Student Life DEI 2.0 Year 2 Plan

Assess, further develop, and embed recruitment and hiring strategies designed to attract broadly diverse candidates throughout the division.

Constituencies: Staff 

Metrics:

• Outputs: Resources for best practices; Educational opportunities; Prioritization process; Engagement in UHR Talent Acquisition process; Report of identified needs and potential strategies; Distribution of recruitment strategies

• Outcomes: Greater awareness of effective strategies and best practices among staff responsible for hiring; Expanded use of effective strategies and best practices among staff responsible for hiring

Actions:

1. Implement and communicate top recommendations and observations based on the data gathered in Year 1 for effective strategies to advance staff recruitment.

2. Develop and implement a cohesive prioritization strategy to select specific jobs for full cycle recruiting support from UHR TA, utilizing their inclusive skill-based best practices; explore partnership opportunities with them for other pilot opportunities.
3. Conduct analysis of available candidate pool diversity data with key university stakeholders, and develop recruiting strategies, including education and communication, in alignment with identified areas of need

Primary DEI Goal: Diversity 
 

Foster a workplace culture that not only embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) but integrates these values into everyday policies and practices to create an environment in which staff feel supported, valued, and empowered. 

Constituencies: Staff 

Metrics:

• Outputs: Report on best practices; Recommendations for Year 3; Community of support; Staff affinity spaces (open to all); Resources for best practices; Repository for divisional DEI training opportunities; Standardize a framework that supports strengthening DEI; Infrastructure across the division; Coaching sessions with pilot group; 7 DEI staff class sections offered; Creation of DEI staff competencies; Centralized training for Student Life staff; Reporting structure and process that will support unit and leadership understanding of climate results and support the creation of strategies for implementing change; Group residencies; Individual coaching sessions; Implementation plan; Pilot of career path programs 
• Outcomes: Increased awareness among new and existing staff of resources, support, and professional development opportunities; Increased engagement among staff in divisional input-seeking processes; Greater professional staff attention to multiple aspects of student staff engagement (onboarding, training and development, recognition and appreciation, and feedback mechanisms)

Actions:

1. Identify effective practices being used throughout the division to introduce and onboard new staff to our organization, campus, and wider community and develop a structure that ensures equitable and consistent preparation, acclimation and integration experiences for all new staff.
2. Increase opportunities for staff to build community around shared experiences and interests for the purpose of networking and building community.
3. Develop and convene a DEI Community of Practice for Student Life staff to advance the practice of DEI work and skill building across the division. 
4. Invest in the learning and development of our staff teams through the creation of DEI competencies, a supervisor coaching and training pilot focused on mid-managers, and the expansion of our Fundamentals of DEI Staff Class.
5. Complete analysis of data collected during Years 1 and 2 of the unit-based climate study. Create a strategy for reporting unit-based findings to unit leaders, divisional themes to leadership, and targeted results to relevant units or staff, where applicable.
6. Build Cabinet capacity to encourage staff engagement through enhanced organizational leadership activities.
7. Review recommendations from Student Staff Engagement Report, determine the implementation plan, and begin to implement phase 1 recommendations.
8. Create more career advancement opportunities for staff to learn about and experience other types of work in the Division and have access to leaders who might expose them to different career paths through piloting Job Shadowing, Coaching Circles, and Micro-Internships.

Primary DEI Goal: Inclusion

Evaluate aspects of compensation based on critical needs, while increasing knowledge sharing and education to further transparency in the division.

Constituencies: Staff

Metrics:

• Outputs: Educational module; Strategy for sustained communication 

• Outcomes: Increased understanding among staff of the division’s compensation philosophy and key drivers.

Actions:

1. Increased understanding among staff of the division’s compensation philosophy and key drivers.

2. Evaluate potential adjustments to the compensation model for lowest-paid salary bands.

Primary DEI Goal: Equity

Cultivate an inclusive community that fosters a sense of belonging and enhances students' engagement with one another and with campus, local, and national resources.

Constituencies: Graduate and Undergraduate Students 

Metrics:

• Outputs: Enhanced programs in Housing D & I office; Increased marketing and communication materials; specifically building on the You Belong Here BEE the Michigan Difference; Mini-grant scope and processes; Existing program expansion; New programming; Conference hosting and attendance 

• Outcomes: Broad awareness of DEI resources among all incoming students; Increased confidence among incoming students in their ability to locate and access resources; High sense of belonging among all incoming students, particularly those in previously unserved populations

Actions:

1. Support first-year students' knowledge and access to DEI resources, through programming and a Housing campaign that introduces them to DEI resources, including cultural and identity-based units and student organizations, and inclusive events and spaces.

2. Develop and implement mini-grants for student-designed opportunities for underserved students focused on increasing connection and feeling belonging.

3. Develop pathways for students reporting low levels of belonging, to build community with other students regionally and nationally.

Primary DEI Goal: Inclusion 

Increase equitable access to campus resources, places, people, systems, and opportunities through community-driven solutions to systemic issues.

Constituencies: Graduate and Undergraduate Students 

Metrics:

• Outputs: Definitions for key equity-related terms; Assessment results; Change processes 
• Outcomes: Greater staff awareness of the operational components of equity-based concepts; Increased ability of student organizations to access funding sources; Better ability among student organizations to achieve their missions due to fewer financial system barriers

Actions:

1. Finalize definitions and develop guidance to operationalize key equity-related terms and assess the current state across the divisional work.
2. Operationalize recommendations for policy, process, and/or systems changes inclusive of more streamlined and accessible financial systems for student organizations.
3. Evaluate potential adjustments to the compensation model for lowest-paid salary bands.

Primary DEI Goal: Equity

Support individuals and organizations navigating challenges associated with campus climate through increased capacity of existing initiatives and work teams.

Constituencies: Students and Staff

Metrics:

• Outputs: Increased capacity; Prioritization system; Communication plan; Institute delivery model; Conflict learning labs; New partners; Conflict resolution partners’ network

• Outcomes: Greater ability to support student and student communities dealing with campus climate challenges; Broader understanding among students of the Student Life decision-making process related to stated needs of specific student populations; Increased competency and use of conflict resolution tools beyond Student Life

Actions:

1. Increase capacity through the Dean of Students Office to meet the needs of individual students and communities experiencing challenges associated with the campus climate.

2. Centralized tracking of identified student needs specific to Student Life and subsequent sustained efforts to implement change to address those needs.

3. Expand and improve the Adaptable Conflict Resolution Partners program to include a wider set of tools such as restorative circle facilitation, modifications to the scope and delivery platform of conflict skills training, and a tiered model of educational offerings.

Primary DEI Goal: Equity

Increase opportunities for students to build their skills and commitment for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion across personal, academic, and professional contexts.

Constituencies: Students

Metrics:

• Outputs: Communications plan and materials; Online course implementation plan; 35 students participate in Culture Connect pilot module program; Conduct feedback sessions on how the modules should be adapted to support M housing residents and student leaders learning needs; Staff and students are trained in coaching model; Year-end report on pilot results; Divisional Pathways map; Pathways survey pilot implementation

• Outcomes: Increased requests for our SJ/ID educational offerings among students, staff, and faculty; Increased participation in leadership coaching training among students

Actions:

1. Development and delivery of a communications plan specific to increasing student engagement with requestable social justice and intercultural development offerings inside and outside of the classroom.

2. Develop an annual training program on anti-discrimination and harassment education for incoming students to launch by the summer of 2025.

3. Enhance student staff skills across the division through a Culture Connect partnership pilot program with M Housing first-year residents and student leaders.

4. Engage in a year 2 pilot of MLEAD’s leadership coaching to student organization leaders and student staff through Impact Initiative.

5. Map learning outcomes related to Pathways for Civic Engagement to our current divisional programming and develop a plan for understanding growth opportunities.

Primary DEI Goal: Inclusion

Enhance staff and students' sense of belonging by increasing the presence of and access to affirming, accessible, and inclusive physical spaces on campus.

Constituencies: Students and Staff

Metrics:

• Outputs: Collected student feedback used to update three multicultural lounges designed to support greater use and accessibility for students; Creation of partnerships between Housing Diversity and Inclusion and academic units; Accessibility guides for residential communities and apartments; Review accommodation process for students with dietary health conditions and allergies; Resources for students with religious observance accommodations; Finalized design plans and engagement with NPHC Plots/Plaza taskforce; Report of student input on how to design and optimize the space to increase a sense of belonging and user access for the MGC community.

• Outcomes:  Increased use of our community spaces by students, staff, and faculty; Increased belief among students that our residence halls and other community spaces are affirming, accessible, and inclusive; Increased sense of belonging among all students, particularly those in marginalized communities

Actions:

1. Update approximately 3-4 Multicultural Lounges to support increased access and useability. Identify and build relationships with academic and co-curricular units to increase usage of the multicultural lounges and their curricula.

2. Transition M Housing health and disability accommodations from a transactional process to an engaged student-centered model.

3. Seek student and alumni feedback on Culturally Based Fraternal Organizations (CBFOs) visibility Initiatives. These include construction and renovation projects and the FSL Inclusive History Project, designed to create a sense of belonging for marginalized students.

Primary DEI Goal: Inclusion

Operationalize the Student Life mission of providing a transformative student experience by creating a framework for equitable early momentum for a successful undergraduate student experience.

Constituents: Undergraduate Students

Metrics:

• Outputs: Metrics that can be used to determine the level of successful student experience among undergraduates; Report describing current level of holistic support and coordination within student life; Recommendations for creating systems and resources that will support coordination across units.

• Outcomes: Increased staff awareness of SL’s unique contributions to overall student success; Better understanding among staff of the ecosystem approach to student success

Actions:

1. Aligned with the university’s approach to early momentum for student academic success, engage divisional experts in development of a set of metrics that will demonstrate a successful student experience.

2. Using the Ecological Validation Model of Student Success (Hallett, et al, 2021), assess our divisional approach to coordination across model contexts in validating students, their experiences, and their identities.

Primary DEI Goal: Equity 

➢   Infuse partnership, assessment, accountability and support for DEI at all levels of the organization.

Constituencies: Students and Staff

Metrics:

• Outputs: DEI webpage updates (phase 1); Multi-year communications plan; DEI communications position description; Additional part-time staff or graduate student; Develop mechanism to allow units to opt in programs, events, and resources for inclusion on the DEI website; Health and well-being goals and metrics 1-2 additional pilot groups; Re-designed and new teams; DEI Liaisons; Portfolio and unit meetings; Scan of current feedback loops; Strategy for enhancements; Report with recommendations

• Outcomes: Greater awareness among staff of collective goals across initiatives and opportunities to work collaboratively; Increased embrace among staff of collective impact as a model for change on campus; Greater feeling of support among staff for developing and delivering unit-level DEI work; Broader use of student input and feedback in developing unit and divisional work

Actions:

Implement Phase 2 of a strategic communications plan for Student Life DEI 2.0, including piloting a term-limited part-time DEI communications focused position.

Develop DEI unit and portfolio-level goals and metrics that enhance strategic alignment, accountability mechanisms, and aid in decision-making throughout the division.

Refine DEI infrastructure to build capacity for DEI work and support a collective approach to divisional DEI goals.

Develop and implement a strategy for student feedback loops that centers existing community-driven spaces and voices of students on the margins.

Pilot the Leading for Equity Initiative with a subset of Student Life leaders including a report with recommendations for advancing the initiative in Year 3.

Primary DEI Goal: Inclusion

Work in partnership with the Office of University Development to further develop our DEI fundraising priorities and report out on the priority gift fund names, fundraising goals, and the potential impact of securing this funding.

Constituencies: Students and Staff

Metrics:

• Outputs: Bi-annual meetings, Identification and communication of DEI fundraising goals for Y2

• Outcomes: Increased awareness among the leadership of our divisional DEI fundraising priorities, Increased awareness among the division and involvement from leaders on our DEI fundraising priorities, increased funding through fundraising for named DEI priorities.

Actions:

1. Student Life VP, AVP over Student Life Budget & Finance, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Student Life, and Executive Director of Parent & Family Giving and Student Life meet bi-annually to discuss DEI fundraising goals.

Primary DEI Goal: Inclusion