Stanford University
PA-5: Assessing Diversity and Equity

The President and Provost have declared that increasing the diversity of students, staff, and faculty at Stanford University is of critical importance. A diverse and inclusive community offers different perspectives, experiences and cultures that enrich the educational experience.

Stanford’s Diversity and Access Office compiles annual profiles of staff, faculty and student diversity, which are published online at https://diversityandaccess.stanford.edu/diversity/diversity-facts. Employees and students are asked to self-identify their race, ethnicity and veteran status in a two-question format, first asking about an individual’s ethnicity in terms of whether he or she is Hispanic/Latino, and then asking about his/her race, using the following racial categories: White, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native. Employees and students are invited to select more than one race and/or ethnicity category if they would like to do so. Student diversity is also evaluated by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Office of Graduate Admissions in relation to student recruitment on an ongoing basis.

Additional assessment tools that more thoroughly address campus climate in addition to diversity profiles are described below.

2015 STAFF SURVEY
In October 2015, all staff at Stanford were invited to participate in a university-wide survey. The survey was deployed online and via paper, and translated to both Spanish and Mandarin. The overarching goal of the staff survey was to identify opportunities to strengthen the employee experience by evaluating the following key areas: agility, alignment, collaboration, continuous improvement, development, efficiency, inclusion and diversity, openness, performance management, and respect and trust. Subsequently, a “check-in” survey was conducted with the same staff population in October 2016. A follow-up university-wide staff engagement survey is planned for October 2017.

ANNUAL REPORT OF FACULTY DEMOGRAPHICS
Additionally, Stanford's Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity conducts several holistic assessments of diversity specifically among faculty to supplement the university’s Affirmative Action planning exercises. The most notable of these assessments is the Annual Report of Faculty Demographics, which captures gender and minority representations of current faculty and historical trends; faculty hiring, departures, promotions, and leadership positions by gender and race/ethnicity.

FACULTY CLIMATE SURVEYS
Stanford has been conducting regular assessments of its climate vis-à-vis diversity for many years. With respect to faculty, the instrument used for the climate surveys draws from the one developed by the Provost’s Panel on Faculty Equity and Quality of Life for the 2008 Quality of Life of Stanford Faculty, which incorporated common core questions on quality of life issues developed by the American Association of Universities Data Exchange (AAUDE) and retained some questions from an earlier survey in 2003. As a follow up to the 2008 quality of life survey, the Provost’s Panel on Faculty Equity and Quality of Life conducted an interview study with underrepresented minority faculty to specifically address URM faculty’s experience of collegiality, recognition, mentoring and voice in decision-making. Two reports on the findings with accompanying recommendations from the Panel on Faculty Equity were released in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Several departments have conducted climate surveys of their faculty, instructors, students, trainees and staff relevant to diversity, equity and inclusion in order to assess their climates as part of preparing and recruiting new department leadership. For instance, in 2015, the School of Medicine conducted a departmental climate survey of approximately 1,100 faculty. These department-level climate surveys are able to assess faculty satisfaction and sense of inclusion and equity that previous campus-wide surveys haven’t been able to gauge.

2015 STUDENT CLIMATE SURVEY
The University conducted a campus-wide survey of the student experience in spring 2015, which asked students about their perceptions of campus community, culture, and safety, as well as their experiences with prohibited sexual conduct. The survey was sent to all undergraduate and graduate students and results were compiled in fall 2015.

The Diversity & Access Office conducts various analyses of the university’s workforce and develops an Affirmative Action Plan. For example, the University conducts an analysis of the utilization of women and minorities in our workforce as well as an analysis of the personnel actions that have taken place during the year, such as hires, promotions, and terminations. These analyses assist the University in identifying potential barriers to equal employment opportunities, especially with respect to women and minorities. To continually improve diversity and inclusion at Stanford, the Diversity and Access Office supports those involved in the recruiting process by providing information that will assist hiring managers in developing a diverse search plan and providing strategies for building a broadly diverse candidate pool for current openings.

Results of additional assessments are included below:

2015 STAFF SURVEY
A university-wide response rate of 61% was attained in the 2015 university-wide staff survey, and the overall engagement rate was 83%, which reflected 28 points higher than the higher education benchmark, and 17 points higher than the high performing benchmark. A comprehensive report of actions taken is currently being finalized for university leaders that summarizes actions taken at the local level, with details provided by all seven schools and several of the academic and administrative units. Survey results were also used to align with many initiatives underway, that were led by the Administrative Planning Executive Committee (APEx) and the University Management Group (UMG). These groups are comprised of the highest ranking administrative officers in each school and unit, and used the survey results to inform initiatives they and their sub-committees were proposing. For example, one of the sub-committees was focused on System and Process Improvements, and the survey results showed staff identified those topics as opportunities, so the sub-committee conducted focus groups with over 400 staff members to ask detailed questions to arrive at which systems and processes were problematic, and why, diving in to areas that were asked in the survey but that needed further context in order to identify possible solutions. Another area of focus for APEx is to connect employees no matter where they are working, an initiative needed to support effectiveness with employees telecommuting, and also to prepare the campus for the opening of a second campus in Redwood City.

ANNUAL REPORT OF FACULTY DEMOGRAPHICS
The results of the Annual Report of Faculty Demographics each year are presented holistically to the Faculty Senate. The Vice Provost also discusses university-wide and school-specific reports on faculty demographics with each school's leadership on an annual basis.

FACULTY CLIMATE SURVEYS
Both the quantitative and qualitative parts of the department surveys show great variations in faculty satisfaction and problem areas by department. For example, equity in workload distribution could be an issue in some departments but not others. The detailed comments allow school and department leaders to zoom into specific areas where improvements have been made or are needed. Again, these areas vary greatly by department. In general, faculty surveyed in these department-level studies are satisfied and engaged in making their departments a positive workplace.

2015 STUDENT CLIMATE SURVEY
The findings of the 2015 student climate survey were released in 2015. In terms of student perceptions of campus climate, the survey results reveal that a majority of Stanford students perceive a positive campus climate. Most survey respondents (87%) indicated that they feel extremely safe or very safe on the Stanford campus. Over 80% of both undergraduate and graduate respondents report feeling a sense of community on campus. A majority of respondents, 53%, feel extremely valued or very valued in the Stanford learning environment. One aspect of campus life about which undergraduate students were critical was the effectiveness of support provided by Stanford to students going through personal crises. A majority (53%) of undergraduates providing an opinion on the topic thought that such support is ineffective. Undergraduate respondents self-identifying as queer, asexual, bisexual, gay, lesbian, and questioning rated Stanford’s support for students going through personal crises as less effective than respondents who self-identified as heterosexual/straight. By contrast, a majority of graduate respondents selected don’t know/no opinion on this question. The university has since worked closely with the DGEN Office to improve LGBTQ support programs.

Diversity profiles for campus faculty, staff, and students are all available here: https://diversityandaccess.stanford.edu/diversity/diversity-facts.

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Office of Graduate Admissions both publish the diversity statistics of Stanford's incoming classes and for Stanford students overall each year in an effort to demonstrate how diversity contributes to Stanford's rich culture. More information can be found online at the links below:

http://admission.stanford.edu/student/diversity/
https://vpge.stanford.edu/diversity-initiatives/overview

2015 STAFF SURVEY
The results were summarized on the Cardinal at Work website: https://cardinalatwork.stanford.edu/connect/staff-survey/5-minute-staff-survey-check/2016-check-survey-results. In addition, an article was in the January 2016 issue of the Cardinal at Work Insider newsletter, which is distributed to 16,000 benefits-eligible employees each month: https://cardinalatwork.stanford.edu/news/5-minute-staff-survey-check-results-manager-plays-important-role-communication-stream. The “5-Minute Staff Survey Check-in conducted in October 2016 identified high levels of awareness on the part of staff that the survey had been conducted in 2015, even among new hires who were not on board when the survey was conducted. Debrief sessions were also held with all Steering Committee members and Survey Liaisons in summer 2016.

ANNUAL REPORT OF FACULTY DEMOGRAPHICS
Part of the Annual Report of Faculty Demographics are published on the Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity website. Highlights are also routinely reported in Stanford News.

FACULTY CLIMATE SURVEYS
The campus-wide climate survey findings were disseminated in both closed and open discussions. Several closed discussions with university leadership took place in 2014-2015. In addition, the University President and Provost wrote a joint letter to the campus-wide community highlighting the findings of the survey and articulating a set of values that reflect Stanford’s commitment to equity, inclusion and respectful environments. The two reports on the Underrepresented Minority faculty interview study were also published on the Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity website. During the release of each of the reports, a townhall meeting was held to engage the campus community in discussing the results.

2015 STUDENT CLIMATE SURVEY
A report on the 2015 Stanford Campus Climate Survey was released in Fall 2015 for the entire Stanford community. Stanford’s President and Provost wrote a letter to the campus community articulating the results and priorities for action.

Diversity profiles for campus faculty, staff, and students are all available here: https://diversityandaccess.stanford.edu/diversity/diversity-facts

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Office of Graduate Admissions both publish the diversity statistics of Stanford's incoming classes and for Stanford students overall each year in an effort to demonstrate how diversity contributes to Stanford's rich culture. More information can be found online at the links below:

http://admission.stanford.edu/student/diversity/
https://vpge.stanford.edu/diversity-initiatives/overview

Additional URLs where assessments and results are posted:

2015 STAFF SURVEY
https://cardinalatwork.stanford.edu/connect/staff-survey
https://cardinalatwork.stanford.edu/connect/staff-survey/5-minute-staff-survey-check/2016-check-survey-results
https://cardinalatwork.stanford.edu/news/5-minute-staff-survey-check-results-manager-plays-important-role-communication-stream

ANNUAL REPORT OF FACULTY DEMOGRAPHICS
https://facultydevelopment.stanford.edu/data-reports/faculty-demographics

FACULTY CLIMATE SURVEYS
https://facultydevelopment.stanford.edu/data-reports/quality-life-survey-follow-study-underrepresented-minority-faculty

2015 STUDENT CLIMATE SURVEY
https://provost.stanford.edu/stanford-campus-climate-survey/