California State University, Sacramento
PA-6: Assessing Diversity and Equity
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Has the institution engaged in a structured assessment process during the previous three years to improve diversity, equity and inclusion on campus?:
A brief description of the assessment process and the framework, scorecard(s) and/or tool(s) used:
Antiracism Taskforce Timeline for Creation and Survey:
May 30, 2020 – President Nelsen issues a statement via email to the campus community,
acknowledging the community’s pain in light of local and national race-related events and killings
and noting that “as a nation, we often do not value black and brown lives.” In his SACSEND
message, President Nelsen outlines the administrative action plan, including the development of
an antiracism and inclusive campus plan.
October 2020 – Community applications are reviewed. Appointments to Action Planning Groups
are made and participants are notified.
February – April 2021 - APGs draft initial plan recommendations; planning council members offer
feedback; revisions are made.
March 2021 – Planning Fellows, in conversation with Planning Council members and IE staff,
draft and revise Qualtrics survey and corresponding email to potential participants. Survey will
gather individual narratives for inclusion in Final Plan.
March 30, 2021 – Email and Qualtrics survey are sent to APG members, Planning Council and
Fellows. Deadline to respond is April 9, 2021.
The purpose of the qualitative survey was to gauge respondents’ perceptions of and experiences with
racism/antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus. Specifically, respondents were asked the
following questions:
1. Based on your lived experience, what would an antiracist campus look like for you?
2. Relative to your personal identities, please share a time when you felt seen or respected by
members of the campus community.
3. Relative to your personal identities, please share a time when you didn’t feel especially seen or
respected by members of the campus community.
4. Please share a personal experience while at CSUS that has increased your sense of belonging
and/or safety (emotional or physical).
5. Please share a personal experience while at CSUS that has decreased your sense of belonging
and/or safety (emotional or physical).
6. Please share a personal experience while at CSUS that has created a barrier to your personal
success.
7. Please share a personal experience while at CSUS that has removed a barrier to your personal
success.
A total of sixteen (16) APG members responded to the survey; fourteen (14) respondents agreed to
have their responses included in the Final Plan.
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?:
Does the assessment process address student outcomes related to diversity, equity and success?:
Does the assessment process address employee outcomes related to diversity and equity?:
A brief description of the most recent assessment findings and how the results are used in shaping policy, programs, and initiatives:
The assessment findings are as follows:
Overall, respondents felt the key characteristics of an antiracist campus included the following: faculty
and staff diversity; diversity in campus leadership; mattering and affirmation; adequate responses
to racist/bias incidents on campus; policies and procedures for reporting bias incidents; institutional
support for antiracism work; and antiracism/anti-discrimination workshops and courses.
Respondents highlighted various sources of support and validation they have received from the
campus community, including Employee Affinity Groups, faculty support for students, department/
college/university colleagues, Student Affairs, Ethnic Studies Department, Diversity/Antiracism
Committees. However, a few respondents reported that they have not felt seen or respected by
members of the campus community.
Respondents listed various instances and sources of invalidation they’ve experienced on campus,
including microaggressions/microinvalidations, campus organizations, language-based discrimination, and a general feeling of lack of support. Some respondents also reported experiencing respect and validation in certain spaces on campus.
Study participants highlighted campus leadership, employee affinity groups, faculty and staff
colleagues, the antiracism planning groups, the Department of Ethnic Studies, cultural events, and
student experiences as contributing to their sense of belonging on campus.
Respondents shared various experiences that decreased their sense of belonging and/or safety on
campus. These experiences included colleagues’ indifference to and/or lack of understanding of
racism, sexism, and/or ableism, the campus’s failure to respond effectively to incidents of racism/bias,
lack of support for lecturers, lack of support for students, and racist incidents on campus.
Study participants shared experiencing a wide range of barriers and challenges. These barriers
revolved around institutional hierarchies, time management, lack of resources and professional
development opportunities, Retention/Tenure/Promotion (RTP) processes, committees, and lack of
diversity among faculty and administrators.
Study participants identified several experiences that have helped remove barriers to their personal
success. These experiences revolved around professional recognition and validation, mentorship,
networking and professional development opportunities, and employee affinity groups.
These findings were used by the Antiracism Taskforce to create the following goals:
Goal 1: Create structures to build an antiracist community.
Goal 2: Provide support systems to address and reduce racial stress and bias.
Goal 3: Transform the institutional culture and commit to antiracism and inclusion
Goal 4: Promote Cross-cultural understanding of multiple ethnic groups
Goal 5: Educate and elevate antiracism and inclusion by integrating into a campus-wide culture of exploration, learning, growth, and reconciliation outside of the classroom.
Goal 6:Incorporate and prioritize antiracism & inclusion with campus and infrastructure (physical and virtual) to foster continual intersectional and interdisciplinary dialog, brave spaces, and inclusive spaces.
Goal 7: Affirm and represent the Black, indigenous, Chicanx/Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and other racially minoritized communities across the Sacramento State campus and community.
Goal 8: Proactively dismantle and eradicate oppressive systems and structures.
Goal 9: Dedicate financial resources to support antiracism work.
Goal 10: Ensure that curriculum, pedagogy & assessment, is antiracist: from a Black, Indigenous, Chicanx/Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and other racially minoritized communities' perspective, fully integrating epistemologies of people of color, and in an intersectional way; and that it centers and values students' different ways of knowing.
Goal 11: Increase promotion and visibility of university antiracism efforts.
Goal 12: Establish antiracism campus onboarding and annual procedures/content for university staff and students.
Goal 13: Encourage and resource antiracism programming (All in programming).
Goal 14: Students, faculty, and staff recognize they are part of a larger community(ies) and gain an awareness of underrepresented groups, ideologies, and culture and their histories in the region towards engaging in mutually beneficial partnerships that advance antiracism.
Goal 15: Campus-community partnerships are defined and guided by principles of co-creation and reciprocity to achieve equity and justice.
Goal 16: Campus resource allocation for community engagement/partnerships is equitable.
Are the results of the most recent structured diversity and equity assessment shared with the campus community?:
A brief description of how the assessment results are shared with the campus community:
The results of the Antiracisim Campus Planning Fellows created the Antiracism and Inclusive Campus Plan. The plan is linked on the website of the Division of Inclusive Excellence. Within the plan, the survey ad results are posted online for public viewing.
Are the results (or a summary of the results) of the most recent structured diversity and equity assessment publicly posted?:
The diversity and equity assessment report or summary (upload):
Website URL where the diversity and equity assessment report or summary is publicly posted:
Website URL where information about the institution’s diversity and equity assessment efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.