University of Louisville
PA-6: Assessing Diversity and Equity
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Diana
Whitlock Executive Assistant Diversity and Equity |
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:
Online Campus Climate Surveys are regularly administered to the university community by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness. Recent surveys for students focused on diversity and inclusion relative to student life and their experiences in the classroom. The employee survey includes questions provided by the Campus Environment Team, the Unit Diversity Committee Chairs, and the Commission on the Status of Women in addition to questions related to diversity and inclusion. The Office of Diversity and Equity, in collaboration with the chairs of the commissions, recommends interventions and advises the administration regarding changes to better serve the needs of students, faculty and staff.
With the launch of the Cardinal Anti-Racist Agenda, the 2021 Campus Climate Survey specifically addressed employee and student outcomes such as: recruitment and retention both students and employees that are Black or People of Color; adequacy of pay rates, university benefits, and opportunities for advancement and professional development; ADA accessibility; unit-level and institution-level budgets that reflect the priority of diversity and equity; and the intentional diversity of UofL boards and committees.
The Campus Climate and Diversity Survey for Faculty and Staff is a campus-wide assessment of diversity, inclusion, and workplace climate at the University of Louisville. With input from campus constituents, including the Chairs of the Campus Diversity Committees and the Campus Environment Team, the survey was re-envisioned in 2017 to better meet the needs of our community members and to ensure that the university is fulfilling its mission with respect to climate, diversity and inclusion. The survey questions are about faculty and staff perceptions of the various contributors to the campus climate at UofL.
The survey is divided into two modules, with one module administered each year. This new cycle allows for the 1) collection of baseline information, 2) creation and implementation of action plans, and 3) reassessment of the themes/modules again after sufficient time for implementation, to measure improvement based on the actions taken. For more information on the new process, please review the Campus Climate and Diversity Survey 2-Year Survey Cycle at http://louisville.edu/diversity/campus-climate-survey-results/CampusClimateandDiversitySurvey2YearSurveyCycle.pdf
A PeopleSoft query was used to provide a listing of all faculty, staff, and students (derived from the official census file). A total of 1,390 faculty, staff, and administrators (19.9% response rate) participated in the spring 2021 Employee Climate Survey; this number of respondents meets the requirements to be considered a representative sample of the University’s population. In Spring 2021, the UofL Student Climate Survey was sent to all undergraduate, graduate, and professional students not enrolled at an international campus. In total, 19,089 students received invitations to participate in the survey. A total of 374 students (a 2% response rate) submitted responses to the 2021 Student Campus Climate Survey.
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 2021 Climate Survey was administered in spring semester to all faculty, staff and students. The data in this report reflect attitudes and opinions expressed in the midst of a global pandemic and subsequent shifts in our campus community operations and challenging social justice issues that have been brought to the forefront of our society. The results are publicly posted at https://louisville.edu/diversity/campusclimate. An updated action plan based upon these results is actively being developed by the Commission on Diversity and Racial Equality’s (CODRE) Campus Environment Team (CET), but was not released at the time of this submission.
The Campus Environment Team drafted an action plan to respond to the issues raised in previous years' Campus Climate Surveys. An earlier action plan can be found at http://louisville.edu/diversity/campusclimate under “2017-2018 Campus Climate Action Plan” near the bottom of the page. The plan was shared with UofL's President and Provost for discussion and implementation. In follow-up to the action plan, focus groups were formed in 2018 to provide opportunities for further discussion and recommendations to improve the campus climate.
As a result, changes have been made to improve the campus culture, such as:
• Domestic partner benefits – the University of Louisville was the first state-supported university in Kentucky to adopt domestic partner benefits to qualifying adults.
• Gender- Neutral restrooms – several restrooms on campus were converted to gender-neutral restrooms in response to the need to be sensitive to members of the campus community who are gender non-conforming or transgender. In addition, gender-neutral restrooms will be a part of all new campus constructions.
• Cultural Center – a Cultural Center was developed to facilitate and enhance cultural programming and education to the campus community.
• Hispanic/Latino Initiative – an initiative designed to empower Hispanic/Latino(a)s to earn a college degree at the University of Louisville and create an environment in which they can enrich their lives and the community.
• Office of Diversity Education and Inclusive Excellence - Created in July 2016, based on recommendations from the 21st Century Culture of Excellence and the President’s Diversity Steering Committees, the Office for Diversity Education and Inclusive Excellence is a functional area designed to support campus and community-wide diversity education and training. This unit serves as a focal point for driving the University of Louisville’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion; which fundamentally advances our mission of achieving preeminence as a nationally recognized metropolitan research university. Innovation occurs when diversity is reflected in thought, perspective, and experience. To this end, this unit is committed to fostering a community that strives towards inclusion and equity by:
• Consulting individuals, departments/units, university leaders regarding best practices concerning diversity and inclusion
• Providing resources to campus and community constituencies
• Offering leadership and training opportunities to campus and community constituencies
• Conducting workshops and training sessions regarding diversity, inclusion, and equity
Commission on the Status of Women - In 1994, the Commission on the Status of Women (COSW) organized a report which presented the status of women in all employment categories and recommended changes to improve the climate for women and all UofL employees. In 2008-2009, COSW organized an update to the original 1994 report. The members of COSW analyzed and reviewed each of the objectives and recommendations to ascertain whether progress has been made towards outcomes for the identified goals. As part of the methodology for this review, the COSW conducted 10 focus groups and individual interviews with campus leaders. UofL policies, procedures, publications and programs were reviewed. Based on the findings, the Commission on the Status of Women made recommendations regarding representation, recruitment, retention, campus environment and integration of work and family life for women. The Provost has appointed the Vice Provost for Diversity to serve as the point person in addressing these recommendations. (http://louisville.edu/cosw/)
Commission on Diversity and Racial Equality (CODRE) - Working collaboratively with Institutional Research, CODRE’s Campus Environment Team completed a diversity study in 2014, summarized the data, and developed recommendations that were compiled and sent to the President and Provost by Dr. Faye Jones, Chair of CODRE. The recommendations were organized around a three-year strategy for implementation.
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:
Both the quantitative results and an executive summary of the qualitative results of each year's assessment are publicly posted at https://louisville.edu/diversity/campusclimate, and an all-campus email alerts the campus community to their posting. Administrators also discuss the findings in shared governance bodies such as the Faculty, Staff, and Student Senates. In developing action plans based on the survey results, the Office of Diversity & Equity solicits the community's thoughts and ideas at http://louisville.edu/diversity/campusclimate/forms/climate-and-diversity-survey-suggestion-form and seeks the community's participation in topical focus groups via http://louisville.edu/diversity/campusclimate/forms/focus-group-form
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.