Latino Alumni Council

Vernese Edghill Walden, PhD-Vice President for Diversity, Equity and

Inclusion

Luis Santos Rivas-Director Latino Resource Center

Christina Abreu, PhD-CLLAS Director and Associate Professor of History

Sandy López-Undocumented Student Support Coordinator

February 2021

© 2017 Northern Illinois University

 ADEI Overview

❖ Asian American Resource Center

❖ Center for Black Studies

❖ Latino Resource Center

❖ Gender and Sexuality Resource Center
❖ Undocumented Student Support

❖ Social Justice Education

❖ Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Education (Includes Title IX Education and ADA Accommodations)
 ADEI Highlights
Mission, Vision and Strategic Priorities
Vision
The Office of Academic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
(ADEI) visualizes a synergistic and inclusive
community where all members are respected for their
intrinsic dignity.

Mission
In alignment with Northern Illinois’s University’s core
values, ADEI leads the charge in establishing an
equity-minded community that challenges and
eliminates exclusionary systems and practices.

Strategic Priorities
1. Cultivating Equity
2. Building an inclusive community
3. Promoting education, awareness and action
 Pre-COVID
Strategic Enrollment Management
Plan and Accountability Plan
oEquity at the Center
oData-Informed
oIntentional and Coordinated
oResource Alignment

Latino Alumni Council

Facilitating Equity
 Mission and Commitment to Equity
The mission of Northern Illinois University is to empower students through
educational excellence and experiential learning as we pursue knowledge, share
our research and artistry, and engage communities for the benefit of the region,
state, nation and world.
NIU Equity Statement: Northern Illinois University strives to improve outcomes
for all students by identifying and removing barriers that disproportionately
hinder the academic achievement and student experience of historically and
currently underserved populations.

Latino Alumni Council

 Academic Success
Equity Gaps: Disaggregate Data
• Make the data user friendly and understandable
• Use formula to identify gaps

An equity gap occurs when a subset of a population performs below the average
for the population as a whole

Class average = 70% “C” or higher

Latino student average = 60% “C” or higher
60% - 70% = -10% equity gap

Latino Alumni Council

 Example of Equity Gap

Psychology 102
10

-5

-10

-15
Asian Black Hispanic Other White
Psychology 102 3 -12 -2 1 8
 Retention Strategies Prior to COVID-19
College-level Equity Teams
• Collected & analyzed persistence and
graduation data
• Identified best-practice strategies to
implement successful supports
• Monitored college level course success
• Launched cross college & division
discussion to identify existing tools &
strategies to reduce equity gaps
Latino Alumni Council
Institutional-wide
• Create Equity Teams in Divisions, Colleges
and Departments
• Identify courses with highest equity gaps
and D/F/W rates (Math, Comms, Psych, Bio,
Chem)
• Locally develop scalable solutions for
gateway courses
• Embed DEI goals in the Strategic Enrollment
Management Plan and Presidential goals
• Increase use of data dashboard (Tableau)
• Increase communication with students
(Navigate)
Institutional Strategies for Reducing Academic Equity Gaps
to Increase Student Success (January 2020)

1. Focused academic support inside 4. Remove bias processes that

and outside the classroom.
2. Building capacity in mentoring
programs for students of color.
3. Leverage financial aid to support
affordability. (i.e.: Huskie Pledge)
hinder access to financial aid &
influence admission decisions
5. Invest in an inclusive teaching
and learning model that
promotes curricular redesign,
culturally responsive teaching
strategies and innovative
professional development
 Addressing Course Success
Retention Strategies since COVID-19

Inside the Classroom

• Faculty and Staff Cultural
Competency Training and
Professional Development (ADEI
sponsored programs)
• Investment in teaching and learning
cohorts (Provost Office)
• Elimination of remedial courses
Math 110, Literacy, and English
• Each College is addressing high
equity gap courses
• Supplemental Instruction

Latino Alumni Council

 Meeting the Needs of Students Outside the Classroom Retention
Strategies since COVID-19
Integrated Advising Merge of Academic Support Services
oMaster Advisor Training (fall 2020) o Development of Summer Bridge
Experiences
oAdvising Assessment (spring 2021) o Increased focus on high DFW/high
equity gap courses
oNIU Navigate
o More accessible tutoring and writing
• Referral Network support
• Progress Reports (High Equity Gap o Peer Academic Coaches for Cultural
Courses) and Early Alerts Centers (GEER)
• Appointment Campaigns Re-instatement of Student Support
Services (to serve 140 students)
 Fall 2020 Enrollment Outcomes
Student Success and Retention
Seeking Equitable Outcomes
• First year retention rate: 78% (up from 72%)
• Black retention rate: 71% (up from 61%)
• Asian retention rate: 94% (up from 84%)
• Latinx retention rate: 77% (up from 68%)
• White retention rate: 82% (up from 81%)

Latino Alumni Council

 Graduation Rates- Seeking Equitable Outcomes

Latino Alumni Council

 Meeting Needs of Students Outside of Classroom
Retention Strategies since COVID-19

• Implement student centered University policies and practices

oMerit Scholarships accessibility

oTest Optional/Test Blind Admissions
• Align CHANCE Program with new admissions process with focus
on success coaching and retention
• Diversity Programming Fee BOT approved for FY 22
(Approximately $58,000 per center/annually)

Undocumented Student Support

LRC
 Awarding Scholarships Using An Equity Lens

Merit Scholarship Huskie Pledge

Total Scholarships Awarded:
• Asian – up 95% (from 486 to 946)
• Black – up 85% (from 1,308 to 2,424)
• Latinx – up 66% (from 1,576 to 2,609)
Tier 1 Scholarships ($28,000 total – $7,000/year for 4 years):
• Asian – up 110% (from 178 to 373)
• Black – up 301% (from 141 to 565)
• Latinx – up 218% (from 273 to 869)
Tier 2 Scholarships ($20,000-$24,000 total – $5,000-
$6,000/year for 4 years):
• Asian – up 150% (from 88 to 220)
• Black – up 194% (from 158 to 464)
• Latinx – up 104% (from 270 to 551)
New program for incoming Freshman with 3.0 or higher
and family adjusted income of below $75,000
Implemented in Fall 2020
700 Huskie Pledge recipients in our freshman class.
Average high school GPA was 3.57
80% are students of color (31% Latinx)
Three of every four are the first in their families to enroll in
college
*All undocumented students are eligible for this
funding.
In addition, new funding source:
Huskies Helping Huskies (New Fall 2020)
Financial Support for Latinx Students
Approximately 1.8 million dollars from the Student Emergency Fund was distributed to
students.
• Latinx students received student emergency fund (12% as of June 2020)
• Additional Cares Grants are pending Spring 2021

GEER Grant awarded from the State of IL

• Dispersed student technology grants
• Hiring Peer Coaches in each Resource Center- (targeting students that need jobs)

Family First to supplement income for students who were exposed to COVID or
contracted virus and cannot work
Removal of financial holds to support reenrollment
• Financial holds start at $5000 instead of $500

Latino Alumni Council

 Becoming A HSI IS A JOURNEY!
Addressing Climate, Culture, Faculty, Staff & Student Success

o Aspiring To Be A Hispanic Serving Institution

o25% required to apply for federal designation

oCurrently at 21.3% (as of Fall 2020)
o Leading the coordination of a Anti Racist Agenda to address student, faculty and staff experiences (Fall 2020)
o Developing University wide Diversity recruitment and Hiring Plan (Summer 2021)
o Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Accountability Website being developed to track projects, plans and
policy changes needed to support an anti-racist community goal (Spring 2021)
o Belonging Council being launched with City of Dekalb to address climate of exclusion in DeKalb (Fall 2020)
o Received Healing IL Grant to support Belonging Initiative (Spring 2021)
o Preparing to integrate ADEI in the 2022 NIU Fundraising Campaign (social justice education, programming
and scholarships)

oCurrently raised over $40,000 in past two years

 Latinx Undergraduate Enrollment

Latino Alumni Council

 Supporting Latinx Faculty

Latino Alumni Council

Latinx Faculty (tenured & tenure-tack), Instructors, Research and Teaching Assistants

Latino Alumni Council

 Support and Retain Latinx Faculty
Institutional Goals
• Increase faculty of color hiring.
• Implement mentoring program to increase retention of faculty of color.
• Continue to improve our search processes with the goals of reducing bias and stereotyping and
achieving diverse applicant pools and fair evaluation of all candidates.
• Address compression, inversion and salary equity issues.

Latino Alumni Council

 The Latino Center

The Latino Center is home to the

Latino Resource Center and the
Center for Latino and Latin American
Studies.

Latino Alumni Council

 LRC Signature Programs and Events
Programs

• Mentoring and Engaging thru Academic Success (METAS)

• De Mujer a Mujer

• Adela de LaTorre Latino Honor Society (ATLHS)

• Vanguardia Afirmativa Latino Unidos (VALU)

• Supporting Opportunities for Latinos (SOL)

Events

• Latin Chill

• Latino Dinner

• Noche de Gala

• Latino Graduation

• ATLHS (Induction ceremonies, Financial Literacy, Co-Host different events)

Professional affiliation
• Hispanic Association of College and Universities (HACU)
• USHLI conference

• Excelencia in Education

Latino Alumni Council

Center for Latino and Latin American Studies
Latino Alumni Council
 CLLAS
• Promotes interdisciplinary research and teaching on topics and themes related to
Latinxs and Latin America and the Caribbean
o Minor in Latino and Latin American Studies (revised in 2019)
▪ Average 53 minors each semester between 2015 and 2019 (range: 41 to 71)
o Graduate Certificate in Latin American Studies (new in 2019)
o NIU Latinx Oral History Project / Voices of a Pandemic Oral History Project
o Academic and cultural programming
▪ Treinta y tres (annual mini-conference introduced in 2018)
▪ Distinguished invited speakers (2-3 each semester)
▪ Academic Diversity Centers Open House (every fall)

Latino Alumni Council

 Office of Undocumented Student Support
The Office Undocumented Student Support
aims to engage and support undocumented
students, students from mixed-status families,
and their allies at NIU.
The Coordinator for Undocumented Student
Support serves as the primary point of contact
for the coordination of:
• support
• advocacy
• programming assistance
• referrals
that supports educational equity for
undocumented students.

Latino Alumni Council

 UNDOCUMENTED STUDENT SUPPORT
Events Signature Programs and Events
• Open House events
• DACA Workshops with DREAM Action NIU and Immigration Lawyer Jeremy Lime
• DACA fundraising with DREAM Action NIU
• Undocumented Ally Training - with DREAM Action NIU and Immigration Lawyer Jeremy Lime
• How to Support Undocumented Student Class presentations – with DREAM Action NIU
• FASFA/RISE Act Workshop
• Invited Speakers twice a year
• People’s Organizing Weekend Empowerment Retreat (POWER) collaboration with campus partners

Professional Development

• Illinois Latino Council on Higher Education (ILACHE) Conference

• United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI) Conference
• Sharing the DREAM Conference

Latino Alumni Council

 Questions

Latino Alumni Council