The Council on Postsecondary Education has a rich history of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion at Kentucky's public postsecondary institutions. In 1982, the Commonwealth of Kentucky Higher Education Desegregation Plan was first developed in response to a U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) finding that Kentucky had "failed to eliminate the vestiges of its former de jure racially dual system of public higher education." For the next 25-plus years, CPE focused the desegregation plan and subsequent revisions on increasing the enrollment and success of African-American students, increasing the number of African-American employees on campus and enhancing Kentucky State University, with later versions also focusing on improving campus climate. To provide oversight of plan implementation and to prioritize diversity initiatives, CPE created the Committee on Equal Opportunities (CEO).
In December 2008, the OCR released Kentucky from the remedial planning process, but CPE continued its efforts to promote equity and close achievement gaps. A new diversity policy was adopted in September 2016, called the Kentucky Public Postsecondary Education Policy for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This statewide policy is grounded on the premise that to truly prepare students for life and work in an increasingly diverse society, public postsecondary institutions within the Commonwealth must embrace diversity and equity within constitutional and legal parameters, commit to improving the academic achievement of all students, create an inclusive campus environment and produce culturally competent graduates for the workforce.
The policy directs campuses to develop diversity plans focused on:
■ Undergraduate Enrollment. The percentage of total undergraduate enrollment that is African American or Black, Hispanic or Latinx or part of an underrepresented minoritized population. URM students include American Indian or Alaskan natives, native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders and students identifying as two or more races.
■ Graduate and Professional Enrollment. The percentage of total graduate enrollment that is part of an underrepresented minoritized population. This metric does not apply to KCTCS. ■ First-Year to Second-Year Retention. The percentage of first-time, underrepresented minoritized and low-income students seeking a credential or degree who are still enrolled at the same institution the following fall. Low-income students are defined as federal Pell grant recipients.
■ First-Year to Second-Year Retention. The percentage of first-time, underrepresented minoritized and low-income students seeking a credential or degree who are still enrolled at the same institution the following fall. Low-income students are defined as federal Pell grant recipients.
■ Graduation Rates. The percentage of first-time, full-time underrepresented minoritized and low-income students seeking a credential or degree who obtain a degree from the same institution within 150% of the normal time frame (three years for associate degree programs and six years for bachelor's degree programs).
■ Degrees and Credentials. The number of degrees and credentials awarded to underrepresented minoritized and low-income students.
■ Faculty/Tenure Track Employees. The percentage of full-time faculty/tenure-track employees who are from an underrepresented minoritized group, including those who identify as two or more races. For KCTCS, this metric includes instructional staff.
■ Management Occupations. The percentage of employees holding managerial or administrative positions who are from an underrepresented minoritized group, including those who identify as two or more races.
For an institution to remain eligible to offer new academic programs per KRS 164.020(19), it must demonstrate progress toward meeting diversity goals and provide evidence that identified strategies are being implemented with fidelity. If institutions are not making satisfactory progress, they must submit a performance improvement plan. Once approved, an institution may request a waiver to offer a new academic program if the institution can provide sufficient assurance that offering the new program will not divert resources away from improvement efforts. The request for a waiver is submitted to the CEO for review and then to CPE for final approval. Approval must be granted before the institution can initiate the program approval process.
CPE and the CEO currently are reviewing the annual campus diversity planing process and metrics and expect significant revisions after next year.