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A cross divisional team of ��ɫ���� staff and faculty participated in the CSU system-wide, Middle Leadership Academy (MLA) this 2022-23 academic year. The MLA program, created by the CSU Student Success Network, was designed to provide opportunities for middle leaders to grow in their roles and bring back insights to their respective campuses.

Selected by ��ɫ���� Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Karyn Scissum Gunn, participants included members of Faculty Affairs, Enrollment Services, Students Affairs and Academic Affairs, as well as a Beach graduate student. The MLA team was co-led by Director of Faculty Affairs , and University Registrar . Together, they helped guide the team as they attended a series of 3-day sessions to practice team building, collaborate in a supportive environment, and solve common issues related to equitable student learning, engagement, progression, and completion.

Throughout the course of this year-long program, and under the direction of Morton and Griffith, the MLA team established a project entitled “Equity-Minded Strategies to Reduce DFW Grad Rates.” This effort explored the high frequency of DFW grades for first-year students who are underrepresented minorities, Pell-eligible, and first-generation in lower-division communications, English, and mathematics courses. 

The team centered their project around this critical topic because data suggests that students with these factors who receive DFW grades in these specific courses drop-out at higher rates in their first year of enrollment, when compared to other students.

To bolster retention efforts and improve equitable student outcomes, the ��ɫ���� Middle Leaders’ project aims to empower faculty to provide culturally conscious and relevant referrals, resources, and interventions.   

During the Academy sessions, our Beach Middle Leaders worked to develop assessments for faculty and students, interventions, and a resource repository for faculty. The assessment used both qualitative and quantitative approaches as well as incentivized participation among key stakeholders.

Project Co-Lead, Meghan Griffith shares that with this project, the team “hopes to build an empowerment toolbox as opposed to [using] a deficit-based model to share amongst our faculty.”

From this project, the team aims to share their insights with existing programs that support faculty learning with the hopes of creating meaningful change across The Beach.

The Middle Leadership Academy not only helped ��ɫ���� leaders develop an equity-focused approach to address DFW rates, but also provided an opportunity for our MLA team to develop their own leadership skills, build cross-campus and system-wide collaborations, and learn from each other’s differing perspectives.

Co-Lead Dr. Ennette Morton says, “participating on the ��ɫ���� MLA team was a wonderful opportunity that allowed me to expand my knowledge of our campus operations and connect with a network of committed educators and administrators across the CSU system." 

Griffith goes on to echo Dr. Morton by saying this process was “really beneficial to gain other vantage points and to see how ��ɫ���� fits into the entire CSU system.”

The Beach has a close connection to the Middle Leadership Academy, as , the Associate Director of Educational Partnerships at The Beach served as a ��ɫ���� Co Lead for MLA in a prior year and now supports this initiative as an MLA group facilitator.

Dr. Arreygue’s continued support and work with MLA was greatly appreciated by the team, with both Co-Leads expressing their deep appreciation for the MLA facilitators as they “helped our project team through this year-long process.”  

The Beach is grateful to our mighty MLA team who have supported each other throughout this entire program and helped to collectively find solutions to relevant issues facing our students from diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Learn more about the program here.

Meet the MLA Team