New Race & Ethnicity Implementation 2018

The new Race & Ethnicity Implementation 2018 is a series of changes to the current race and ethnicity section in CCCApply which expands the number of ethnicity and ancestry categories being collected on incoming students to include more ethnic groups that are relevant for the diverse and distinct communities served by the 115 California community colleges.

The Race & Ethnicity Implementation 2018 is a significant revision to the current, highly-regulated Race & Ethnicity section in CCCApply which is protected by federal law, the Office of Civil Rights, and aligns to various MIS (SB29) and IPEDs (STD10) reporting requirements. The new implementation will be in place before the MIS requirements are updated in Fall 2019.

CCCApply's objective for this implementation is twofold:

1. Provide colleges with the same data fields and formats they were getting in the original (legacy) implementation.

2. Provide a new field with all the new race groups and ethnicity/ancestry subcategories collected in the new layout and disaggregation categories.

We understand that several of the existing race & ethnicity fields (race_group; race_ethnic) align to MIS data elements (and other derived data elements) and colleges have configured data files to map to those MIS requirements. Throughout this implementation, we made it a priority to maintain the existing data output formats and leave these fields unchanged for this purpose.

In-Progress Applications

For In-Progress applications, there will be no database value mappings. If an application is in-progress at the time of release - and a student had already selected a race/ethnicity, the user will be presented with a client-side error validation message upon resuming that application that advises them of the following:

The Race and/or Ethnicity you have selected is no longer valid. Please go back to the Demographic Information tab and select a new value.

The user should not be able to submit the Apply or International application unless they have chosen a valid database value(s) for race_group and race_ethnicities. Once the new value is chosen, we will store the new value.

Data Formats & Downloads

The new Race & Ethnicity implementation (layout and data) is designed so as to not require colleges to make any changes to their jar file/download client and should be seamlessly backwards compatible.

The current database is set up to support 21 specific race groups and race ethnicities. With the addition of more and new race_groups and race_categories, we needed to assign new database values to the new race groups and race ethnicities while maintaining the integrity of the existing race_group and race_ethnicity values.

The fields "hispanic", "race_group", and "race_ethnic" (Apply)/"race_ethnicity" (Intl) will remain unchanged. We are adding an additional database column called "race_ethnic_full" which will store the values the user selects for both higher level ethnic groups and the associated sub groups presented in the new UI and in the chart above. From a download file perspective, colleges should only have to touch their download files if they want to add the new field <race_ethnic_full>, capturing all the new groups and sub-category values.

The fields "hispanic", "race_group", and "race_ethnic"(Apply)/"race_ethnicity" (Intl) are calculated from the user's selections and made available to the college using the same format as previous versions of the applications.

We understand that several of the existing race & ethnicity fields (race_group; race_ethnic) align to MIS data elements (and other derived data elements) and colleges have configured data files to map to those MIS requirements. Throughout this implementation, we made it a priority to maintain the existing data output formats and leave these fields unchanged for this purpose.

The Ethnicity-Ancestry Expansion Project is based on research by the Student Equity Planning workgroup and the Chancellor's Vision for Success resulting in a system-wide focus on closing equity gaps. Historical MIS data sets, however, do not include all ethnic groups that are relevant for the diverse and distinct communities served by the 115 California community colleges.

Background Information

There is a business need to expand the categories of race and ethnicity that are collected via CCCApply and in the International application. For example, State Center College has a sizable Hmong population in its service area. However, their ability to conduct research, identify equity gaps, and direct resources in ways that will effectively close those gaps has been impeded because “Hmong” is not an ethnicity category that is collected on the standard application. We need to expand the ethnicity group data collected in CCCApply and make that data available via the statewide MIS.

This system-wide need to close the equity gaps was the impetus for the Ethnicity-Ancestry Expansion Project 2018, and the basis of this change request.

What’s changing in CCCApply?

The user interface is changing. The existing Race & Ethnicity section in CCCApply - the layout and format of the race groups and ethnicity sub-categories - that appears to students - is changing.

For colleges, the back-end data output is changing but you only have to take action when you want to start downloading the new values in the new field being added. Only the new data field is different from what you are currently collecting now. The existing race fields will continue to download the data without any action or change to your Format file - in the same format you are been downloading today. This will not change.

The only change is in the new data field being added. The new data field will capture all the new race groups and ethnicity values that align to the layout changes in the new implementation.

When your college is ready to download/collect all the new race groups and ethnicities you will then need to update your Download Format XML file and the Download Client jar file <transfer-client.6.3.0>

What impact will this new format have on your college?

Responding to the ethnicity question remains optional for the student, and the expanded number of categories will be unobtrusive as the detailed subgroups will only be seen when one of the higher-level categories is selected first. This proposal is compliant with federal reporting requirements as all subgroups can be easily rolled up into the required federal ethnicity and race reporting categories. For example, the new high-level group, Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) rolls up into the “White” category for federal reporting purposes. Most importantly, information gathered from the expanded categories will allow colleges and districts to identify equity gaps and work to alleviate them by allowing for enhanced targeting of resources and services—thereby empowering CCC stakeholders to rise the challenge, laid out in the Vision for Success, of reducing and eventually closing all equity gaps by 2027.

What's happing to the existing race/ethnicity fields?

The technical summaries below pertain to the new Race & Ethnicity Implementation 2018.

The new Race & Ethnicity Implementation 2018 includes: one new, optional data field that collects all the new response options included in the expansion (Race Ethnicity Full); a new streamline layout section in the Standard & International applications; and 194 new race and ethnicity-ancestry checkbox options in an accordion-style format.

Summary of Data Elements

Hispanic

Data Element: <hispanic>

Notes: No changes, this field is a boolean true/false field that continues to work as in previous version

Example Format: boolean (true/false/null)

Race Group

Data Element: <race_group>

Notes: No changes, this field was intentionally left unchanged

Example Format: Apply: "04, 05, 08, 09, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21", International: "04,05,08,09,14,15,17,19,20,21" (note lack of spaces for Intl)

Maximum Expected Width: 78 characters (unchanged) (20 * 2 character long values + 18 commas + 18 spaces + 2 surrounding quote marks for CSV delimiting in the output format)

Race Ethnicity

Data Element: <race_ethnic> (Apply) / <race_ethnicity> (International)

Notes: No changes, this field was intentionally left unchanged

Example Format: YNYNNNNYNNNNNNNNNYNNN

Maximum Expected Width: 22 characters (unchanged) (22 character long string)

Race Ethnicity Full

Data Element: <race_ethnic_full>

Notes: race_ethnic_full is a new field that will store the CSV separated values for all the ethnicity section selections for both the higher level ethnic groups and the associated sub groups as listed above in the chart.

Example Format: "100,101,117,118,200,205,08,09,500,15,600,601,17,19,602,700,701,713,800,802,803"

Maximum Expected Width: 804 characters (201 * 3 character long values + 199 commas + 2 surrounding quote marks for CSV delimiting in the output format)