Using Results to Incorporate Diversity on a Faith-Based Campus (Lessons from the Field–Volume 4)
Results from Biola University’s first administration of NSSE, in 2013, indicated lower scores than those of their peer groups on the Discussions with Diverse Others Engagement Indicator. For their administration of NSSE 2015, Biola intentionally customized their comparison groups and had similar findings—providing the basis for investigating further their students’ engagement with individuals different from themselves. In an effort to fully understand these data, Biola conducted additional analyses including individual item analysis, disaggregating by race/ethnicity, and reviewing open-ended responses for diversity-related themes. Among the findings that stood out, compared to their peers at other faith-based institutions, Biola students scored lower on items querying the frequency of discussions with “people with religious beliefs other than your own” and “people with political views other than your own.”
The NSSE findings were especially noteworthy given the responses of Biola students on the Taylor University Christian Life survey indicating that over 90% of them felt the institution had helped them connect their faith with culture and society. These potentially conflicting findings called for deeper probing, inspired new conversations on campus, and raised the question: What is Biola doing to prepare students to truly engage with culture and society, particularly with individuals who are different from them?
All of these findings were shared with the University Academic Council, which is chaired by the Provost and consists of academic deans and members of the Provost’s cabinet, promoting a powerful campus discussion on how the institution was incorporating diversity into the curriculum. Using data from the various sources helped the council identify where students are exposed to diversity as well as opportunities to introduce diversity within the curriculum; for example, the council considered ways to incorporate diverse voices and texts in required theology courses. To encourage faculty to incorporate a more diverse curriculum, as part of Faculty Investment Day, faculty were offered a one-day training opportunity including breakout sessions and faculty panels with titles such as Teaching the Complex and Controversial: Practical Strategies for Engaging Students in Transformational Learning; The Black Lives Matter Movement, Evangelical Churches, and Biola Classrooms; Engaging Online Students in Cross-Cultural Learning; and Transforming the Classroom into a Real Life Experience: Engaging Students Cross-Culturally in the Community.
While Biola continues thinking about how to address the diversity-related NSSE findings on their campus, a staff member from the office of the Vice Provost of Inclusion and Cross-Cultural Engagement has been added to the undergraduate curriculum committee to help them critically examine how the curriculum addresses diversity. Biola also intends to continue the conversation about creating more opportunities for faculty training in pedagogy and inclusion in the classroom.
