Purchase College - State University of New York
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Purchase College is committed to fostering a diverse community of outstanding faculty, staff and students, as well as ensuring equal educational opportunity, employment, and access to service, programs, and activities, without regard to an individual’s race, color, national origin, religion, creed, age, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, familial status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, or criminal conviction. Employees, students, applicants, or other members of the Purchase community (including vendors, visitors, and guests) may not be subjected to harassment that is prohibited by law or treated adversely or retaliated against based upon a protected characteristic. https://www.purchase.edu/live/blurbs/1551-nondiscrimination-policy

Effective 2018, Purchase is in compliance with the formal SUNY Discrimination and Harassment Complaint Procedure that protects students and all employees. At Purchase each complaint is reviewed case-by-case by the Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) who is formally trained to investigate and resolve complaints and incidents. The CDO will personally meet with the student with a hand-selected team consisting of certain Administrative/Cabinet members, as well as relevant faculty or deans for each discrimination incident. The student is also provided on-campus resources such as appointments with the Counseling Center and Wellness Center, the Learning Center and other Student Success programs. Off-campus resources/contacts are also provided as needed. These resources provide licensed counselors, licensed health care providers, and other needed services and support to stay safe on campus. In addition, The CDO can facilitate other interim measures for support, such as “no contact” orders, temporary or permanent room reassignment, contact with professors or supervisors to support alternative arrangements. To prevent these types of cases, the Office of Diversity and Campus Technology Services has instituted required employee training on various topics including Title IX, Diversity, Accessibility and Affirmative Action. Students are to participate in required workshops throughout Welcome Week in the topics above, administered by the Office of Diversity and Student Life.

Purchase College is committed to recruiting, enrolling, retaining and graduating a diverse student body. As a result the Office of Admissions makes more the 900 visits a year to high schools, community based organizations and community colleges. In developing a recruitment plan, the office of admissions makes sure a certain percentage of recruitment activities are dedicated to low income areas. The office has also a full time staff member: the Assistant Director for Special Recruitment Initiatives, who is responsible for creating and implementing targeted and strategic marketing and recruitment plans for specific populations within Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. Priority groups within the boroughs include schools and CBO s working with high achieving underrepresented students, LGBTQ and visual and performing arts. The implementation of a test optional policy yielded a more diverse applicant pool: 50% of students in the freshmen class identified as an ethnicity other than white. 27% are Hispanic. Purchase has always prioritized factors beyond test scores when considering students for admission. Our holistic review process emphasizes access, fit, and talent-driven assessment, which consistently results in higher academic achievement, persistence, and/or graduation rates. A test-optional policy aligns with our commitment to wider access, responds to growing concern over the stress of the college admissions process, and mitigates the advantages of pre-test coaching that some applicants may have over others. The policy helps to level the playing field for those students at an economic disadvantage and saves all students time and money. As part of the Affirmative Action Office posting process, the AA Office does post all of our Staff/Faculty positions on insightintodiversity.com website. It’s a website/organization that specifically targets minorities. The SUNY main office has a contract with this organization, where all SUNY campuses can advertise with them free of charge.

The Department of Enrollment Management has partnered with Academic Services to promote the Success Fellows Program. This program is designed for first-generation, first-year freshmen to help with the transition to life at Purchase College and with helping them to reach their academic potential throughout their college careers. The Success Fellows includes a three- day immersion program that coincides with incoming students’ college-wide Summer Orientation. The program offers students the opportunity to connect with other incoming first-year students who share similar experiences, participate in a summer class taught by faculty to familiarize the them with academic expectations and resources, receive information about how to access academic support services and get involved on campus, and resources to better understand their financial aid awards and ask questions relating to financing your education. In addition by participating in the program, students can apply for additional scholarship opportunities. Success Fellows are paired with both a peer mentor and a faculty/staff mentor who works with the student for four years meeting with them regularly during the academic year. The Merit Access Program (MAP) at Purchase College is designed to economically disadvantaged students, who do not meet the criteria to be admitted through EOP. In addition to orientation, MAP provides a mandatory Pre-Freshman Summer Program to orient students to different aspects of the college including services on campus that are important to their success. The Pre-Freshman Summer Program consists of workshops and activities which will help students to become familiar with college life. MAP provides academic/financial aid advising. MAP students are assigned a personal counselor who provide academic strategies and assist with personal concerns. Students meet with their counselors throughout the semester to discuss their progress, plans, goals, achievements, and related concerns. Most students develop a strong relationship with their MAP counselor. MAP students also receive a peer-mentor in their first year of college. In addition student and professional tutors are available for MAP students having difficulties in any of their courses. The program also includes learning skills assistance to help with academic problems and the develop of study skills, advising for course selection and graduation pursuit is provided as a supplement to the student’s faculty advisor, and career advising is provided in examining career interests and abilities in terms of educational and employment alternatives. This is a supplement to Purchase College’s Career Development Center. MAP students are invited to attend periodic workshops, meetings and events take place throughout the academic year. As for other campus members, including faculty and staff, there are several programs and initiatives to support underrepresented groups at Purchase College. These initiatives are not limited to employees, students are welcome and urged to participate to foster diversity across all aspects of campus: - Multicultural Center Diversity Team: The Diversity Team focuses on planning and executing diversity programs and education in alignment with the strategic diversity efforts of the college. The committee organizes programs that concentrate on diversity topics, including but not limited to access, equity, identity, privilege, discrimination, systemic racism, vocabulary, civic programs and support campus partners in planning and implementing diversity programs to develop institution-wide cultural competency. - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee: This is a standing committee of the Purchase College Senate made up of faculty and staff that support the Purchase College Diversity Plan to strengthen inclusive excellence and foster inclusion in the community. The DEIC as a Senate Committee allows that all Senate decisions are passed with diversity and equity in mind. - The Multicultural Center: The Center is an inclusive and safe space for all members of the campus community to explore, learn, and share their cultural identities and differences with one another. The center is an educational resource, enabling those to gather and celebrate our community’s diversity with training to support and assist with diversity and inclusion awareness. The Center hosts a variety of events with Monthly Celebrations and Awareness Programs to honor the cultures and identities of our community. The programming tied to the months provide opportunities for students, staff and faculty to learn and recognize the complexities of cultural identity and self-exploration.

https://www.purchase.edu/live/files/67-discrimination-complaint-procedure https://www.purchase.edu/diversity/committees/ https://www.purchase.edu/diversity/multicultural-center/