Student Body Diversity Working Group

Student Body Diversity Working Group - Final Report - Feb 28, 1995

Committee : Marianne Rinaldo Woods, Chair, Anna Cano, Marie Chevrier, Dachang Cong, Esteban Egea, David Ford, Kamran Kiasaleh, Ann Montemayor, David Rude, Shemeka Ware, Gloria Williams

I. Diversity Statement

A. Recommendation: Develop a Diversity Statement for the University and disseminate in university publications, etc.

Action: The group recommends the adoption of the following statement on diversity:

DIVERSITY STATEMENT: THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS

One of the primary purposes of any university is to introduce students to new ideas, values, perspectives, experiences, cultures and ways of learning. The University of Texas at Dallas acknowledges that diversity, in all of its many dimensions and among all of its constituencies, contributes to a stronger university, a richer, more challenging learning environment for students and a more stimulating work environment for faculty and staff. The University aspires to be a model of diversity, proving that intellectual vitality and rigor are enhanced by cultural pluralism and that diversity and excellence are synergistic.

Therefore, The University strives to:

1) Create an educational community dedicated to expanding the opportunities for learning and working among a diverse staff, faculty and student body;

2) Adopt and implement educational approaches that emphasize multi-cultural instruction and experiences;

3) Infuse multi-cultural and pluralistic perspectives into course content, instructions, and evaluation processes;

4) Promote excellence in the academy by employing a culturally heterogeneous cadre of professionals who are knowledgeable in and understand related social, linguistic, cultural, educational and economic factors of all students; and,

5) Adopt and implement policies and procedures to achieve these goals.

II. Curriculum

A. Recommendation: Develop a university-wide diversity curriculum committee to review course syllabi and identify courses that address diversity in their curriculum.

1. Action: Collect syllabi of courses that a)can be identified as dealing with diversity issues by the nature of their title; b)have self identified (by virtue of faculty reporting) diversity issues as a component of the class; and c)courses in science and engineering that can have a diversity component added to the course.

2. Action: Publish a catalog that would include descriptions of courses and disseminate in a multicultural handbook.

B. Recommendation: Develop and implement a core course or courses, required by all students, that deals specifically with race and ethnicity in America/Texas.

Action: Research information at other Universities, such as U.C. Berkeley, that have a multicultural requirement.

C. Recommendation: Require that all students take a course that specifically deals with diversity issues in order to graduate.

D. Recommendation: Begin the process of integrating a diversity component into the curriculum by integrating such a component into the University's Rhetoric course and Making of the Modern World Course.

E. Recommendation: Provide training to all faculty, RA's, and TA's on diversity and race/ethnicity sensitivity and require attendance.

III. Student Services

A. Recommendation: Create a cadre of student advisors and mentors that are representative of diverse populations.

1. Action: Employ a representative number of African, Hispanic and Asian American advisors.

2. Action: Develop a student mentorship program at UTD which includes faculty-student, student- student, and staff-student mentorship arrangements.

B. Recommendation: Establish a multi-cultural center on campus.

C. Recommendation: Enhance on-campus programs for students.

1. Action: Provide more program funds to increase the number and quality of speakers and entertainers coming to campus.

2. Action: Hire minority staff to work on diversity programming issues.

3. Action: Create and staff an information station, to operate especially the first 30days of each semester, in the Library and in the Green Building.

D. Recommendation: Hire minority counselors for the counseling center to address problems of minority students.

E. Recommendation: Improve the cultural climate on campus

1. Action: Put every staff and faculty member through a mandatory workshop on working with and being sensitive to issues concerning diversity, especially with regards to students of color and disabilities.

2. Action: Require that all academic Deans, Directors, and designated faculty representatives attend certain student events such as: Minority Student Leadership Conference, Opening programs for Hispanic month, International week, African American month, Asian American month, etc.

F. Recommendation: Increase the representation of minority students as orientation leaders and peer advisors.

Action: Have each student organization such as CHispa and the African American Student Alliance, select students to participate in the programs.

G. Recommendation: Establish a parents weekend

Action: Tie a parents weekend to a student leadership awards event or some other event that would get the parents to campus. Stress the sophomore, junior and senior parents coming to campus.

H. Recommendation: Operate some form of food services on weekends for students, especially for international students that may not have transportation.

1. Action: Get some food service trucks to visit the apartments on weekends - so that students without transportation can eat.

2. Action: Implement a tram/van service that will take students on weekends to the grocery store.

3. Action: Build a food court on campus and keep it open on weekends.

IV. Recruitment/Retention

A. Recommendation: Utilize Minority Chambers of Commerce to enhance networking for the recruitment of students.

1. Action: Provide active participation by many members of the University community, especially the office of student life and academic affairs, in education committees of the various minority Chambers of Commerce.

2. Action: Sponsor tables at the various scholarship dinners hosted by the various minority Chambers of Commerce.

3. Action: Sponsor scholarships at the various scholarship dinners hosted by the various minority Chambers of Commerce.

B. Recommendation: Promote services and interaction with junior and senior high school students and re-entry students.

1. Action: Implement a minority bridge program and develop programming for returning students.

2. Action: Develop a volunteer community liaison and a program to foster community interaction. Publicize interactions and other activities.

C. Recommendation: Implement a series of high- school lock-ins that are fun, educational and tap into faculty strengths, faculty research, and university senior student projects.

D. Recommendation: Stress recruitment of minority undergraduate students.

1. Action: Hire more minority recruiters to recruit undergraduate students.

2. Action: Make a list of college fairs and send recruiters to recruit.

3. Action: Establish a clear process for following-up on undergraduate students that show an interest in UTD.

4. Action: Send staff to local cultural festivals to bring back to campus information on the cultural needs of the community.

5. Action: Establish student reunions for those students that have taken courses, lived in certain campus apartment buildings, or graduated from UTD.

6. Action: Establish and make available to Deans and Department/Program Chairs a data base of undergraduate students and their University address and permanent address (if different).

E. Recommendation: Stress recruitment of minority graduate students.

1. Action: Hire minority graduate recruiters to recruit graduate students.

2. Action: Make a list of graduate fairs and send recruiters.

3. Action: Establish a clear process for following-up on graduate students that show an interest in UTD.

4. Action: Send staff to local cultural festivals to bring back to campus information on the cultural needs of the community.

5. Action: Establish student reunions for those students that have graduated from UTD.

6. Action: Establish and make available to Deans and Department/Program Chairs a data base of undergraduate students and their current place of employment, and addresses.

7. Action: Put all programs/departments on the World Wide Web for use as a recruitment tool.

8. Action: Implement a campus 800 number that can be used to recruit students.

F. Recommendation: Improve Commencement

1. Action: Bring back cookies and punch

2. Action: Make it mandatory that all faculty attend commencement.

3. Action: Recommend that each school host a dinner or other program honoring various graduating students and inviting their parents/significant others on the night before graduation.

4. Action: Design and build a building on campus that is large enough to hold all graduating students and their families/significant others

5. Action: Explore graduation ceremony options, one graudation ceremony per year v. one graduation ceremony three times a year.

V. FOREIGN/INTERNATIONAL STUDENT NEEDS

A. Recommendation: Solicit and obtain scholarship money from international student alumni.

B. Recommendation: Develop marketing packages and approaches to recruit international students.

C. Recommendation: Develop and utilize a computerized data base of alumni.

D. Recommendation: Establish UTD Internatinal Alumni branches in such places as Taiwan, India, Nigeria, China, Nigeria and Latin American countries and developing countries.

E. Recommendation: Establish a formal office of alumni affairs.

1. Action: Hire a full-time director of alumni affairs.

2. Action: Computerize the alumni affairs office.

3. Action: Develop and disseminate an alumni affairs newsletter.

F. Recommendation: Create links with organizations such as the Dallas Chapter of People to People Inc. and utilize such organizations as resources, bringing them to campus to speak.

Action: International Student I-20 forms need to be sent by admissions to foreign students with sufficient time for the student to make arrangements to transfer.

G. Recommendation: Disseminate information to appropriate offices that would work with students to clarify admission procedures.

VI. UNIVERSITY SERVICES

VI.1 FINANCIAL AID

A. Recommendation: Diversify financial aid staff, especially in the ranks of financial aid officers.

Action: Hire African American, Asian and Hispanic American financial aid officers.

B. Recommendation: Create a service oriented approach to financial aid.

Action: Conduct sensitivity training on the topic of diversity and race relations for all members of financial aid.

C. Recommendation: Create and disseminate scholarship information packets.

D. Recommendation: Mail financial aid information to any student or potential student that requests such information.

Action: Eliminate the restriction that does not allow financial aid information to be mailed to anyone living within a fifty mile radius of the University.

E. Recommendation: Create a university-wide representative financial aid task force to review financial aid policies and procedures.

1. Action: Working through the task force, recalculate the formula for financial aid funding to be reflective of living costs in Richardson and Plano, including housing costs, housing deposit costs, transportation costs, etc.

2. Action: Implement a double review process of student financial aid eligibility forms so that accuracy can be maintained and students can reap the full benefits of financial aid.

3. Action: Create a hotline in financial aid and staff it, especially during registration.

F. Recommendation: Provide on-going staff development training, including computerization and contomer service seminars, to financial aid staff.

G. Recommendation: Review the status, policies and procedures of short-term loans.

Action: Eliminate the revolving door policy concerning short-term loans by keeping a data file of students and their loan histories.

H. Recommendation: Increase the amount of work study funds received by the University

1. Action: Increase the number of work study students

2. Action: Create an atmoshpere on campus that would be conducive to work study students working on campus.

3. Action: Develop and operate a work study job fair where departments can recruit students.

I. Recommendation: Develop financial aid resource library

Action: Locate the financial aid resource library in financial aid and provide financial aid counselors to answer student questions, etc.

J. Recommendation: Implement a proactive financial aid stance.

1. Action: A financial aid counselor should accompany recruiters on road trips.

2. Action: Financial aid counselors should meet with community groups, especially in the minority communities, to assist in the completion of financial aid forms.

3. Action: Financial aid counselors should conduct on-campus training sessions for interested parents and prospective students on how to fill out financial aid forms.

K. Recommendation: Increase the amount of financial aid materials, especially information packets, made available to the academic community for networking and recruiting purposes.

L. Recommendation: Consider a one time special allocation of funding to develop an infrastructure in financial aid to meet the demands of a comprehensive campus.

M. Recommendation: Solicit the UTSystem for funds to support student scholarships.

N. Recommendation: Solicit more financial aid funds from the federal government.

O. Recommendation: Create, with members of Academic Affairs, guidelines on student scholarships/fellowships for different grade levels.

Action: Employ a scholarship coordinator and set-aside a station to work only with scholarship/fellowship recipients.

VI.2 Office of the Bursar

A. Recommendation: Develop a customer service mode of operation in the Office of the Bursar.

1. Action: Put all personnel, including the Bursar, through customer service training that includes training on treating students with respect.

2. Action: Change the hours in which the office is open to include early morning hours each week, opening at 8:00 a.m. each day.

3. Action: Open more stations during registration.

4. Action: Develop different lines for different types of transactions, including a special line for students with disabilities and a line for payroll.

5. Action: Hire staff to direct students during registration to the appropriate line.

6. Action: Create and display signs that identify the office and hours, days and times when the office is open and closed.

7. Action: Develop routine communication between the Bursar's Office and the Financial Aid Office. Each office needs to know the procedures of the other office and be able to communicate these procedures to the students.

8. Action: Develop procedures whereby checks sent to students are sent to their verified current local address and not to their permanent address.

9. Action: Create a hotline in the Bursar's office. Staff the hotline, especially during registration.

10. Action: Upgrade the computer systems and enhance staff skills in the Office of the Bursar.

VI.3 Admissions

A. Recommendation: Improve recruiting of undergraduate students

1. Action: Identify students at predominately minority Junior High Schools and develop a Saturday program at UTD to teach test taking skills and SAT preparation. The cost to participants should be no more than $5.00, including lunch and materials.

2. Action: Provide transportation to campus for minority students. Solicit help and resources from churches and school districts.

3. Action: Reach out to the community. Provide services such as PSAT and SAT preparation, financial aid information, application information and assistance in filling out applications and financial aid forms.

4. Action: Recruit students at church youth ministry sites, inter-tribal centers, recreation centers and predominately minority middle schools.

5. Action: Operate an drive-up information kiosk that dispenses general information and hand-outs concerning general admission requirements, financial aid forms, undergraduate catalog, graduate catalog, calendar of performances on campus, etc.

B. Recommendation: Provide information to Hispanic students and parents in Spanish and English.

Action: Hire bi-lingual recruiters and bi- lingual University tour guides and provide bi- lingual literature and brochures for them to give to students and their parents.

C. Recommendation: Remove or waive the application fee for scholarship and financial aid applicants.

D. Recommendation: Develop a resource list of people that can translate in different languages across campus.

E. Recommendation: Develop a brochure with answers to at least ten common questions about admissions. Translate into several different languages, for use by parents of prospective students.

VII. Minority and Women Faculty and Staff Recruitment/Retention/Role Models

A. Recommendation: Increase the recruitment of minority and women tenure-track faculty, minority staff and administrators, and thereby provide role models for minority students on campus

1. Action: Publish the Recruitment Handbook developed by Academic Affairs in 1994.

2. Action: Develop a centralized data bank, accessible by school/department/unit secretaries for the placement of advertisements in magazines, newspapers, newsletters, electronic bulletin boards, etc. for the successful recruitment of minority and female faculty and staff.

3. Action: Identify and develop personal contacts through participation and attendance at minority professional organizations such as The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), The Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE), and The Texas Association of Black Personnel in Higher Education (TABPHE), etc.

4. Action: Obtain institutional memberships in minority professional organizations and invite active participation of Deans, Associate Deans, Department and Program Chairpersons.

5. Action: Hire an Affirmative Action Officer and set-up an affirmative action office

6. Action: Through the affirmative action office identify and send University representatives to recruitment fairs, etc. that are held nationally for graduating doctoral students.

7. Action: Utilize existing minority and female faculty and staff as resources.

8. Action: Through the Affirmative Action Office, advise search committees on minority recruitment strategies, etc.

9. Action: Develop and implement a Target of Opportunity Hire Program and set-aside University resources for this purpose.

10. Action: Reexamine the issue of hiring our own graduating doctoral students for faculty positions and our own masters students for staff positions.

11. Action: Require that demonstrated experience and understanding of multi-cultural issues be a requirement for all faculty positions.

12. Action: Provide training to faculty search committees on issues affecting non-traditional resumes.

B. Recommendation: Increase the retention of minority and female tenure-track faculty and thereby provide role models for minority students on campus

1. Action: Establish a mentoring program for faculty at UTD, within the context of the proposed UTD faculty professional development center.

2. Action: Reexamine and clarify tenure guidelines, particularly as they apply to non- traditional faculty.

3. Action: Define excellence in teaching.

4. Action: Develop a program for annual informal tenure progress review of non-tenured faculty.

5. Action: Redesign (if any exist) guidelines for tenure review committees

6. Action: Hire an Affirmative Action officer and allow him/her to review tenure recommendation processes, procedures and results and advise the Provost and the President.

7. Action: Establish a category in the tenure guidelines that will allow the hiring and tenuring of exceptional practitioners and other non-traditional faculty.

8. Action: Have the President and Provost host semi-annual luncheons for new faculty and their assigned mentors in which tenure questions and other related questions are answered.

9. Action: Establish a professional development center in each school to 1)identify journals and find referees relevant to the tenuring of non-tenured faculty, 2)assist in the selection process of faculty mentors, and 3)promote excellence in research and teaching by assisting faculty in developing and/or refining their skills in areas such as writing for publication, etc.

VIII. Advisory and Development Boards

A. Recommendation: Create Advisory or Development Boards that are inclusive of minorities and representative of diversity as reflected by population numbers in the Greater Dallas area.

IX. Academic Governance

A. Recommendation: Foster diversity by broadening governance on campus.

1. Action: Expand the academic senate to include representatives from the student body, staff, non-faculty administration and lecturer groups.

2. Action: Have the President hold a convocation every fall where he addresses the entire academic community (staff and faculty) at the same event.

X. Transportation

A. Recommendation: Provide a shuttle service from the downtown Dallas campus to Callier and to UTDallas main campus.

Action: Use a bus and not a 15 passenger van. Set-up a regular schedule and provide direct service.

B. Recommendation: Create an alternative transportation committee on campus.

Action: Design bike paths, provide bike racks, and design rules for use of alternative transportation for students, faculty and staff who cannot afford cars or who desire to use an alternative mode of transportation.

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