Guided Pathways

Guided Pathways –

An "Exemplary Program"

De Anza’s Guided Pathways initiatives have been recognized with an Exemplary Program Award from the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.

The honor is given to two colleges each year for programs that address equity issues, demonstrate a response to student needs, contribute to faculty engagement and can be used as models for other colleges, among other criteria.

The award, presented on Jan. 24, 2022, also comes with a $4,000 prize, which will be used for supporting student-related initiatives.

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Villages and Community

Inspired by the well-known aphorism – “It takes a village” to support a student – the Villages initiative invites students to actively participate in a Village that corresponds to their Guided Pathways meta-major.

The six meta-majors were developed as part of the collegewide Guided Pathways project, which is led by an interdisciplinary core team with participation and input from a broad range of college constituencies. They were reviewed and approved through the shared governance process.

Drawing on De Anza’s success with Learning Communities, the six Villages are designed to provide focused academic engagement, student services and social support for students.

For the 2021-22 academic year, the Villages’ primary focus was on welcoming students, orienting them to their meta-majors and to the college, and building a sense of community through shared activities.

In future quarters, the Villages will integrate additional campus resources, including student services, clubs and organizations, and designated physical spaces for each Village.

Welcome Day: Discover Your Village

Students were introduced to the Villages concept during the fall Welcome Day event held on Sept. 17, 2021, which encouraged them to participate in the coming year. 

The Office of Communications surveyed students, instructors and classified professionals to get their feedback on the event, which drew nearly 1,000 students on the Friday before fall classes began.

• Most students said they found useful information about their Village and about departments, services or clubs
• Students said they enjoyed meeting instructors and other students
• While most students (nearly 80%) said they had enough time to accomplish what they wanted on Welcome Day, some said they wished they could have attended more sessions that were scheduled at overlapping times.

View More Survey Results:

• Student survey results
• Employee survey results
• Student survey results (slide deck)

Learn More About Villages

• Please visit the Villages FAQs webpage for more information and a complete list of Launch Team members.
• If you have questions or would like to get involved, please click this yellow button to open the online Villages Contact Form.

Villages Contact Form