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Colorado College

Undergraduate School

Mailing Address
14 E, W Cache La Poudre St
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903
Phone
(719) 389-6000
School Information
"Welcome to intensive learning that expands through and beyond the Rocky Mountain West—an exceptional location where adventure threads into each day. Welcome to the Block Plan, where you’ll take one class at a time for 3 ½ weeks...Welcome to block breaks: four days to relax...Welcome to a vibrant community—a community of around 2,000 students eager to communicate, debate, defend, think, and engage...Welcome to 32 blocks of curiosity, adventure, and imagination—to the moment for unearthing your passions, exploring and understanding the world, and your individual growth...Welcome to Colorado College. Enjoy the ride." (Source: https://www.coloradocollege.edu/basics/welcome/)
General Information
Colorado College has changed its curriculum to fit its anti-racist objectives. The college has implemented new curriculum requirements, which would replace the current Western intellectual tradition requirements. Additionally, it has received a sizeable donation to fund various "anti-racist" initiatives. See developments below:

Actions Taken

Admissions Policies
  • As part of its Antiracism Implementation Plan, CC states that it would "Extend Admission efforts to high schools in major urban areas that draw from a range of races and ethnicities," and "Make changes in the allocation of aid resources to help address pervasive inequities present throughout much of higher education."
  • On June 29, 2023, CC issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court's ruling on affirmative action which reads in part as follows: "Today’s decision does not prevent us from doing what we have always done. We will continue to consider how each student’s background, strengths, and characteristics contribute to our intellectually stimulating, creative, and unique community...We remain steadfast in our commitment to enrolling a diverse student body comprised of people from different backgrounds and lived experiences."
Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
  • As of January 17, 2023, the college has "Started Excel@CC, and added diversity and inclusion training for staff and faculty."
  • From August 16-18 of 2023, New Faculty Orientation "provides support for teaching on the Block Plan using a liberal arts lens and inclusive, equitable, and antiracist pedagogies."
  • The Office of Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion offer several equity and belonging workshops including: "Unpacking the Indivisible Knapsack: Power, Privilege and Positionality," "Two sides of the same coin: Microaggressions and Microaffirmations," and "Antiracism 101."
  • On November 2, 2023, CC held a workshop titled "Illuminating and Naming Implicit/Explicit Bias" which was "designed to increase participants’ understanding/awareness of implicit/explicit bias and its impacts on our practices, actions, and attitudes both in and outside the workplace."
Curriculum Changes and Requirements
  • “West in Time” curriculum requirement will be replaced by a two-block “Equity and Power” requirement.
  • The College set out to, "Create new curriculum that incorporates and encourages the development of courses and learning opportunities that challenge racism and racist legacies in the U.S., globally, and in academic disciplines" and "Develop one course in each of six 'Learning across the Liberal Arts' categories," as well as conducting "a curriculum review and mapping process to address gaps and ensure that principles of diversity, inclusion, and antiracism are helping to guide course offerings across the entire curriculum." The College announced, "New general education program and curricular requirements were enacted in May 2019 and apply to students who started in the 2020-21 academic year." It also said, "The curriculum review and mapping process was completed in the 2020-21 academic year."
  • The General Education Program at CC requires students to take "two blocks of Equity and Power," which is described as follows: "In these courses, students develop analytical and interpretive tools and/or reflective habits and interpersonal skills for thinking critically about how inequities are produced, reinforced, experienced, and resisted."
  • The General Education Program at CC includes a "Critical Engagement" requirement which is described as follows: "Language study is a critical means of promoting diversity and inclusion and of understanding a wide range of human experiences, both throughout history and across contemporary societies."
Faculty/Staff Requirements
  • The college also said, "Staff professional development as they relate to antiracism efforts will be assessed and modified, and incorporated into employment processes."
  • The school said that it will, "Implement new hiring practices across the college to make diversity a priority and to minimize implicit bias."
Program and Research Funding
  • College received $575,000 from the Sachs Foundation to forward College's "antiracist initiative".
  • "The college will continue to award faculty grants to develop new courses or redesign existing courses to diversify the curriculum, with a specific focus on including and addressing issues of equity, power, inequality, and diverse experiences."
  • "On-campus internships – with the opportunity to earn academic credit – as well as summer research, service, and student employment opportunities, will be established for students who work on the antiracism initiative."
  • The College announced that it will, "Provide grants for students to work on specific action steps for the antiracism initiative" and "Establish internship, research, service, and employment opportunities for students to work on the antiracism initiative."
  • As of the 2023-2024 academic year, CC offers the "Race, Ethnicity, and Migration Studies" major in which students "gain historical knowledge as well as a critical understanding of historiography and its impact on marginalized populations."
Resources
  • The college announced that, "The Crown Faculty Center will create a shared foundational understanding of race, racism, and racialization -- including fostering a shared language and increasing institution-wide antiracist communication -- and enhance opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaborations."
  • The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Leadership Team started an Antiracist Book Club. The club will read " Critical Race Theory: An Introduction," among other works.
  • The College's Butler Center launched its "Dismantling Hate: An Educational Series Toward Understanding and Action" series for the 2021-2022 school year. One event in the series is "Antiracism 101."
  • The College has a Diversity & Equity Advisory Board, which is a group that was formed to "serve as an advisory group to the President of the College and the Cabinet on all matters related to diversity and equity regarding faculty and staff."
  • The CC course Critical Race Feminism "focuses on the experiences of women of color regarding racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression."
  • On August 4, 2022, CC News announced a new pre-college course which focuses on Critical Race Theory. The course is "aimed at students who are considering majors in the history, political science, pre-law, or humanities fields."
  • The college has created its "Antiracism Implementation Plan" (updated 2021) which makes recommendations regarding policy, curriculum, admissions etc. and is described as follows: "With antiracism central to our mission, our faculty, staff, and students will experience greater equity and inclusion, our teaching will become more impactful, and our students will be better prepared to make positive change in the world."
  • On April 20, 2022, CC News announced that the office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion would be replaced by the Office of ADEI - Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
  • On January 17, 2023, CC provided an extensive update on its Antiracism Implementation Plan which includes "In Progress," "Ongoing," and "Completed" initiatives.
  • One of the goals of the Office of Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion's Strategic Plan is to "[e]nhance the use of inclusive, equitable, anti-oppressive teaching strategies so that both course content and course dynamics improve classroom climates. "
Symbolic Actions
  • The college will "Establish antiracism, equity, and inclusion as foundational to our community expectations...This goal will include a review and revision of the college mission and our core values to ensure that they communicate our priorities in this realm."
  • One of the goals of the Antiracism Commitment Committee is to "hold the CC community accountable in making continuous progress on antiracism goals."
Last updated May 27th, 2024
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