Overall Rating Bronze
Overall Score 31.92
Liaison Tom Kovacs
Submission Date Sept. 30, 2022

STARS v2.2

Eastern Michigan University
PA-6: Assessing Diversity and Equity

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 1.00 Thomas Kovacs
Professor
Geography and Geology
"---" 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:
A Biennial Campus Climate Assessment has been administered on an ongoing basis, the most recent was administered in 2019 and included:
a) A climate survey developed internally based on normative diversity and
inclusion climate constructs and administered locally.
b) A preliminary Stakeholders survey was conducted in September 2019.
c) Town Hall meetings, focus groups, and recorded story sessions were conducted
to provide contextual information, increase participation, and add a
dimension of qualitative data to increase understanding.

The EMU Campus Climate survey was distributed to the EMU community using a targeted random sampling approach comprising 20% faculty and staff and 10% graduate and undergraduate students. In addition, through town hall meetings and other venues, members of minoritized social groups were encouraged to take the survey to oversample such perspectives and ensure sufficient data for analysis.
The survey was open from October 22, 2019 to November 13, 2019.

A Periodic Institutional Diversity Audit implementation plan has been developed, but not administered yet. The plan will be administered by appropriate offices as designated by the President, to gather data on the diversity, equity and inclusion profile of all university programs, protocols, policies, facilities, students, and personnel. This data will be a first step in determining the impact of institutional inequity on all phases of university operations, and in developing a path forward toward comprehensive institutional excellence.

Informed by the data secured from the Biennial Campus Climate Assessment and the Institutional Diversity Audit. The Strategic Action Plan for DEI will be developed through a process coordinated by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in conjunction with appropriate administrative offices as designated by the President. The plan will include metrics by which to evaluate success in achieving designated DEI goals, as reflected in periodic audits and assessments.

A diversity impact analysis will demonstrate how proposed recommendations regarding programming, re-organization, personnel, and budget will affect the pursuit of DEI within the unit in question. Its goal is to address the operation of implicit bias and systemic inequities by creating purposeful pro-active awareness of and integration of the impact on DEI of routine university decision-making. Appropriate offices, as designated by the President, will develop the Diversity Impact Analysis.

EMU has also assessed employee diversity and employment equity. The Human Resource’s Long-Term Strategic Goals and 1 Year Human Resources Overarching Targets (Fiscal Year 2018-2019) are designed to touch on individual ideas, combining to create the 2018-2019 HR Priority Projects by Department

A. HR’s Long-Term Strategic Goals
1. Attract, retain and reward a talented and diverse workforce
2. Communicate consistently and transparently
3. Develop new and more effective ways of working
4. Maximize our human capital

B. 1 Year HR Overarching Targets (Fiscal Year 2018-2019)
1. Total Rewards and Wellness: provide comprehensive, modern, and competitive compensation and benefit programs and solutions to best meet the needs of employees, retirees, and their dependents. Foster employee well-being.
2. Labor and Employee Relations: Improve HR access, availability and overall customer service to internal clients
3. Diversity and Affirmative Action: Increase the diversity awareness of faculty and staff by being a proactive and organically engaged function.
4. HRIS: Drive towards an all-encompassing climate of self service and automation
5. Learning, Organizational Development and Talent: Implement a Talen Management strategy that will begin to transition the function from it’s current state to a transparent and accessible process resulting in improved employee engagement

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?:
No

Does the assessment process address employee outcomes related to diversity and equity?:
No

A brief description of the most recent assessment findings and how the results are used in shaping policy, programs, and initiatives:
The profile of participants who took the survey are similar to a profile of the institution (based on existing data collected) suggesting a representative sample was collected. Overall, the data appears very positive, with very high numbers across students, staff, and faculty reporting feeling safe, high numbers reporting respect and a sense of belonging. More analysis will reveal where and how we need to respond as a community as well as in our units to enhance the experience of every member of this community to feel value, belonging, and safety.
70% of respondents feel their race is respected
75% feel their sexual orientation is respected
80% that their gender is respected
65-75% that their religion is respected
75% that their age is respected
75% feel that their disability is respected.

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:
Preliminary data is available at https://www.emich.edu/diversity/assessment/preliminary-data.php

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):
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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.