Pursuing equity and inclusion transformations is a part of our everyday work.
Student Aid:
Financial need is a barrier to completing degrees for some UO students. UESS attempted to reduce that burden by offering student aid to low-income, first-generation, underserved, and traditionally marginalized student populations.
The TRiO Student Support Services program provided Grant Aid and Tuition Remission financial awards to support students with high financial need, who identify as first-generation college students, and/or who have a disability.
The Degree Progression team administered three types of emergency aid to support students when unexpected financial challenges could have rerouted their path to graduation. During this past year, 46 students received Completion, Continuation, or Crisis Funding awards averaging $1,600 each; XX of those students graduated or remain enrolled with UO today.
Student Graduation:
PathwayOregon, a wrap-around program for Oregon students with high financial need, served 2400 students in 2020-21; prior to the inception of Pathway in 2007, students receiving the federal Pell Grant had a four-year graduation rate of 31%. Today, Pathway students experience a 59% four-year graduation rate. PathwayOregon is a promise that tuition and fees will be covered for four years, as long as students remain eligible and meet academic requirement.
Being part of the PathwayOregon community comes with a really wonderful support system. Both my family and I benefit from the scholarship, so we can focus on our lives and not worry about financially burdening ourselves. Knowing how the expenses of books and housing can add up, having the entirety of my tuition covered feels like wight being lifted off my shoulders.
Student Engagement:
The 2020-2021 UO Common Reading selection focused to reflect and align with the Black Lives Matter movement and center blackness and the black experience. This topic spurred over 60 events and engagement opportunities for our campus community to listen, learn, and act, including signature lectures with authors Kim Johnson and Nikole Hannah-Jones.
The Accessible Education Center launched the Accessibility Ally Program, an opportunity for faculty and staff to increase awareness related to disability and develop skills to act as an ally for accessibility and inclusion of students with disabilities. The program consists of 3 parts: 2 live workshops and 1 online component.
Winter 2021
Spring 2021
Professional Hiring Practices:
The division transformed hiring practices by including search advocates on search committees, posting open searches on diversity-focused websites and job boards, and by prioritizing social justice as a focus and experience for new hires.