Research and Equity Office

The Office of Research and Equity operates under the general direction of the Vice President of Institutional Equity & Research and Planning. This office provides strategic support in the areas of research, planning, and professional development. Within these core services, equity is the central motivating focus. Our office adheres to the RP Group’s Research Code of Ethics and strives to be transparent in our methods.

Research activities are prioritized in accordance with the following hierarchy:

1. Mandatory reporting (state and federal) and accreditation, including grant reporting and data support.
2. Strategic support for planning: development, implementation, and evaluation.
3. Cyclical program evaluations (e.g. program review), annual reports, and surveys.
4. Support the process and structure for assessing student learning outcomes, service area outcomes, and institutional learning outcomes.
5. Internal Ad Hoc requests unrelated to the responsibilities above.
6. External Ad Hoc requests that have been approved by the Research & Equity office.

The research that we do is conducted first and foremost with an equity and ethical lens. This means that we conduct a critical assessment of who is included, excluded, and impacted by practices, policies, and procedures across instruction, student services, and administration, as well as whose voices and experiences are included in research and evaluation design and delivery. Research within our system and at our institution suggests that racial identity is the most salient indicator of disproportionate impact. As such, our central focus is to understand the factors leading to different outcomes on the basis of racial identity - including factors created by ourselves and our institution.

Research Data Request Form

Responsibility and Practice

• Application of an equity-minded approach to college planning and research.
• Ensuring that data are used in ways that respect the privacy and security of students.
• Using data to unearth/expose where student groups experience disproportionate impact at the college.
• Using data to close equity gaps and improve campus processes.