GRADUATE STUDENTS
Crucial to the success of such a program is a support system that would provide mentoring both within and across departments and would also establish for these students a sense of community at CMU. Recruitment would target particular institutions, including both minority-serving institutions and majority-serving institutions. Connections could be made through faculty and advisor contacts at those institutions, many of whom may come from CMU’s Fusion Forum Departments and could be involved on a rotating basis (subject to opting in), but it would be advisable to have at least two students join each department participating in any given year. STRATEGY D: DEVELOP AN INVENTORY OF MASTERS PROGRAMS TO EVALUATE THE INDICATORS USED BY DEPARTMENTS TO ADMIT PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS Masters programs within Dietrich College are decentralized. Departments will decide how they will admit prospective students to their programs. We plan to determine whether the current practice led by departments for admissions requirements and evaluation increase equity. We will create standards and guidance for the admissions committees to consider during their review process. GOAL 2: Provide an equitable and inclusive environment for graduate students. STRATEGY A: DATA COLLECTION Dietrich College hosts graduate students in eight departments as well as in the Institute for Politics and Strategy. The independent structure of departments in the college limits the opportunity for graduate peer-to-peer identification, obscures student body makeup and can increases isolation for members of URMs. While we can make some initial inferences about climate, more data collection is needed to ascertain the particularities of how graduate students in Dietrich College experience their education at CMU, institutional policies and resources and climate community. The following proposal is based on the limited resources available and includes recommendations to improve the climate among the graduate student body of the college. Interventions directed towards increasing retention cannot be made until data about climate and college-wide retention rates have been collected to establish a baseline. Future data collection will provide a more accurate measure of our progress toward improving college climate. Utilizing the information from the President’s Task Force on Campus Climate Survey, we can identify areas that were covered in the survey that we would like to explore further through a series of focus group sessions. According to Harper and Hurtado (2007), conducting and reporting campus climate research should serve as a foundation for institutional change. STRATEGY B: INSTITUTE MENTORSHIP TRAINING TO ALL FACULTY ADVISORS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THE NEEDS OF FIRST-GENERATION GRADUATE STUDENTS AND THOSE FROM URM POPULATIONS While current resources exist at the Eberly Center, Global Communication Center and Center for Diversity and Inclusion, primary advisors are best positioned to assess the needs of individual graduate students in Dietrich College. STRATEGY C: ESTABLISH ANNUAL COLLEGE-WIDE EVENTS FOR INFORMATION AND INTERFACING BETWEEN STUDENTS AND ADMINISTRATION To ensure the distribution of accurate, up-to-date information we suggest two annual events: 1) an orientation for incoming Dietrich graduate students and 2) a yearly town hall hosted by the Dean’s Office. The orientation will provide all students with information about existing resources and support for first-generation, URM students, and any other students of need. The annual town hall offers an opportunity for Dietrich College students to raise graduate-specific concerns, acting as a mechanism for feedback and redress of grievances. These events should be organized by the Dean’s Office, with representatives from existing campus groups and organizations.
DIETRICH COLLEGE DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION PLAN
41
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online