Policy & Planning

Kentucky Policy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

policy and planning

UofL Diversity Plan 2017-2021

University of Louisville Diversity Plan

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan for the University of Louisville will focus primarily on three groups: (1) African American (includes two or more races of which one is African American), (2) Hispanic/Latino, and (3) low-income, although services to other diverse groups will be included in the narrative.  The three components of the plan are Opportunity, Success and Impact.  The plan gives details of the strategies, actions and tactics that are designed to enhance student enrollment and success.  These strategies and tactics will be assessed in terms of their impact.  Diversity goals will include metrics and goals for student enrollment, retention and graduation. The impact section includes metrics and goals for increasing the number of diverse faculty and staff.  Equal attention is given to the strategies and best practices that are used to support faculty through the tenure and promotion process as well as professional development and promotional opportunities for staff.  It also delineates the structures that are in place to enhance cultural competency for students, faculty and staff and the tools that are used to monitor and improve the campus climate. Finally, it includes an assessment plan for each strategy.  The conclusion summarizes the plan and identifies barriers and what is being done to minimize them.

The diversity planning process is robust and ongoing.  Each college/school/unit has a diversity committee appointed by the dean/vice president and is charged with planning for diversity programs and services. The chairs of the unit diversity committees, comprised of students, faculty and staff, and the Campus Environment Team, which includes the chairs of the Faculty and Staff Senates, have been involved in the planning process for developing goals and strategies for the diversity plan.  Additionally, the Executive Vice President of the Student Government Association (SGA) and the President of the Association of Black Students (ABS) have been involved in the development of the plan, providing input from their constituents.  The plan will also go through a vetting process to get input from the Council of Academic Officers, the President’s Executive Leadership Team, the Faculty and Staff Senates, the Student Government Association, the Commission on Diversity and Racial Equality, and the Commission on the Status of Women.   The president and provost will present the plan to the Board of Trustees for approval at their August or September 2017 meeting.  

Read the full plan here


Kentucky Policy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Council on Post-secondary Education coordinates change and improvement in Kentucky's post-secondary education system as directed by the Kentucky Post-secondary Education Improvement Act of 1997.

Adopted by CPE: September 23, 2016
Adopted by CEO:  May 16, 2016     

Background: 

The Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), as currently constituted and through its prior iterations, has a rich history of promoting diversity and inclusion at Kentucky’s public postsecondary institutions.  In 1982, the Council on Higher Education (CHE) developed The Commonwealth of Kentucky Higher Education Desegregation Plan in response to a U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) finding that “the Commonwealth of Kentucky, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, has failed to eliminate the vestiges of its former de jure racially dual system of public higher education.”

For the next 25 plus years, CHE and CPE focused the Desegregation Plan and its subsequent revisions on increasing the enrollment and success of African-American students, increasing the number of African- American employees on campus, and enhancing Kentucky State University, with later versions also focusing on improving campus climate.  To provide oversight on plan implementation and ensure that diversity initiatives were a priority on Kentucky’s public college and university campuses, the CPE created the Committee on Equal Opportunities (CEO).   

In December of 2008, the OCR released Kentucky from the remedial planning process, but CPE sought to continue its diversity efforts and initiatives.  CPE has a statutorily mandated responsibility in the area of diversity and equal opportunities through KRS 164.020(19) which requires that CPE postpone the approval of any new academic program at a state postsecondary educational institution if the institution has not met the equal educational opportunity goals established by CPE.  As such, the CPE directed the CEO, in collaboration with the public institutions, to develop a process that would help to ensure that the significant progress made in promoting diversity was preserved and further enhanced throughout public postsecondary education. 

In order to continue to meet its statutory obligation and further its commitment to diversity and inclusion, the CEO and CPE revised its administrative regulation 13 KAR 2:060, which sets forth the new academic degree program approval process and institutional equal opportunity goals.   Incorporated by reference into that regulation was the first Kentucky Public Postsecondary Education Diversity Policy and Framework for Institution Diversity Plan Development, adopted by the CEO and CPE in August and September of 2010, respectively.  Under this policy, CPE set forth a very broad definition of diversity, and institutions were required to create diversity plans that addressed, at a minimum, four areas: (1) student body diversity that mirrors the diversity of the Commonwealth or the institution’s service area, (2) the closing of achievement gaps, (3) workforce diversity, and (4) campus climate.  The duration of the policy was five (5) years with review commencing during the fifth year. 

In this new iteration of the Policy, CPE seeks to build on the strong foundation cultivated over the past 30 years and further integrate the new degree program approval process and the statewide diversity policy into one seamless framework, upon which equal educational opportunity goals can be set; strategies to obtain those goals can be developed, adopted, and implemented; and institutional progress can be evaluated.  In addition, CPE continues to affirm diversity as a core value in its statewide strategic planning process.  As such, this Policy and CPE’s Strategic Agenda are completely aligned, with common metrics, strategies, and appropriate references and acknowledgments.  

Policy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:

This statewide policy is grounded on the premise that to truly prepare students for life and work in an increasingly diverse society, the public postsecondary institutions within the Commonwealth shall develop a plan to embrace diversity and equity within constitutional and legal parameters, commit to improving academic achievement for all students, create an inclusive campus environment, and produce culturally competent graduates for the workforce.  
 

Click here for the full report of the Kentucky Public Postsecondary Education Policy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 


Evaluation Rubric

Adopted by CPE: September 23, 2016
Adopted by CEO:  May 16, 2016