To support the objectives of meeting the goals outlined in the system’s diversity statement, a subgroup has been formed to review how data elements are collected, displayed, and used across our enterprise technology systems to ensure that it is done in a manner that meets DEISJ goals. This subgroup was also created to make recommendations for changes to those systems and processes to better support our students and employees, ensuring that current practices that are not working are properly corrected.
To date the committee has focused on the data elements collected and housed in our core information systems: Slate (Admissions), Colleague (Students and Courses), and UKG (Employees). With Vermont State University admissions staff working to deliver the first VTSU admissions application in August, our work has prioritized the information collected through the application process and the integration of that information into our student information systems. Some of the data elements reviewed as part of this work have been data to ensure equitable support of international, veterans, and first-generation populations, as well as the value lists that are inclusive to support gender identity, sex, and pronouns.
While we will look to implement changes for the new admissions application within the next month, a project team has been formed to work on the integration of that information with our primary student information system (Colleague) by the start of October. As part of these changes, we plan to develop a resource for people to understand the changes implemented and the options they have to best represent themselves within our student information systems. While the initial focus is on Slate and Colleague, the work of this team will also extend to how these data elements are used by other student systems such as Canvas (learning management) and Aviso (advising). The team will also be developing training for staff on how the data should be collected and used.