Student Equity & Achievement Program One-Time (570B)

Project Grant ID

570B

Funding Overview

In 2018, the Student Equity and Achievement (SEA) Program was established under Education Code §78222. The program consolidated funding for the Student Success and Support Program, the Basic Skills Initiative, and Student Equity into a single program with the intent of supporting Guided Pathways and advancing the systemwide goal of eliminating achievement gaps for students from traditionally underrepresented populations.

As a condition of receiving SEA funds, districts must:

• Maintain a Student Equity Plan per Education Code §78220, addressing disparities identified through success indicators such as access, course completion, ESL and basic skills progression, degree and certificate attainment, and transfer.
• Provide matriculation services per Education Code §78212.
• Adopt placement policies consistent with Education Code §78213 (AB 705).
• Provide all students with an educational plan.

Colleges are also required to implement the Guided Pathways framework, ensuring that students have a defined path to their stated goal and equitable support throughout their educational journey.

Requirement for Funding

Carryover funds from the Student Equity and Achievement Program are managed at the college level. SEAP funds overall support required statutory elements—including matriculation services (EC §78212), placement policies (EC §78213), educational planning, and maintenance of a Student Equity Plan (EC §78220).

When available, the college may allocate SEAP carryover funds toward one-time funding opportunities that are aligned with the American River College Student Equity Plan. These opportunities are not guaranteed each year and are dependent on the level of carryover funding.

All one-time funding requests must:

• Align with at least one goal in the ARC Student Equity Plan.
• Address at least one of the five required success metrics.
• Identify and support at least one disproportionately impacted (DI) student population.

Five Metrics

• Access: Successful Enrollment
• Retention: Fall to Spring
• Completion of Transfer Level Math and English
• Transfer to a 4-year Institution
• Vision Goal Completion: Degree and Certificate Completion

Managers are responsible for the following:

• Adhere to the one-time funding request plan and funding guidelines
• Budget oversight and ensuring progress of plan
• Must comply with college processes and adhere to timelines

Authorization to commit District funds is only allowed by individuals that have been given the delegation of authority by the Board of Trustees, Board Regulation 8315, 3.1. Purchases made in the name of the District without an authorized purchase order can be considered the obligation of the person making the purchase and not the obligation of the District.

Requests are accepted from   July 1^st through March 30^th and must be approved by Authorized Manager before it is forwarded to the President’s Executive Team for review and final approval. Please allow 10 business days for a request to be reviewed and considered. 

Expenditure Guidelines

Usage of SEAP funds should focus on the clear indicators of academic success:  academic counseling, tutoring, outreach to DI populations, encouraging Math and English through-put, increasing student success in classes (gap reduction), reducing time to completion of academic program, emergency support funding, cultural events that increase retention, and completing programs with a degree and/or certificate. 

See full program expenditure guidelines.

Non-Allowable Expenditures

• Gifts -- Public funds may not be used for gifts or monetary awards of any kind. Expenditures for a public purpose are not considered a gift of public funds
• Stipends for students -- funds cannot be used to pay stipends to students for participation in program or classroom
• Political Contributions.
• Courses -- funds may not be used to pay for the delivery of courses that generate
• Supplanting – Any funds spent on these programs should supplement, not replace, general or state categorical (restricted) district funds expended on similar program activities prior to the availability of program funding. This restriction applies to categorical programs and any other federal, state, and county Supplanting rules do not apply to expenditures previously paid for by BSI, SE or SSSP.

Program Manager

The President Executive Team is the categorical budget approver for the Student Equity & Achievement Program Fund. All SEAP requests and purchases must be submitted to the respective CP/VP for approval.

Carryover

Year-end balances for SEAP are carried over to next fiscal year to the institution. It does not roll over to the area.