Augusta University MPA Program Diversity and Cultural Competency Plan. Section One: Description of the Plan

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1 Augusta University MPA Program Diversity and Cultural Competency Plan Section One: Description of the Plan Over the past 20 years, the United States has gone through tremendous changes. Those changes include increases in the population of minorities, the emergence of the Hispanic population as the second largest minority group, the increasing acceptance of the GLBT community, and the aging of the population overall. These changes demand that we focus deliberate attention on helping students become ly competent (Rubaii & Calarusse, 2014). Cultural competency is defined by the National Center for Cultural Competence as having the knowledge, skills, and values to work effectively with diverse populations and to adapt institutional policies and professional practices to meet the unique needs of client populations (n.d., paragraph 1). The first part of this definition comes close to NASPAA s universal competency five which requires programs to ensure graduates can communicate and interact productively with a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry (2009, p. 7). To fully meet both the spirit and the letter of this competency, we must 1. Recruit and retain a diverse student body. 2. Recruit and retain a diverse faculty. 3. Provide an educational experience that ensures graduates are ly competent. Recruit and retain a diverse student body In the past, our program was able to recruit and retain a diverse student body largely by word of mouth, relying on the diversity of our region and low tuition. However, as a result of

2 consolidation, we face two potential challenges. First, tuition will be gradually increasing to match tuition at other R1 institutions in the university system. This will make it difficult for us to attract low-income students, many of whom have been from minority groups. Second, while there has been no move to increase entry standards for graduate-level programs, the fact that undergraduate standards ARE increasing could create the impression that ALL programs are increasing standards and discourage interest in our program. These factors suggest we become more aggressive in marketing the program we adopt the following strategies: Deliberately target for recruitment undergraduate institutions and programs popular with minority groups Highlight the low cost of our program compared to other institutions Locate donors to fund one or more scholarships for MPA students Scholarship funds will help us retain low-income students, and the recruitment of a diverse student body will help all students feel comfortable in our program. But retention demands additional action. The key to retention is to identify struggling students early, before matters become critical. This suggests two strategies: Making in-person advising mandatory for students in their first semester. Improving communication between the instructors of first-semester courses (PADM 6000 and 6600) and the director. Recruit and retain a diverse faculty In the past, we had difficulty competing with other institutions for minority scholars, largely due to the limited supply of such scholars coupled with the low salary and heavy teaching workload characteristic of the former ASU. Consolidation, and our new status as an R1, has opened up new opportunities for us to compete more effectively. The currently prevailing model

3 of recruiting based on a 2-2 teaching load (down from the standard 3-3), plus slightly larger salaries, should help us recruit a diverse tenure-track faculty as vacancies exist. As we move forward then, we should work to spread awareness of our program s new location within an R1 and the positive benefits accruing to the program as a result of consolidation. The best strategy for doing so is to be highly active within professional associations to raise the visibility of GRU and our program. Once we successfully recruit a new colleague, we should continue to follow our established practice of widely advertising tenure-track vacancies, assigning a mentor to every new tenure-track faculty member, and protecting those new faculty members from service obligations during the first year on campus. To increase the diversity of our faculty, we can take two additional steps. First, we can actively recruit a diverse part-time faculty. Second, for classes where guest speakers play an important role, we can actively solicit guest speakers who are diverse in every possible way including viewpoint. Provide an educational experience that ensures graduates are ly competent Carrizales (2010) recommends curriculum components include 1) knowledge of local and national demographics, societal disparities, and policy and legal issues surrounding diversity; 2) a self-reflection component that includes societal biases; 3) a skills-based component that focuses on communication skills; and 4) a community-based component that includes internships and other experiential learning offerings. Our current curriculum covers some, but not all, of these components as in the table on the next page. Cultural Competency Curriculum Current Coverage in MPA Curriculum Component Knowledge-based PADM 6000, 6050, 6200, 6300, 6650 Self-reflection Not covered

4 Skills-based PADM 6100, 6750 Community-based PADM 6302, 6750, 6900 Knowledge-based curriculum components include an understanding of the importance of competence, local and national demographics, discussion of definitions, societal disparities and social equity, and an understanding of the legal and policy implications that come with competency. These components are covered in a range of courses in our current curriculum. Social equity is introduced in PADM The personnel issues associated with competence, including legal issues, are covered in PADM 6200, Human Resource Management. Social disparities, particularly in connection with economic development and taxation policies are covered in PADM 6300, Public Budgeting. They are re-introduced in PADM 6650, Public Policy Analysis in class discussions on major policy areas such as education, health, welfare, and taxation. A highlight of this class is the exercise to retrieve census data that requires students to compare a low-income tract, primarily African-American census tract with a high-income, primarily White census tract. Assessment of these components is done in the various classes, in the form of case study analyses or exams. The self-reflection component is not currently included in our curriculum. Thus, we need to move forward with adapting the existing competence module used for the health sciences for our curriculum. This on-line component, delivered during a student s first semester, will help students understand their own background and biases, and how those impact decisions, behavior, and interactions with others. This new component should lay a strong foundation for future course work. Skills-based curriculum components focus primarily on communication skills. Our curriculum places a strong emphasis on communication skills, written and verbal, throughout.

5 However, for purposes of this discussion, there are two courses where this is particularly stressed. In PADM 6100, Organizational Theory and Behavior, students learn formal models of communication and conflict resolution that are reinforced through in-class exercises. In PADM 6750, Program Evaluation, students work in a team, with a real client on a project. This requires students to practice effective communication skills as they work with teammates and clients. Communication skills are assessed throughout coursework in the program, but one of the ways we assess student s mastery of universal competency 5 is through the peer evaluation process in PADM Community-based curriculum components include service-learning projects and internships. In these situations, students must actually demonstrate they can communicate effectively with a diverse constituency. This is assessed through the peer evaluations in PADM 6750 and the site supervisor evaluation for the internship. Conclusion To move our program forward and ensure we are graduating students who are ly competent, we have a number of strategies to implement. Deliberately target for recruitment undergraduate institutions and programs popular with minority groups Highlight the low cost of our program compared to other institutions Locate donors to fund one or more scholarships for MPA students Make in-person advising mandatory for students in their first semester. Improve communication between the instructors of first-semester courses (PADM 6000 and 6600) and the director.

6 Raise awareness of our program s new status as part of an R1 institution within professional associations. Actively recruit a diverse part-time faculty Add a self-reflection component to our curriculum These strategies, with associated tactics and assignment of responsibilities are in the chart on the next page. In future, these items will be reported on as part of the annual assessment process.

7 Section Two: Implementation of the Plan The logic models below were constructed to help the program implement its diversity and competency plan. Goal One: Recruit and retain a diverse study body Objectives Strategies Action steps Timeline for Implementation A student body Maintain a (Spring that is representative 2016) representative pool of of the applicants program s community Market the program to diverse communities Establish MPA scholarship programs Practice intrusive advising Implement plans to market the program to Paine College, diverse groups in the community, and historically underrepresented organizations Target market programs at Augusta University Make in-person advising mandatory for students in their first semester Fall 2015 Measures of Success Monitor applicant pool Prepare semester reports for the faculty and program Student s opinion of advising gather through the program s exit survey Improve communication between the instructors of firstsemester courses (PADM 6000 and 6600) and the director. Fall 2015 Promote inclusion and diversity in the program s curriculum Provide opportunities for students Highlight issues of diversity in Continue to integrate the competency plan in PADM 6000 Fall 2016 Prepare report on the student outcomes for PADM 6000 Survey students about

8 the public administration curriculum Promote diverse speakers and adjuncts Promote outreach and service learning projects for diverse organizations Develop a program for new students Emphasize issues of diversity in the program s courses, in particular PADM 6000, Survey of Public Administration and PADM 6200, Human Resources Management the success of the program Evaluate success in program s annual report Student opinion gather through exit survey Encourage faculty to recruit diverse speakers for courses Consider diversity when deciding on potential adjuncts Goal two: Recruit and retain a diverse faculty Objectives Strategies Action steps Timeline for Implementation Recruit a Promote in Partner with When there is an diverse appropriate Augusta open faculty applicant pool forums University s Office position when making of Diversity and faculty hires Inclusion Network at conferences Partner with the American Society for Public Administration s Conference of Minority Public Administrators, Section on Chinese Public Administration, Measures of Success A diverse pool of applicants

9 Retain diverse faculty members Provide opportunities Provide needed resources Section for Women in Public Administration, and The LGBT Advocacy Alliance Section to advertise faculty positions Formalize program for new MPA nucleus faculty with attention to diversity issues Formalize standards in P&T that ensure the new faculty have a low service load in their first years of their probationary period Fall 2016 Ask faculty to evaluate their experience in the program Standards are adopted Goal Three: Provide an educational experience that ensures graduates are ly competent Objectives Strategies Action steps Timeline for Implementation Promote Provide inclusion and diversity in the opportunities for program s students curriculum Highlight issues of diversity in the public administration curriculum Promote diverse speakers and adjuncts Continue to integrate the competency plan in PADM 6000, Survey of Public Administration Develop a program for new students Emphasize issues of diversity in the program s courses, Fall 2016 Measures of Success Prepare report on the student outcomes for PADM 6000 Survey students about the success of the program Evaluate success in program s annual report

10 Promote outreach and service learning projects for diverse organizations in particular PADM 6000, Survey of Public Administration and PADM 6200, Human Resources Management Encourage faculty to recruit diverse speakers for courses Implement knowledgebased curriculum components focused on competence Implement skills-based curriculum components focus primarily on communication skills Stress the importance of competence, local and national demographics, discussion of definitions, societal disparities and social equity, and an understanding of the legal and policy implications that come with competency. Stress the importance of competence when communicating with a diverse citizenry Consider diversity when deciding on potential adjuncts Introduce social equity in PADM 6000 Examine personnel issues associated with competence in PADM 6200, Human Resource Management Introduce communication and conflict resolution in PADM 6100, Organizational Theory and Behavior Practice effective communication in Student performance on assignments in program courses Student performance on assignments in program courses

11 Implement a self-reflection component on competency in the curriculum Stress the importance of students reflecting on their own background and biases, and how those impact decisions, behavior, and interactions with others applied group projects in PADM 6750, Public Program Evaluation Students complete an online module on competency used throughout Augusta University Students complete the online module in PADM 6000 Students completion of the online module

12 References Carrizales, Tony Exploring Cultural Competency within the Public Affairs Curriculum. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 16(4): Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation NASPAA NASPAA Standards Accessed August 29, 2014 at National Center for Cultural Competence. n.d. Tools and Processes for Self-Assessment. Accessed August 29, 2014 at Rubaii, Nadia & Crystal Calarusse Preparing Public Service Professionals for a Diverse and Changing Workforce and Citizenry: Evaluating the Progress of NASPAA Programs in Competency Assessment. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 20(3):