Wellesley College
PA-5: Assessing Diversity and Equity

Consortium on High Achievement and Success (CHAS) Campus Climate Surveys: The survey asked students of all four classes to rate their satisfaction with various aspects of campus life, their participation in different activities, and, in particular, their interactions with students unlike themselves and the sense of community that exists on their campus. An External Review of Multi-cultural Services conducted in the winter/spring of 2007 by a team of external reviewers from peer institutions Summaries of other campus surveys, e.g., First Year Students’, Sophomore, Enrolled Student, LGBT. The President’s Commission on Ethnicity, Race, and Equity (CERE), a committee composed of faculty, staff, and students has been having conversations across campus with a variety of stakeholders to assess campus climate around diversity and equity.

Senior exit interviews: Detailed summaries from 17 focus groups held on campus between November-December 2009 that included over 200 students, staff members, and faculty members. Some of the results have been a committee for first generation students that helps pair first year first generation students with older first generation students. The committee also sponsors dinners and events with first generation faculty and staff. Advisors are often based on student population and cultural needs beyond academic needs. An intercultural space has been created with long-term goals of connecting all of the cultural spaces on campus with better signage, communication, and collaborative events.

For faculty, COACHE surveys are administered through Harvard approximately every 3 to 5 years. Results from these surveys has indicated that under-represented faculty feel the atmosphere is collegial with a few small exceptions. There is room for improvement in work life, transparency and communication, moving into leadership roles, and hiring more under represented faculty. Results also indicated that faculty felt they were well supported in terms of research and classroom teaching. All faculty would like to see more opportunities for mentoring externally from the College. Programs that have resulted are regular faculty lunches that encourage cross-departmental networking and mentoring across the ranks. Faculty orientation that includes guidance on connecting with new mentors outside their own discipline and outside the College. As well as a diversity and inclusion session during orientation on unconscious biases in the classroom, syllabi, and working with different students. A committee of administrative council conducted a survey on workplace satisfaction that resulting in revising telecommuting policy and ongoing work to improve flexibility and work life balance.

Last year a committee was convened by the President on "What does it mean to be a woman in the 21st Century?." The committee sponsored campus wide events across the year, campus surveys, alumni involvement, and a sub-committee on the board of trustees. The result was a re-affirmation of Wellesley's mission and a policy change to who is admitted. Afterwards, a task force was created to address roles on campus that interface and engage most with students to better implement this system-wide change and improve language around students. Change in admission policy: Wellesley will consider for admission any applicant who lives as a woman and consistently identifies as a woman; therefore, candidates assigned male at birth who identify as women are eligible to apply for admission. Those assigned female at birth who identify as men are not eligible for consideration for admission. Steadfast in our commitment to the College's mission of educating women, Wellesley will consider for admission women who are prepared for a rigorous academic environment that challenges them to achieve at their highest potential.