Using close-to-practice data to empower DEI-serving units at Western Carolina University
- WCU Author/Contributor (non-WCU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Alison Joy Joseph (Creator)
- Institution
- Western Carolina University (WCU )
- Web Site: http://library.wcu.edu/
- Advisor
- Emily Virtue
Abstract: Western Carolina University (WCU) enrolls students from many different backgrounds and demographic categories. While access to the institution has expanded over the years, equity gaps still exist relative to retention and graduation outcomes for students in different demographic groups. Several offices at the University offer programing and support for specific marginalized student populations. These offices are generally small, and do not have the data access or necessary expertise to effectively utilize data in their operations. The concept of this initiative is that success for marginalized student populations at WCU is tied to the success of these offices that support them. The success of these supporting offices is then tied to their ability to access and use data to seek funding, plan programming and offerings, and communicate with a wide variety of stakeholders (such as administrators, current and prospective students, and alumni). The initiative centers on the development of quantitative and qualitative reports and tools that utilize close-to-practice data, and then training/consultation about how stakeholders can use these data for funding requests, departmental planning, and stakeholder communication. The work took place with Intercultural Affairs and focused on their intensive program offering, Project C.A.R.E. (an acronym for Culturally Aligned Retention Enhancement). This program seeks to provide a welcoming transition and support community for new students, particularly African American and Latinx students, as they enter WCU, a predominantly white institution (PWI). Improvement Science was used as a framework for the project, incorporating techniques for problem identification, causal analysis, development and selection of change idea, and iterative and collaborative execution of these intervention steps, with pre-defined formative and summative data collection and assessment activities throughout the project timeline. Post-initiative participant interviews measured whether this project resulted in an improvement relative to data access and the ability to utilize data for resource advocacy, departmental planning, and stakeholder communication.
Using close-to-practice data to empower DEI-serving units at Western Carolina University
PDF (Portable Document Format)
3588 KB
Created on 1/1/2023
Views: 181
Additional Information
- Publication
- Other
- Language: English
- Date: 2023
- Keywords
- close-to-practice data, departmental planning, Improvement Science, resource advocacy, stakeholder communication
- Subjects
- Western Carolina University
- Minority college students
- Universities and colleges—Departments—Planning
- Stakeholder management
- Resource allocation