Diversity Initiatives in Higher Education

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Diversity Initiatives in Higher Education

• Texas Tech University
• Office of the President
• Office of Institutional Diversity

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Overview of Presentation

• What is equity?
• What is the Equity Scorecard?
• How it works.
• Some salient examples
• Washington State University
• UW campuses
• Next Steps

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What is Equity?

• Equity is achieved when students of color
  succeed in a variety of measures relative to
  their representation (including access and
  excellence) on campus.
• Why Equity Matters Implications for a
  Democracy
• Diversity Scorecard Project, Center for Urban
  Education
• University of Southern California

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What is Equity?

• Sustaining a respectful and inclusive
  environment that ensures equal opportunity for
  all persons regardless of race, sex, color,
  religion, creed, national origin, or ancestry,
  age, marital status, sexual orientation,
  disability, or Vietnam-era veteran status in
  employment, educational programs and activities,
  and admissions.
• University of Michigan
• Office of Institutional Diversity

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Equity Scorecard

• Provides a process by which equity, for all, can
  be achieved through data driven decision making.
  By using existing disaggregated data,
  institutions are able to locate the most critical
  gaps in the academic performances of students of
  color and other underrepresented students to
  mitigate some of the inequities.

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Equity Scorecard How it works

• Awareness- Engage in institutional self-
  assessment to provide a clear and unambiguous
  picture of inequities.
• Interpretation- Analyze and integrate the meaning
  of the inequities.
• Action- Develop strategic actions to achieve
  equity in educational outcomes based on data, not
  assumptions.

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An illustration of the EqS Framework
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Some Observations

• The selection of evidence teams is critical
• Regularly meet to overcome obstacles to goal
  obtainment
• Analyze data and vital signs
• Develop Timetable for projects
• Present to the senior administration and campus
  community

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Case Studies

• Washington State University (WSU) rigorously
  began its equity scorecard in 2005 after
  reorganizing its Office of Equity and Diversity.
  Under the four areas of the framework (access,
  retention, excellence, and institutional climate)
  the evidence team focused on two objectives.

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Case Study (WSU)

• Framework Objectives
• Access
• To enroll students at WSU at rates equitable with
  their share of the traditionally college-aged
  population in the state.
• To improve yield among admitted students of color
  from within the State of Washington.
• Retention
• Achieve equitable graduation rates across gender
  ad ethnicity at WSU.
• Achieve equitable graduation rates in key
  programs across gender, race, and ethnicity for
  all students at WSU.

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Case Study (WSU)

• Excellence
• To achieve equitable rates of representation on
  the Honor Roll.
• To enroll and graduate students of color in WSUs
  Honors College at rates equitable with their
  share of the student body.
• Institutional Climate
• Improve the quality of data regarding race and
  ethnicity of faculty
• Establish an institutional climate of equity for
  all students

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Case Study (UW-Whitewater)

• University of Wisconsin- Whitewater examined
  equity across the four areas of the framework.
  The institutional objectives are incorporated in
  the measures of what is considered equitable.

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Case Study (UW-Whitewater)

• Equity (access)- UW-W should measure its
  populations of multicultural students and compare
  the proportionate enrollment of each ethnic group
  to the proportions of High School graduates in
  the 13-county region surrounding UW-W. Equity is
  achieved when the proportions in the UW-W
  population are equal to the proportion of High
  school graduates in the region.
• Equity (access)- UW-W should measure the
  proportions of multicultural students who gain
  access to their first choice of College two years
  after admission. Equity is achieved when the
  proportions of multicultural students gaining
  access to their choice of College is equal to the
  proportion of White students gaining access.

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Case Study (UW-W)

• Equity (retention)- UW-W should measure the
  first-to-second year retention rate for
  multicultural students. Equity is achieved when
  the retention rate is equal to the retention rate
  for White students.
• Equity (retention)- UW-W should measure the
  six-year graduation rate for each multicultural
  group. Equity is achieved when the graduation
  rate for each group is equal to the graduation
  rate for White students.
• Equity (excellence)- UW-W should measure the rate
  at which multicultural students achieve
  university honors GPA of 3.4 or higher. Equity is
  achieved multicultural students achieve
  University honors at the same rate of White
  students.

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WSU Enrollment 2001-2005
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UW-W Enrollment rates
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WSU 6-yr Graduation rates
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UW-W 6-yr. Graduation Rates (1996-1999)
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Similarities

• Both evidence teams met once a month and analyzed
  data and interpreted vital signs of their
  respective institutions.
• Both teams included timelines and focused
  objectives
• Both teams were committed to meeting the
  objectives under the framework

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Some Contrasts

• WSUs evidence team made up of 13 members across
  the university system (including Vice Provost,
  Associate Dean, and program coordinators)
• UW-Ws evidence team consisting of 8 members
  (Assistant/Associate Vice-Chancellors)
• Included equity assessment/objective in the
  improvement target (no specific action or
  timetable with regards to reaching the objective)

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• Discussion (Q A)