Wells College
PA-5: Assessing Diversity and Equity

In 2009, the President's Committee on Inclusive and Intercultural Excellent (CIIE) commissioned separate campus climate surveys of students, staff, and faculty. The committee used the findings of and feedback from those surveys to develop a Strategic Plan on Inclusive and Intercultural Excellence. That plan includes the following goals and priorities, along with possible implementation strategies:
Goal 1: Recruitment and Retention
Priority 1: Attract, recruit, and retain underrepresented students, and students interested in diversity, inclusion, and interculturalism.
Priority 2: Attract, recruit, and retain underrepresented faculty, and faculty interested in diversity, inclusion, and interculturalism.
Priority 3: Attract, recruit, and retain a diverse administration and staff.
Priority 4: Improve data collection for assessment and planning purposes.
Goal 2: Governance and Administration
Priority 1:Create and maintain open and inclusive internal communication processes.
Priority 2: Create equitable systems that promote organizational learning.
Goal 3: Campus Climate
Priority 1: Clarify the implementation, analysis, and communication of campus climate surveys.
Priority 2: Create a campus characterized by dialogue and resulting conflicts constructively.
Priority 3: Establish campus-wide forums.
Goal 4: Curriculum and Pedagogy
Priority 1: Enhance intercultural learning and teaching
Goal 5: Scholarship and Professional Development
Priority 1: Create regular professional development opportunities for staff and faculty.

The entire plan can be accessed at: https://global.wells.edu/ICS/Campus_Life/Campus_Groups/President's_Committee_on_Inclusive_and_Intercultural_Excellence/Main_Page.jnz?portlet=%5bICS%5d_HandoutPortlet

In Fall 2015, Staff Forum devised a new Campus Climate Survey instrument for staff; to date, that survey has not been released to the community.

Wells annually collects and reports data to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) system, reporting on diversity by program, comparing graduate and retention rates for diverse groups, and comparing student diversity of the diversity of the community served by the college.

From the 2014 IPEDS report, 71% of Wells students come from within New York State.
32% of Wells students identify as being of a diverse group (12% black/African American; 9% Hispanic; 2% Asian; 1% American Indian/Alaskan, with 7% not identifying with any race/ethnicity. 67% of Wells students identify as being white.
Compared to New York State demographics, Wells is less diverse (18.6% Hispanic; 17.6% Black/African American; 8.5% Asian; 1% American Indian/Alaskan native; 2.4% two or more races). Compared to our upstate Cayuga County community which is 91% white, Wells is markedly more racially and ethnically diverse.

Using 2014 IPEDS data on overall graduation rates , Wells' overall graduation rates:
Total 58%
Men 46%
Women 65%
American Indian or Alaska Native 0%
Asian 33%
Black or African American 22%
Hispanic or Latino 50%
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White 68%
Two or more races
Race/ethnicity unknown 55%
Nonresident alien 75%
Transfer out-rate 32%

The lower than overall average graduation rates for certain racial and ethnic groups are of concern as student academic support services are assessed.

From IPEDS data reported in 2013 (this assessment conducted biennially):

Total campus workforce: 195 full and part-time employees
20 Management: 1 Black/African American
70 Faculty: 8 self-classifying as of "minority" racial/ethnic status; 1 one not classifying
105 Staff: 2 self-reporting as Asian Pacific; 1 Latino

The institution actively seeks to recruit a more diverse workforce.

All members of the campus community are invited to participate in their respective group's governance bodies. No assessments of the diversity of that participation has been conducted.