Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 71.74
Liaison Ian McKeown
Submission Date March 1, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Loyola Marymount University
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.92 / 3.00 Kimberly Misa
Research Associate
Office of Intercultural Affairs
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Non-Discrimination Statement 

Does the institution have a publicly posted non-discrimination statement? :
Yes

The non-discrimination statement, including the website URL where the policy is publicly accessible:
The University prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental ability, legally protected medical condition (cancer-related), marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition), age over 40, veteran status, and sexual orientation, or any other bases protected by federal, state, or local law. The University does not discriminate on these bases, or any other basis protected by law, in the administration of any of its education or admissions policies, scholarship or loan programs, athletics, and other school-administered policies and programs, or in its employment policies and practices. All University policies, practices, and procedures are administered in a manner consistent with LMU's Jesuit identity and character. link https://admin.lmu.edu/media/admin/hr/policiesampprocedures-secure/Statement%20of%20Non-Discrimination.pdf

Bias Response Team 

Does the institution have a discrimination response protocol or committee (sometimes called a bias response team) to respond to and support those who have experienced or witnessed a bias incident, act of discrimination or hate crime?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s discrimination response protocol or team (including examples of actions taken during the previous three years):
BIRT info below. for more information please see attached document below that has protocal for faculty, staff, student on discrimination response protocol or committee (sometimes called a bias response team) to respond to and support those who have experienced or witnessed a bias incident, act of discrimination or hate crime? BIRT manages university-wide communication and response protocols for incidents where bias may be a factor. BIRT’s duties include reviewing bias incident reports, making recommendations to the president on proposed responses, and developing university communication protocols. BIRT's Role BIRT ensures responsible university departments respond to incidents reported and actively engage the university’s standard operating framework. BIRT strives to operate transparently and communicate effectively and may update the community if appropriate information becomes available. However, BIRT does not preempt nor replace existing procedures. BIRT does not conduct its own investigations and may not be aware of the final disposition of a case. For example, BIRT may ensure an incident of racial bias or discrimination has been referred to the Department of Public Safety for investigation and follow up. Depending on the specific details of an incident, additional responsible departments may have a role in its handling and/or resolution, including, but not limited to the Division of Student Affairs, Judicial Affairs, and/or Human Resources. Responsible departments, not BIRT, may be in direct contact with affected individuals as needed or appropriate. Excerpt from LMU's Non-Discrimination Policy Concerning Biased Incidents The university does not tolerate hate crimes or bias-motivated incidents and will respond to them with appropriate sanctions, which may include: for students, expulsion, suspension, or exclusion from the campus; for faculty and staff, disciplinary action up to and including termination. Students, faculty, or staff who experience or witness any form of hate crime or bias-motivated incident should immediately report it to the Department of Public Safety. BIRT manages university-wide communication and response protocols for incidents where bias may be a factor. BIRT’s duties include reviewing bias incident reports, making recommendations to the president on proposed responses, and developing university communication protocols.... The Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT) is comprised of the members below: Lane Bove, co-chair and senior vice president for student affairs Michael O'Sullivan, co-chair and vice provost for academic affairs Hampton N. Cantrell, chief of public safety Rebecca Chandler, vice president for human resources John Kiralla, vice president for marketing and communications (CMO/CCO) Abbie Robinson-Armstrong, vice president for intercultural affairs 2016-2017 Academic Year Sign Removals in Modern Languages and Literatures (Office Doors/Nearby) January 8, 2016 Status: Closed Student Resident Complaint December 21, 2016 Status: Closed Sign Removals in Theological Studies (Office Doors and Bulletin Boards) November 29, 2016 Status: Closed 2015-2016 Academic Year Malone Centennial Mural Incident November 13, 2015 Status: Closed Parking and Transportation Department, Loyolan Article Incident December 9, 2015 Status: Closed African American Professor Mail Incident December 10, 2015 Status: Closed Intramural Soccer Incident February 14, 2016 Status: Closed Student Immigration Wall Vandalism April 4, 2016 Status: Closed Removal of Authorized LGBTQ+ Awareness Week Signage (Palm Walk) April 15, 2016 Status: Closed Verbal Confrontation; University Employee and Students Reposting Signs April 15, 2016 Status: Closed Objection to Alternative Break Reflection Posters (Palm Walk) April 19, 2016 Status: Closed Office Nameplate and Door Notices Vandalism/Graffiti (University Hall) April 22, 2016 Status: Closed Please see link below reviewing policies and procedures should an incident occur. https://resources.lmu.edu/inclusiveexcellence/reportdiscriminationbiasincidents/policiesprocedures/

Recruitment Programs 

Does the institution have programs specifically designed to recruit students from underrepresented groups?:
Yes

Does the institution have programs specifically designed to recruit staff from underrepresented groups?:
No

Does the institution have programs specifically designed to recruit faculty from underrepresented groups?:
Yes

If yes to any of the above, provide:

A brief description of the institution’s programs to recruit students, staff and/or faculty from underrepresented groups:
LMU engages in significant outreach and recruitment efforts designed to ensure that low-income students consider LMU during the college selection process. LMU Admission staff each year visit hundreds of high schools and community colleges that include significant populations of low-income students; LMU Admission and Financial Aid staff also regularly offer workshops at high schools and community colleges designed specifically to ensure that low-income students and families have access to relevant information about college and their options at LMU specifically. LMU also regularly offers presentations on the enrollment process in both English and Spanish. Over the past two years, the LMU Enrollment Management division has developed a number of programs that are outside the scope of traditional grants and scholarships, but designed to ensure access for low-income students. These new initiatives include support for low-income students to purchase their books and supplies during their first year of study, giving cohorts of incoming low-income students laptop computers to ensure that they have access to resources needed to be successful, and university-funded accounts that low-income students may draw upon to fund critical activities related to professional development (e.g. internships, conference travel). Pathway Program The LMU Pathway Program targets talented students who need additional academic preparation. This year, the LMU Pathway Program has offered fourteen students as part of its second cohort the opportunity to enroll at either Santa Monica College or East Los Angeles College, where they are directed to complete LMU-approved courses based on their majors. While enrolled at our partner community colleges, these students receive LMU Onecards and access to the LMU Library, Academic Resource Center, and other resources to experience LMU campus life. At the conclusion of this year, if Pathway students meet minimum GPA requirements, they will be admitted as full-time, degree-seeking students at LMU, on track to graduate with the same class as their original application to LMU. EM plans to expand this program to El Camino College next year, with an enrollment goal of 15 students per location. Transfer Guaranteed Admission Agreements Enrollment Management has also developed a Guaranteed Transfer Admission Agreement with a number of community college partner institutions. Most recently on November 1, President Snyder gathered with the Chancellor, President of the Board of Trustees, and college presidents from the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) in an official signing ceremony hosted at Los Angeles Harbor College. The ceremony capped off a year- long effort to solidify LMU’s collaboration with LACCD to enhance the existing transfer pipeline and increase the number of qualified transfer applicants from the district. With the addition of LACCD (9 institutions – the largest community college district in California) to our six previously existing Transfer Admission Agreement partnerships, LMU continues to strengthen ties with partner institutions and serve as a leader in transfer enrollment in both the region and the state. The Guarantee Program provides access and a clear pathway to an LMU education by outlining a set of standards by which students gain automatic admission if completed. What is unique about this program is that it rewards student behavior and is not just a list of required courses. This behavior includes taking a full course load (12+ units) every semester, and consistently earning the required GPA in consecutive terms. By rewarding students that demonstrate successful behavior, Transfer Enrollment Services ensures that students are ready to meet the demands of an LMU education. In the near future, EM plans to increase the number of Guarantee Programs across California and in competitive transfer markets out of state. Community Outreach Enrollment Management has successfully engaged prospective students from underrepresented backgrounds via a suite of community-facing initiatives that focus on building strong pipelines to LMU. Now embarking on its third year, Summer Programs brings a diverse set of talented middle and high school age students to LMU’s campus to participate in academic programs and social activities in order to cultivate academic and personal development among participants and strengthen the interest of prospective LMU students earlier in the pipeline. In fall 2017, 17 students who attended the 2016 pre-college program matriculated as full-time freshmen; currently, 58 of 91 current high school seniors from the 2016 and 2017 summer cohorts have applied to LMU for fall 2018 enrollment. Moreover, Pre-College Summer Programs has forged partnerships with Girls Who Code and Wishbone to provide greater access for students from underrepresented backgrounds. In 2017, LMU partnered with Wishbone, a community based organization whose mission is to “fund the next generation of dreamers,” to identify and fully fund two high-achieving, low-income students to attend LMU’s pre-college session in Environmental Science. Since 2016, EM has offered $88,000 in pre-college scholarships to 29 summer scholars; among these recipients, 62 percent were Latina/o, 28 percent were African American, and 38 percent identified as first-generation college students. Pre-College Summer Programs has also partnered with Girls Who Code, a nationally recognized community-based organization, to launch two new summer programs that will help middle and high school aged women, many from underrepresented backgrounds, gain experience in computer coding and connect with same- gender peers with similar interests. Additionally, Enrollment Management has placed strategic focus on access via recruitment. Undergraduate Admission’s Local Outreach Counselor has continued our efforts in reaching out to primarily Latina/o and first-generation students in the Los Angeles area. This fall, we visited 41 inner city Los Angeles schools, establishing relationships with 9 schools LMU has not been able to visit before. We also increased our presence at local college fairs, focusing on fairs aimed at making college an accessible reality for students of underrepresented communities. Enrollment Management also hosted the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Conference on the LMU campus in December, offering college access and admission related workshops to middle and high school students and their parents, many in both English and Spanish. Supporting organizations include the American Indian College Fund, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, Inc., College Board, Jack and Jill Foundation, and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. Parent workshops will be hosted in both English and Spanish. As the assistant to the president for intercultural affairs, Dr. Robinson-Armstrong was a part of a team that worked to create a series of programs to train faculty to recruit for diversity. The programs’ intent was to clarify the mission of diversity recruitment for faculty and to debunk myths and stereotypes for hiring. Attendance was mandatory for anyone who wanted to sit on a hiring committee. This ensured that people doing the hiring at LMU believed in the mission of the university and wanted to support it. Framework for the programs came from research obtained as one of 14 participants in a Diversity Scorecard program created by the University of California. LMU “took the data and ran with it,” said Dr. Robinson-Armstrong, using it to inform its decisions and shape its programming. She described her school’s strategy for increasing faculty diversity at the fall meeting of the Southern California Higher Education Resource Consortium (HERC) meeting at UC-Riverside in September. Staff: "The University recognizes the important contribution a diverse community of students, faculty, and staff makes towards the advancement of its goals and ideals." Please see link below to read HR's policy on recruitment/hiring of staff. https://admin.lmu.edu/media/admin/hr/policiesampprocedures-secure/Statement%20of%20Non-Discrimination.pdf

Mentoring, Counseling and Support Programs 

Does the institution have mentoring, counseling, peer support, academic support, or other programs to support students from underrepresented groups on campus?:
Yes

Does the institution have mentoring, counseling, peer support or other programs to support staff from underrepresented groups on campus?:
Yes

Does the institution have mentoring, counseling, peer support or other programs to support faculty from underrepresented groups on campus?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s programs to support students, staff and/or faculty from underrepresented groups:
There are many academic programs, student groups, centers and university-sponsored efforts that help support underrepresented groups within the student body. With regard to academic programs, there are many majors and minors that focus on underrepresented groups in academia. These majors and minors include: African American Studies major, Chicana/o Latino Studies major, Asian and Pacific Studies major, European Studies major, Urban Studies major, Women’s Studies major, Irish Studies minor, Modern Greek Studies minor, and Asian Pacific American Studies minor. Also, one American Cultures class needs to be taken by every student as a part of the core curriculum. The student groups on campus that support underrepresented students are hosted by the Ethnic and Intercultural Office (EIS) and its sub-offices: Asian Pacific Student Services (APSS), Chicano Latino Student Services (CLSS), Office of Black Student Services (OBSS) and Intercultural Affairs, and Jewish Student Services. These students groups include the Black Student Union, Movimento Estudiantil Chicana Y Chicano de Aztlan, Asian Pacific Islander Student Association, and Hillel. A full list of the groups can be found at http://www.lmu.edu/PageFactory.aspx?PageID=3998. EIS Peer Mentors give counseling to identified minority students through their first year a the university. Additionally, there are other offices on campus that help support underrepresented groups within the student body: First to Go (for first generation college students), The Learning Community (TLC) (for first-year African American students), Academic Community of Excellence (ACE), Disability Support Services (DSS), Transfer Programs for community college transfer students, LGBT Student Services, and Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS). https://academics.lmu.edu/diversity/interculturalaffairs/resources/ --------- Staff and faculty support options. There is a ton of options for support for faculty and staff from underrepresented groups. many can be found in this guide https://resources.lmu.edu/media/lmuinclusiveexcellence/documents/Faculty%20Staff%20Affinity%20and%20Networking%20Groups%20brochure.pdf More our outlined below. Support exists from help getting equipment/supplies, transportation, career development, skills training, language training, to support network of likeminded individuals. The Latino Staff Association was created to provide an avenue of communication and resource sharing among cross-divisional staff interested in communication, networking and advancement of Latino staff. The Latino Staff Association collaborates with the Office of Chicano/a Latino/a Students Services in Student Affairs, Latino Faculty Association as well as many other departments in LMU. The Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles provides intercultural resources such as: 1) a resident follow-up survey on the LA Riots 15th Year Anniversary that reports on the impact of the LA Riots, and the relationships between ethnic relations; community attitudes; government and community relations and activities; social class and immigration; quality of life; and demographics and 2) the Research Collection Program, which promotes the study, documentation and understanding of the history and social development of Los Angeles through a substantial archive on such topics as post-World War II real estate and industrial developers; reformers and reform movements; public officials; and prominent Los Angeles families. The Ethnic Minority and Gay/Straight Faculty/Staff Network is housed in the office of the vice president for Intercultural Affairs. Network executives include two representatives from the African-American, Latino/a, and Asian-Pacific Islander Faculty/Staff Associations and the Gay/Straight Faculty-Staff Network. The network addresses issues of interculturalism as it pertains specifically to faculty and staff at critical points such as recruitment and retention as well as other aspects relevant to their professional lives. For example, one of the associations or the gay/straight network may introduce new faculty and staff to members of their affinity group. University-wide acknowledgement of the network enables participating faculty and staff to claim “credit” for their service contributions in ways that may be more easily recognized by departments and other campus units. Human Resources recruitment attends at least two diversity job fairs annually (i.e., Career Builder Diversity Job Fair and Latino’s For Hire). Human Resources provides a number of training and development workshops (i.e., Interculturalism I & II, Star Power, Attitudes Towards Differences, Discriminatory Harassment Awareness, Exploring Diversity Through a Common Language), films, games and e-learning programs (i.e., Workplace Diversity, Exploring Diversity With Your Team).

Support for Future Faculty 

Does the institution have training and development programs, teaching fellowships and/or other programs that specifically aim to support and prepare students from underrepresented groups for careers as faculty members?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s programs to support and prepare students from underrepresented groups for careers as faculty members:
2) Academic Community of Excellence that is designed to prepare underrepresented students for graduate and professional programs. It consists of faculty and staff mentoring, workshops on academic strategies, psychological support services, undergraduate research opportunities and scholarly forms and publications. 3) First to Go Program that pairs each first –generation student with a faculty mentor, and a network of LMU staff and Alumni as well as increases awareness about research opportunities graduate/professional school options 4.) center for service and action fellowships for graduate students who are working on sustainability. As a part of LMU’s Strategic Plan for the Office of Intercultural Affairs, LMU has in place: 1) Faculty Profile that supports LMU’s goal to increase ethnic and gender diversity within the academy. The profile contains data that describes full-time faculty and students by college or school and ethnicity and gender. 4) Human Resources recruitment resources for women and minority faculty 5) Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts (BCLA) Hiring Summit which reviews college-wide data on faculty search processes and outcomes every three years to increase emphasis on mission and diversity in hiring processes 6) BCLA annual lunches with the Dean 7) BCLA Faculty Parent Group to support faculty with children 8) BCLA annual Dean’s Listening Sessions 9) Faculty Retention Toolkit with strategies particularly useful in retaining women and faculty-of-color 10) President’s Leadership Development Initiative which is a leadership development program that serves as a catalyst for change to create an effective inclusive university environment where all faculty and staff can succeed. 11) Recruiting and Hiring Faculty for Mission is a professional development program that aims to hire candidates who are supportive of and will contribute to LMU’s distinctive mission as a Catholic university, who will enhance ethnic diversity and who will contribute to gender equity. A NSF Noyce Scholarship grant for $1.2 million over five years to train gifted college math and science students to become teachers in under-served school districts. The program recruits students with an aptitude and passion for math and science through $20,000 in scholarships and paid summer internships.

Optional Fields 

Does the institution produce a publicly accessible inventory of gender-neutral bathrooms on campus?:
Yes

Does the institution offer housing options to accommodate the special needs of transgender and transitioning students?:
Yes

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
https://admin.lmu.edu/media/admin/hr/policiesampprocedures-secure/Statement%20of%20Non-Discrimination.pdf https://soe.lmu.edu/academics/doctoral/

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.