Implement a Student Experience Module

Leads

Sarah Ballard (Director, Student Services)

Michia Brangers (Online Admissions Counselor, UK Online)

Purpose

This initiative will help determine what the diversity, equity and inclusion educational experience for a student will look like. Leads and committee members will create a well-informed recommendation for a model that is representative, equal and applicable to the larger DEI initiative. 

Progress

The project leads are evaluating their findings from a Campus-Wide Inventory to learn more about existing DEI educational components within the colleges. They are exploring existing efforts in both the undergraduate and graduate spaces, and are assessing if DEI efforts are currently accessible to students across all modalities. Based on the Campus Inventory study, they have created a preliminary list of potential learning outcomes and content that they plan to discuss further. This information will continue to guide future discussions and help ensure the training can be communicated equally and intentionally throughout the overall University of Kentucky student experience. 

Committee Members

• Sarah Ballard (Director, Student Services)
• Michia Brangers (Online Admissions Counselor, UK Online)
• Rasheed Flowers (Doctoral Student, College of Education)
• Jennifer Hootman (Digital Humanities Librarian, Academic Liaison)
• Annly Perez
• Kristin Monroe (Associate Professor, College of Arts and Sciences)
• Frank Johnson (Academic Technologies and Faculty Engagement, Information Technology Services)
• Stacy Vincent (Associate Professor, Community and Leadership Development)
• Karen Slaymaker (Assistant Director, International Student and Scholar Services)

The University of Kentucky is committed to delivering a comprehensive DEI experience that is meaningful and transformative for all students, at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels. Therefore, the university infrastructure must support DEI learning experiences and programming efforts already happening in units and provide opportunities to expand existing efforts so that they are intentional, valuable and sustainable for all students throughout their academic and personal journeys at the university.

Through the work outlined above, Project #7 team has identified the following areas on which to focus on in phase two of the DEI initiative:

• Ensuring that all University of Kentucky students at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels have DEI experiences in both the curricular and co-curricular areas throughout their time at the university.
• DEI efforts need to be coordinated across all units so that resources and efforts are aligned in order to be targeted, effective, and efficient.
• DEI efforts need to be assessed to determine the effectiveness of programming, events, etc.

Ultimately, during the 2020-2021 academic year, the Project #7 Workstream has discovered that so many university colleagues are not only interested in, but engaged in providing DEI programs, events, coursework, workshops, panels and presentations, and much more. As we look toward the future, we are encouraged by this. This commitment to DEI should guide and inform the next phase as we seek to strengthen existing efforts through collaboration and coordination so that we can offer all our students a meaningful and transformative experience at the University of Kentucky.

Project 7 established a goal to move beyond a training module to create a curricular experience for students that is accessible, engaging, and transformative. They benchmarked DEI efforts/initiatives at other institutions (major accomplishment), and they conducted a campus-wide DEI Programs/Training Inventory to identify efforts in colleges and units. In doing so, they collaborated with Project #6- Redesign UK 101 Module, to align efforts and ensure a comprehensive experience for students.