University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
PA-5: Assessing Diversity and Equity

CURRENT http://www.uww.edu/irp/university-data/university-wide-surveys/studentsurveys/heri-dle https://heri.ucla.edu/diverse-learning-environments-survey/ HERI Diverse Learning Environments Survey This survey collects information about the experiences of undergraduate students in their sophomore and junior year from institutions across the nation. In this survey, respondents are asked to share their perceptions about UW-Whitewater related to academic work, interactions with faculty and peers, participation in campus activities, perceptions of the climate on campus, and use of campus services. The Diverse Learning Environments Survey is being conducted by UW-Whitewater and the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA. HERI is a national organization that has conducted research on the undergraduate experience since 1989. HERI reports the results of the survey in its own publications, as well as in other venues, such as The Chronicle of Higher Education. The findings from this survey will be used at UW-Whitewater to understand and improve the undergraduate experience at our institution. https://www.uww.edu/irp/university-data/university-wide-surveys/employeesurveys/herifaculty https://heri.ucla.edu/heri-faculty-survey/ HERI Faculty Survey Developed and administered by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) out of the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA), the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) Faculty Survey has been designed to provide institutions with information pertaining to the faculty experience. According to the HERI website: “[The survey] includes topics such as pedagogical practices, faculty goals and expectations for students, research and service activities, sources of stress and satisfaction, and the connection between learning in the classroom and practices in the local and global community.” Universities that choose to participate in this web-based survey, which is administered every three years, pay a survey administration fee. HERI provides participants with comprehensive information about the faculty experience at participating institutions. This information can be used to identify and address issues that may contribute to student success. UW-Whitewater faculty participated in the HERI Faculty Survey in Spring 2017. https://www.campusprideindex.org/campuses/details/341?campus=university-of-wisconsin---whitewater Campus Pride Index (4/5 stars rating) At UW-Whitewater, students can take LGBTQ courses, visit the Pride Center, attend the Queer Cultural Series, live in gender-inclusive housing, and join 3 LGBTQ-specific student organizations! The PB Poorman Pride Center provides a space for LGBTQ+ students to relax and build community. The Pride Center is directed by the LGBT* Coordinator, one graduate assistant, and four undergraduate interns. They offer events throughout the year, including a speaker series, safer sex drive, movie nights, and book club. The Pride Center celebrates the end of every academic year by honoring the graduating LGBTQ + ally students at the Rainbow Celebration of Excellence. UWW is also home to three LGBTQ student organizations, including the long-standing IMPACT: LGBT + allies, TRANS*action, and QTPoC. The Women's & Gender Studies Department proudly offers one LGBTQ course every semester, including "Introduction to LGBTQ Studies" and "Queer Popular Culture." Students can earn a major, minor, or certificate in Women's and Gender Studies, or a Diversity Leadership Certificate. EXPIRED ASSESSMENTS - not eligible for scoring http://www.uww.edu/Documents/diversity/docs/Equity%20Scorecard.pdf http://www.uww.edu/Documents/diversity/Equity%20Scorecard%20Report%20Addendum%20(1).pdf Equity Scorecard and Addendum (2009) UW-Whitewater was one of six institutions in the UW System to volunteer to participate in an Equity Scorecard pilot project to inform strategic decision-making with respect to current and future diversity initiatives. The overall goal of this initiative was to achieve equity in educational outcomes for all students, especially students of color. The Equity Scorecard was originally developed at the Center for Urban Education at the University of Southern California. The UW-W Equity Scorecard Team met monthly from March 2006 through May 2007, and completed its Report in June 2007. http://www.uww.edu/Documents/diversity/reports/CC_Executive_Summary.pdf Campus Climate Survey (2009) UW-Whitewater was one of the four UWS institutions participating in the climate project in fall 2009. A Diversity Leadership Committee (DLC) was created at UW-Whitewater to assist in coordinating the survey effort on campus. The DLC reviewed the survey template and revised the instrument to better fit the campus context at UW-Whitewater. The final survey contained 89 questions, including open-ended questions for respondents to provide commentary. This report provides an overview of the findings of the UW-Whitewater campus-specific assessment, including the results of the campus-wide survey and a thematic analysis of comments provided by survey respondents. All members of the campus community (e.g., students, faculty, academic staff, and classified staff) were invited to participate in the survey. The survey was designed for respondents to provide information about their personal experiences with regard to climate issues, their perceptions of the campus climate, and student and employee satisfaction, and respondents’ perceptions of institutional actions, including administrative policies and academic initiatives regarding climate issues and concerns on campus. A summary of the findings, presented in bullet form below, suggests that while the UW-Whitewater has several challenges with regard to diversity issues, these challenges are found in higher education institutions across the country.

A series of aggregated publications are available from HERI with the results of the Diverse Learning Environments Survey: https://heri.ucla.edu/publications-dle/ The findings from this survey will be used at UW-Whitewater to understand and improve the undergraduate experience at our institution.

https://www.uww.edu/irp/university-data/university-wide-surveys/employeesurveys/herifaculty UW-Whitewater faculty participated in the HERI Faculty Survey in Spring 2017. An Executive Summary and Summary of Results is publicly available on the website. With regard to faculty perspective on campus climate, UW-W faculty indicate that UW-W is more committed to facilitating civic engagement than the comparison group and that UW-W has a higher commitment to diversity in all three categories examined than the comparison group – including the promotion of racial and ethnic diversity in the faculty and administration. That said, a majority (58.4%) of UW-W faculty indicate than they are not well-prepared to deal with conflicts over diversity issues in the classroom, which is 6.6% points higher than the comparison group. In terms of overall campus climate, UW-W faculty generally rate UW-W well. For example, only 36.4% of UW-W faculty reported that “faculty are typically at odds with campus administration” compared to 42.9% of the comparison group. However, there is one exception: a notably higher percentage of UW-W faculty report that “there is a lot of campus racial conflict here” than the comparison group (37.2% versus 25.0%). The Campus Pride Index is publicly available: https://www.campusprideindex.org/campuses/details/341?campus=university-of-wisconsin---whitewater

http://www.uww.edu/Documents/diversity/inclusive-excellence/IE%20Assessment%20Guidelines.pdf Inclusive Excellence Guidelines These guidelines are the result of a workshop funded by an Inclusive Excellence grant from the Chancellor’s Office of UW-Whitewater. The workshop organizers invited speakers from the American Association of Colleges and Universities and from the University of Wisconsin System to work with faculty, instructional staff and administrators from each of the four colleges, representing as many academic disciplines as possible. Workshop participants learned about Inclusive Excellence as a national and state initiative and an important element of LEAP, a liberal arts initiative that has been adopted by UWW as well as UW System. Inclusive Excellence has been informed by both the failures and successes of previous diversity efforts and represents a research-based revision and re-iteration of these earlier initiatives. Among the most important elements of Inclusive Excellence is the understanding that 1) equity goals cannot be reached without the commitment and involvement of the entire university, 2) a strong liberal arts education cannot be achieved without diversity education at its core, and 3) none of our students can be prepared for a twenty-first-century world without multicultural competencies. With these principles in mind, workshop participants created a comprehensive set of guidelines with which academic departments and divisions can determine their progress towards the goals of Inclusive Excellence. The guidelines are organized across those categories that arose in the workshop discussions and that participants thought would make the guidelines easier to use, but our understanding is that these categories are overlapping and mutually dependent. We also understand that particular departments/disciplines may need to shape and prioritize goals in ways that make sense within their own departments and disciplines.