AA Action Plan

Academic Affairs-Action Oriented Programs, Activities, and Plan
2004-2005, 2005-06

Dissemination and Training of EO/AA Policy:
Academic Affairs is a very large and highly decentralized organization, with a culture of local administrative authority. The Academic Affairs equal employment/affirmative action (EO/AA) plan emphasizes a collaborative relationship between the SVCAA, divisions and operating units. There is a focus on awareness and education, providing information to help managers make good decisions and developing local accountability.

Under the leadership of the Senior Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs engages in a continuous effort to promote awareness of UCSD’s EO/AA policy. Key administrators from SVCAA meet regularly with unit managers to advise and consult on EO/AA issues. Information and training is disseminated in a variety of ways, including regular meetings of the Academic Affairs HR Contact Group, HR Advisory Group, Academic Business Administrators (ABA), and divisional business officer and departmental faculty and staff meetings. These groups review relevant University policies and campus procedures and discuss strategies for implementing the Academic Affairs affirmative action program. EO/AA policy and diversity resources are also disseminated via the Academic Affairs HR website.

Monthly meetings of the Academic Affairs HR Contact Group provide HR representatives from each department/unit with information and training that allows them to foster an environment that promotes the UCSD Principles of Community as well as general good business practices. Topics from the last year included: Resources to Increase the Size and Diversity of Applicant Pools, Faculty Staff Assistance Program, Quality of Work-Life programs and the 2005 Staff@Work Survey. Training and information sessions will continue throughout 2006.

The Academic Affairs HR Advisory Group, with lead HR representatives from each academic division and major unit, meets bi-monthly to identify, develop and implement strategies to effectively inform department administrators about issues pertaining to EO/AA and diversity. Members are asked to keep departments/units informed and up to date about the campus affirmative action program as a whole, and that of Academic Affairs in particular. This group was key in providing input to the Academic Affairs Staff Diversity Plan in spring 2005.

Staff from the Divisional Deans’ and other senior administrators’ offices discuss the organization’s commitment to equal opportunity and affirmative action at departmental and division meetings. SVCAA staff will continue to work with business officers and representatives from all Academic Affairs units to explore campus and system wide resources to leverage informational and instructional materials in the EO/AA arena. Efforts to engage departments in brainstorming and problem solving to identify local strategies and to develop a sense of local empowerment will also continue.

In the past year 23 additional Academic Affairs staff members attended the Diversity Education program offered through Staff Education. Departments are routinely encouraged to send their supervisors to diversity training to enable them to instruct their staff and faculty on EO/AA and diversity issues. Academic Affairs continues to support employee participation in career development classes and programs offered both through Staff Education and via outside entities. Training is encouraged for all Academic Affairs employees including women, people of color, covered veterans and people with disabilities. Last year 28 staff members from 18 units in Academic Affairs applied for SEOEP funds to assist them with tuition, book and related expenses for career development activities. And three of five departmental SEOEP proposals were funded for 2005-06 (Extension-Marketing & Promotion for Program Reps, Social Sciences-MSO Academy and Biological Sciences-Animal Care Staff Development), the most ever funded for Academic Affairs in a single year.

In November 2005 Academic Affairs invited the directors of the Campus Community Centers (the Cross-Cultural Center, Women’s Center and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center) to conduct a Diversity Session for managers. The directors led a two-hour discussion attended by ~60 Academic Affairs managers and senior supervisors. Addressed from multiple perspectives, and with attention to the experiences of the participants in the room, the session explored past and current real-life situations and potential for future change. The goal of the session was to heighten awareness regarding the broad spectrum of diversity issues at UCSD, share amongst the participants lessons learned and best practices in addressing diversity issues and discuss strategies for successful ways of dealing with the complex and often difficult issues concerning the diverse community of UCSD.

Outreach Programs and Efforts to Increase Diversity and Remedy Underutilization:
To enhance the effectiveness of the selection process, SVCAA strongly encourages divisions/units to make good faith efforts to diversify their job applicant pools. During the November 2005 HR Contact Group meeting (attendance ~50), representatives from Human Resources Staffing and Employment Services, UCSD’s EO/SAA office and the Bernard Hodes Group (UCSD’s contracted advertising/outreach agency) made a presentation on resources to increase the size and diversity of applicant pools in Academic Affairs. The presenters discussed advertising avenues (including web sites, organizations and printed publications) for targeted job groups and populations, as well as strategies for maximizing our outreach efforts. Many of the resources provided at the presentation are being organized into web pages so they are readily accessible to hiring managers and supervisors.

Academic Affairs is committed to the assurance of fairness and nondiscrimination by encouraging departments to closely monitor the staff selection process for recruitments and promotions, focusing its recruitment efforts on areas with underutilization. Unit managers are responsible for staff diversity efforts in their area, but we feel that extra efforts are warranted for our focus recruitment areas, especially MSP level positions. As reported in our spring Staff Diversity Plan to the Chancellor, Academic Affairs will request that units provide SVCAA with a recruitment plan for all MSP level recruitments prior to job posting. This plan will be patterned after those required for academic recruitments, and include information on avenues to be utilized for outreach and advertising, the composition of the search committee (diversity will be expected in search committees), and the name of the individual responsible for the affirmative action aspects of the search. Units will also be encouraged to develop recruitment plans (to be kept at the department level) for titles in information technology and other technical areas as well as for non-MSP titles that are in feeder groups to MSP positions. We are currently in the process of developing a web-based tool to reduce the extra workload to our departments in supporting this effort, and plan to have something in place in the first half of 2006. In addition, for MSP and other key positions, department hiring managers are expected to work closely with campus HR’s Professional Recruitment & Community Outreach Manager to design recruitment plans that will attract qualified applicants to positions, with a focus on enhancing workforce diversity.

In summer 2005, the Office of the SVCAA received approval to recruit an intern via the Career Connection program. The major responsibility of the intern was to assist with the implementation of our Staff Diversity plan. A significant task related to this effort included reviewing and updating web-based diversity resources currently available in Academic Affairs, focusing on “Best Practices for Achieving a Diversified Workforce.” A goal of this project is to support the development of recruitment plans by divisions and departments. The intern researched ways to outline appropriate and consistent outreach methods for achieving diverse applicant pools and ensure applicant flow accountability, particularly in areas where underutilization is identified. This internship took place in fall quarter 2005 and was highly successful, as evidenced by the numerous initiatives and programs outlined in this report. SVCAA has submitted an application to the UC system wide Staff Development Program seeking matching funding to provide two additional internships of this nature in 2006.

Participation in Campus Programs: As part of the campus wide EO/AA and Diversity Awards program, the Senior Vice Chancellor demonstrates her support by recognizing an academic unit or individual in Academic Affairs for their contributions to diversity, equal opportunity, and affirmative action at UCSD. This year’s recipient was the organizing committee of the Social Sciences MSO Academy, which is described in more detail later in this report. The Division of Social Sciences has long been a leader in promoting diversity and equal opportunity. The division’s staff enrichment program was a key reason the Social Sciences Dean’s Office was recognized by Academic Affairs in 2002 for their diversity efforts. In response to the campus concern about succession planning and in particular the need to better prepare staff members to fill the expected vacancies created by impending retirements of a significant number of Academic Affairs business officers, senior managers in the Division came together to brainstorm ideas to help address this critical need. The MSO Academy committee was formed, consisting of Assistant Dean Janice Klippel, four business officers from Social Sciences and support staff from the Dean’s office. The committee spent numerous hours developing and presenting a program that would provide staff members interested in pursuing a career as a business officer an opportunity to explore that interest. The Academy combines case study, small group discussions and mentoring to provide a unique learning environment to the participants. The program has been so successful in its initial year that it has been adapted by Academic Affairs for implementation throughout the VC area in 2006 under the new name, Business Officer Academy (BOA).

Of the 39 nominations received in 2005 for the campus wide Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action and Diversity Awards, Academic Affairs accounted for five, the same number as in 2004. In 2006, Academic Affairs HR Director Bobb Barile will continue to spearhead efforts to promote this program, with the goal of increasing the number of nominations from Academic Affairs, both for individuals and units. Divisions will continue to be encouraged to actively promote this goal, but also to recognize staff members throughout the year who exemplify the qualities of “Diversity Champion.”

In 2004-05, Academic Affairs departments and units participated in many campus and University sponsored outreach and development activities, both at UCSD and in the community. Representatives from three departments (Literature, Bioengineering and Extension) participated in the UCSD Community Outreach Information Fair at Southwestern College in March 2005 and one unit (Extension) participated in the Summer Hire-a-Youth Program. A total of 669 staff members from Academic Affairs units have now participated in UCSD Career Connection activities since its inception in 1996, and an increasing number of departments are offering both formal and informal internships to provide staff with opportunities for career development. Staff members from Academic Affairs units are also very active as participants and facilitators in leadership training and development programs offered at both the campus and University level, including the Administrative Professionals Development Program, Middle Management Advance, Management Skills Assessment Program (MSAP), Business Officer Institute (BOI), Business Leadership Forum (BLF) and UC Leadership Institute (UCLI).

Academic Affairs Training and Development Programs: SVCAA continues to create and endorse training and development opportunities for staff in order to promote a culture of tolerance, understanding and equal opportunity for the UCSD community. In fall 2004, SVCAA, in concert with the ABA, instituted a pilot mentorship program for new business officers. The ABA Mentorship Program pairs experienced UCSD managers from Academic Affairs with newer business officers seeking to enhance their management skills, better understand the UCSD organizational culture and develop a network of resources on campus to assist them in their daily work. The program provides mentors and mentees a mechanism in which to establish a relationship and a loose framework for the activities that interactions with professional colleagues might encompass. The program has provided mentoring to 10 business officers since its inception, with plans to include all new business officers in Academic Affairs as they are hired. Both the mentor and mentee groups include business officers from underutilized areas. The campus has expressed an interest in using the Program as a model for a campus-wide mentorship (or “buddy system”) program.

In 2005 the Division of Social Sciences launched an “MSO Academy,” developed for staff members who aspire to become business officers. The two-year pilot program, open to Social Sciences staff at the ___ Assistant III / PSS 3 level and above, provided training and guidance to a diverse group of 9 participants (including two new business officers) with the goal of enhancing their competitiveness for MSO positions. The second year of the Academy will provide the participants with resume assistance and mock interviews to further prepare them for potential promotional opportunities.

After the marked success of the Social Sciences MSO Academy, Academic Affairs adapted the program and announced the launch of the Business Officer Academy (BOA) in fall 2005. This innovative staff enrichment program will provide training, guidance and support to staff members with an interest in becoming business officers. The BOA is a two-year program centered on case study, small group discussions and personal interactions such that the participants gain an understanding and appreciation of the role of the business officer at UCSD. Academic Affairs staff employees, PSS 4 level and above, were invited by SVC Marsha Chandler to apply for the BOA. Out of a total of 45 applications, a diverse group of eight individuals have been selected to participate. The first year of the Academy, which will commence in January 2006, will consist of seven training modules on the functional areas for which a business officer is typically responsible (staff human resources, academic personnel, fiscal management, student affairs, instructional technology, facilities management/safety and leadership). The program also includes a job shadowing component to allow the participants to experience “a day in the life” of a business officer. The Academy will welcome a new class of participants each year.

Both the business officer academy and mentorship program are intended to make a positive impact on our representation of underrepresented groups in these positions. These programs may also become integral components of the campus’ overall succession management planning.

Selection and Monitoring:

Workforce Statistics: The most recent report on the UCSD Career Workforce shows the percentage of People of Color (POC) working in Academic Affairs at 32%, the same as the previous year. In absolute numbers Academic Affairs realized an increase of 8 POC within the overall workforce. Total workforce increased by just 13 in the same time frame, so POC represented 62% of the total growth. As of October 2005, POC represent 34% of the PSS workforce, also the same as last year. Notable is a 22% increase in representation by People of Color in the MSP program (an increase of 7 in absolute numbers). In the past 5 years the number of POC employed in the MSP program has increased more than threefold from 11 to 39, with representation rising from 11% to 18%. While more progress can certainly be made, especially among Black and Hispanic employees, these gains show that Academic Affairs is moving in a positive direction. In 2006 Academic Affairs will continue to focus its recruitment efforts in areas with the greatest underutilization, with emphasis on MSP managers and technical professionals, upper level administrative staff (MSO II, MSO III, Senior and Principal Administrative Analyst, etc.) and information technology and other technical positions.

Of note in our annual summary of goals and diversification placement progress is the fact that the percentage of hires in Academic Affairs that “met a goal” increased from 9% to 32% during the past year (from 44/489 in 2003-04 to 192/604 in 2004-05). In addition, the combined figures for hires that “met a goal” or “diversified the workforce” increased from 36% to 44% over the same period. While these increases may in part be due to the use of updated census figures and a collapsing of the number of staff job groups used for calculation in 2004-05, we believe our efforts contributed to our improvement in this area.

Following our annual EO/SAA progress briefing with campus HR, we review current Academic Affairs’ affirmative action issues, efforts and activities at both an Assistant Deans’ meeting and HR Advisory Group meeting. A report is prepared for each Assistant Dean/major unit head that includes issues raised at the briefing, focus recruitment areas for the current year, and potential initiatives and activities. We provide managers with statistics on the composition of the Academic Affairs staff workforce, summary data and detail on employment activities by unit. This information is then shared and discussed with department business officers, who we expect will incorporate it into their unit’s staff diversity efforts. Some of this information has recently been made available directly via a web-based application – making this data readily accessible to appropriate departmental staff will improve our monitoring efforts.

Employee Career Development: Academic Affairs continually strives to create and endorse training and development opportunities for staff in order to promote a culture of tolerance, understanding and equal opportunity. Every supervisor has responsibility for employee development and career planning which are vital components of performance management, As part of this process, supervisors are expected to develop annual career development/training plans with their employees with an emphasis on helping all employees, including women and people of color, attain their career goals.

Academic Affairs, in conjunction with Staff Training and Development and the EO/SAA office offered a pilot session in November 2005 for managers and senior supervisors entitled “A Supervisor’s Guide to Developing Employee Career Plans.” The program focused on providing supervisors with the tools and resources to assist their employees in developing career plans and meeting job-related goals. The session included information on how to identify options for acquisition of additional skills and knowledge to foster career growth, as well as programs in place at UCSD to facilitate these efforts. Approximately 60 Academic Affairs managers and supervisors attended the pilot session. We plan to offer it once or twice per year.

Performance reviews are crucial for developing and evaluating managerial excellence. It is our expectation that job descriptions of all managers and designated supervisors incorporate responsibilities and language related to diversity and EO/AA. Consequently, diversity efforts are to be formally incorporated into the performance reviews of Assistant Deans and business officers as well as other managers who have an opportunity to influence staff hiring.

Academic Affairs Climate and Culture: To help gauge workplace climate, Academic Affairs participates in the annual Staff@Work Survey, an employee satisfaction survey that measures how employees feel about working at UCSD. In our second year of participation, we were especially pleased to see our response rate rise from 32% to 41%, an increase of more than 200 respondents. Results of this year’s survey indicate our employees are generally satisfied with their working environment, rating overall satisfaction at 3.6 (out of 5). Three questions which deal specifically with issues related to diversity at the department level were among the highest-rated for Academic Affairs in 2004. These questions asked about “fair treatment of people of all ethnic groups, cultures and backgrounds” (4.3 rating out of 5), “fair treatment of people of all sexual orientations” (4.3), and “active support of a diverse working environment” (4.0). Our employees also rated their supervisors highly (4.0) on the question regarding “opportunities to develop new skills to support career advancement.” We expect to continue to participate in the annual survey so that changes in employee sentiment can be measured over time.

As part of the implementation of our Staff Diversity Plan, we conducted a series of focus groups to gauge how our staff members from underrepresented ethnic groups perceive the culture towards diversity in Academic Affairs units. These focus groups were organized as a result of anecdotal evidence indicating that people of color may not be applying in larger numbers for positions in Academic Affairs because of a perceived culture that our units are less welcoming to diversity than others on campus. While this perception was not borne out by the results of the Staff@Work Survey, we felt the matter warranted further investigation, and if we determine this perception actually exists and is inhibiting applicants, what may be done to change it.

To protect confidentiality and encourage free expression, an experienced consultant who has previously conducted focus groups at UCSD was hired to coordinate and facilitate the sessions. Four focus groups involving a total of ~30 staff members from underrepresented ethnic groups took place in late November 2005. The consultant will summarize his findings and recommendations and make two presentations in January 2006 to the Academic Affairs Assistant Dean and HR Advisory groups.

Academic Affairs is pleased with the number of EO/AA initiatives undertaken both by SVCAA and in individual units during the past year. Many of these programs are on-going and we expect new ones to commence in 2006. Significant resources, both fiscal and human, have been expended to bring these initiatives to fruition. And we are starting to see progress in some of the measures of success in this area and expect to see that progress continue.