STANDARD V: Commitment to Diversity

 
Indicators
 

Narrative

Both the mission of the College and the theme of the Department support and encourage the development of personal and professional qualities and attributes that are in alignment with being members of a multicultural community.  Over the years the Saint Michael's community has sustained a variety of programs that contribute to a welcoming environment for a diverse student-body, faculty, and staff.  These programs can be categorized into three distinct categories: active recruitment, retention efforts, and study abroad opportunities.

Recruitment 

Efforts in the area of active recruitment of a diverse student body began in the early 1950s with the establishment of the Applied Linguistics Department.  The department is one of the oldest and most well-respected English-language and teacher-training programs in the United States.  It is accredited by the consortium of University and College Intensive English Programs (UCIEP).   The department has partnerships with more than 35 high schools, universities and businesses worldwide.  Currently, SIS has active partnerships with the following countries: Thailand, Venezuela, Korea, Russia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, England, and Poland.  Fifteen thousand alumni from more than 40 countries have taken classes from the Applied Linguistics Department. All of the faculty hold advanced degrees in Teaching English as a Second Language and have many years of experience in classrooms both in the United States and abroad.  The department continues to be a significant aspect of the Saint Michael's community.

Over the past several years, there have been increasing numbers of recruiting events via the Admissions Office and the ALANA coordinators. The intention of these recruiting efforts is to attract minority students to our campus.  A short term outcome has been a net increase in applications from minority students from 166 applications in 2003 to 242 as of March of 2004 (refer to the following Tables).  While the numbers of applications have increased, the numbers of students from minority backgrounds choosing to matriculate has not increased significantly.  Given the demographics of the state of Vermont, recruiting and maintaining minority students is difficult given the lack of diversity within the state as a whole.  However, efforts will continue at Saint Michael’s.  

First Year Applications for Fall 2003 

Transfer Applications for Fall 2003 

First Year Applications for Fall 2002 

Transfer Applications for Fall 2002 

A long term recruitment activity that is being watched carefully may yield results in the Spring 2005.  This is the Charlestown High School connection.  This program was initiated in 2001 through FES.  In addition to face-to-face recruitment efforts,”cyber mentors” were established with the then high school freshmen and Saint Michael's students.  In 2005 those high school students will be seniors and selecting colleges.  Hopefully, several will consider Saint Michael’s. 

Saint Michael’s does not offer financial aide or scholarship based on minority status.  However, the Choffee Scholarships are awarded to two high school seniors from two schools (one n New York and the other in New Jersey).  Both schools have a highly diverse student population.  A sample of the ALANA recruitment activities for the 2002-2003 academic year are available online and Mr. Echanty is available for an interview.

Retention

The second category has been the creation of social and academic supports for students, faculty and staff.   Over the years, additional clubs and organizations have become part of the fabric of the college.  Coordinated through the Student Association and the  Multi-Cultural Student Affairs Office, they include:  Diversity Coalition, The Martin Luther King Society, Ally Group, Center for Peace and Social Justice, the Women’s Center. The purpose and goals of each organization is described on the appropriate web pages.  Each club provides a sense of connection and belonging for Saint Michael's students.  In addition, they contribute to the community as a whole by sponsoring activities, events and lectures on campus.  The overarching purpose of all of the organizations and clubs is to enhance the sense of mutual respect and understanding on the Saint Michael’s College campus.

Study Abroad  

The third program category is where Saint Michael's students study abroad in another country (e.g., Central America, Europe, Africa).  As one would expect, while this opportunity is open to both undergraduate and graduate students, typically undergraduates are in a position to participate. 

The study abroad program offers students with the opportunity to be immersed in another culture for one or more semesters.  According to the Study Abroad Office, between 12-15% of the SMC study abroad students and Education majors. Many Education majors participate in our departmental partnership in England at York St. John College and  the University of Leeds.  Other countries where Education majors often choose to study include: Africa, Australia, Somoa, Spain, Ireland and Scotland. 

Liaison for Students with Special Needs  

Another aspect of diversity that is part of the Saint Michael's community are students with identified disabilities.  Approximately, 9%  or 190 undergraduate students identify themselves as having a disability.  Of that total number, only 9 students are in the Education Department.

Since the last ROPA visit, the academic support available for these students has evolved significantly.  Dr. Messuri, the Liaison for Students with Disabilities, provides individualized support for the students.  The most common types of support that students require include: study skills strategies, note-taking strategies, extended time on tests, and alternative locations for tests.  Dr. Messuri also encourages students to make use of the variety of student resources that are available for all students including the Writing Center, peer tutoring, and counseling services when appropriate.  When appropriate, students with learning disabilities may reduce their course load during the academic year and take the missed courses over the summer without financial penalty.

Curricular Offerings

Saint Michael’s College offers at least  70 courses that address various aspects of diversity (e.g., cultural, economic, ability, race, gender).  The purpose of every course is to increase understanding of similarity and difference within the context of building communities where all persons are welcomed.  Given the LSR requirement (refer to Standard 1, Indicator 1) all undergraduates have the opportunity to enroll in several of these courses.  In fact, it is unlikely that any graduate of Saint Michael’s College would be able to avoid such courses. 

In addition to the environmental supports, the academic offerings related to issues of diversity are strong.  Since the last ROPA visit, a new interdisciplinary minor was created in Gender/Women’s Studies at the undergraduate level. Beginning with the undergraduate class of 2004, all students will be required to take Gender Studies 101: Introduction to Women’s Studies.   Another academic option is the Global Studies minor with a focus on the ethical and social issues emerging from economic, political, social, cultural, and technical aspects of globalization.  Students enhance their proficiency in a second language and gain deepened perspective in global issues through international study or service-learning experiences linked to global peace and justice issues.

At the Graduate level, because the students enter the college with a liberal arts major from an accredited college or university, there is an assumption that this has been addressed to some degree at the undergraduate level.  However, all graduate education majors do take a course on learning differences.  Graduate students are also encouraged to attend and participate in a variety of community activities, lectures and presentations.

Narrative

Students from diverse backgrounds include students from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, socio-economic differences, sexual orientation, and students with disabilities.   Recruiting diverse students to study in a state where racial and ethnic diversity are limited to begin with, is a difficult but important task.  Recruiting these students into the teaching profession is even more difficult.  The fact remains that the levels of cultural and ethnic diversity is limited in Vermont.  Compounding this challenge is the fact that on a national level, according to the NEA, only about 2 out of 10 teachers are male and one out of 10 is a minority.  Yet, almost 50% of the student body is male and at least 40% are minorities (Boston Globe, Aug. 28, 2003).   Our nation’s teaching force does not reflect the ethnic and racial diversity within the public school walls.  As highlighted in Indicator 5.01, SMC continues to invest time and energy into recruiting students from diverse backgrounds.  The following tables highlight the gender and racial splits between 1998-2003 for both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The following sections contextualize the student body across a variety of dimensions including:

          1. Saint Michael's most recent Admission Statistics.

          2. Total undergraduate student-body broken down by gender.

          3. Undergraduate Elementary Education majors broken down by gender.

          4. Undergraduate Secondary Education majors broken down by gender.

          5. Total graduate student-body broken down by gender.

Note: Historically, all of the admissions work had been done within the Graduate Education Office itself.  Therefore the data base has been less sophisticated, making obtaining these types of data difficult.  However, another strength of the merger of the Undergraduate and Graduate Education Departments has meant that the responsibilities related to registration will now shift to the College Registrar’s Office.  This shift will allow a more consistent tracking of demographic information.

The following figure offers that reader with a glance at the make up of the Saint Michael’s undergraduate student population. 

In the overall undergraduate program, the male to female ratios have remained stable since 1998 with female students representing slightly more students than male.  Clearly, the ratios in Elementary Education remain skewed (refer to the second table). 

 % Total Undergraduate Students by Gender

 % of Undergraduate Elementary Education Majors

Secondary Education Gender Split

1995-2003

 GRADUATE EDUCATION

The gender split at the graduate level is quite different.  Since 1998, female students have composed at least 73% of the population. 

% Total Graduate Students by Gender

Racial Break Down

The Admissions Department at Saint Michael’s College works in a deliberate manner to recruit a diverse student body.  The racial break down over time, for both the undergraduate and graduate programs are highlighted on the following tables.  Note, these data reflect the distributions across all academic programs.  Historically we have not tracked diversity within our department.  Anecdotally, we know that it is unusual for us to have many students who are non-white.    The campus data for students on a racial basis is highlighted on the following tables. 

% Total SMC Full-Time Undergraduate Students 

The lack of racial diversity within the graduate program simply reflects the population base from which we draw graduate students.  In terms of graduate education, Saint Michael’s College is a local program, attracting graduate teacher education students primarily from the Chittenden County area.  We attract Vermonters, who are disproportionately white-non-Hispanic.  

 % Total Full-Time SMC Graduate Students 

The School for International Studies (SIS) has successfully recruited students from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds.  SIS is a well established exchange program that welcomes students from a variety of foreign counties, as well as creating opportunities for SMC students to study abroad. 

In addition, several K-12 partnerships have been established since the last ROPA review visit.  These programs are currently linked and sustained primarily by the Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs and the Admissions Office.  The partnerships include: 6^th Grade College Program, Pace Upward Bound, Steppingstone Foundation, Charlestown High School Program, and the Nativity School Program.  In addition, the ALANA coordinator attended 2 National Hispanic College Fairs in 2003-2004 and has initiated contact with the Student Sponsor Partners, a non-profit educational program for at-risk, inner city youth in New York City. 

Narrative

As written on all hiring notices, in the course catalogue and on our website, Saint Michael’s College is committed to affirmative action and equal opportunity.  Saint Michael’s College does not discriminate against employees on the basis of race, color, gender, age, national origin, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or physical characteristics.  The Search process is laid out clearly in an online document referred to as the Faculty Search Guidelines.

The following chart provides a breakdown of the entire college faculty according to gender and ethnicity (IPEDS, 2002). 

Within the Education Department all advertisements contain language that ensures our commitment to affirmative action practices.  The most common resource that we utilize for national searches is the Chronicle of Higher Education.  Currently, in the Education Department 100% of the full-time faculty would identify themselves as White-non-Hispanic and 9 of the 13 are women.  During the 2003-2004 we hired two faculty members for secondary education.  They will teach courses in both the undergraduate and graduate programs.  While both are white-non-Hispanic, one is male and the other female.  Their academic content areas are math and science.  These content areas had not been represented in the Education Faculty.

Retention: Support for Junior Faculty

Junior faculty are provided with various types of support during the pre-tenure years.  First year faculty are given a course release, do not advise students and participate in six formal orientation sessions that are spread over the first semester.  Senior faculty are willing to provide ongoing, in class support to junior faculty.  Junior faculty are on a formal schedule of review during the pre-tenure years.  As per the Significant Dates Memo  junior faculty are reviewed at the end of the first and second years.  The fourth year review is much more extensive and formal.  Observations of teaching are required aspects of these reviews.  The Faculty Council reviews the materials and, in effect, gives the junior faculty an action plan toward tenure. 

As of the fall of 2004, two junior faculty within the Education Department have completed the fourth year review process successfully, an additional graduate faculty member will be shifting his line from a non-tenure to a tenure track line, and two new tenure track faculty have been hired to begin in the 2004-2005 academic year.  As of August 2004, all tenure track faculty will teach courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Retention: Support for Tenured Faculty

Ongoing faculty development opportunities are available for all faculty.  The intent of such activities is to retain the highest qualified and most diverse faculty.  The Teaching Resource Committee plans several activities (e.g., lunch time workshops and lectures, Pedagogy Day) throughout the year to bring faculty together across disciplines as a means of supporting each other.   Faculty are encouraged to take part in study abroad activities whenever possible as a means of being immersed in another culture. Faculty Development Council provides stipends for project and class development, research, and conference attendance.
 

 Part of the theme of the Education Department reads:

Dignity and Diversity: We are committed to deep respect for the dignity and inherent worthiness of each person.  We honor all dimensions of human development and emphasize the distinct gifts, needs, and interests of each learner.  We are also committed to the inclusion of diverse cultural values and knowledge.  As a result, we embrace and model varied learning and teaching methodologies.   

This aspect of our Department theme compels us to weave threads of diversity throughout our coursework. 

As a Department we are committed to offering our students field experiences that reflect a range of diversity, even in the midst of the lack of racial diversity in the State of Vermont.  Within this context we explicitly prepare every graduate and undergraduate teacher education student to be: strong observers of behaviors and learning, effective teachers of students from a variety of SES backgrounds, and teachers of every student in their classrooms, including students with disabilities.  It is our hope that these skills will combine to support the teacher education candidate in being a teacher for all children with the sensitivity and curiosity to continue to learn about students from a variety of backgrounds.    The following table highlights the intended learning outcomes for each of the field-placements via the Five Standards and 16 Principles for Vermont Educators.

 Field-Based Experiences Related to Diversity 

There are many undergraduate and graduate courses available that explore issues of diversity.  At the undergraduate level the total number of courses exceeds 70.  Given the academic requirements that all undergraduate students complete a Liberal Studies core (refer to the course catalogue), it is virtually impossible for any student to graduate from SMC without a better understanding of issues of diversity and the impact on the world around them.  The LSR requirement, in addition to the state of Vermont’s licensing requirement for every teacher education candidate to have a major in a liberal arts content area, ensures a solid base related to issues related to diversity.  

While the aforementioned table highlights the instructional intent of each of the field placements, the next tables identify the actual schools where our undergraduate and graduate students have been placed since 1999.  Each school is linked to the Vermont Department of Education website highlighting the demographics of the school itself.  Clearly, Saint Michael’s students have opportunities to teach in schools that reflect the diversity of our state (e.g., SES, race, ethnicity).

Link to Undergraduate and Graduate Teaching Placements Chart