| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 60.05 |
| Liaison | Jessica Thompson |
| Submission Date | Feb. 15, 2023 |
Northern Michigan University
PA-6: Assessing Diversity and Equity
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Jessica
Thompson Professor/SAC Co-Chair Business |
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:
The current assessment process and framework, as described above, is actually a distributed effort, allocated throughout campus. General data, though, are also published on the university’s website as snapshot profiles, allowing both campus and the general public to assess student and employee make-up. Institutional Effectiveness (IE) posts demographics for first generation, ethnicity, gender, and economic diversity. In addition, campus administrators have access to tools and support through the IE, including Helio Campus and Tableau. The tools are used to assess diversity for purposes including state reporting, grant reporting, accreditation, college and department assessment, and internal programming. General data can be accessed here on the IE website: https://nmu.edu/institutionaleffectiveness/bcsse
The campus participates in NSSE and BCSSE (Beginning college survey of student engagement). NSSE and NSSE Pulse data ranging from 2013 to 2021 are published on NMU’s Institutional Effectiveness website. Additionally, the IE office has for many years, and is committed for the foreseeable future, to selecting NSSE’s “Inclusiveness & Engagement with Diversity” topical module in order to enhance our DEIB findings. The NSSE data is used by various departments to adjust programming and support across campus. NSSE data is also utilized in NMU’s Strategic Planning process. BCSSE data is posted for the prior two years here:https://nmu.edu/institutionaleffectiveness/bcsse
In addition, NMU’s Strategic Plan, is divided into five specific focus areas, one of which is Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. The plan focuses on “collaboration across campus to foster and continuously strengthen a comprehensive, university-wide, long-term DEIB action plan. ” It emphasizes recruiting and retain faculty, staff, and students from diverse backgrounds as well as to integrate diversity principals into academics. The plan includes multiple assessment techniques and success measures in order to address an identified weakness; specifically, NMU’s DEI assessment has been siloed in colleges, department, state and federal grant projects, accreditation action projects, and other efforts. Each has their own assessment process, framework, and success measures. For instance, the State of Michigan’s 4S grant requires NMU to assess ethnic and economic diversity in the new student population, apply various supports, and then measure success in terms of retention, graduation, GPA, and perception of support. NMU’s Interim Strategic Plan, in contrast, has been structured to allow a more unified and integrated assessment system with more accessible scoring results, more accountability for results, as well as a more cohesive resource allocation process.
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 current assessment process and framework, as described above, is actually a distributed effort, allocated throughout campus. General data, though, are also published on the university’s website as snapshot profiles, allowing both campus and the general public to assess student and employee make-up. Institutional Effectiveness (IE) posts demographics for first generation, ethnicity, gender, and economic diversity. In addition, campus administrators have access to tools and support through the IE, including Helio Campus and Tableau. The tools are used to assess diversity for purposes including state reporting, grant reporting, accreditation, college and department assessment, and internal programming. General data can be accessed here on the IE website: https://nmu.edu/institutionaleffectiveness/bcsse
The campus participates in NSSE and BCSSE (Beginning college survey of student engagement). NSSE and NSSE Pulse data ranging from 2013 to 2021 are published on NMU’s Institutional Effectiveness website. Additionally, the IE office has for many years, and is committed for the foreseeable future, to selecting NSSE’s “Inclusiveness & Engagement with Diversity” topical module in order to enhance our DEIB findings. The NSSE data is used by various departments to adjust programming and support across campus. NSSE data is also utilized in NMU’s Strategic Planning process. BCSSE data is posted for the prior two years here:https://nmu.edu/institutionaleffectiveness/bcsse
In addition, NMU’s Strategic Plan, is divided into five specific focus areas, one of which is Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. The plan focuses on “collaboration across campus to foster and continuously strengthen a comprehensive, university-wide, long-term DEIB action plan. ” It emphasizes recruiting and retain faculty, staff, and students from diverse backgrounds as well as to integrate diversity principals into academics. The plan includes multiple assessment techniques and success measures in order to address an identified weakness; specifically, NMU’s DEI assessment has been siloed in colleges, department, state and federal grant projects, accreditation action projects, and other efforts. Each has their own assessment process, framework, and success measures. For instance, the State of Michigan’s 4S grant requires NMU to assess ethnic and economic diversity in the new student population, apply various supports, and then measure success in terms of retention, graduation, GPA, and perception of support. NMU’s Interim Strategic Plan, in contrast, has been structured to allow a more unified and integrated assessment system with more accessible scoring results, more accountability for results, as well as a more cohesive resource allocation process.
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 recent assessment findings were used to shape the NMU Interim Strategic Plan, a medium-length plan designed to bridge the prior strategic plan to the start date of the new NMU President (start date February 2023). The plan solicited feedback from NMU’s students, faculty and staff union representation, executive committees, Board of Trustees, and other community stakeholders through planning workshops, forums, and other feedback mechanisms. Assessment results precipitating from the Strategic Plan work is shared first with the assigned committee, then NMU’s leadership, and then the campus community, including the Board of Trustees.
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 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.