Using the ICD Module

NSSE’s Inclusiveness and Engagement with Cultural Diversity Topical Module

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450+institutions have elected to append this module to their NSSE administration.

NSSE’s Inclusiveness and Engagement with Cultural Diversity (ICD) Topical Module debuted in 2017 as a tool to help colleges and universities examine environments, processes, and activities that reflect the engagement and validation of cultural diversity and promote greater understanding of societal differences. The questions explore students’ exposure to inclusive teaching practices and intercultural learning, perceptions of institutional values and commitment regarding diversity, and participation in diversity-related programming and coursework. It builds on the Discussions with Diverse Others Engagement Indicator and other diverse experience items on the NSSE core.

How Can Institutions Use Their ICD Data?

An art image of cultural diversity showing overlaying differently colored paper silhouettes.

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What is your cultural diversity data story?

We are seeking institutional stories about the Inclusiveness and Engagement with Cultural Diversity (ICD) module to offer more instructive examples and to develop an ICD data toolkit.

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Many institutions have harnessed their results to examine cultural diversity in courses and the co-curriculum and to identify strengths and shortcomings in institutional emphasis on diversity and inclusion. Some have used results to diagnose social justice issues on campus and to take steps to remedy them. Colleges and universities have used their ICD results in the following ways:

Share results with the institution’s President’s Council for Diversity to make recommendations for action
Organize a faculty data action team on diversity, equity and inclusion to review results and make recommendations
Provide baseline data to assess the impact of newly instituted core curriculum changes and a new diversity and inclusion plan
Include ICD data in campus climate report
Triangulate ICD data with results from a campus climate survey
Use ICD results to inform campus climate survey development
Link NSSE and ICD data with Student Information System (SIS) data to analyze the impact of students’ perceptions of the institution’s emphasis on diversity and supportive environment on success rates (e.g., academic standing, retention)
Share results with faculty and administration to bring data into consideration at an Institute on diversity and inclusion

Higher education must actively address diversity, inclusion, and equity as critical to the well-being of democratic culture.
AAC&U, Making Excellence Inclusive

We have examples!

Colorado State University

CSU created tailored reports focused on peer comparisons as well as variation among underserved student populations and by major college for five sets of survey questions on the Inclusiveness and Engagement with Cultural Diversity module. Results showed that first-year and senior CSU students score higher than first-year and senior students at institutions in the peer comparison group. However, significant variation in CSU’s results by demographic group exists. At both class levels, CSU’s underserved populations report lower levels of institutional support and commitment to diversity compared to their peers without the specified attribute. These groups of students are also more likely to rate higher on their personal practices of engaging with identity and diversity compared to their CSU peers without the attribute.

University of North Carolina Wilmington

UNCW's Institutional Research and Planning (IRP) team conducted additional analysis of their ICD results, aggregating responses for the two positive options (e.g., very much/quite a bit; strongly agree/agree) and the two negative options (e.g., some/very little; disagree/strongly disagree) to create two categories and provide a more accessible overview of UNCW student responses about diversity.

Randolph-Macon College

R-MC established a Racial Equity and Opportunity Commission, which will use ICD data to inform its work.

Photo courtesy of Colorado State University

American University

American University features their ICD results in their interactive Tableau data dashboard. The display examines ICD questions by different demographic groups, including race, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, first-generation status, and class.

Fontbonne University

Fontbonne found its ICD results “eye opening” for gauging how well the institution serves historically underrepresented students. Results were shared with various groups across campus, including the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, and help shape programming for incoming students.

Longwood University

Longwood’s Office of Multicultural Affairs compares their ICD data to similar items from the EBI Benchworks SkyFactor Student Climate and Safety Survey. This information will be used to prioritize and inform decisions regarding programming and services.

Where To Next?

- Living Up to Our Promise: A NSSE Retrospective
- NSSE's Future: A Developing Agenda
- Using NSSE's ICD Topical Module
- Webinar: Setting NSSE's Agenda for a 3rd Decade
- Experiences with Online Learning Topical Module

- Promising Trends in Engagement
- A Report From NSSE's Listening Tour
- NSSE's Origins and Potential
- Search NSSE Research
- Lessons From the Field