Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 52.49
Liaison Caitlin McLennan
Submission Date Nov. 1, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Utah State University
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.50 / 3.00 Michelle Bogdan
Director
USU Inclusion Center
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have a publicly posted non-discrimination statement? :
Yes

The non-discrimination statement, including the website URL where the policy is publicly accessible:

"USU sees an environment in which every individual has an opportunity to learn, work, and contribute, and where full inclusion and respect for all people encourages creativity and productivity. The result will be students, faculty, and staff working together, serving and strengthening our local, national, and global communities."
http://catalog.usu.edu/content.php?catoid=12&navoid=3143


Does the institution have a discrimination response protocol or committee (sometimes called a bias response team) to respond to and support those who have experienced or witnessed a bias incident, act of discrimination or hate crime?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s discrimination response protocol or team (including examples of actions taken during the previous three years):

The Access and Diversity Center provides support and advocacy for underrepresented student populations including Multicultural, LGBTQA and Nontraditional students. We provide mentoring, peer support, academic support and additional programs to enhance the educational experience while ensuring increased rates to graduation for underrepresented students. The Counseling and Psychological Services center provides counseling and peer support for all students including underrepresented students.

AAEO
[http://www.usu.edu/hr/files/uploads/Policies/303.pdf],outlines USU’s commitment to affirmative action and equal opportunity laws, requirements and concepts. This policy prohibits all forms of discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age disability, or veteran's status. In addition, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for employees in all aspects of employment and for students in academic programs and activities is prohibits.

The institution has established a Bias Response Team that is comprised of
representatives from the AAEO office, CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Affairs),
campus police, the Disability Resource Center, Student Conduct Officers and the VP
of Student Affairs. This team serves in a supportive role for staff, faculty and
students to who have experienced or witnessed an incident of discrimination.


Does the institution have programs specifically designed to recruit students from underrepresented groups?:
Yes

Does the institution have programs specifically designed to recruit staff from underrepresented groups?:
Yes

Does the institution have programs specifically designed to recruit faculty from underrepresented groups?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s programs to recruit students, staff and/or faculty from underrepresented groups:

o The purpose of the Women and Gender Research Institute is to assist USU in attracting, recruiting, and retaining female faculty. Committee members assist in recruiting women for faculty teaching and research positions by meeting with candidates during on-campus interviews, and introducing them to campus administrators and support programs.
o The AAEO office contacts the chair of a search committee whenever a new job has been posted to request a meeting. During the meeting, they discuss the importance of recruiting a diverse pool of candidates. This is standard procedure. In addition, the committee is strongly encouraged to advertise in a variety of diversity publications, professional organizations, and through special mailing lists. Example text from this email: This position falls into a job group which is underutilized. Before the position is advertised, someone from our office would like to speak with you (either via telephone or in person) to discuss good faith efforts in advertising. Affirmative action laws require us to make good faith efforts to attract qualified women and/or minorities into our applicant pools. Some of these resources are available from our office.
o The Office of Admissions funds one full-time recruitment position with the specific mission of recruiting students from underrepresented groups. In addition, the Educational Opportunity Scholarship is awarded to incoming freshman students who are from historically underrepresented groups. This scholarship is awarded through the Office of Admissions.


Does the institution have mentoring, counseling, peer support, academic support, or other programs to support students from underrepresented groups on campus?:
Yes

Does the institution have mentoring, counseling, peer support or other programs to support staff from underrepresented groups on campus?:
No

Does the institution have mentoring, counseling, peer support or other programs to support faculty from underrepresented groups on campus?:
No

A brief description of the institution’s programs to support students, staff and/or faculty from underrepresented groups:

Utah State sponsors the Aggie Advantage Peer Program. A program designed to match peers with first-gen multicultural students to provide mentoring, support and guidance.

The Access and Diversity Center provides support and advocacy for underrepresented student populations including Multicultural, LGBTQA and Nontraditional students. It provides mentoring, peer support, academic support and additional programs to enhance the educational experience while ensuring increased rates to graduation for underrepresented students. The Counseling and Psychological Services center provides counseling and peer support for all students including underrepresented students.


Does the institution have training and development programs, teaching fellowships and/or other programs that specifically aim to support and prepare students from underrepresented groups for careers as faculty members?:
No

A brief description of the institution’s programs to support and prepare students from underrepresented groups for careers as faculty members:
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Does the institution produce a publicly accessible inventory of gender-neutral bathrooms on campus?:
Yes

Does the institution offer housing options to accommodate the special needs of transgender and transitioning students?:
No

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives 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.