Action Project

Institution: Moraine Valley Community College
Submitted: April 29, 2005
Timeline:
Planned project kickoff date:
Target completion date:
Actual completion date:
A. Give this Action Project a short title in 10 words or fewer:

Embracing Diversity: Implementing a College wide Diversity Plan

 
B. Describe this Action Project's goal in 100 words or fewer:

Moraine Valley’s Diversity Plan was reviewed by the college community to ensure input from all stakeholders.  Our Board of Trustees approved the plan in March 2005.  Plan implementation will include, but not be limited to, the following activities:
•  Integrate intercultural perspectives into the curriculum
•  Influence attitudes and behaviors of the college community through formal/informal learning and education, and leadership role modeling
•  Implement a comprehensive college-wide recruiting strategy to attract, hire, and retain diverse employees
•  Institute a culture change process that supports creating and sustaining an environment that is aware of, open to, and respectful of differences
C. Identify the single AQIP Category which the Action Project will most affect or impact:

Primary Category: Understanding Students' and Other Stakeholders' Needs

D. Describe briefly your institution's reasons for taking on this Action Project now — why the project and its goals are high among your current priorities:

The college’s district population and student demographics are becoming more diverse.  In order to meet the needs of our students and stakeholders, Moraine Valley created a strategic priority of Embracing Diversity.  The college recognizes the need to foster an environment where diverse people are not only present, but also where their talents are honored, engaged, and applied to every aspect of how the college fulfills its mission and purpose.

E. List the organizational areas — institutional departments, programs, divisions, or units — most affected by or involved in this Action Project:

•  Academic Affairs
•  Human Resources
•  Student Development

F. Name and describe briefly the key organizational process(es) that you expect this Action Project to change or improve:

•  Curriculum design & teaching strategies: Integrate global and intercultural perspectives into these areas
•  Training and Development: Provide current employees with professional development programs and activities in behavioral objectives related to diversity
•  Recruitment and Hiring: Implement a comprehensive college-wide recruitment strategy to attract, hire, and retain diverse employees
•  Planning: Each department will be responsible for identifying a diversity objective as part of its annual plan
•  Performance Evaluation: Within the professional performance evaluation, employees will set goals related to their involvement in diversity initiatives for the upcoming year

G. Explain the rationale for the length of time planned for this Action Project (from kickoff to target completion):

Reports on action team progress will be provided at least once each semester to the following campus groups: Board of Trustees, Executive Leadership Team (president, vice presidents and CFO), Administrative Council and President’s Advisory Council.  In addition, college wide updates will be disseminated via Valley View staff newsletter and MV eNews electronic newsletter.

H. Describe how you plan to monitor how successfully your efforts on this Action Project are progressing:

•  Identify steps to implement new hiring practices
•  Define and select new teams to be charged with specific tasks related to key processes to be improved
•  Form academic teams to consider curriculum design and teaching strategies to integrate global and diversity perspectives into courses.
•  Develop and implement individual and departmental goals and objectives to support the college’s diversity initiative for fiscal year 2006

I. Describe the overall outcome measures or indicators that will tell you whether this Action Project has been a success or failure in achieving its goals:

•  Identify steps to implement new hiring practices
•  Define and select new teams to be charged with specific tasks related to key processes to be improved
•  Form academic teams to consider curriculum design and teaching strategies to integrate global and diversity perspectives into courses.
•  Develop and implement individual and departmental goals and objectives to support the college’s diversity initiative for fiscal year 2006

J. Other information (e.g., publicity, sponsor or champion, etc.):

Implement campus wide training effort.  Launch the team focused on new recruitment and hiring practices focused on diversity.  Evaluate the results of department and individual objectives to identify successful activities that can be replicated in other departments on campus. Complete campus wide training effort, and initiate new hiring practices. Begin to effect change in actual hiring outcomes and results. Through student evaluations, document effects of changes in curriculum.

Last Action Project Update: Sept. 14, 2006
A. Describe the past year's accomplishments and the current status of this Action Project.
The college identified teams to work on three diversity initiatives: 1) employee recruitment/retention, 2) practices, procedures and policies, and 3) classroom and curriculum.

Employee Recruitment/Retention – 1) collected and categorized internal and external practices/strategies 2) developed tool used to prioritize strategies into five recruitment and three retention recommendations upon which the college should focus its development and implementation efforts.

Practices, Procedures, and Policies – 1) revised team charge to clarify the goal of developing a model with measurable objectives 2) met with college’s diversity consultant to review diversity audit findings and further refine team charge  3) conducted review of literature and contacted Illinois and League for Innovation colleges 4) after several drafts and consultant’s input, developed and presented a model for Integrating Diversity into College Practices, Procedures and Policies.

Classroom and Curriculum – 1) collected external data on global education and classroom/curriculum diversity from Vanguard and other community colleges and four-year Illinois colleges.  2) conducted and tabulated an internal faculty survey which did not provide adequate data on existing internal initiatives.  Tremendous internal progress has gone undocumented, as evidenced by gains in diversity education reflected in the CCSSE survey results.  The need for additional internal data collection was identified.
B. Describe how the institution involved people in the work on this Action Project.
Each of these teams included representatives from across the college.  All teams collected data from internal stakeholders through surveys, focus groups, review of literature and frequent discussion of the team’s work with colleagues, allowing the team to collect a great deal of useful information.
C. Describe your planned next steps for this Action Project.
Employee Recruitment/Retention – 1) schedule focus groups in fall 2006 to solicit feedback from the college community concerning recommended recruitment and retention strategies  2) present recommendations to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and 3) pilot one or more of the recommended recruitment or retention strategies.

Practices, Procedures and Policies – 1) Model was presented to ELT in August and 2) upon ELT’s approval, a group will be formed to pilot the model during the fall 2006 semester.

Classroom and Curriculum – 1) In order to collect additional internal data, the team has determined a focus group will be conducted in September 2006 with group with faculty representing College 101, career program and transfer courses  2) external and internal data will be analyzed and incorporated into a plan for next steps in diversifying classroom and curriculum and  3) plan with recommended next steps to improve diversity/inclusion in classroom/curriculum will be presented to the ELT by October 2006.
D. Describe any effective practice(s) that resulted from your work on this Action Project.
Employee Recruitment/Retention – No strategies have yet been implemented, but we plan to focus on one or more of the following: 1) focus on outreach – forming relationships and establishing partnerships with educational institutions and minority organizations to attract diverse individuals, and 2) need for professional development/training and mentoring of employees with a specific focus on diverse populations.

Practices, Procedures and Policies – The team co-chairs believe that there has already been an unintended, but important, outcome from the team’s work.  Even though the model developed by the team has yet to be piloted, the team stressed during its six months of work that the college must work more effectively to foster communications between divisions.  As a result, a dean from the division of Academic Affairs is now a member of the weekly meeting held by the deans from the division of Student Development.

Classroom and Curriculum – A need for resources has been identified. Therefore, a recommended best practice, yet to be implemented, is to create a set of resources faculty can use to begin introducing these objectives into their coursework.
E. What challenges, if any, are you still facing in regards to this Action Project?
Employee Recruitment/Retention – 1) recommending process improvements that fall within the parameters of the union contracts, 2) funding and resources for improving the process(es), 3) assessing employee buy-in and feasibility of program initiatives and strategies and 4) assessing employee training needs.

Practices, Procedures and Policies – The diversity consultant identified two major impediments (a) the college culture seems to focus middle management on short-term rather than long-term solutions, resulting in managers wanting to stay in their own comfort zones, and (b) some managers believe they are hindered from openly and honestly expressing opinions, resulting in the lack of open dialog.  The team hopes to challenge our college to move forward in resolving these issues.

Classroom and Curriculum - A leadership change (new co-chairs) for this team toward the end of the 2005-2006 academic year resulted in the new leadership needing time to become oriented to all of the facets of the committee’s work.  On the positive side, the change in leadership also resulted in a refocusing of this team’s work. Additionally, the summer limited the availability of committee members due to vacations and a variety of faculty schedules.
F. If you would like to discuss the possibility of AQIP providing you help to stimulate progress on this action project, explain your need(s) here and tell us who to contact and when?