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Summary Diversity Learning Report - August, 2011 (PDF)


Overview of:

Definitions, Programs, Committees, Assessment Activities, Results, and Recommendations

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  • Inclusive Excellence at Cal Poly

    "The Making Excellence Inclusive initiative is designed to help colleges and universities fully integrate their diversity and educational quality efforts and embed them into the core of academic mission and institutional functioning."

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Cal Poly's Diversity Learning Objectives

All Students who complete an undergraduate or graduate program at Cal Poly should be able to make reasoned decisions based on a respect and appreciation for diversity. Students should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of relationships between diversity, inequality, and social, economic, and political power both in the United States and globally
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of contributions made by individuals from diverse and/or underrepresented groups to our local, national, and global communities
  3. Consider perspectives of diverse groups when making decisions
  4. Function as members of society and as professionals with people who have ideas, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that are different from their own

Cal Poly's Definition of Diversity

"The definition of diversity is specifically inclusive of, but not limited to, an individual's race/ethnicity, sex/gender, socioeconomic status, cultural heritage, disability and sexual orientation.

Cal Poly " Statement of Diversity"

"For students preparing to embark upon work and life in the 21st century, a critical element of a well-rounded education is the ability to understand and to function effectively in a diverse and increasingly interdependent global society. … it is in the compelling interest of Cal Poly, the state, and the nation to provide our students with an education that is rich with a diversity of ideas, perspectives, and experiences."

DLO Committee Charge: Assessing Diversity

  • Provide a direct assessment of student learning, as opposed to a campus climate survey
  • Measure the totality of diversity learning at Cal Poly, as opposed to the learning that takes place in one course
  • Pay specific attention to measuring the "value-added" of a Cal Poly education to student attainment of the diversity learning objectives
  • Identify clear recommendations for improvement in areas where students are falling short of expectations

DLO Committee Plan
Beginning, Developing, and Mastery-level skills in Diversity

 

Timeline/History of Assessment Activities 2008-11
Explanation of Dates and Committee Activities
Date Committee Activity
Fall 2008 Development of a draft of assessment protocols (questions, instructions, and scoring rubrics)
Winter 2009
  1. Feedback elicited from Cal Poly faculty and staff on draft assessment protocols
  2. Feedback incorporated into revisions of assessment protocols
  3. Field test of assessment protocols in ECON 303
  4. Feedback from field test incorporated into revisions of assessment protocols
Spring 2009
  1. Pilot assessment of graduating seniors
  2. Scoring of pilot assessment of graduating seniors
  3. Feedback elicited from scorers (Cal Poly faculty and staff) on pilot assessment protocol
Summer 2009
  1. Analysis of pilot assessment data
  2. Revision and finalization of protocols for 2009-10 baseline assessment
  3. Preparation and release of Preliminary Report on the Pilot Assessment of the Diversity Learning Objectives
Fall 2009
  1. The DLO committee initiated the collection of baseline DLO assessment data.
  2. Responses to the assessment questionnaires were obtained from freshmen students enrolled in ENGL 102,and GE Area A1: ENGL 134 and GE Area A3: ENGL 145.
  3. Responses were received from approximately 320 freshmen students.
  4. The questionnaire was in the form of both printed copies and online access; however, the majority of responses received from freshmen students were completed on the printed version during class sessions.
Winter 2010
  1. The DLO committee collected baseline data from juniors and seniors enrolled in Area D: Society and the Individual upper-division D5 courses as well as engineering senior project courses.
  2. Three different versions of the questionnaire were developed: distinct versions for DLO 1, DLO 2 and DLO 3.
  3. The questionnaire included four brief essay questions dealing with the diversity learning objectives, questions pertaining to the importance a student places on the university's DLOs, and student demographic questions.

Diversity Learning Objective (DLO)#1 WORD Document - Questionnaire for DLO 1

Diversity Learning Objective (DLO)#2 WORD Document - Questionnaire for DLO 2

Diversity Learning Objective(DLO) #3 WORD Document - Questionnaire for DLO3

Spring 2010
  1. The DLO committee conducted scoring sessions to evaluate the level of student learning with respect to Cal Poly's four diversity learning objectives.
  2. In addition, focus group sessions based on a protocol designed to assess DLO 4 were conducted among the approximately 80 freshmen students enrolled in the Honors 100 course during the fall quarter.
  3. Focus group sessions were also conducted among the approximately 90 seniors enrolled in ECON 303 during the winter quarter. In order to extract qualitative findings from the focus group discussions the recordings have been transcribed.

Diversity Learning Objective #4 WORD document - Sample questions for freshmen and senior focus groups.

 
Fall 2010

Statistical analysis of baseline assessment data
Winter 2011

Preparation of Preliminary Report on the Baseline Assessment of the Diversity Learning Objectives
Spring 2011

Draft Executive Summary
on the Baseline Assessment of the Diversity Learning Objectives shall be released

For the full report, contact Dan Villegas, Chair of the DLO Committee