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Diversity and Inclusion Campus Climate Survey Executive Summary Spring 2020
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A MESSAGE FROM Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D., President East Stroudsburg University Diversity and inclusion are very important to the fabric of East Stroudsburg University. It defines who we are as an institution. ESU serves more than 6,000 students from 26 states and 19 countries and offers 58 undergraduate degree programs as well as 23 graduate programs. Yet it is the diversity of our faculty, staff, and students that makes ESU a unique place to live, learn, work and play. ESU’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is evidenced by the renaming of the division of Student Affairs to Campus Life and Inclusive Excellence (CLIE) and the creation of the assistant vice president for inclusive excellence position. Further, our strategic plan “Students First: Empowering Innovation through Collaboration 2017-2020” outlines goals and strategies that cross over one another to reach a single destination. These powerful changes at ESU have started the process of infusing diversity and inclusion into everything we do across our campus. In April 2019, we administered the Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS) Consortium Diversity and Equity Campus Climate Survey, intended to be a tool to help us measure stakeholder perceptions about diversity, inclusion and equity at ESU. The survey is used across the U.S. to assess students, faculty, and staff’s perception of an institution’s climate, support for diversity and equity, and experiences with discrimination and harassment. I am proud to say that approximately 1,200 surveys were completed by ESU faculty, staff, and students, and the information we collected will provide all of us with opportunities to assess where we are strong and to address areas for improvement. The results of the survey indicate that while ESU’s overall climate satisfaction is above 65% for all constituents, more work is required to continue improving the overall climate and promoting inclusive excellence across campus. I invite you to take some time to review the executive summary and then to reflect on how you can be a part of the dialogue for change. Your voice, and every voice, matters in ESU’s journey toward inclusive excellence. Sincerely,
Marcia G. Welsh, Ph. D. President
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A MESSAGE FROM Santiago Solis, Ed.D., Vice President, Campus Life & Inclusive Excellence East Stroudsburg University As a Mexican immigrant and a first-generation college graduate in the United States, my goal as an educator for the past 30 years has been to create accessible, supportive, and highly rewarding learning environments for all students. I capitalize on students’ diverse backgrounds and experiences to help them gain a better understanding of how each of them comes to view and understand the world. I strive to expose students to alternative perspectives and to challenge students to think critically about historical, social, cultural, political, and economic contexts of our society’s most pressing contemporary issues. This orientation remains at the foundation of all my professional endeavors. In my current role as Vice President of Campus Life and Inclusive Excellence at East Stroudsburg University, I work closely with my professional staff to create programs and experiences that help students become informed, empathetic, and conscientious global citizens. For me, it is important that my staff share my commitment to students, making sure students’ interests, needs, and concerns are at the forefront. The growing number of diverse students entering higher education will require leadership that understands their unique needs and can make decisions that affect their campus experiences, especially in their co-curricular lives. It is an exciting time to provide leadership and advocacy around diversity and inclusion given the country’s rapidly changing racial/ethnic demographics. These demographic shifts require culturally relevant pedagogy and praxis grounded in social justice. As more students that are diverse attend college, it is imperative that we – as higher education professionals – understand and appreciate current needs and future trends. ESU’s Campus Climate Survey results will be instrumental in developing strategic initiatives around diversity and inclusion. I hope you join me in working with the Diversity and Inclusion Committee on next steps to directly address any concerns presented in the survey. Let’s work together to create a truly welcoming, inclusive, and respectful campus community. Sincerely,
Santiago Solis, Ed.D. Vice President, Campus Life & Inclusive Excellence
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY East Stroudsburg University is committed to creating “a scholarly community that promotes diversity and views teaching as the university’s primary focus.” ESU’s commitment to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone on campus has driven our efforts toward diversity, equity, and inclusion. As an institution of higher learning, we value diversity of thoughts, perspectives, and ideas while also embracing the uniqueness of our campus community. As articulated in our values statement, “we are committed to the principles of intellectual integrity, freedom of expression, the fair and equal treatment of all, good citizenship, environmental stewardship, and accountability for our actions and the resources entrusted to us.” In 2016, under the leadership of Provost Jo Bruno, J.D., and former Vice President for Student Affairs Doreen Tobin, D.Ed., a small group of faculty, staff and students began to meet and discuss the current issues facing underrepresented students on campus. In the subsequent semester, this small group manifested into the Diversity and Inclusion Committee (D&I) whose mission is to improve the campus climate around diversity, equity, and inclusion through an action-oriented approach. It serves as a conduit for intentional collaborations between faculty, staff, students, and the greater community whose interests lie in addressing issues related to race, ability, age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, social class, and religion while building cultural competence.
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Making the Case for a Climate Survey Over the last two years, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee advocated for a campuswide climate survey that would not only influence future strategic initiatives for the university, but also provide the institution with baseline data for areas of improvement across campus. As a prioritized goal for the 2018-2019 academic year, the D&I Committee garnered support for the campus climate survey by presenting to various stakeholders such as the President’s Council and Council of Trustees. Campus climate has been defined as “the cumulative attitudes, behaviors, and standards of employees and students concerning access for, inclusion of, and level of respect for individual and group needs, abilities, and potential” (Rankin 2005, p. 17). Climate refers to the experiences of individuals and groups on campus—and the quality and extent of the interactions between those various groups and individuals. Diversity and inclusion efforts are not complete unless they also address climate. In a healthy climate, individuals and groups generally feel welcomed, respected, and valued by the university (University of California, Riverside). Campus climate has been shown to have an impact on the following: � academic achievement, social adjustment, and retention (Nguyen, Chan, Nguyen, & Teranishi, 2018; Pascarella & Terenzini 2005; Rankin et al. 2016; Reason, Terenzini, & Domingo, 2006). � fostering civic learning and engagement (Milem, Chang, & Antonio, 2005), preparing individuals to live in an increasingly global and complex world (Milem et al., 2005), and reducing racism and prejudice (Carrell, Hoekstra, & West, 2015). � attrition of queer and trans* faculty (Garvey & Rankin, 2018) as well as
Black faculty (Griffin, Pifer, Humphrey, & Hazelwood, 2011).
The Measurement After months of research, the D&I Committee elected to partner with the Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS) Consortium. The HEDS Diversity and Equity Campus Climate Survey asks students, faculty, staff, and administrators about their: � perceptions of their institution’s climate, � perceptions of how their institution supports diversity and equity, � e xperiences with discrimination and harassment at their institution, and � demographics including gender, age, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, political views, disability status, citizenship status, and racial identity. In addition to the standard questions, ESU added additional questions that asked about how often a student discussed concepts related to diversity and inclusion in and out of their classes as well as, in their estimation, how many of their classes at ESU included content of a diverse nature. The survey was distributed electronically.
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Participants
Results
All undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at ESU and all ESU employees with a current work status as of March 15, 2019 were selected to participate in the study. Employees of ESU affiliates such as the Student Activity Association, Inc. and the ESU Foundation were not selected for participation.
Demographics
Procedure
Staff/ Students Faculty Administration Response #
866
133
134
Total Sample
5972
335
370
Rate of Return
14.5%
39.7%
36.2%
After approval from the university’s Institutional All Respondents: Race Review Board (IRB), all individuals received an FIGURE 1 – All Respondants: Race invitation to participate via their ESU email at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 with subsequent reminder emails sent to those individuals who had not yet completed their survey on Thursday, April 18, Thursday, April 25, and Tuesday, April 30, 2019. Additionally, recruitment flyers were developed 42% White and posted throughout campus and specific Non-White 58% faculty members were asked to provide time in their classes to encourage student participation. The emails asked participants to click “Yes” to indicate their understanding of their consent to participate in the project. Completion of the instrument would take between 15 and 20 minutes. After clicking “Yes,” participants will then click Next and be asked to complete the HEDS Diversity and Equity Campus Climate Survey. After the survey window closed at midnight on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, preliminary data screening and analysis was conducted by HEDS with final reports presented to the investigation team. Raw data files and institutional comparison reports were provided to the investigation team as well. All data was scrubbed of any identifying information and demographic variables were collapsed so as to ensure anonymity.
All Respondents: Gender FIGURE 2 – All Respondants: Gender
32% Female 68%
32%
Male
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Key Findings: Climate Overall, participants indicated that they were very or generally satisfied with the campus climate at ESU, with 74% of undergraduate and 65% of graduate students and 69% of faculty and 65% of staff indicating this finding. (Figure 3) While general climate was satisfactory overall, fewer individuals indicated that they felt a sense of belonging here at ESU. (Figure 4)
All Respondents: Climate Satisfaction Overall
FIGURE 3 – All Respondants: Climate Satisfaction Overall 80
Percentage
70
74
69
65
60
Very or Generally Satisfied
65
50
Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied
40 30
30
20
18
10
Undergraduate
17 15
4
8 Graduate
Faculty
15
19
Very or Generally Dissatisfied
Staff/ Administration
All Respondents: Experience a Sense of Belonging at Institution
FIGURE 4 – All Respondants: Experience a Sense of Belonging at Institution 80
Percentage
70 60
65
63
62
Very or Generally Satisfied
61
50
Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied
40 30 20 10
21
23 15
Undergraduate
11 Graduate
24 14 Faculty
19 20 Staff/ Administration
Very or Generally Dissatisfied
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All Respondents: Extent That All Community Members Experience Belonging FIGURE 5 – All Respondants: Extent that All Community Members Experience Belonging
Staff/ Administration
41
Faculty
42
28
31
35
24
55
Graduate
30
57
Undergraduate
Very or Generally Satisfied
27
One additional area of concern when it comes to climate, is that while individuals indicated that they felt a sense of belonging, their perception that others felt this belonging was significantly less. (Figure 5)
Key Findings: Institutional Support Questions in this subsection addressed tensions on campus, senior leadership commitment, and recruitment/retention of historically marginalized groups.
Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied
13
Very or Generally Dissatisfied
15
Overall, faculty and staff indicated that the campus is not free of intergroup tensions, with only 36% of faculty and an additional 36% of staff reporting that they agree or strongly agree that we are free of these tensions. Students at both levels disagreed with this assertion, though only slightly, with 52% of undergraduate and 55% of graduate students agreeing or strongly agreeing that we are free of tensions. In regard to recruitment of individuals from historically marginalized groups, participants report that overall, there is an institutional
All Respondents: Retention of Individuals from
FIGURE 6Historically – All Respondants: Retention Individuals from Historically Marginalized Groups of is an Institutional Priority Marginalized Groups is an Institutional Priority 100 90
13
18
80
Percentage
70 60
38
30
23 23
29
22
50
Neither Agree Nor Disagree
40 30 20
Strongly Agree and Agree
49
52
52
49
Undergraduate
Graduate
Faculty
Staff/ Administration
10
Strongly Disagree or Disagree
9
All Respondents: Very or Somewhat Comfortable with Individuals
Undergraduate
Graduate
commitment to this practice, with 67% of faculty, 64% of staff/administration, 53% of undergraduates and 56% of graduate students agreeing or strongly agreeing. There is a decline in these percentages though when the question shifts from recruitment to retention. As is evidenced by Figure 6, only 52% of faculty, 49% of staff and administration, 49% of undergraduate students, and 52% of graduate students agree or strongly agree. When questioned regarding commitment from senior leadership in regard to diversity and equity, responses were mixed: 66% of faculty, 56% of staff and administration, 61% of undergraduates, and 56% of graduate students indicate that they agree or strongly agree with the statement.
Faculty
Ag e
Ge nd er Se co En nd gl La ish ng as ua ge Re Ba lig ck io gr us ou nd Di sa bi Un lit do y cu Im me m nte ig d ra nt Co s un try Or of ig Po in Affi litic lia al tio n
Or Se ie xu nt al at io n
100 80 60 40 20 0
R Et ace hn / ici ty So cia lC la ss
Percentage
FIGURE 7 – All Respondants:Who Very orASomewhat Comfortable Are Different _____ Than Youwith (%) Individuals Who Are A Different _____ Than You (%)
Staff/Administration
different political affiliation or ideology. Figure 7 presents a summary of this information. A significant concern raised by participants however, is that individuals do not feel very comfortable with sharing their views on diversity and equity here at ESU. Only 38% of undergraduate students, 34% of graduate students, 48% of faculty, and 38% of staff and administration indicated feeling very comfortable.
Key Findings: Influence on Support
Key Findings: Comfort With Interactions
One major goal of this process was to inform the Diversity and Inclusion Committee on what influences individuals support for diversity and equity. If there are concerns raised about comfort, etc., how can we effectively address these concerns?
While overall, individuals of each response group indicated they were very comfortable and somewhat comfortable with individuals of multiple identity groups including race, gender, sexual orientation, social class, etc., percentages declined when asking respondents about their level of comfort with people who are undocumented immigrants and who have a
Overwhelmingly, individuals reported that if they attend discussions, trainings, or activities related to diversity and inclusion topics, their support for these topics increased. The key piece of this is actually getting individuals to attend these programs. For example, of the 74% of undergraduate students who participated in a training, discussion, or activity focused on racial/
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All Respondents: Participation in Discussions FIGURE 8 – All Respondants: Participation in Discussions Greatly Greatly or Somewhat Increased Support (%) or Somewhat Increased Support (%) 100 Percentage
95 90 85 80 75 70 Race/ Ethnicity
Gender
Undergraduate
Sexual Orientation
Social Class
Graduate
ethnic issues, 92% reported that their support either somewhat or greatly increased. This pattern continued for graduate students (88%), faculty (93%), and staff and administration (85%). These findings apply across different topics as evidenced by Figure 8.
Religious Background
Faculty
Disability
Immigration
Staff/Administration
Key Findings: Discrimination and Harassment Another key factor for the HEDS Survey was individuals experiencing discrimination and harassment at ESU. Discrimination was defined as: unfavorable treatment of a person based on that person’s race, ethnicity, national origin, socioeconomic status, age, perceived or actual physical or mental disability, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, creed, religion, or political beliefs. Harassment is a form of discrimination of physical or verbal conduct that denigrates or shows hostility toward an individual based upon the above mentioned categories. Harassment occurs when the conduct is sufficiently severe and/or pervasive that it alters the terms or conditions of employment or substantially limits the ability of a student to participate in or benefit from the college’s educational and/or social programs. The first set of questions asked individuals to reflect on how often they may have heard insensitive and disparaging remarks about particular groups of individuals. For this analysis, we collapsed all responses of Rarely, Somewhat
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Often, Often, and Very Often into one group versus the percentage of people who selected never. The table below ranks the percentage of individuals who heard a statement at least once, in order of the highest percentage indication: Raw #
Percentage (n =1133)
Political Affiliation
856
76%
Gender/ Gender Identity
749
66%
Sexual Orientation
735
65%
Race/Ethnicity
732
65%
Age
707
62%
English as Second Language
661
58%
Religion
655
58%
Social Class
620
55%
Immigration Status
609
54%
Disability Status
605
53%
Identity Group
If we total the reported reasons why an individual perceives that they were discriminated against and/or harassed, we have 542 possible reported reasons. Figure 9 breaks out the percentages of the reported reason. Lastly, participants were asked if they knew whom to contact regarding experiencing or observing an act of discrimination or harassment. Only 58% of undergraduates and 63% of graduate students reported knowing where to go with this concern compared to 86% of faculty and 91% of staff and administration.
Key Findings: Supplemental Questions We elected to ask students about their experiences engaging around topics related to diversity and inclusion here at ESU. When asked what percentage of courses they have taken that include content that discusses or is produced by people of marginalized communities, 85% indicated that at least 25% of their coursework met that criteria, with 43% saying 50% or more.
Where these remarks came from is also of concern. Eighty-one percent (81%) of participants In regard to engaging in discussions about who indicated hearing an insensitive or disparaging diversity and inclusion, 84% said they engaged remark either rarely, somewhat often, often, or very often reported hearing them from students, compared to FIGURE 9 – Reported Reason Why Discrimination/ 51% hearing from faculty, Reported Reason Why Discrimination/Harassment Happened Harassment Happened 47% from staff, and 64% from the local community. In terms of actually experiencing discrimination or harassment, 18% of undergraduate students, 10% of graduate students, 26% of faculty, and 20% of staff/administration answered yes. Of this total, 67% reported experiencing the act(s) in the past year of the survey’s implementation.
17%
Race/Ethnicity
20%
Sexual Orientation Gender/Gender Identity 8%
20%
Immigrant Status 19%
3%
Social Class
13%
Political Affiliation Age/Generation
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Next Steps and Sub-Committee Goals As articulated in the Diversity and Inclusion Committee mission statement, an actionoriented approach will be utilized to implement necessary programs and initiatives indicated in the climate survey. The three sub-committees: access and equity, diversifying curriculum, and campus climate have identified goals for the 2020-2021 academic year. All of the goals not only seek to address the climate survey results but they also correspond with the university’s goal alignment plan. in in-classroom discussion at least each semester, with 48% reporting this happens at least once a week. Approximately 75% said they do this at least once a semester outside of class as well, with 43% reporting once a week or every class.
Conclusion The University’s Strategic Plan, “Students First: Empowering Innovation through Collaboration 2017-2020” presents the goals and strategies that ESU uses to guide our actions, decisionmaking, and practices. As outlined in Strategy 4: Diversity and Inclusion, ESU has made a commitment to institutionalize diversity and inclusion in all practices. The climate survey is one of many steps that ESU has undertaken to understand its community and use evidence based strategies to implement change. The survey results reveal that although ESU has made many strides to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion on its campus there are opportunities for improvement. Therefore, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee’s goals will be directly aligned to addressing issues presented in the climate survey.
Access and Equity Goal Alignment: #3 Increase Diversity of Faculty and Staff Sub-Committee Goal 1: Develop and Implement Bias Reduction Train the Trainer Program Action Steps: � Schedule bias training with external provider � Training will be included in the faculty and staff hiring guidelines process � Training will be included in UniversityWide Diversity Certificate and Recognition Program Goal Alignment: #3 Increase Diversity of Faculty and Staff Sub-Committee Goal 2: Develop a Mentoring Program for Faculty and Staff of Color (Retention) Action Steps: � Collaborate with Provost, Deans, Chairs, and President’s Council � Pilot program Fall 2020 with newly hired faculty of color
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Diversifying Curriculum
Campus Climate
Goal Alignment: #2 Improve University’s Retention and Graduation Rates; #4 Improve Support Systems for Students of Color Sub-Committee Goal 1: Student Diversity Certificate Program
Goal Alignment: #2 Improve University’s Retention and Graduation Rates; #3 Increase Diversity of Faculty and Staff Sub-Committee Goal 1: Conduct 8 Focus Groups to Address Four Topics with Lower Levels of Comfort among Campus Constituents � Focus on religion/spirituality, politics, immigration, individuals with disabilities
Action Steps: � Meet with representatives of the curriculum committee � Resubmit program proposal to the curriculum committee Goal Alignment: #2 Improve University's Retention and Graduation Rates; #3 Increase Diversity of Faculty and Staff; #4 Improve Support Systems for Students of Color Sub-Committee Goal 2: Develop and Implement University-wide Diversity Certificate and Recognition Program Action Steps: � Inventory current university trainings and workshops that can be offered � D&I members will attend the Culturally Relevant Teaching and Learning Train the Trainer Institute � Collaborate with University Relations to advertise the program Goal Alignment: #2 Improve University's Retention and Graduation Rates; #3 Increase Diversity of Faculty and Staff; #4 Improve Support Systems for Students of Color Sub-Committee Goal 3: Development of an Online Resource Toolbox Action Steps � Collaborate with University Relations to create location for the resource kit � Commence collection of book suggestions, articles, helpful websites, and conference/webinars/workshops information
Action Steps: � Establish a timeline for composition and meeting with specific groups � Compose a message to recruit 6-8 individuals for each group � Conduct and report assessment of group responses to D&I Committee and then to campus community � Perform a programming audit for D&I related programs Goal Alignment: #3 Increase Diversity of Faculty and Staff; #4 Improve Support Systems for Students of Color Sub-Committee Goal 2: Perform a Programming Audit for D&I Related Programs from the Past Year to Examine the Number of Campus Programs as it Relates to D&I Action Steps: � A cquire dates from Master Calendar and other campus departments for a list of programs � C ategorize programs by topic and report to D&I � M ake recommendations for future programming � Create messaging for diversity tag for Master Calendar Goal Alignment: #4 Improve Support Systems for Students of Color Sub-Committee Goal 3: Expand and Promote Project Lemonade to Campus Community Action Steps: � Establish metric goal for campus participation � Implement and execute a Project Lemonade campaign for the campus community
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Ongoing Initiatives and Accomplishments
� F all 2019 – Recruitment efforts for faculty of color at Southern Regional Education Board and Black Doctoral Network � Partnerships with these organizations include advertising capabilities on their online platforms � 4 faculty of color are hired for Fall 2020 � Dr. Laura Kieselbach, Assistant Professor, has offered Culturally Relevant Teaching Workshops in Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 � Campus Life and Inclusive Excellence partnered with various student organizations to host identity based mixers (First Generation, Latinx, African American, LGBTQA+ and Asian American)
� D evelopment of the Women of Color Initiative whose mission is to empower and develop dynamic women of color at East Stroudsburg University through purposeful guidance, leadership skill development, and celebration of our unique differences � The Men of Color Alliance has transformed under new leadership to directly address persistence and retention � Creation of Interfaith Council Initiative that includes student organizations, local ministries, faculty and staff advisors. � The purpose of the group is to help create opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to experience and celebrate their faith while on campus
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For more information about the survey process, please contact Gene Kelly, Ph.D., Dean of Student Life, ekelly2@esu.edu For more Information about the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, contact: Co-Chairs, Cornelia Sewell-Allen, D.Ed., csewell@esu.edu or William Bajor, Ph.D., wbajor@esu.edu To learn more about diversity, equity, and inclusion at ESU, visit esu.edu/diversity
References Carrell, S. E., Hoekstra, M., & West, J. E. (2015). The impact of intergroup contact on racial attitudes and revealed preferences (National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 20940) Garvey, J. C. & Rankin, S. (2018). The influence of campus climate and urbanization on queer-spectrum and trans-spectrum faculty intent to leave. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 11 (1), 67-81. Griffin, K. A., Pifer, M. J., Humphrey, J. R., & Hazelwood, A. M. (2011). (Re)defining departure: Exploring Black professor’s experiences with and responses to racism and racial climate. American Journal of Education 117, 495-526. Milem, J. F., Chang, M. J., & Antonio, A. L. (2005). Making diversity work on campus: A research-based perspective. Washington, DC: Association American Colleges and Universities Nguyen, M. H., Chan, J., Nguyen, B. M. D., & Teranishi, R. T. (2018). Beyond compositional diversity: Examining the campus climate experiences of Asian American and Pacific Islander students. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 114 (4), 484-501. Pascarella, E. & Terenzini, P. (2005). How college affects students. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Rankin, S. (2005). Campus climates for sexual minorities. New Directions for Student Services 111, 17-23. Rankin, S., Merson, D., Garvey, J., Sorgen, C., Menon, I., Loya, K., & Oseguera, L. (2016). The influence of climate on the academic and athletic success of student-athletes: Results from a multi-institutional national study. The Journal of Higher Education 87(5), 701-730. Reason, R., Terenzini, P., & Domingo, R. (2006). First things first: Developing academic competence in the first year of college. Research in Higher Education 47(2), 149-175.
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