| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.61 |
| Liaison | Tina Woolston |
| Submission Date | Nov. 2, 2022 |
Tufts University
PA-6: Assessing Diversity and Equity
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Robert
Mack Associate Provost and Chief Diversity Officer Student Success and Advising |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Has the institution engaged in a structured assessment process during the previous three years to improve diversity, equity and inclusion on campus?:
Yes
A brief description of the assessment process and the framework, scorecard(s) and/or tool(s) used:
The Tufts as an Anti-Racist Institution initiative was announced by President Anthony P. Monaco on July 8, 2020. The initiative pledged to audit, investigate, and provide recommendations “to find and eradicate any structural racism at Tufts and to take the steps necessary to become what every member of our community would view as an anti-racist institution.”
The initiative was organized into five separate work-streams. Three were broad-based institutional work-streams while the other two were specific focus-area work-streams where additional work and effort was needed because of the unique nature of their impact.
Compositional Diversity Work-stream (CDW) was asked to “present data on Tufts’ current compositional diversity along with historical data and context” as well as to work to “identify key areas in which efforts at achievable improvement should be focused and suggest strategies for that improvement.” The charge directed the work of the CDW to address four areas: faculty, students, staff, and senior leadership. The data collected was intended to support the other work-streams (in particular, Institutional Audit and Targeted Actions), in order to help inform their recommendations. Finally, CDW was also asked to present its own recommendations based on the collected data.
The Office of Institutional Research and Evaluation (OIRE) has put together a Diversity Dashboard to visualize and assess diversity data at Tufts. This data has been gathered primarily through optional race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and geographic location questions on the student and employee application processes, not a unique assessment for diversity. The resulting diversity and inclusion information informs and empowers subsequent initiatives from the Chief Diversity Officers and other on-campus diversity groups to address the needs of minority groups on campus
The Diversity Dashboard is available here: https://diversity.tufts.edu/diversity-overview/
The methodology used by OIRE for data collection is accessible here: https://provost.tufts.edu/institutionalresearch/race-ethnicity-faq/
Furthermore, the Office of Equal Opportunity conducts a statistical analysis each year. Based upon that, they establish goals for representation of underrepresented personnel in the Tufts' workforce. Tufts' HR department uses those data to help focus efforts to diversify the applicant pool for staff positions.
The initiative was organized into five separate work-streams. Three were broad-based institutional work-streams while the other two were specific focus-area work-streams where additional work and effort was needed because of the unique nature of their impact.
Compositional Diversity Work-stream (CDW) was asked to “present data on Tufts’ current compositional diversity along with historical data and context” as well as to work to “identify key areas in which efforts at achievable improvement should be focused and suggest strategies for that improvement.” The charge directed the work of the CDW to address four areas: faculty, students, staff, and senior leadership. The data collected was intended to support the other work-streams (in particular, Institutional Audit and Targeted Actions), in order to help inform their recommendations. Finally, CDW was also asked to present its own recommendations based on the collected data.
The Office of Institutional Research and Evaluation (OIRE) has put together a Diversity Dashboard to visualize and assess diversity data at Tufts. This data has been gathered primarily through optional race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and geographic location questions on the student and employee application processes, not a unique assessment for diversity. The resulting diversity and inclusion information informs and empowers subsequent initiatives from the Chief Diversity Officers and other on-campus diversity groups to address the needs of minority groups on campus
The Diversity Dashboard is available here: https://diversity.tufts.edu/diversity-overview/
The methodology used by OIRE for data collection is accessible here: https://provost.tufts.edu/institutionalresearch/race-ethnicity-faq/
Furthermore, the Office of Equal Opportunity conducts a statistical analysis each year. Based upon that, they establish goals for representation of underrepresented personnel in the Tufts' workforce. Tufts' HR department uses those data to help focus efforts to diversify the applicant pool for staff positions.
Does the assessment process address campus climate by engaging stakeholders to assess the attitudes, perceptions and behaviors of employees and students, including the experiences of underrepresented groups?:
Yes
Does the assessment process address student outcomes related to diversity, equity and success?:
Yes
Does the assessment process address employee outcomes related to diversity and equity?:
Yes
A brief description of the most recent assessment findings and how the results are used in shaping policy, programs, and initiatives:
The Faculty Subgroup of the workstream divided its proposals into four main areas: hiring; metrics, policies and processes; housing and relocation; and culture. It included multiple proposals under each of these categories. The proposals address the urgent but unsurprising fact revealed by the data: the compositional diversity of our faculty falls far short of where we aspire to be. But they also respond to the experience of faculty, students, and staff who were consulted to learn more about how we might progress. The subgroup gathered qualitative data by visiting groups of faculty leaders in almost every school as well as incorporating the input of staff and students. The subgroup urges that any adopted proposal be clearly assigned to an owner, as noted below, and that the owner be given a timeline within which to make measurable progress.
The Staff Subgroup focused largely on processes around hiring and retention that could be improved to support Tufts efforts toward diversification.
The Student Subgroup looked broadly at barriers to both the recruitment and retention of students of color. It made recommendations in the areas of Admissions and Student Life.
The Senior Leadership Subgroup was charged with assessing leadership hiring for the last five years with respect to compositional diversity, examining how hiring was done and providing recommendations on how Tufts might improve diversity. The subgroup looked at leadership from president and senior team, deans, executive administrative deans, associate deans and administrative vice presidents, totaling 76 hires over the last five years. The review revealed some gains in diverse hiring into leadership positions, including among individuals of Asian heritage and women (across all races); however, under-representation of certain groups persists. The subgroup did not address retention as this group found when diverse leaders were recruited away from us, it was generally to higher positions (e.g., provost to president), though it would be imperative to have resources to find ways for our own leaders to move up at Tufts.
Additionally, the Diversity Dashboard is a valuable tool for on campus cultural groups to tailor inclusion and advocacy efforts to the student groups represented on campus. Tracking minority representation among the Tufts student body, faculty, staff, and leadership through the Diversity Dashboard offers an insightful visual tool for diversity and inclusion program support. Findings of the most recent assessment reveal gender disparities in Tufts Trustees and race/ethnicity inequalities among Faculty. Staff race/ethnicity distributions were somewhat more diversified. Gender distributions by school remain uneven.
The Staff Subgroup focused largely on processes around hiring and retention that could be improved to support Tufts efforts toward diversification.
The Student Subgroup looked broadly at barriers to both the recruitment and retention of students of color. It made recommendations in the areas of Admissions and Student Life.
The Senior Leadership Subgroup was charged with assessing leadership hiring for the last five years with respect to compositional diversity, examining how hiring was done and providing recommendations on how Tufts might improve diversity. The subgroup looked at leadership from president and senior team, deans, executive administrative deans, associate deans and administrative vice presidents, totaling 76 hires over the last five years. The review revealed some gains in diverse hiring into leadership positions, including among individuals of Asian heritage and women (across all races); however, under-representation of certain groups persists. The subgroup did not address retention as this group found when diverse leaders were recruited away from us, it was generally to higher positions (e.g., provost to president), though it would be imperative to have resources to find ways for our own leaders to move up at Tufts.
Additionally, the Diversity Dashboard is a valuable tool for on campus cultural groups to tailor inclusion and advocacy efforts to the student groups represented on campus. Tracking minority representation among the Tufts student body, faculty, staff, and leadership through the Diversity Dashboard offers an insightful visual tool for diversity and inclusion program support. Findings of the most recent assessment reveal gender disparities in Tufts Trustees and race/ethnicity inequalities among Faculty. Staff race/ethnicity distributions were somewhat more diversified. Gender distributions by school remain uneven.
Are the results of the most recent structured diversity and equity assessment shared with the campus community?:
Yes
A brief description of how the assessment results are shared with the campus community:
The results are published in a report on the tufts website: https://president.tufts.edu/news/2021/02/17/the-path-to-becoming-an-anti-racist-institution/
The Diversity Dashboard is published on the Tufts Diversity and Inclusion website, including the interactive data visualization and the associated database available for download and analysis. Further information about diversity and cultural initiatives is available in the annually published Office of Institutional Research Fact Book.
The Diversity Dashboard is published on the Tufts Diversity and Inclusion website, including the interactive data visualization and the associated database available for download and analysis. Further information about diversity and cultural initiatives is available in the annually published Office of Institutional Research Fact Book.
Are the results (or a summary of the results) of the most recent structured diversity and equity assessment publicly posted?:
Yes
The diversity and equity assessment report or summary (upload):
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Website URL where the diversity and equity assessment report or summary is publicly posted:
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The Tufts University Campus Climate Survey on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging launched in February 2022. Everyone — undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, staff, and administrators on all campuses will be surveyed to capture actionable insights about the lived experiences of all Tufts community members. As part of Tufts’ commitment to Acknowledge, Commit, and Transform (ACT), the survey was developed with the goal of increasing anti-racism and addressing issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. It was developed and reviewed in a community-engaged process that included representative stakeholders.
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.