C. Counselor Education Plan for Recruitment & Retention of Diverse Students
The Counselor Education Department has a goal to increase the diversity of candidates from underrepresented groups that enter our programs and to help them complete their programs of study successfully. Our department values diversity because it generates a multiplicity of ideas and viewpoints, leads to more creative and efficient problem solving, fosters an understanding and acceptance of individuals from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds, and recognizes the contributions that a variety of individuals and groups can make. A diverse group of candidates will ensure that the Counselor Education Department can better serve the needs of our increasingly diverse communities, while also attending to the needs of those communities that are most underserved.
The Counselor Education Department and the College of Education (COE) prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, disability, national origin, race, color, marriage status, veteran status, religion, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, or in the use of Worker's Compensation, Federal Family Medical Leave Act, or the Oregon Medical Leave Act (see also PSU Prohibited Discrimination & Harassment Policy*).
The University and the COE have a plan in place to promote its efforts to increase candidate diversity, and the Counselor Education department is actively engaged with the following structures within the university and the COE.
Structures
PSU University-wide Support COE & COUN Plan
Global Diversity and Inclusion: Office of Equity and Compliance
http://www.pdx.edu/diversity/office-of-equity-compliance
The Diversity Action Council
http://www.pdx.edu/diversity/diversity-action-council
Cultural Resource Centers
http://www.pdx.edu/cultural-resource-centers/
Disability Resource Center
Veteran Resource Center
· Diversity Committee Mission:
To promote the consideration of diversity and social justice issues within the COE, gather data on the extent to which diversity is represented in the COE, and assist in the preparation of diversity documents for accreditation. The Counselor Education Department is represented on this committee by tenure-track faculty.
· Collaborate and Comply with the Office of Equity & Compliance to:
Investigate complaints of prohibited discrimination and harassment. Ensure compliance with federal and state equal opportunity laws and regulations.
The COE has a goal to recruit the most promising candidates who reflect a diverse range of interests, abilities, life experiences, and world-views to enhance the mission of the Counselor Education Department and the COE. Past and current recruitment efforts include two successful “pathway” programs that provide encouragement and financial support to candidates of color interested in careers within the COE programs. Effective recruitment efforts require extensive informal networks with local and national organizations and personal contacts with diverse members of the professional community. The university and the COE have these strategies to recruit diverse candidates:
Recruitment Strategies
PSU University-wide Support COE & COUN Plan
PSU Human Resources
Campus Centers for Students
http://www.pdx.edu/diversity/welcome-our-campus
Cultural Resource Centers
http://www.pdx.edu/cultural-resource-centers/
Disability Resource Center
Veteran Resource Center
- PSU displays and presentations at state and local conferences
- RSA Long-Term Training Grant
- Scholarships in which diversity and/or cultural competence is considered as a criterion for awarding.
- Marketing materials sent to Minority Serving Institutions
The Counselor Education Department and the COE are not only committed to recruitment of candidates from diverse and underserved groups, but also in retaining candidates of diverse backgrounds. We work to identify retention problems that have a negative impact on candidate diversity by examining those conditions under which students leave our programs.
One of the most effective variables in retaining minority candidates is having instructors who also come from minority communities and provide recognizable role models for emerging professionals. Candidates of color and those with other diverse identities are also more likely to stay in programs where colleagues and instructors create learning environments characterized by openness and respect. Some students and instructors need assistance in becoming more sensitive to cultural differences and aware of their own biases and prejudices. PSU provides programs with these instructional aims. Programs in place to promote the retention of diverse candidates include:
Retention Strategies
PSU University-wide Support COE & COUN Plan
Cultural Competence Training Series
http://www.pdx.edu/diversity/psu-cultural-competence-training-series
Queer Education Seminars and Trainings http://www.pdx.edu/queer/quest
Multicultural Retention Services
http://www.pdx.edu/dmss/retention-services-programs
Cultural Resource Centers
http://www.pdx.edu/cultural-resource-centers/
Disability Resource Center
Veteran Resource Center
· Having a diverse and supportive faculty
· Accommodations statements included on the first page of every syllabus
· Maintaining a database on student demographics and monitoring trends in ethnic/racial representation
· Working with Disability Resource Center to provide appropriate accommodations for student success
· Assisting students in locating University resources and supports for multiple diverse identities
· Mentoring students to assist in success
· Creating an environment in which faculty and students can engage in conversations around knowledge and awareness of personal biases can be explored and addressed
*Portland State University, Prohibited Discrimination and Harassment Policy http://www.pdx.edu/ogc/sites/www.pdx.edu.ogc/files/Policy_on_Prohibited_Discrimination_and_Harassment.Final_.pdf