Why are we reimagining Foothill-De Anza?

As the country began to emerge from the pandemic in summer 2021, the district recognized the need to anticipate and plan for a new normal. The pandemic had permanently altered the environment in which we do our work and changed student expectations; demographic shifts and a declining high school population in Silicon Valley were having a profound effect on enrollment; and racial reckonings had redoubled the district's commitment to removing systemic inequities and redesigning budgets to ensure dollars are strategically spent to close equity gaps and ensure student success.

Have a great idea for how Foothill-De Anza can increase enrollment and retention, better support student success, or improve the experience for both students and employees throughout our district? Click the suggestion box button to share it with us.

Priority areas

Budget Allocation Model
District Enrollment Management Committee
Business Processes Alignment

Where are we now?

May 2024 update

At the May 24 Chancellor's Advisory Council meeting, Senior Advisor to the Chancellor for Reimagining Foothill-De Anza Anu Khanna shared recommendations from the statewide Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative (IEPI) Partnership Resource Team of focus areas to help transform the employee experience across the district.

More than 100 classified, faculty, and administrative representatives across the district were invited to meet with the Partnership Resource Team earlier this year as part of a grant secured by the Chancellor’s Office.

Engaging in the IEPI process allows the district to apply for seed money to launch professional development activities, including team-building and leadership workshops and a climate/engagement and needs assessment survey.

Click HERE to view the 5/24/24 slideshow presentation.

March 2024 update

Reimagining the employee experience

One of the priorities of the Reimagining Initiative is to improve the employee experience by finding opportunities to invest more in our employees and their professional growth.

To help us in this area, the Chancellor's Office applied for a grant opportunity with the statewide Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative (IEPI). By engaging in the IEPI process, the district has the opportunity to receive seed money to launch activities that promote engagement and transformation across our district.

In February, classified, faculty, and administrative representatives met with members of a Partnership Resource Team, peers from across the state who provide colleges and districts with technical assistance in the IEPI process. The meetings allowed the visiting team to hear employee perspectives on needs, requirements, and opportunities key to developing districtwide professional development in areas of engagement, leadership, and transformation.

Thank you to those that made the time to meet with the team members in this first phase. The Partnership Resource Team will soon provide the initial assessment and recommendations on the types of projects and opportunities that best meet professional growth needs across our different employee groups. In spring quarter, we plan to communicate the information from the team’s report and seek out further information from our employee groups on possible next steps.

June 2023 update

Reimagining initiative 6-12-23 presentation image

Click HERE to view the June 12, 2023, slideshow presentation to the Board of Trustees

Focus Areas for Academic Year 2023-2024

Budget & Resource Allocation
Enrollment Management
Business & Services Operations
Shared Governance and Labor Relations
Campus Services Alignment

April 2023 update

The District Enrollment Management Committee (DEMC) has met several times to review a planning framework that addresses full-time equivalent students (FTES) generation and budget allocations more consistently and equitably districtwide. In preparation for the 2025-26 academic year, when the district will move from hold harmless funding to the Student Centered Funding Formula, DEMC is collaborating with the district fiscal services team to develop a new way to allocate FTEF/1320 resources as we make more accurate FTES projections and set FTES targets. DEMC is also working on developing strategic recommendations and guiding principles regarding FTES growth across the district.

Discovery, identification, and documentation of business processes or operating procedures/policies was identified as a priority to improve the work environment and morale of employees. This documentation is essential to ensure that institutional knowledge is retained even when employees leave the district.

Currently, work to map processes is underway in areas related to Human Resources and Educational Technology Services as well as in a few student services and administrative services areas at both campuses.

February 2023 update

An update on the Reimagining Initiative, which explained the progress based on districtwide conversations, discovery, and resulting identification of priorities and projects, was presented to the Board of Trustees in December 2022,

The long-awaited (and asked for) District Enrollment Management Committee (DEMC) kicked off its inaugural meeting with a core group of instructional leaders who will be working on developing a planning framework that addresses full-time equivalent students (FTES) generation and budget allocations more consistently and equitably districtwide. DEMC will include more leaders and representatives from across the district in future meetings as the committee delves deeper into developing this planning framework and tackles other districtwide enrollment management issues.

Efforts toward improving business processes in certain district/college functions as identified through districtwide conversations are also ongoing in a few areas in central services and at the colleges via input gathered from employees in those areas.

December 2022 update

Click HERE to view the Dec. 12, 2022, slideshow presentation to the Board of Trustees

Background

Recognizing that making comprehensive changes to our complex organization would involve much research and analysis and consultation with stakeholders throughout the district, Chancellor's Cabinet enlisted consultant Phil Hill in the summer of 2021 to help develop a framework for reimagining what the colleges might look like in the future. While the district's mission remained unchanged, the strategies for carrying out the mission (i.e. long-range goals and objectives) and the priorities we use to ensure that our time, effort, and other resources (e.g., budgets) are aligned with those strategies needed to be reenvisioned.

At an informational session held September 15, 2021, Chancellor Miner and then-Board President Peter Landsberger invited the Foothill-De Anza community to help envision the colleges of the future.

Dr. Anu Khanna joined the effort at the end of the 2021-2022 academic year. As senior advisor to the chancellor for reimagining Foothill-De Anza, she was charged with facilitating strategic goals including the development of a new budget allocation model, the establishment of a district-wide enrollment management committee, and the development of an action plan for a reimagined Foothill-De Anza. In late spring 2022, she embarked on a series of listening sessions to collect ideas for improving the student and employee experience.

Themes that emerged during the listening sessions and initial priorities were shared during District Opening Day on September 21, 2022.