| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 59.20 |
| Liaison | Elaine Durr |
| Submission Date | Feb. 27, 2024 |
Elon University
PA-6: Assessing Diversity and Equity
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.88 / 1.00 |
Randy
Williams Vice President for Inclusive Excellence Associate Professor of Education |
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:
Elon uses a number of surveys to assess and improve diversity, equity and inclusion on campus. Recent or upcoming assessments include the Diverse Learning Environments (DLE), the Multi- Institutional Study of Leadership and National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The DLE was administered in November 2021 and is done every three years. The Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership was administered in March 2021 and is done every three years. The NSSE survey is done every three years and was last administered in spring 2022.
Several task forces were formed to focus on communities and concerns related to Title IX, Hispanic/Latino, Black/African American, multifaith, LGBTQIA, Asian Pacific Islander and Middle Eastern North African. These task forces have been switched to implementation teams and are being taken up by the President’s Advisory Council on Inclusive Excellence.
Elon developed the Diversity Dashboard highlighting data related to race, ethnicity and sex in Elon’s student, faculty and staff populations. Members of the President’s Advisory Council on Inclusive Excellence (PACIE) campus climate and assessment subcommittee are being trained to collect, analyze, interpret and report data to members of the Elon community.
The Office of Inclusive Excellence Education and Development created a Request for Services assessment tool to evaluate the effectiveness of development workshops and services and to determine how to best meet needs and expectations for future requests.
Elon administered the Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS) Diversity and Equity Campus Climate Survey in spring 2023. Over 42% of Elon’s employees participated in the survey. A team of faculty and staff with representation from Human Resources, Institutional Research, Inclusive Excellence, Academic Council and Staff Advisory Council began analyzing the HEDS data in fall 2023. The analysis will lead to a report that will inform DEI plans across campus.
The NCAA now requires all Division I athletic programs to complete a DEI review of the department to examine DEI efforts and assess programs for creating a more equitable and inclusive athletics community. The review was scheduled for completion in October 2023.
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 Asian Pacific Islander (API) and Middle Eastern North African (MENA) Task Force submitted its report in August 2023. The main concerns arising from the Task Force’s research revolved around support for and visibility of API and MENA students, faculty and staff on campus; the process for sharing information about Elon’s bias reporting system and confirmed incidents of bias and discrimination on campus; representation and authenticity in admissions events and publications/marketing materials; dealing with microaggressions and tokenism; and DEI curricular and co-curricular programming.
The recommendations range from support and mentorship for API and MENA students, to creating spaces for MENA community building, to establishing an Employee Resource Group and API and MENA Alumni Network, to requiring bias training for supervisors and managers, to increasing communication on confirmed acts of bias and discrimination along with outcomes.
Based on the findings, the report includes several recommendations around revising the Global Experience course to best serve students in their global citizenship journey, providing resources for faculty to infuse their courses with API and MENA references and topics and increasing employees’ cultural competencies to understand the API and MENA community and the differences within it, as well as how to avoid tokenizing API and MENA students and colleagues.
The report also highlights ways Elon can support international faculty and international students as they experience issues related to being international, including faculty managing the stressful process of obtaining and maintaining their immigration status and students needing transportation support to meet basic life needs and for engagement with the local community.
Moving forward, in order to better serve the API and MENA community, the university needs to collect more data in order to better understand these Elon community members’ experiences. This includes evaluating the classifications the university uses and exploring why API students leave Elon at higher rates than other groups.
An implementation team began its work in August 2023 to follow through on the Task Force’s recommendations.
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:
The Vice President for Inclusive Excellence sent a campus email informing faculty and staff on the new API/MENA Task Force report. The university also featured the work in a story on its news page.
https://www.elon.edu/u/news/2023/08/24/asian-pacific-islander-middle-eastern-north-african-task-force-offers-recommendations/
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 results (or a summary of the results) of most, but not all, assessments are publicly posted.
Office of Institutional Research & Assessment:
https://www.elon.edu/u/administration/institutional-research/survey-assessments/
Diversity Dashboard:
https://www.elon.edu/u/inclusive-excellence/resources/diversity-dashboard/
DEI Action Items:
https://www.elon.edu/u/inclusive-excellence/dei-action-items/
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.