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AGENDA

Var Academy & VAR origins

Purpose & Benefits

Programs Impacted

VAR Tool & Responsibilities

Reporting Details

Success Indicators

Next Steps

Questions & Discussion

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The VAR Academy Team

Hannah Blodgett

Raquel Arata

Samuel Morrison

Diana Garcia

Brenda Valles

Bret Foley

Team

Landscape

Opportunities

Timeline

Dean of Career Education and Workforce

Director of MESA

Dean of Outreach & Pathway Communities

Dean Institutional Effectiveness & Innovation

CALWORKS Specialist

Dean of Student Support Programs

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VAR is a data collection & reporting system that supports the Vision 2030 goals: equity in access, support, and success.

What is Var?

Connection between VAR & ARC = Students First

(Strategic Plan)

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Maximize

Time & Resources

Promote

Continuous Improvement

Support Data-Informed

decision- making

Purpose & Benefits of VAR

– Holistic planning and reporting

– Eliminates fragmented efforts & redundancy

– Allows us to focus resources on initiatives that measurably support student success.

– Improves impact for students

– Empowers decision makers to allocate resources where they are most effective – Improves institutional capacity for responsiveness

– Provides a tool to continuously and immediately evaluate, learn, and refine

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Impacted Programs

Program	Area	Program	Area
CalWORKS	Student Services	NextUp	Student Services
CCAP/ Dual Enrollment	Student Services	SEA	Student Services & Instruction
DSPS	Student Services	Strong Workforce	Instruction
EOPS & CARE	Student Services	Transfer Center	Student Services
Middle College High School	Student Services	Veterans Resource Center	Student Services
MESA	Instruction	…	…

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Project timeline

Timeline

Definition

Purpose

VAR Programs

VAR Tool

Pilot Phase

College Outreach

VAR Deadline

Refining Capacity

Fall 2024

Fall 2020

Fall 2023

Fall 2025

Fall, 2026

Piloted the prototype tool

Year 2 of VAR implementation

Reporting required and MIS-level reporting

Tool available for use statewide

State Chancellor’s office outreach to colleges on

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Tool Feature 1

Tool Feature 2

ARC Responsibility

Tool & responsibility

Online interface for student-level and program-level activity and narrative submission

Allows for cross-campus and statewide analysis. Tool also has space for narrative context.

Inventory funding and categorizing activities for DI populations (pilot includes African American, Latinx, and students in poverty.

Using SARS primarily and in coordination with the district, we are tracking impact on students served.

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Core Categories

Direct Aid to Students

Counseling

Instruction

Outreach/Inreach

Misc Program Support Costs

Student Support Services

Reporting Details

Success Indicators

Next Steps

Q & A

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Colleges report improved cross-program collaboration, resource visibility, and equity data insights
Enables recognition of promising practices and shared learning across programs and campuses

Success Indicators

Based on initial reporting from piloting colleges ( e.g. Barstow).

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Technical Alignment

VAR Academy

Build Awareness & Capacity

Next Steps

– Continue working with SARS lead at ARC to align with district and VAR Codes

– 1:1 meetings with programs to build out to support implementation

– Provide VAR onboarding support and bridge impacted programs with State VAR resources

– Increase awareness across ARC of VAR implementation efforts and status

– Celebrate our wins!

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