Goal #1
Identify, recruit, and enroll graduate students who embody inclusive excellence.
- Planning Domain: Recruitment and admissions
- Monitor/Team Leader: Will Cantrell
| Projected Outcomes from Baseline |
Timeline |
| 1. Intentionally collaborate with the Deans to develop an annual inter-college recruitment
plan focused on optimizing pipelining and recruiting graduate students and postdocs
who embody inclusive excellence. |
No later than (NLT) August 2024 and August 2025 |
| 2. Using the same process as above, develop an annual summative assessment of the
inter-college plan and strategies for improvement (tracking contacts, applicants,
offers, acceptances, and enrollment, etc.) to be used by the colleges in the future. |
NLT August 2025 and August 2026 |
| 3. Develop an intentional annual internal recruitment plan for the Graduate School
to augment the inter-college plan. |
NLT July 2024 and July 2025 |
| 4. Develop an annual summative assessment of the internal plan and develop strategies
for improvement to be used moving forward. |
NLT July 2025 and July 2026 |
| 5. Issue a final report on the outcomes of the process and make recommendations for
continuation and, if appropriate, modification. |
September 2026 |
| Action Items |
Timeline |
| 1. (Outcome 1) Under the stewardship of the Dean of the Graduate School with the assistance
of the Provost and Vice President for Engagement and Belonging, at an annual meeting
with the Provost and VPDI, the Deans will develop an inter-college plan for recruiting
graduate students and postdocs who embody inclusive excellence (this meeting might
occur at a regularly scheduled Dean's meeting or as its own separate meeting). Once
the plan is finalized,everyone at this meeting will receive a copy to facilitate check-ins
throughout the year. Also, each Dean may distribute the plan to relevant faculty and
staff in their college to assist in coordinating efforts. |
NLT July 2024 (meeting), August 2024 (plan) and July 2025 (meeting), August 2025 (plan) |
| 2. (Outcome 2) The process immediately above will be repeated at an annual plan implementation
assessment meeting, and a progress report will be developed and distributed to the
Deans and Chairs. This meeting may be scheduled at the same time as the plan development
meeting for the next year or as a separate meeting. |
NLT July 2025 (meeting), August 2025 (report) and July 2026 (meeting), August 2026
(report) |
| 3. (Outcomes 3 and 4) The annual Graduate School internal plans and assessments will
be developed and shared with the Provost, VPDI, and the Deans. |
NLT July 2024 (plan only), July 2025 (plan and assessment), and July 2026 (assessment
only) |
| 4. (Outcome 5) The Graduate Dean will solicit feedback from other deans on the process
and outcomes. The Dean of the Graduate School will write the final report in consultation
with the Provost and VPDI to be distributed to the Deans and members of the President's
Council and Academic Forum. |
September 2026 |
Notes/Assessment Plan
- This plan is a two-academic year pilot project that will be used to determine if its
continuation and institution in future years would be an optimal method for conducting
inter-college collaboration on graduate and postdoc recruiting for inclusive excellence.
- A focus on the college-wide plans will be on inter-college collaboration and recruiting
synergies among the colleges and Graduate School. Colleges are free to develop their
own separate plans in conjunction with the inter-college plans.
- MTU will move to a national recruiting strategy that emphasizes relationship development
with external institutional partners (HBCUs, MSIs, etc.). Where MOUs exist, the colleges
and the Graduate School will leverage them to optimize these strategies.
- Plan assessment will involve a global evaluation of the effectiveness of efforts across
the colleges and within the Graduate School to determine which strategies and activities
yield the best results.
- Some potential activities might be (these will be refined and expanded upon by the
actual plans):
- Develop additional funding opportunities for graduate students who embody inclusive
excellence (e.g., GEM Fellowships).
- Travel (domestically) to select recruitment events and partner universities to expand
access to graduate education at Michigan Tech, with the number of students contacted,
location, and outcomes per visit specified in the assessment reports.
- Use the National Name Exchange to recruit McNair Scholars.
|
Goal #2
Understand and address existing inclusivity issues to support sense of belonging for
graduate students.
- Planning Domain: Climate and student support
- Monitor/Team Leader: Will Cantrell
| Projected Outcomes from Baseline |
Timeline |
| 1. Using the exit survey for graduate students, measure an increase in student satisfaction
and sense of belonging (this may be based on an average of all questions or selected
questions). |
2024-25 and 2025-26 |
| 2. For open-ended questions, conduct a global assessment and determine an overall
"positive" change. |
2024-25 and 2025-26 |
| 3. Determine whether to continue and, if appropriate, modify this process in subsequent
academic years based on its effectiveness. |
June 2026 |
Unless otherwise designated, all Action Items pertain to Outcomes 1 and 2 for both
2024-25 and all timelines pertain to 2024-25 and 2025-26. and 2025-26)
| Action Items |
Timeline |
| 1. Develop specific questions in the exit survey related to both perceptions and behaviors
related to sense of belonging. |
end of August |
| 2. Administer exit survey, seeking a return rate of at least 50% |
ongoing |
| 3. Analyze and summarize survey results and develop a plan to address concerns that
emerge from it. This plan may include programmatic solutions as well as policy and
procedural reviews and relevant changes. |
summer 2026 |
| 4. Implement at least two student programming events per semester to promote sense
of belonging. |
academic year 2025 |
| 5. In addition to the events mentioned above, host "Coffee and Conversation" events
in the Graduate Commons at least once per semester. Given events might be held with
or without Graduate School leaders present as deemed most effective to connect students
to the leadership and gather information on the current climate. Use this feedback
to enhance or modify the action plan. |
ongoing |
| 6. (Outcome 3) Based on Actual Outcomes 1 and 2, make a recommendation for Outcome
3. |
June 2026 |
Notes/Assessment Plan
- Like Goal 1, Goal 2 is a two-academic year pilot project that will be evaluated after
two years to determine if it should continue in future years.
- Examples of student programming to improve climate:
- A graduate student panel composed of students who embody inclusive excellence to discuss
their experiences in graduate school and their best strategies for success.
- A "Graduate Student Success" retreat where inclusive excellence is among many themes
to promote student success.
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