James Madison University for ALL

Rationale and Collected Evidence

Assumption: Student retention, JMU gaining qualitative data through student experience

We commend JMU for its initiatives toward diversity, equity and inclusion. In the year 2031 we will have redefined President Alger’s Taskforce on Racial Equity’s mission by changing its vision.

As of 2021, part of the Taskforce’s mission reads, “The university is of course acutely aware of the many intersecting forms of identity, diversity and inclusivity that make up our JMU community and of the need to think broadly about all of these issues…“. While this mission covers the bases and provides  the mindset necessary for any diversity oriented taskforce, we provide a more sufficient and sustainable pitch for the future of JMU.

While continuing to focus broadly on all the issues through diversity councils and committees, we recommend JMU also takes a more narrow, student centered approach using graphic novels to gather qualitative data on individual students’ experiences. The proposed process can be viewed in the video below:

Expectations:

We expect this data to help JMU build on improvements like the following mentioned in President Alger’s 2021 Report, “Honors College Data was provided from 2015-2020 to include the percent age of non-white students increased from 14% to 25.4%, admissions”, by not only increasing diversity of admissions, but increasing retention and graduation rates also. 

This method can be extended to any prospective and current student. Resulting in greater understanding and further improvements in the other four domains present on this site.  

 
  •  Having a university‐wide analytics strategy will ensure join up of data sets across the institution as part of clustering business intelligence, teaching and learning practices and support services data to inform development around key objectives and mission.
  •  Adoption of a learner‐centered service ethos is seen as necessary to develop more personalized systems and more effective and immersive learning experiences that make maximum use of data via learning analytics, since at its root, the most important analytics decision concerns how a particular student is experiencing the university. 
  • It is critical to move from a mass of student data produced by and then limited by group means to a new more 1:1 personalized approach to data collection for each individual student.

Assumption: JMU incorporates mental wellness assessments and support into hybrid learning. 

 

Increasing access for student’s with disabilities and implementing strategies to improve mental health among student’s will increase overall well-being while transitioning to hybrid and online learning designs. 

  • 8 Key Questions promotion of mental health and accessible resources for all student’s on and off-campus
    • https://www.jmu.edu/sacscoc/qep.shtml (8 Key questions, ethical reasoning in action). As we saw during the COVID 19 pandemic, students were not able to have the week-long Spring Break they were anticipating. In talking with other JMU students, the amount of burnout people has been experiencing is greater than any other year they’ve been a student here. Experiencing a global pandemic while being a student has not been an easy task. The constant going, going, working, working with no break has run students into the ground. Our team has been in discussion about implementing a 4-day school week into JMU.  
      • QEP mental health and focus on well-being and reflection. Implementing a plan involving student-based reflection in all classes can benefit mental health and well-being by incorporating life-long skills such as coping, adjustment, dealing with crisis, social supports, and self-regulation.  
      • 4-day wellness week targeted to students (24+)

    • 30% of students report mental health ailments (Kalkbrenner). We expect JMUs mental wellness screenings to increase this amount, offering more support and better quality support to those who need it.

Assumption: Community Outreach and Collaboration   

  •  James Madison University has strong connections to the Blue Ridge community, particularly Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Public Schools. With hybrid learning JMU can continue to build local representation across campus and recruit student’s with various passions in higher education. 
  • Older individuals joining classes for various opportunities in continuing and professional education. Various degree options and classroom environments with accessible hybrid learning options.
  • Budgeting, expenditures, revenue for non-profit and community outreach need to be appropriately addressed. Specifically, the money JMU allocates to student’s returning to higher education after partially completing a degree elsewhere. 
  • President Biden offering an additional 4 years of free education will allow JMU to target local, low income, middle school students as potential candidates for Valley Scholars.

 

Assumption: Standards and course creation through universal design.

The assumption is 10 years from now, JMU will use hybrid-learning as an accessible way for students and faculty across disciplines to collaborate on projects within the institution. With an increase in hybrid-learning and representation, JMU will increase it’s access to educational opportunities all over the world. Especially as a new R2 institution, JMU will have more collaborative projects with students and faculty from multiple background.

 

While expanding upon the access for other students, it is important to keep in mind HOW many platforms JMU will be using in order to achieve this. In speaking with Professor Wislar, Assistant Professor of Theatre (Costume Design) and other JMU students, it seems that there is a general consensus that the multiple platforms JMU uses for education is overwhelming and mentally draining. How can we continue the same level of communication but through more condensed platforms? 

 

This form of permanent Hybrid Learning will create more opportunities for student with disabilities to be involved in the visual and performing arts majors we have here at JMU. 10 years from now, departments with face-to-face interactions will exceed online expectations such as accommodating and adjusting to student’s needs in course curriculum. 

 

 

 

Assumption: Finances and Funding   

JMU addresses representation by making commitments to students to help guide them through the application and financial aid process, 10 years from now JMU makes the same commitment for students and their financial needs.  

Goals: The culture of trying to get money and more affordable ways that we can provide that. State and federal government are big stakeholders for regulation of money at JMU. Financial aid and scholarships is based of socioeconomic status and data on FAFSA (we do not talk about merit), access and inclusion is trying to open the door for everyone that needs the financial aid to come to JMU. Sometimes JMU is the right place and sometimes we’re not because we don’t have the means to support them. We have the inclusion and access efforts but their not focused on certain types of students (law states we can’t provide certain financial aid to specific groups), but we can recruit students in-state and out-out state.  (In progress) 

  • Financial Aid and Scholarships https://www.jmu.edu/financialaid/ 
  • Demographics Data and Revenue Resources: https://datausa.io/profile/university/james-madison-university#operations
  • Increase in the amounts of Pell Grants and those eligible for them.

Admissions and recruitment oversee the increase in number of diverse students and faculty here at JMU    

  • Such as having more representation on campus to diversity learning experiences. Such as hybrid learning and allowing those that need to take online forum classes to join collaborative practices with JMU on-campus students
  • Center for Faculty Innovations https://www.jmu.edu/cfi/index.shtml 

Interviews and Stakeholder Research

Interviews were conducted with representatives of accessible and inclusive designs, throughout January 2021-April 2021, and with covid-safe guidelines (zoom and call interviews).   

Interviewee/Stakeholder titles: DEI representatives, Director of Disability Services, Financial Aid Director, Professors from multiple departments within JMU and outside universities, and individuals from within the Harrisonburg community.  

  • Key Takeaway Quotes:
    •  “As a person of color, I look at the structures in place for people like me to have a voice and for this voice to matter.”
    • “Focus on money pieces and availability of certain programs, financial aid opportunities, and overall resources that JMU offers.”
    • “You have to have equity access and inclusion in this order. Access has to be defined by the users themselves.” You can’t make assumptions about access, it’s important students not only get information but know what information to look for, know how to use it and do this through mechanisms and tools familiar to them.”
    • “How can we further and best support needs from different background, considering them all the time so we’re not shutting students out so we don’t have the resources to support their needs?”
    •  “Diversity & Inclusion mean to ensured everyone has a seat at the table, stressing that it’s not enough to create a seat for them at the table, but it makes them feel comfortable at the table they aren’t generally accustomed to sitting at. It’s also people requires people who have had seats in the past to get up and allow room for growth, with the focus of intent and impact”