San Francisco State University
PA-6: Assessing Diversity and Equity

In the past 3 years, SF State's Division of Equity & Community Inclusion conducted a campus wide climate assessment survey, a Jewish Climate survey and a Black Climate Assessment. In each case, a third party firm was hired to conduct the survey, develop the survey, it was sent to all students and then the third party firm reviewed the results and wrote a report for SFSU. The Jewish Climate survey, results and report is attached below.

In Spring of 2023, SFSU conducted a campuswide climate survey. The campus is still waiting on the results and the report and expects to receive the report in Summer 2023. This starts an 18-month long self-study using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. https://climate.sfsu.edu/ The website will be updated summer/fall 2023 with the results of the survey.

In 2021, the California State University conducted an Equity Progress report for each of the 23 campuses. The report assessed equity gaps and barriers to enrollment and graduation for underrepresented minority groups and highlighted goals and steps to correcting those gaps.
https://wascsenior.app.box.com/s/duy7cm79lvx68obybfskf98wgyf07top

SFSU rolled out its Student Success program in 2017 on an ongoing basis. One of the six pillars in the program is focused on educational equity (#5):
Student Success at San Francisco State means holding our students to high
expectations and offering them the support they need to reach them. As a campus
with a social justice mission at our core, we maintain excellence and equity to be fundamental and interlinking values: we want to see our students graduate with
degrees that represent learning experiences of the highest possible quality, inclusive of all of our students.
Toward these ends, our campus plan is structured around six strategies:
1. improved course availability and curriculum;
2. coordinated, intrusive and strategic advising;
3. broad accessibility and visibility of student success data;
4. high-quality student experience in the first year of college for incoming
freshmen;
5. effective, targeted support services to achieve educational equity (directed
specifically at our first-generation, low-income and underrepresented
students, with special attention to men of color);
6. short- and long-term planning for faculty hiring and development tied to
curricular need and student success.

Jewish Campus Climate Assessment Findings:
While most Jewish students reported feeling welcome at SF State, the results did indicate areas of concern:
• Lack of representation of Jewish identity, not as visible as other minority groups on campus
• Lack of understanding of Jewish identity (frustration over Jewish identity being conflated with Zionism, misperceptions about what Zionism is, and a lack of understanding about the diversity of political opinions within the Jewish community)
• Muting effect of antisemitic sentiment and behaviors on campus: about 25% of Jewish students reported witnessing or experiencing antisemitic incidents
• Lack of clarity about where to report incidents of antisemitism or how the University responds to these incidents
• Lack of flexibility around accommodations for religious and cultural holidays
• Student-professor relationships and classroom conversations also affected by prejudices, stereotypes, and fear of conflict.
• Desire for safe, apolitical spaces in which they can build community and learn from others across cultural, ethnic, religious lines

Next steps for the Jewish Climate Survey include:
Action Plan
The Advisory Committee encourages a thoughtful reading of the full report and ongoing dialog and anticipates that the action plan will develop further items as the University continues its engagement in combating antisemitism on campus. The Advisory Committee recommends the following for implementation in 2022-23 in direct response to the above findings:
• Including antisemitism education in all ongoing campus anti-bias trainings, including existing trainings for new student orientation and for student leaders, and existing faculty training on antiracist and inclusive pedagogy
• Acknowledging that many Jewish students hold Zionism as a key component of their Jewish identity and providing education on how anti-Zionism can take the form of antisemitism
• Ensuring that Jewish students and student groups are fully included in campus student-life activities
• Compile a library of resources on antisemitism on the DECI website to support students, faculty, and staff interested in learning more about addressing it generally, and within higher education environments in particular
• Working with Academic Affairs to annually post the SF Interfaith Council’s comprehensive calendar of religious holidays on its website, to support planning and accommodations relevant to campus student-life and instructional activities
• Strengthening Interfaith office to create more apolitical spaces to build community and understanding across cultural, ethnic, religious lines
• Supporting campus-wide dialog on antisemitism
• Supporting Jewish students, faculty, and staff inherent right to express their full identifies
• Better define and communicate role of Bias Incident Education Team
• Include religion as a relevant category in anti-bias reporting related to the Bias Incident Education Team
• Keep all relevant campus entities up to date on this work, including the Academic Senate, Associated Students, and the broader campus community
• Creating a culture of belonging and inclusion for Jewish students that encourages their enrollment, retention, and graduation at SFSU

The results are posted publicly on the SF State website and reported out to various campus groups through meetings.

Full Jewish Climate Survey:
https://sustain.sfsu.edu/

Data sources: Frederick Smith