Expand Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

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We will partner with the Provost’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion and related initiative sponsors to provide information systems and services in support of University Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work. We will also develop and execute on a plan to enhance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion among technology workers at BU.

Scope

University-wide technology services in support of DEI will be identified and sponsored through other University planning processes and groups, such as the University Strategic Planning Implementation Group and Antiracism Working Group. Within IS&T, scope and approach will be determined by an ongoing committee charged with overseeing execution of a set of projects recommended by the IS&T DEI Task Force of 2020-21, which fall into four major areas: Language, training, and education; Recruiting, hiring, promotion, and retention; Strategy and organizational implementation; Community, culture, and change.

Major Projects

DEI-related IT services

  • Accessibility Scanning, Assessment and Remediation of Instructional and other Public Web Content – Active
    This project will assess current and potentially deploy additional tools to scan BU instructional resources and public web site for ADA accessibility and expand remediation services and support.
  • Employee Applicant Tracking System Replacement – Proposed
    This project would apply data, workflow, and process standards in order to ensure more consistent capture of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Affirmative Action data, improve our understanding of  the demographic profile of candidate pools, and actively source from diverse and inclusive communities.
  • Equal Opportunity Office supporting system – Investigating
    This project would select and deploy an information system to help the BU EOO more effectively intake and manage its case work.
  • Identity & Access Management: Display Name and Pronouns Adoption – Complete
    This set of projects will implement the use of appropriate name and personal pronouns in BU enterprise systems, leveraging new collection of this information by the SIS Renewal program Identity and Access Management project.
  • Undergraduate Admissions: Questbridge Implementation – Complete
    This project will implement BU’s participation in QuestBridge, a non-profit organization that works with first generation and lower income students.
  • Gender Affirming Housing Implementation – Active
    This project seeks to improve our housing processes to better support students. The BU Queer Activist Collective identified a set of housing barriers that the proposed solutions in this project hope to address. Meeting the outlined objectives will include changes in the StarRez housing system to accept new data elements: Chosen Name, Pronouns, Gender Identity, and potentially others. Additionally, room selection and assignment processes will need to be reconfigured.

BU Technology staff DEI

Phase 1

  • Assessing Personal Bias – Proposed
    The purpose of this project is to begin a conversation about bias, raise awareness of the existence of bias within each of us, and to “destigmatize” having biases so that we can openly discuss how bias operates in all of us.
  • DEI Content Library for IT workers – Active
    This project will build a multi-purpose library of diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracist resources with a focus on technology workers. The library will be a repository of learning assets for general DEI education and for awareness of IT challenges.
  • DEI Engagement in IS&T Onboarding – Active
    The purpose of this project is to set a baseline of awareness of Diversity and Inclusion issues for all IS&T staff members.

Phase 2

  • IS&T Inclusive Management Toolkit – Identified
    This project will implement a toolkit for managers to learn, develop, and use inclusive management skills, with a focus on DE&I subjects and areas of weakness that are identified within IS&T.
  • Advancing DEI in IS&T Hiring – Active
    This project will review existing hiring processes (including job descriptions and minimum job qualifications) with an eye to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • DEI in the IS&T Promotion Process – Identified
    Review existing promotion processes with an eye to improving diversity, equity and inclusion, by making them more transparent and objective.

Phase 3

  • Get2Gether – Identified
    Develop a scalable approach to facilitating topical meetups between staff to have one-to-one or small group discussions of DEI topics.
  • Guided large Group DEI Sessions – Identified
    Develop content and methodology for IS&T all-staff and other regularly scheduled meetings to build understanding and competency in broad DEI areas such as bias, equity, and agreements.
  • Individual Contributor Resources for DEI – Identified
    Develop resources for individual contributors in BU technology teams to help employees understand their work style and build their strengths, as well as identify and address opportunities to improve inclusive  collaboration.
  • Manager-Employee Check-in DEI Resources – Identified
    A component of the Inclusive Management Toolkit, develop guidance for effective regular check-ins between manager and direct report to ensure open lines of communication and supportive guidance across lines of difference.
  • Transparent Metrics for DEI – Identified
    Establish metrics available to IS&T management and staff broadly to measure and monitor equity of compensation, job levels, and career progression in the organizational structure of IS&T.

    Stakeholders

        • All members of the University community, as we all contribute to creating a diversity, inclusive, and equitable environment.
        • The Provost’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion.
        • Central offices sponsoring initiatives to enhance DEI, such as:
          • Admissions
          • Human Resources
          • Equal Opportunity Office
        • Technology and data-intensive workers at BU, in IS&T and local units.

        Key Success Metrics

        • University DEI climate survey outcomes within IS&T
        • Improved recruitment, retention and promotion of diverse BU faculty and staff
          • University-wide and within IS&T, measurement to align with University overall approach
        • Improved community scoring of the extent to which they feel respected and valued when they interact with IS&T staff
        • Accessibility of course materials and public web sites, based upon accessibility scans/reviews