Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 71.04
Liaison Natalie Hayes
Submission Date Oct. 19, 2023

STARS v2.2

Bentley University
PA-6: Assessing Diversity and Equity

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Natalie Hayes
Associate Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution engaged in a structured assessment process during the previous three years to improve diversity, equity and inclusion on campus?:
Yes

A brief description of the assessment process and the framework, scorecard(s) and/or tool(s) used:
The University conducted a campus-wide campus climate assessment for all faculty, staff, and students during the 2021-2022 academic year. The assessment consisted of an administered survey, community polls, and campus-wide listening sessions. This data is being used by our university's Inclusive Excellence Council and as part of our strategic plan to advance campus climate for various members of our community in both near and long-term goals.

Does the assessment process address campus climate by engaging stakeholders to assess the attitudes, perceptions and behaviors of employees and students, including the experiences of underrepresented groups?:
Yes

Does the assessment process address student outcomes related to diversity, equity and success?:
Yes

Does the assessment process address employee outcomes related to diversity and equity?:
Yes

A brief description of the most recent assessment findings and how the results are used in shaping policy, programs, and initiatives:
In summary, 55% of the Bentley community is satisfied with campus climate, and community members generally view the campus climate as friendly and feel a sense of personal value and belonging. However, experiences of discrimination reduce satisfaction in climate and the community is divided on perceptions of inclusiveness. Deficiencies in climate by concept (e.g., inclusiveness)
and among community compositions are identified in this document to allow us to reflect and consider methods of betterment and growth as a community.

Link to document: https://bentleydownloads.s3.amazonaws.com/diversity-and-inclusion/Bentley+Equity+Experience+Results+Document+(2021-2022).pdf

How results are shaping policy:
The next phase of this effort is the uncovering and designing of “what we can be” and how we can improve critical areas of the campus climate for members of our community at Bentley University. This phase requires the help and engagement from the entire Bentley community, and a strong infrastructure for diversity, equity and inclusion.
The University established the Inclusive Excellence Council in the Fall 2021 semester with the goal of operationalizing our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and identifying metrics that we are making transparent and holding ourselves accountable towards improving. One way that the Council has done this is by creating the Inclusive Excellence Dashboard to showcase all of our metrics structured under the Inclusive Excellence framework. We have used this dashboard to identify specific efforts that we are implementing, including creating career development programs for staff of color, closing racial gaps in academic standards, and creating more spaces for intentional cross-cultural interaction.

Are the results of the most recent structured diversity and equity assessment shared with the campus community?:
Yes

A brief description of how the assessment results are shared with the campus community:
The results are accessible via our Bentley Equity Experience website. During Spring 2022 they hosted a series of engagement events to bring the campus together to reflect on the survey's data and to engage deeper with themes that emerged from the Quick Questions and Community Polls conducted alongside the climate survey.

Are the results (or a summary of the results) of the most recent structured diversity and equity assessment publicly posted?:
Yes

The diversity and equity assessment report or summary (upload):
Website URL where the diversity and equity assessment report or summary is publicly posted:

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s diversity and equity assessment efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.