Action Plan in Response to Student Concerns
Student Forums to Discuss Racial Issues
The Undergraduate Student Government will host forums for undergraduates and the Graduate Student Organization will host forums for graduate students to provide a safe space for their respective constituents to dialog on race and racism. The student governments will announce dates soon.
Student Advocates
Assistant Dean Moraima Smith is the student ombudsperson who can help students with any concerns. In addition, the Office of Diversity and Equity Programs has designated staff to assist students with issues related to Title IX, harassment, and discrimination. The college will disseminate this information widely to students.
Faculty Discipline
The college policy for student complaints against faculty directs students to speak with their faculty member informally as a first step. Students, however, expressed a fear of retaliation. Therefore, the Implementation Team recommends that the Policy Council revise the policy to better support students by offering another option of consulting with the student ombudsperson or the Office of Diversity and Equity Programs.
Mental Health Support
The college will hire additional mental health counselors to provide more assistance to students during remote learning and to help the counselling team better reflect the diversity of the student body.
Student Representation on Departmental Curriculum Committees
Each academic department is required to have student representation on its curriculum committee. The Implementation Team recommends that chairs ensure there are student representatives on all curriculum committees, publicize their committee rosters, and ensure diversity of student representation.
Faculty Training
As an initial matter, the Office of Diversity and Equity Programs will enhance its implicit bias training for faculty and offer it three times each semester. The Implementation Team encourages all faculty to attend. The office will also explore the development of additional training, in collaboration with others across the campus, that will focus on how to manage healthy discussions of race and racism in the classroom.
Student Advisory Councils
The Implementation Team recommends that the dean of each school at the college develop a Student Advisory Council, if they do not already have one, to enhance student representation in the curriculum and operation of the schools.
Diversity of Students Appointed to Faculty Council Committees
The Implementation Team recommends that the Undergraduate Student Government and Graduate Student Organization enhance their processes for appointing students to serve on the committees of Faculty Council to ensure that all positions are filled in a timely fashion, student representatives can fulfill their committee obligations, and student representatives reflect the diversity of the student body. The Implementation Team also recommends that members of the Faculty Council make every effort to schedule committee meetings at a time available for student participation.