University of Illinois Chicago
PAE-7: Measuring Campus Diversity Culture

• UIC's participation in the UCLA HERI (Higher Education Research Institute) Diverse Learning Environments Survey was administered in 2010 and assesses the impact of the diverse environments that help shape student learning. The survey captures student perceptions regarding the institutional climate, campus practices as experienced with faculty, staff, and peers, and student learning outcomes. Diverse student populations are at the center of the survey, and the instrument is based on studies of diverse student bodies and the complexity of issues that range from student mobility to intergroup relations (information taken from: http://www.heri.ucla.edu/dleoverview.php.) • College Student Experience Questionnaire to a sample of enrolled students on an alternating year cycle (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 is the history). There are questions about experience, attitudes and aspirations -- a few of which touch on diversity issues. There is consistency in the regularity of administration, but this is not a strictly climate assessment. • Pathways to Success for African American Males at UIC is a institutionally-funded study that examined the pathways for African American male students who moved through the academic and social systems at UIC and were on track to complete their degrees in a timely fashion. The study was designed so that the response of the student participants would be helpful in informing the campus about the facilitators of, and obstacles to success for these students. The study was conducted during the spring of 2009.

The findings from the study were and continue to be broadly shared on campus. The findings added to some on-going discussion of policy and practice and offered recommendations to various campus constituencies.