College of Alameda is a diverse, supportive, and empowering learning community for seekers of
knowledge. We are committed to providing an inviting, creative, ethical, and inclusive
environment in which students develop their abilities as thinkers, workers, and citizens of the global world.

We use this vision to choreograph three central values that guide us to serve the educational needs of our community:

A. Academic Excellence
Academic excellence is the demonstrated ability of CoA students to successfully excel in course, certificate, and degree completions. We seek to embrace this value with a commitment to innovative and integrated curriculum built upon collaborative partnerships within our organization between student and academic services. We seek to create opportunities for applied learning, in a psychologically and intellectually safe environment that encourages risk-taking, deeper learning, and celebrating successes.

• Goal 1: Develop and offer curriculum and learning that is innovative, rigorous, and aligned with industry standards and labor market demands.
• Goal 2: Provide quality educational and student support services that result in equitable student access to
  educational opportunities and success in earning a degree or certificate.

B. Budgetary Competence
Budgetary competence is defined by CoA’s ability to offer all of our services within the real-world constraints of our budget. The entire CoA community is a part of this commitment to being responsible stewards of public resources. We strive to avoid bringing ideas to the table without  first asking how the idea fits within our resource limits and seek creative ways to supplement our budget. We also seek to identify opportunities to innovate within the context of our vision of success.

We also seek to serve our students with convenient and dynamic scheduling that allows us to offer courses that are productive, innovative, and experimental. We look for holistic course offerings that complement our existing programs and leverage the unique strengths of College of Alameda, as well as leveraging the strengths and programs offered by our sister colleges within the Peralta Community College District. Our investment in physical and technological
infrastructure is critical to delivering on our mission, which requires that we reduce barriers to equitable access and success and support all learners and community members to realize their educational and employment goals.

The college has identified two college goals to support this value:

• Goal 3: Leverage existing resources to maximize academic opportunities for all students
  and provide accessible and inclusive physical and virtual learning environments that
  promote equitable academic excellence.
• Goal 4: Engage in transparent and data-driven decision-making processes to best
  leverage resources to meet students’ needs and future workforce and community
  demands.

C. Community Engagement and Partnerships
The value of community engagement and partnerships is defined by CoA’s embodiment of a spirit of collegiality and   active work toward a student-centered philosophy. This value is exemplified by a community of scholar-practitioners who are committed to serving our students with professionalism and collegiality. We aspire to hold one another          accountable to the highest standards of excellence—as defined by our Institutional Learning Outcomes—utilizing a   process of ongoing evaluation, which leads to continuous improvement of college programs and services.

College of Alameda seeks to engage and partner with businesses, community-based organizations, and local K–12 and 4-year partners to support equitable educational access and services and to establish pathways for our students that will lead to high-wage, high-demand occupations and economic mobility. We recognize that we share the same mission and goals
with community partners such as the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD), and the charter and independent schools within our geographic area. College of Alameda seeks to leverage   economic resources, human capital, facilities, paid internships, and job placement for our students through community engagement and partnerships. As a college “rooted in the community,” we actively collaborate with local nonprofits and faith-based organizations, businesses, and other community organizations to augment support for and from the community. This ongoing relationship with our community helps us integrate economic development goals into educational program planning and strengthen our outreach. Increasing the presence of CoA in the community strengthens local
awareness of its course/degree/certificate offerings. We also utilize students in this ongoing partnership as                  ambassadors to the community. The expected outcome of our internal and external partnerships is the economic      mobility of our students and our community.

College of Alameda is equally focused on developing partnerships internally in order to promote engagement and     academic excellence based on the needs of students. The internal partnerships are designed to break institutional
silos to best support students’ academic and social needs. CoA’s plethora of learning communities and collegewide Guided Pathways include successful programs and approaches that reflect our commitment to student success. We
focus on a holistic and collaborative approach to learning, one in which learning happens both in and out of the       classroom. We actively promote and support students as equal partners in shared governance through the Associated Students of College of Alameda (ASCOA). The “one-team” approach of ASCOA, comprising students, classified              professionals and faculty, and community partners, seeks to deemphasize distinctions between education partners to reflect the reality that we are all learners, each working toward a common goal: student success.

College of Alameda hopes to continue to build on existing collaborations and develop new opportunities for                collaboration with industry partners, as well as local, state, and community organizations who share our commitment to the betterment of society through education and civic engagement. The college has identified two specific goals to support commitment to the community:

• Goal 5: Foster an inclusive and caring culture that thrives on diversity and promotes social
  justice and equity.
• Goal 6: Be rooted in the community and engage in ongoing partnerships with our sister
  colleges, P–16 educational partners, community organizations, and local and regional
  industry partners.