MICUA

Elements of cultural diversity are incorporated into assessments and surveys of entering freshmen and graduating seniors. For example, Loyola University Maryland uses a probing survey to better understand student attitudes, behaviors, and experiences around diversity and difference on campus. In order to determine whether the objectives of various cultural activities are realized, questionnaires are collected and analyzed after campus events. The questionnaires ask participants to make recommendations for future activities and events to showcase cultural diversity on campus and improve attendance and satisfaction. The number of attendees at specific events is just one determination of success. Hood College assesses the number of students who ask questions during a topical discussion or the number of requests to meet with a guest speaker/artist/performer after an event to measure success.

The Business and Information Sciences Department at Capitol College incorporates global and cultural diversity throughout the curriculum. Where appropriate, case studies are used to examine the topics and issues associated with cultural diversity. Textbooks used in the program are examined to ensure that they include the global and cultural diversity issues appropriate to the topic of study. Capitol’s faculty is multicultural and provides first-hand resources for cultural diversity exploration.

Goucher College, McDaniel College, and Washington College are members of a consortium (along with Ursinus College and Washington & Jefferson College) charged with assessing multiculturalism on campus. The consortium received a three-year grant to improve student learning and engagement through the assessment and enhancement of diversity initiatives inside and outside the classroom. After conducting a needs assessment on each campus during the first year, visiting teams from each consortium member spent the second year facilitating focus group interviews with students, faculty, and staff to gather information about diversity at each college. In the third and final year, the Teagle planning team will review the data and develop recommendations for each institution.

Notre Dame of Maryland University measures student understanding of global, cross-cultural awareness and attitudes as part of its general education learning outcomes. Students are required to take at least one course focused on gender studies and one on cross-cultural studies. Notre Dame students—along with those at many MICUA institutions—participate in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which assesses student experiences with diverse populations. Based on a recent NSSE survey, 91 percent of seniors believe that Notre Dame encourages understanding of people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds, compared to 86 percent nationally, and 97 percent reported that they have included diverse perspectives in class discussions and writing assignments, compared to the national norm of 93 percent.

Each division at Johns Hopkins University prepares an Annual Diversity Plan that contains both quantitative and qualitative data to measure progress made in reaching its goals for increasing the diversity of students, faculty, and staff. Admissions data is tracked to ensure progress on indices of cultural diversity (racial, ethnic, socio-economic, and gender) for the student body. Surveys of students assess the campus climate for students of color, and the institution follows trends over time. Similarly, hiring data is analyzed and tracked to assist with future recruitment.