Prioritizing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at your University

February 16, 2021 by Coach Training EDU

3 Steps to Prioritize Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at your University

Going to college can be one of the first major steps students take to leave the world as they have known it to venture into the unknown. It’s usually a student’s first time living apart from their families and it serves as a major transition point in their lives.

This experience can be especially jarring for students of diverse backgrounds stepping into majority white spaces. For student well-being and retention, it’s important that students feel that they belong. Ensuring your institution is diverse, inclusive and equitable should be a priority on campus. Here are a few things your institution can do to ensure it’s fostering a culture of belonging.

Create Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committees

These committees will review policies and processes related to recruitment, retention and inclusion of diverse faculty, students & programs on campus. 

The members of your committee should also be diverse and have champions for people in all groups to ensure everyone gets a seat at the table and all perspectives are being heard

These groups include a lot more than race, ethnicity and gender identity or expression. Other important factors e to consider are disabilities, veteran status, national origin, economic status and language. 

Set Specific Visions, Missions and Goals

Be intentional and specific to deliver measurable results.

It’s important that your committees gather data to make informed decisions on what areas need improvement and how to sustain change while also considering all the groups at play. This data will allow the group to make strategic, informed decisions and constantly have something to measure against ensuring goals are being met. This will also hold you accountable for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. 

Examples of goals that could be set are allocating extra resources to recruit diverse students to the university, developing a diversity and inclusion newsletter as an educational resource to the community or investing in cultural competency training for university staff.

Their initiatives can be new but they should also address policies that affect diversity, equity and inclusion. 

Develop Student Affinity Groups

Affinity groups allow people with similar aspects of their identity to connect with one another, especially in situations where they’re the minority. These safe spaces provide people with the opportunity for community within a community and to share their experiences. Affinity groups foster a feeling of belonging

These groups can also boost student morale knowing that there’s a place where they can authentically be themselves. Affinity groups drive change, positively impact campuses and give students a voice. 

It’s also important that these groups have an administrator on board overseeing their work, ensuring they have an advocate in a higher rank looking out for their best interest and guiding them in their experience as a group member in the world.

A study conducted by Monster State of the Candidate found that more than half (52%) of job candidates say diversity, equality, and inclusion in the workplace is “very important” to them. 

There’s countless research on the benefits of affinity groups in the workplace but having these spaces for young adults prior to them entering the workforce is just as important. These steps are just the beginning of what you can to make your campus community diverse, inclusive and equitable. 

For more information on how to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion, check out our blog post on anti-racist resources.