| Overall Rating | Bronze |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 38.87 |
| Liaison | Sam Edwards |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2025 |
Quinnipiac University
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:
In the 2023-24 Academic Year, Quinnipiac enlisted the services of Rankin Climate, LLC, to gather data about campus climate and to learn about people’s experiences and perceptions as part of the college/university community.
Rankin Climate, LLC, is the industry leader in campus climate research, was responsible fo the development, implementation, and interpretation of the survey and its results, as well as facilitating a community-based process for developing actions. A Climate Survey Working Group comprised of students, staff, and faculty representing various schools, offices, and departments served as campus lead on the project.
Our response rates were good, higher than other institutions that distributed a survey within the prior year. Our response rates were: faculty 40%; staff 60%; graduate/professional students 20%; and undergraduate students 26%. The general rule for populations comparable to our size is that survey findings are generalizable when response rates reach 30%. Given our response rates, we can assume that the data generally capture the sentiments of the larger population.
Following the survey’s completion, a second group was convened as the Climate Action Committee to determine action priorities based on the results of the survey. Further action is being charged to various campus actors including Human Resources, the Office of Inclusive Excellence and Student Affairs.
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:
Overall, the survey responses indicated strong positive perceptions in many areas:
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78% of respondents felt “very comfortable” or “comfortable” with the overall climate at QU, compared to 67% at comparable institutions.
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90% of faculty felt valued by students in the classroom, and 84% felt valued by faculty in their department/program.
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For tenured/ tenure-track faculty, 77% felt the tenure criteria were clear, and 82% felt QU valued teaching.
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For non-tenure-track faculty, 72% felt that QU valued service contributions, and 77% felt that QU valued teaching.
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87% of staff felt valued by coworkers in their department, and 76% felt valued by coworkers outside their department.
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83% of staff felt valued by their supervisor, and 72% felt their supervisor provided adequate support to manage work-life balance.
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81% of students felt valued by faculty, and 77% felt valued by other students in the classroom.
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70% of students had never seriously considered leaving QU because they liked their academic program, strong friendships, people and community, felt supported, liked classes and loved QU.
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Only a small proportion of respondents reported experiencing exclusionary conduct.
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Most respondents were knowledgeable about resources related to unwanted sexual experiences.
However, there are clearly areas where improvements are warranted.
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A sense of belonging — i.e., perceived social support and connectedness — varied significantly among different demographic groups. While there were no significant differences among faculty, differences were evident among students and staff based on their race, gender, sexual identity, political views and tenure at QU.
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The most common reason students considered leaving QU was that they lacked a sense of belonging at QU.
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Only a small minority of tenure-track (19%), non-tenure-track (12%), faculty and staff (23%) felt that salaries were competitive.
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Just 30-35% of faculty and staff indicated that senior administrators took faculty opinions seriously.
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Faculty (64%) and staff (56%) perceived pressure to do extra uncompensated work.
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Just over a third of faculty (37%) felt that QU provided adequate resources to help them manage work-life balance.
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Only 25% of staff respondents perceive clear procedures exist on how to advance their careers at QU.
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Nearly a quarter (23%) of tenured/tenure-track faculty felt “uncomfortable” or “very uncomfortable” with the overall climate at QU.
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Increasing student perceived and actual academic success among students of color, first-generation students and gender-inclusive students also emerged as a key opportunity.
Drawing on these findings from the climate surveys, the (comprehensive, cross-campus) Climate Action Committee (CAC) offers suggestions for improving the environment for learning, living and working at Quinnipiac University. The group focused on areas warranting improvement, recognizing that in some areas the climate survey indicated positive results. Some initiatives proposed by the CAC may require substantial resources that may limit execution in some areas.
The working group outlined several key recommendations aimed at improving the campus climate for students, faculty and staff. The Office of Inclusive Excellence will be taking the lead in assessing the implementation of these recommendations. The recommendations represent a blend of potential actions we might take to address the relevant issues identified from the findings. It is important to recognize that these recommendations are resource-intensive, and, like any organization, Quinnipiac has finite resources. Therefore, these recommendations serve as a framework for long-term options that Quinnipiac might undertake as resources become available. These recommendations aim to create an environment where everyone can thrive.
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:
Rankin Climate LLC hosted multiple sessions explaining the survey process and results in the Spring 2024 semester.
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:
Optional Fields
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.