Thompson Rivers University
PA-5: Assessing Diversity and Equity

TRU’s Institutional Planning and Analysis office (IPA) administers several surveys, including the Canadian University Report, which assesses student’s views on the diversity of campus, international student services, and the ability of the institution to prepare its students for a culturally diverse, global economy and job market. IPA also tracks the numbers of Canadian aboriginal students, other Canadian students, and international students by country.

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) measures the levels of items that are not explicitly academic but which research has shown are intrinsically linked to overall student success in post-secondary education. The survey asks over 100 questions, ranging from academic practices to demographic information to spiritual health. Thirty-four of these questions can be grouped into five Benchmark categories: 1) Level of Academic Challenge 2) Active and Collaborative Learning 3) Student-Faculty Interaction 4) Enriching Educational Experiences and 5) Supportive Campus Environment. The assessment was last conducted in 2014--the fifth time it has ever been conducted on campus. More information about TRU’s participation in the 2014 NSSE survey can be found at: http://nsse.iub.edu/NSSE_2014_Results/pdf/NSSE_2014_Annual_Results.pdf#page=48 (TRU is listed on page 48 under “British Columbia”)

On February 18, 2015 TRU hosted an in-service day program for all employees focused on diversity and equity. Called Co-creating an Inclusive Campus Community — Diverse & Equitable , the event featured speakers, open discussion, as well as a free lunch. In conjunction with this event, a survey to determine the diversity of the TRU workplace was also run. The survey can be viewed here: http://www.surveyfeedback.ca/surveys/wsb.dll/s/1g3e05 The purpose of the survey was to provide TRU with an understanding of how diverse the employee demographics are today and to compare the results to where TRU would like to be in the future. The equity information collected was compared to regional diversity statistics so that TRU will be able to see how closely its workforce represents the diversity of the communities in which it operates and recruits. Based on this comparison, TRU will be able to identify any employment barriers that may exist, and implement a plan to remove them (these are also addressed by the CUPE union: http://cupe.ca/). The equity information collected will also allow TRU to see how equally members of the four designated campus groups are represented in various occupational levels at TRU (i.e. how equal and proportional representation is from members of all four designated groups, which are CUPE, TRUFA, TRUOLFA and administration). More information is available at: https://www.tru.ca/hr/Employment_Equity.html.

As a start to more formal assessments on this topic, TRU is taking steps in regards to addressing diversity and equity in governance and public engagement. The TRU Human Resources office (HR) has taken the lead on this subject. The TRU Employment Equity Policy is one area that shows TRU's commitment to this issue. The head of the HR office is heading up a committee that will be reviewing the policy to make sure it's reflective of issues to do with equity as well as with diversity. (http://www.tru.ca/__shared/assets/EmploymentEquity5580.pdf). The HR office will also proceed with a survey in early 2015 to see where the underrepresented groups are at TRU and what it can do to address short-comings in this area. In addition to this, in their strategic plan the office has featured an emphasis on First Nations students and making TRU a more welcoming environment for them. Finally, the head of HR recently addressed the issues of diversity and equity at the TRU Senate, since members of that body were interested in progress being achieved in these areas. Source: Denis Powers, TRU AVP Human Resources