DEI Conference Lessons Learned

1. Intersections of Support:
Lessons Learned from 13
Undersupported CMU
Student Panels
Matt Johnson, Ph.D., Educational Leadership
Xantha Karp, Ph.D., Biology

2. What We
Hope to
Accomplish
• Overview 7 “Lessons Learned” from 13
underrepresented and marginalized student
panels
• Good dialogue with our partners in OSS
• Some of these may be very applicable to
your position and spheres of influence;
others won’t
• We view our time together as a learning
exchange without any real clear “end goals”
• We want to share what we’ve learned, hear
what sense you make of these findings, and
explore implications for you as staff
members and us as faculty and staff

3. MDEC and
Panel
Overviews
• Multicultural, Diversity, and Education
Council (MDEC) is an academic senate
committee broadly charged with advancing
DEI on campus
• 15-member committee, mostly faculty, a
handful of administrators
• Approached by a student of color in Fall 2017
about finding a way to amplify their voices
• Hearing Diverse Voices was born

4. Past Panels with Students (Spring 2018 – Spring 2022)
• Students of color
• Trans* and gender non-conforming
• International students
• Students with ADHD and/or anxiety
• Man combat veterans
• Woman veterans
• Native American/Indigenous students
• First generation college students
• Foster care alumni (former foster care students)
• Rural students
• Low-income/food insecure
• Students who are caregivers
• Students who have been significantly affected by
COVID-19

5. #1 – Students Make Determinations about Perceived
Instructor Support Before the First In-Person Interaction
• Students determine whether they will ask professors for help based on an initial read of the
syllabus
• Policy and tone on late work and missing class are the two biggest determinants
What might a supportive syllabus look and “feel” like?
How can we equip students to navigate rigid and unwelcoming syllabi?

6. #2 – Having a Designated Support Office
No Obvious Support Offices (5)
• First generation college students (?)
• Foster care alumni (former foster care
students) (?)
• Rural students (?)
• Students who are caregivers (?)
• Students who have been significantly
affected by COVID-19 (?)
Obvious Support Offices (8)
• Students of color (MASS, Pathways)
• Trans* and gender non-conforming (LGBTQ Services)
• International students (Global Engagement)
• Students with ADHD and/or anxiety (SDS)
• Man combat veterans (Veteran’s Resource Center)
• Woman veterans (Veteran’s Resource Center)
• Native American/Indigenous students (NAP)
• Low-income/food insecure (Food Pantry)
How can we meaningfully support students who are facing challenges when we can’t
identify them or don’t provide obvious and recognizable support offices to them?

7. #3 – Support Services Here, There, and Everywhere
• Information about support services need
to be everywhere and students
appreciate ongoing reminders
• Embedded within BlackBoard (19
different support links)
• Syllabus statements repository (22
different statements)
• Periodic reminders from faculty are
helpful
How else might we continue to connect, provide outreach, and remind students of
important support services?

8. #4 – Support Offices Not Necessarily Supportive
• Students often spoke about how support offices (or the students
connected to those supports) that were designed to support one
marginalized identity they held were hostile or not inclusive to other
identities they held
• LGBTQ Resource Center – students of color
• Veteran’s Resource Center – women
How can these support spaces think and support students through an intersectional lens?
What does it mean to connect students to supports based on one identity that might be
marginalizing to another aspect of their identity?

9. #5 – A Little Bit of Flexibility Goes a Long Way
• Students talked about how much they benefitted from flexibility from faculty (“recognizing
our humanity”), mostly around due dates and class attendance
• COVID-19 made this flexibility all the more important
• Students who are caregivers were most pronounced with this theme
How can we equip minoritized students to ask for flexibility, particularly when research
shows they are less likely to ask for it?
How can faculty provide more flexibility and/or demonstrate the flexibility built into their
courses?

10. #6 –Office Hours
• Students find office hours tremendously
helpful, but find them intimidating and
misunderstand their purpose
• HyFlex office hours seem to be
incredibly helpful – some prefer online
for flexibility (being at work, caretaking),
while others preferred in-person due to
communication barriers (autistic student
in the COVID-19 student panel)
What can we do to make office hours less scary and help students understand their broad
purpose?

11. #7 – Choosing Your Own Group at Your Own Peril
• Groups projects came up in almost every panel
• “Choose your own group” was marginalizing and anxiety-inducing
• Students with marginalized identities were frequently last to be selected
• Students with marginalized identities were frequently typecast into limiting roles (e.g.,
women as notetakers, veterans as group leaders because of perceived leadership skills,
international students as contributing non-speaking parts)
• “Outnumbered” making addressing and reconciling issues difficult and added labor
What would it look like to provide guidance to faculty about effective processes and
policies for groupwork?
What can we do to equip students to navigate group projects more effectively?

12. Discussion
#1 - Students Make Determinations about Perceived Support Before Class Begins
• What might a supportive syllabus look and “feel” like?
• How can we equip students to navigate rigid and unwelcoming syllabi?
#2 - A Little Bit of Flexibility Goes a Long Way
• How can we equip minoritized students to ask for flexibility, particularly when research shows they are less likely to ask for it?
#3 - Choosing Your Own Group at Your Own Peril
• What would it look like to provide guidance to faculty about effective processes and policies for groupwork?
• What can we do to equip students to navigate group projects more effectively?
#4 - Office Hours
• What can we do to make office hours less scary and help students understand their broad purpose?
#5 - Support Services Here, There, and Everywhere
• How else might we continue to connect, provide outreach, and remind students of important support services?
#6 - Having a Designated Support Office
• How can we meaningfully support students who are facing challenges when we can’t identify them or don’t provide obvious and
recognizable support offices to them?
#7 - Support Offices Not Necessarily Supportive
• How can these support spaces think and support students through an intersectional lens?
• What does it mean to connect students to supports based on one identity that might be marginalizing to another aspect of their
identity?
Revisiting Our Unresolved Questions

13. Thanks!
Follow up:
Matt Johnson
Educational Leadership
MDEC Chair
johns9m@cmich.edu