing) of 20% or higher. SI Leaders provide small-group sessions to support students with how and what to learn. SI leaders have professional development, mentoring, and consistent feedback to improve their leadership and impact.

Career Pathways Internship Program and financial literacy coaching activity

Develops year-long career-based internships in a co-curricular cohort experience. Internships focus on California’s workforce needs across Bio-Tech, Health, Agriculture, Accounting/Finance, Teaching/Education, and STEM. Interns complete a concurrent Financial Literacy Module and participate in quarterly career advising sessions.

Department and practitioner inquiry as a driver of change (“departmental selfie”) activity

Builds departments’ capacities by: a) producing annual reports (Selfies) of disaggregated data that map students’ progress along academic milestones and points of intervention by “outing” racial disparities; b) developing interventions in practices and policies that contribute to inequity; and c) evaluating these interventions to improve departments’ capacities to make positive impacts on equity outcomes.

Careers in the Creative Economy course: Pathways to graduate degrees in the arts

This hybrid online and human-interactive course covers financial literacy and career paths for artists and art scholars, and builds on prior research and best practices.

Navigating the Graduate School Application Process course

The course is designed to serve all junior and senior undergraduate students (including EOP students) who are unfamiliar with graduate school and its application process and to equip them with strategies to address barriers in this process.