SRJC Forward

Framework

SRJC Forward is Santa Rosa Junior College’s institution-wide framework for redesigning how students enter, navigate, and complete college.

Rather than organizing work around siloed efforts or individual programs, SRJC Forward uses the four Guided Pathways pillars as a shared structure — and describes them in clear, practical terms that reflect how the work actually happens at SRJC.

This framework is not student-facing. It is a common reference point for faculty, staff, and administrators to understand how projects, workgroups, and investments align to improve enrollment, persistence, learning, and completion.

The Four Pillars, in Plain Language

Clarify Paths to Student Goals

SRJC Forward begins by improving how students understand their options. This pillar focuses on ensuring that students can clearly see majors and certificates, how programs relate to careers and transfer, and what it takes to complete a certificate or degree without taking unintended units.

At SRJC, this work includes:

  • Career & Academic Pathways (CAPs), sometimes called Academic Interest Areas to organize majors and certificates into broad, understandable groupings
  • Program maps / Paths to Completion that show term-by-term options for full-time and part-time attendance
  • Clear, consistent program information across the catalog, website, and student tools
  • Improved alignment between academic programs, transfer pathways, and workforce outcomes

The goal is not to limit choice — it is to make choice navigable.

Help Students Get on a Path

This pillar focuses on how students experience SRJC before and during their first term. SRJC Forward emphasizes entry experiences that reduce friction and confusion, acknowledge that many students are unsure of their goals, and intentionally support exploration rather than forcing premature decisions.

Key areas of work include:

  • Entry, onboarding, and pre-college transitions
  • Dual enrollment and high school partnerships as on-ramps
  • First-year experiences that organize early milestones
  • Intentional major and career exploration — especially for undecided students

Students begin with direction, support, and belonging — not guesswork.

Help Students Stay on a Path

This pillar addresses how the institution supports students after entry — especially during moments when students are most likely to stall or stop out. SRJC Forward prioritizes support that is proactive rather than reactive, coordinated across Academic Affairs and Student Services, and informed by timely information about student progress.

This includes work such as:

  • Support teams and case management models that coordinate outreach and follow-up
  • Early alerts and just-in-time interventions
  • Embedded tutoring, learning labs, and instructional supports
  • Basic needs and wraparound services aligned with student progress
  • Ongoing educational planning with educational counseling

Support is proactive and coordinated by design.

Ensure Students Are Learning

The fourth pillar grounds SRJC Forward in the classroom. This work focuses on ensuring that students are not only persisting, but learning meaningfully and equitably — especially in courses that are critical for progress.

Areas of emphasis include:

  • High-quality teaching and learning practices
  • Gateway math and English with aligned, embedded support
  • Curriculum coherence within programs and pathways
  • Culturally responsive and equity-minded instruction
  • Assessment practices that inform improvement, not just compliance

Learning is not separate from pathways — it is what makes them matter.

How This Framework Is Used

SRJC Forward uses this framework to organize initiatives and projects, align Academic Affairs and Student Services work, guide planning and prioritization, and evaluate progress institutionally.

Projects are not owned by a single pillar — but each project is expected to clearly strengthen one or more pillars. If work cannot be situated within this framework, it is likely duplicative, disconnected, or not yet ready to scale institution-wide.

Why This Matters Now

SRJC is operating in a period of declining enrollment, widening equity gaps, and increasing complexity for students. By using a shared, intelligible framework, SRJC Forward helps the college improve the student experience, strengthen persistence and completion, and support enrollment recovery through clearer pathways and stronger early momentum.

Over time, the goal is not for “SRJC Forward” to stand apart — but for this way of working to become how SRJC operates.