Year Two Progress

ACTION:
We expanded access to advocacy and support for students affected by the current campus climate and invested in existing best practice programs.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We invested in teams providing critical support and education by: 

• Hiring 5 graduate students and 3 undergraduate students focused on strengthening wellness, campus events, student organizations, leadership, and bias prevention and supportive response.
• Creating a process for the collective hiring of all student staff roles,
• Hiring a full-time Communications Specialist to promote and coordinate offerings across IGR, MESA, and Spectrum.
• Hiring two full-time staff to support bias prevention and supportive response work through the Dean of Students Office. 

ACTION:
We assessed learning outcomes and identified gaps in bias prevention, intervention and support.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We offered 114 programs to support students experiencing challenges associated with campus climate and made 58,895 points of contact this past year.

We increased capacity of current programs at individual, community, and structural levels in Allyhood Education, Student Leadership, Well-being, Disability Culture, and Bias Prevention, Navigation, and Supportive Response.

We devoted division-wide leadership sessions to understanding and utilizing student survey climate data to inform our efforts.

We hosted a retreat for divisional leaders for reflection and skill-building to build relationships and engage with students to improve the experience at Michigan.

ACTION:
We worked with campus leaders to gain consensus on, articulate and communicate our campus-wide commitment to invest in “Strengthening the First Year Experience” over the next three years.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We named three priority outcomes for students engaging first year experience efforts across campus:

• Gain the skills necessary to establish a pattern of academic success.
• Develop sustainable and healthy relationships.
• Engage and connect with a diverse living and learning community.

We committed to:

• Providing more opportunities for first-year students to integrate their classroom learning experiences with their residential life by expanding access to Michigan Living and Learning Communities.
• Helping more first-year students navigate and make meaning of their Michigan experience by increasing student access to Making the Most of Michigan, a goal-setting course in the residence halls.
• Offering more first-year students the opportunity to tailor their residential experience to their needs, interests and diverse backgrounds by developing more Theme Communities in the residence halls (current themes include First-Gen, Innovation, and Multicultural).
• Helping more first-year students explore their skills, interests, and values related to future endeavors by prioritizing University Career Center’s programs devoted to helping students begin their professional journey.
• Providing more students with the opportunity to serve and learn about their surrounding community and meet new people by offering new community immersion programs during the first semester.
• Shifting to winter recruitment for first-year students by fraternities and sororities beginning in January 2020.

ACTION:
We continued FYE program alignment.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We connected all Student Life first year offerings through the FYE Coordinating Team.

We examined Learning & Theme Communities to improve coordination.

We prioritized Making the Most of Michigan scaling by realigning positions associated with courses.

We expanded our Everfi curriculum to include a more robust set of first year student course offerings focused community climate and wellness education.

We implemented an organizational restructure informed by FYE partners and hired two FYE Program Managers. 

We hired an FYE Assistant Director and Administrative Staff.

We successfully on-boarded a new Senior Associate Director of Housing. 

We created a new FYE Student Coordinator position that will implement programming within residence halls with an emphasis on partnerships with Student Life units.

ACTION:
We developed shared definitions, language, and principles for effective partnership.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We developed a shared definition of partnership and a set of “Principles for Partnership”. 

We hosted a full day retreat for senior leaders to discuss partnership and consider opportunities for improving and developing new partnerships.

ACTION:
We examined our current partnership efforts.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We identified:

• 272 Student Life Partnerships with Academic Units
  • 201 School & Colleges
  • 26 Provost
  • 45 Other Campus Partners
• 215 Student Life Partnerships within Student Life
• 139 Student Life Partnerships with Community Partners

ACTION:
We invested in leadership, infrastructure and organizational development to promote partnerships.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We named a Senior Associate Vice President role devoted to academic partnerships. 

We reappointed directors from the Ginsberg Center, International Center, IGR, and University Career Center to continue as a Strategic Lead Team for advancing DEI partnership efforts.

We realigned our DEI partnership objective to expand our expectations and key deliverables.

We allocated increased resources and staffing to support this effort.

We developed a resource guide outlining a continuum of partnership behaviors and “Partnership Key Considerations” with a unit readiness tool to inform development of all new and existing Student Life programs and initiatives.

We committed to infusing partnership expectations into Student Life infrastructure, including performance evaluations, position descriptions, work planning, funding and other division processes.

ACTION:
We continued construction of the new building.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
With substantial completion scheduled for February 2019, we continued to engage Students in Trotter’s interior design process to get input on colors, patterns and textures for interior finishes.

ACTION:
We conducted a national search for leadership for the Trotter organization.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We convened a search advisory committee panel consisting of students, staff, faculty, alumni and administrators from across the University to engage a national search for a new director. Appointment of a new director remains pending.

ACTION:
We produced advisory guidance for new leadership by engaging close stakeholders in collective assessment, reflection and benchmarking related to Trotter’s current and potential programming.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We conducted an inventory of current internal offerings in addition to a benchmark study of innovative and best practice programs devoted to cultural competency, well-being, agency, self-direction, heritage and cultural traditions.

Based on the inventory and the benchmark study, we prepared an advisory report and recommendations for the incoming Trotter director to inform visioning and strategic planning moving forward.

With a cross-unit team of close stakeholders, we conducted a benchmark study of innovative and best practice programs and developed recommendations for Truth, Healing and Transformation practices and provided an advisory report with the a proposed “Roadmap to Implementation” for the new director’s consideration.

ACTION:
We expanded our capacity to deliver the Intercultural Development Inventory Pilot program for students.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We established partnerships with faculty to introduce the IDI experience in courses in schools and colleges across campus, including Engineering, Education, Kinesiology, Literature, Science and the Arts and the Rackham Graduate College.

We increased the number of faculty and staff trained to serve as IDI Qualified Administrators (educators who provide individual intercultural development coaching sessions with students).

We tripled our total number of faculty and staff that serve as Qualified Administrators (no exceeds 100).

We streamlined and enhanced the student IDI experience to include U-M tailored content and all steps in the experience are now facilitated by U-M Qualified Administrators (QAs).

ACTION:
We increased student participation in the IDI by 90% with 405 students completing the IDI (up from 213 last year)

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
Students showed statistically significant progress on all six learning outcomes:

• Collaboration across difference (+.14)
• Demonstrate knowledge (+.24)
• Health and wellness (+.3)
• Identity and perspectives (+.31)
• Motivation and purpose (+.22)
• Reflective and relational learner (+.28)

Over 80% of respondents report that they will seek out additional experiences related to diversity, equity, inclusion, or conflict management as a result of participating in the IDI process.

ACTION:
We implemented consistent and strategic assessment of Student Life programs and DEI efforts.  

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We introduced a pre/post test to measure six core student learning outcomes to over 100 Student Life educational experiences.

We analyzed the results of these assessments to examine the DEI plan’s aspirations.

We assessed IDI feedback sessions and IDI participant surveys.

We designed an inventory of Student Life’s DEI advocacy, support and educational programs.

We analyzed partnership inventory data.

ACTION:
We invested in building staff capacity to meet current demands for evaluation and assessment support for Student Life.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We hired a data analyst for Student Life Research and Assessment on a temporary basis in Fall 2017.

We hired a project manager.

We developed and posted a graduate student position to support DEI assessment projects.

ACTION:
We promoted a culture of assessment.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We rolled out a division-wide assessment plan, which included presentations across all of our communities of practices and meetings with every unit.

We provided professional development opportunities for research and assessment, including workshops, software training and an all-day Research Symposium.

ACTION:
We added diversity, equity and inclusion expectations and competencies to training, evaluation and appraisals..

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We launched a new performance evaluation approach and online tool for the division and Year 2 was a "Learning Year" to develop recommendations and conduct assessment to inform a long-term staff growth and development process (performance appraisals).

ACTION:
We improved diversity, equity and inclusion staff development.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We implemented Staff DEI Learning outcomes throughout professional development offerings within division and integrated DEI SLOs into trainings, workshops and assessment surveys. 

We invested heavily in helping unit leaders consider staff climate survey data and in preparing unit work plans to address any considerations or concerns revealed by the data.

We devoted leadership sessions to studying staff climate survey data and hosted a full day Strategy Group retreat to engage in reflection, coaching and work plans associated with improving staff climate.

ACTION:
We developed and implemented new and innovative diversity, equity and inclusion staff development experiences.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
15% of all SL staff trained in Unconscious Bias (170)

87% indicate that the content was valuable learning for them

92% indicate they better understand how bias can influence decision-making

Nine (9) Student Life certified trainers

ACTION:
We completed and launched Search Member and Search Chair/Hiring Manager training.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
90% of participants would recommend the training to others.

ACTION:
We improved our interviewing practices.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We continued to rollout the Interview Architect Tool (behavioral based interview tool that assesses behaviors based on culturally validated competencies) across the division and focused on assessing the effectiveness of the tool. 

We finalized and launched search committee training that focuses on utilizing a behavioral based interview model and ensuring compliance with ethical and legal guidelines. 

We continued the institutional partnership with LSA and Facilities and Operations utilizing Interview Architect.

ACTION:
We invested in developing a more diverse student workforce.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We implemented the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Student Internship Pilot Program.

ACTION:
We developed more equitable & consistent onboarding.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We implemented some improvements and adjustments to New Staff Orientation based on our Year 1 assessments.

We implemented the Staff DEI Learning objectives as part of the assessment component of NSO.

ACTION:
We continued Undergraduate and Graduate/Professional DEI Student Advisory Boards to enlist student perspectives on campus-wide DEI plan implementation and assessment efforts.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
In partnership with the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Student Life sponsored two DEI Student Advisory Boards (DEISABs) for Year Two, with 46 students participating.  We recruited seven students to replace vacant seats due to prior-year graduations.

We conducted seven monthly meetings, between September 2017 and April 2018.

ACTION:
We supported the DEI Student Advisory Boards in the development of the DEI Student Summit in November 2017.  

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
Approximately 150 students attended the DEI Student Summit. The Summit included Six breakout sessions:

• Educate and Prevent:  What is Already in Place and What More Can We do?
• Protected vs Unprotected Speech and Our Campus Values: Responding to Hateful Speech, controversial Events and Other Behaviors on Campus
• Representation and Coalition Building: How to Develop an Identity (Issue) -Based Student Leadership Council that Would Meet Regularly with Campus Administrators
• Reaching Out: Who Speaks to Whom? Through What Mediums? When and How Often?
• Accountability: Statement Revisions, Honor Code Proposals, and Accountability Measures 
• Restorative Justice:  Refining and Improving Our Response to Incidents on Campus

ACTION:
We used existing infrastructure to encourage student voices in the Plan.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We initiated a strategy for offering student engagement support broadly, which included:

• Hiring a graduate student intern to assist with student engagement support project; this team member identified 25 DEI unit plans to target with student engagement support.
• Developing a student engagement questionnaire for leads from Student Life and various schools/colleges to complete.
• Implementing the Student Engagement Questionnaire in May 2018, with support from Student Life DEI Leads and ODEI.
• Consulting with DEI Leads who complete the Student Engagement Questionnaire in June 2018 and August 2018 to inform next steps
• Developing and providing training to Leads/Action Teams identified from Student Engagement Questionnaire

ACTION:
We assisted students in advocating for necessary refinement and realignment during the first year of plan implementation.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
DEI SAB participated in a Student Leaders Luncheon with President Schlissel, for students working on DEI issues. 

We facilitated a Year 2 debriefing conversation during April 2018 meeting and have begun planning for Year 3.

We devoted a senior leadership retreat to the topic of engaging student voices in our work, particularly in consideration of the current campus climate and around the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion.

ACTION:
We worked to inform campus communication practices in response to bias incidents and campus climate events.

PROGRESS/IMPACT:
We designed and implemented web-based solutions (currently under review).