Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Year Four Progress Report
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Metrics & Reporting

Reporting

The overall reporting and evaluation process is managed and coordinated by the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (ODEI). Progress will be assessed at the end of Year Five. There is the expectation that a subsequent plan will be developed, building on effective strategies based on progress as measured.

Reporting occurs on multiple levels throughout the university infrastructure, as follows:

  • The president and chief diversity officer report to the Board of Regents annually on DEI plan progress.
  • Deans and administrative leaders report on plan progress during the annual budget process.
  • Leaders, faculty and staff report on DEI activity as part of their regular job evaluations.
  • DEI commitment and proficiency have been incorporated into the search criteria for university leadership positions.
  • DEI plans and annual progress updates will be made public for all unit

A Year-Over-Year Assessment Process

With regard to annual campus reporting on DEI plans, we continue to gather information from across campus that can be connected to institutional and other data. In this way, we are able to create a dynamic information resource that streamlines the reporting process and achieves rich implementation evaluation results. 

Data is aggregated with an electronic, prefilled reporting form developed through input and beta testing from a reporting tool advisory group consisting of a subgroup of DEI Leads in Year One. The form is refined each year, based on input from the group. This online reporting tool solicits each unit’s assessment of progress against its DEI plan. 

The reporting process provides an opportunity for units to reflect on their successes, challenges and areas for growth. Resulting insights are then used to inform the revision process for coming-year plans, thus allowing units to tailor their efforts in ways that leverage progress toward both unit and campuswide goals. 

This year-over-year assessment workflow, which represents best practice for evaluation of complex organizational change, is key to the five-year plan implementation as it moves toward an overall progress summary for the university. 

Year Four Update

To assure accountability and transparency, the Five-Year DEI Strategic Plan calls for systems that track key metrics and engage the campus in annual reporting on progress against stated goals. The qualitative and quantitative data yielded by these systems year over year will then be used as a basis for decisions on programming and resource allocation to achieve and sustain desired outcomes. 

In Year Four, the systems built and tested during the previous years were continued and refined. The first set of metrics reports was delivered to schools, colleges and units in Fall 2018, with a second set of metrics distributed in late Summer 2019 and a third in late Summer 2020 This reporting process will continue, with regular progress updates provided to the campus community on a year-over-year basis. Overall progress against all major DEI strategic objectives will be evaluated at the end of Year Five. 

Tracking and reporting occurs at university, school, college and unit levels. Currently, we are tracking our progress on plan-related action steps such as implementation and participation in programs, utilization of services, increased awareness and other measures of progress. Longer-term measures include trends in the demographic composition of our campus over time, shifts in climate and indicators of equity across populations. 

While additional metrics may be identified over time, we will—at minimum—track the categories listed here and use them as the basis for reporting on plan progress and program effectiveness. Some of these metrics represent data that we have tracked historically, thereby allowing us to compare trends over time. Other metrics are relatively new and have required the creation of fresh methods and processes to ensure reliable data capture each year.

Year Four Infographics

During Year Four, we continued assembling key data and determining a path forward for assessing outcomes. Featured in this report are a set of infographics to provide insight and updates on significant progress indicators.

2016-2021 Assessment Timeline 

October 2016
Plan Launch 

July – September, 2017
Assess and Report on Progress in Year One, Refine Plan for FY 2018

  • Begin Year Two implementation

July – September, 2018
Assess and Report on Progress, Refine Plan for FY 2019

  • Begin Year Three implementation 

July – September, 2019
Assess and Report on Progress, Refine Plan for FY 2020

  • Begin Year Four implementation 

July – September, 2020
Assess and Report on Progress, FY 2021

  • Begin Year Five implementation 

March – May, 2021
Evaluate Progress Against Five-Year Plan

  • Assess progress against plans at the school, college and unit level • Roll up to summary U-M report on progress

The end of the five year strategic planning implementation is by no means the end of our DEI work – it represents an intensive investment in these efforts, which will launch us forward to further advance institutional change and create ongoing and lasting impact.