Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 45.17
Liaison Nina Bisbee
Submission Date June 29, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Bryn Mawr College
PA-5: Assessing Diversity and Equity

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.38 / 1.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution engaged in a structured assessment process during the previous three years to improve diversity, equity and inclusion on campus?:
Yes

A brief description of the assessment process and the framework, scorecard(s) and/or tool(s) used:

"Campus Climate Survey was conducted Spring 2016. The 2016 campus climate survey was developed to

1. Provide an opportunity for community members to provide information on their experience in the Bryn Mawr community
2. Assess the sense of belonging experienced by all community members
3. Assess the experience of belonging of those who identify in the minority of a variety of demographic identities (gender, sexual orientation, social class, race/ ethnicity, religion, disability).

The first section asked participants about their general sense of belongingness on the campus, the second section asked respondents to report on their demographic identities, the third section contained items pertaining to respondents’ experience on campus as a member of each of their demographic identities, and the final section asked for qualitative feedback on ways in which the College has been inclusive and on areas where the College needs improvement. In sections one and three, respondents were asked to register agreement with a series of positive and negative statements on a scale of 1-4. In the final sections respondents provided open ended comments.


Does the assessment process address campus climate by engaging stakeholders to assess the attitudes, perceptions and behaviors of faculty, staff, administrators and students, including the experiences of underrepresented groups?:
Yes

Does the assessment process address student outcomes related to diversity, equity and success (e.g. graduation/success and retention rates for underrepresented groups)?:
No

Does the assessment process address employee outcomes related to diversity and equity (e.g. pay and retention rates for underrepresented groups)?:
No

A brief description of the most recent assessment findings and how the results are used in shaping policy, programs and initiatives:

The results indicate that majority of the community (85%) had a strong sense of belonging on a 4 point scale. The results for undergraduate students from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups did differ from the rest of the campus in reporting less of a sense of belonging than white students. When asked about insensitive or stereotype based comments where directed to the respondents due to race or ethnic identity, the level of agreement to these statements was low (the disagree side of the scale). That said, community members experienced more negative experiences related to some identities than others. When responding to questions about positive experiences on campus, respondents often spoke about the campus as a whole, describing it as welcoming and supportive. In contrast, in response to the questions regarding negative experiences, participants reported specific incidents of alienation, frustration and bias related to particular demographic identities. Some respondents raised the need for the engagement of the full community in addressing issues and they identified a reluctance on the part of some community members to confront their own or others’ bias. In general, the qualitative responses revealed a community willing to work toward more effective communication and actions to increase the sense of inclusion at the College. The results of this survey have been used to guide a series of conversations across the campus in a variety of formal and informal venues including The Dean of Undergraduates' "Open Space Conversations" and the Pensby Center for Community Development and Inclusion regularly scheduled Diversity Conversations. Finally, the results have been used to shape the College Diversity Plan, which is updated annually.


Are the results of the most recent structured diversity and equity assessment shared with the campus community?:
Yes

A brief description of how the assessment results are shared with the campus community:

President Cassidy issued an executive summary in an all-campus communication in November of 2016.


Are the results (or a summary of the results) of the most recent structured diversity and equity assessment publicly posted?:
No

The diversity and equity assessment report or summary:
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The website URL where the report or summary is publicly posted:
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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.