Magazine
A Collective Journey of Faith
How interfaith efforts on campus can enhance learning and community
About AAC&U
Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success
AAC&U’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success (DESS) accelerates institutional transformation by advancing equity and student success efforts in service to diverse populations, academic excellence, and social justice.
Advancing Diversity, Equity & Student Success
AAC&U’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Student Success supports college and university campuses by developing and implementing evidence-based strategies that elevate high-impact teaching and learning experiences, that address the “how” and “why” of inequities in student outcomes, and that prioritize capacity-building efforts that achieve higher levels of student success and engagement.
DESS seeks to prepare the next generation of strategic leaders and thinkers to advance equity, diversity, and social justice through higher levels of personal and social responsibility.
The Equity Walk
Diversity and equity are not just hot topics or buzzwords for AAC&U—they are fundamental values and core tenets of our mission. DESS leads several projects designed to prepare higher education institutions with tools for success to support students from traditionally marginalized and racially minoritized backgrounds.
DESS Projects
Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation™ (TRHT) Campus CentersTruth, Racial Healing & Transformation™ (TRHT) Campus CentersAAC&U is partnering with higher education institutions to host self-sustaining, community-integrated Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation™ (TRHT) Campus Centers. Organized around the five pillars of the TRHT framework—narrative change, racial healing and relationship building, separation, law, and economy—the centers prepare the next generation of strategic leaders and thinkers to eliminate racism and dismantle the belief in a hierarchy of human value.
Strengthening Guided Pathways and Career Success by Ensuring Students Are LearningAAC&U’s project to Strengthen Guided Pathways seeks to build institutional capacity and to develop resources that will help institutions strengthen their efforts to ensure students are learning, as part of the Guided Pathways framework for student success.
Purposeful Pathways: Faculty Planning for Curricular CoherenceThe Purposeful Pathways project supports faculty-led efforts to strengthen curricular coherence and intentionality by enhancing guided learning pathways. These include well-planned sequential learning experiences that guide students in developing the intellectual skills and practical knowledge they will need for success in their life, work, and as engaged citizens.
Teaching-Learning-Assessment FrameworkAAC&U’s Teaching-Learning-Assessment (TLA) Framework is a practical, web-based tool used to help institutions build capacity to ensure students are learning. Organized by five phases and featuring elements such as campus spotlights, campus videos, guiding questions, and team activities, the TLA Framework offers strategies for how to successfully implement and scale the fourth pillar of the Guided Pathways model, Ensure Students Are Learning.
Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation™ Campus Climate Assessment ToolkitAAC&U is developing a Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT)-Focused Campus Climate Assessment Toolkit. Using lessons learned from AAC&U’s work with TRHT Campus Centers and guided by the TRHT Framework developed by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the toolkit will help institutions and practitioners examine systems, policies, programs, services, and practices that perpetuate disparities and inequities through a false belief in the hierarchy of human value. The toolkit will complement existing campus climate surveys and will help institutions identify actionable strategies and practices to examine and, hopefully, transform harmful racial narratives and build relationships that nurture diversity and equity.
Conference on Diversity, Equity and Student Success
The AAC&U Conference on Diversity, Equity, and Student Success focuses on building coalitions and breaking down institutional siloes to create more just and equitable campuses and communities. This conference includes opportunities to explore how educators are advancing effective practices, identifying solutions to enduring challenges, and leading change for the common good.
Institute on High-Impact Practices and Student Success
Research shows that students involved in high-impact practices (HIPs) enjoy higher levels of learning success. These evidence-based practices include service learning, undergraduate research, and internships—to name a few. AAC&U’s Institute on High-Impact Practices and Student Success helps campus teams refine and assess their HIPs with an emphasis on quality, equity, and student engagement. Attendees participate in intentional reflection on institutional outcomes, develop comprehensive action plans, and have individualized consultations with HIPs faculty. The institute helps campus and system-level teams create sustainable student success goals and monitor progress toward achieving equity to improve educational outcomes for all students
Institute on Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation™ (TRHT) Campus Centers
The growing division across racial and ethnic identities in America cannot be ignored. How can colleges and universities act, transform, and heal from the legacies and harm of racism and bias? AAC&U is partnering with higher education institutions to develop TRHT Campus Centers to prepare the next generation of strategic leaders and thinkers to promote racial healing and address current inequities grounded in notions of a racial hierarchy. As a part of this national effort, each TRHT Campus Center prioritizes expansive, community-based healing activities that seek to change collective community narratives and broaden the understanding of our diverse experiences.
Latest Activity
Magazine
We Can’t Afford Not To
All colleges and universities should have a prison education program
Publication
Leveraging Open Educational Resources to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Guide for Campus Change Agents
This publication provides evidence-based strategies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion goals while also instantiating open educational resources (OER) within the mainstream of the instructional culture of a campus.
Magazine
A Spirit of Humility
Colleges and universities have a historic duty to take the lead on Indigenous rights
The [2021 HIPs and Student Success] Institute provided valuable time for collaboration among key stakeholders involved in a campus initiative to develop HIPs across the curriculum. The AAC&U faculty were great in being accessible and supportive.
Campus Examples
Magazine
Improving Quality, Access, and Affordability
How three institutions are getting it done
Web Exclusive
Racial Healing on Campus and Beyond
Agnes Scott College is focusing on truth-telling, educating, and collaborating with communities on campus and beyond
Web Exclusive
Universal Design during COVID-19
Supporting disabled and nondisabled students at the University of Arizona
Office Staff
Tia Brown McNair
Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the TRHT Campus Centers
Support Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation on Campus
To support AAC&U's TRHT effort in advancing quality and equity in higher education, we invite members of our community to donate to the Truth, Racial Healing, & Transformation fund today.