1 To: David Marado From: Gretchen McCall, Kristin Black, Chris Chambers, Taylor Patterson Re: Feasibility Report Date: 11/18/2012 Letter of Transmittal On behalf of the team, I am pleased to contribute the following feasibility report regarding Miami University’s diversity issues. This feasibility report provides primary and secondary research, several alternative solutions, and a recommendation for the diversity problem. We made sure to find valid evidence that diversity is, in fact, a beneficial asset for a university to have for the students, as well as the faculty. We also applied criteria, conducted surveys, and completed interviews to find the best alternative according to the student body and other procedures that have worked in the past. From this research, the team has decided that the most feasible solution is to hold a campus-wide multicultural event to increase integration. If the diversity affairs office has any questions, please feel free to contact the team at any time. We are willing to work further with the university to make sure this issue is addressed.
From: Gretchen McCall, Kristin Black, Chris Chambers, Taylor Patterson
Re: Feasibility Report
Date: 11/18/2012
Letter of Transmittal
On behalf of the team, I am pleased to contribute the following feasibility report regarding
Miami University’s diversity issues.
This feasibility report provides primary and secondary research, several alternative solutions, and
a recommendation for the diversity problem. We made sure to find valid evidence that diversityis, in fact, a beneficial asset for a university to have for the students, as well as the faculty. We
also applied criteria, conducted surveys, and completed interviews to find the best alternative
according to the student body and other procedures that have worked in the past. From this
research, the team has decided that the most feasible solution is to hold a campus-wide
multicultural event to increase integration.
If the diversity affairs office has any questions, please feel free to contact the team at any time.
We are willing to work further with the university to make sure this issue is addressed.
Miami University has received a D- when describing the diversity on campus (Miami
university--oxford, 2011). Although overall Miami University is a good college, one of its few
weak points is the lack of diversity. It has been said about Miami that it’s “the lack of diversityand occasional ignorance that kills the mood” (Miami university--oxford, 2011). The object of
this report is to address Miami University's diversity problem and propose a way to integrate
diversity on Miami’s Oxford campus. The Miami University Diversity department has the
ability to implement a program that would provide a solution to this problem. Many studies have
shown that a diverse institution has positive effects on both minority and majority students,
including overall satisfaction and involvement with their institutions and their academic growth
(Humphreys). Some proposed solutions to Miami University’s lack of diversity integration
throughout campus are encouraging studying abroad and requiring a re-entry course, requiring a
multicultural course, create an event feed on the MU email, or creating a multicultural event
available to the entire campus. To investigate these alternatives research was conducted on theresults of implementing these solutions on other campuses.
The time students spend at college is meant to prepare them for the lives in the business
world, hard skills are taught, and mandated in many cases, by an accreditation board, so that we
are able to adequately do our job once we leave. One area that Miami lacks in is diversity. A
college with a low diversity level will not create culturally aware students ready to confront the
ever-changing business landscape. Because the world is becoming more connected, due to the
Internet and transportation advances it is more important than ever to stress the importance of
diversity at colleges. Some benefits of diversity include increased adaptability, broader service
range, multiple perspectives leading to a larger knowledge pool, and differing backgrounds
(Greenberg). Knowing these benefits, we decided to investigate possible options Miami could
carry out in order to increase diversity, diversity awareness, and integration on campus.
O V E R V I E W O F A L T E R N A T I V E S
Community Cultural Event
A proposed option for the educational system of Miami University to host a cultural
diversity event and integrate this event throughout campus. A solution to make Miami students
more accepting of diverse students and their customs. The application of these students in real
life to exposure in different cultural settings will encourage an extraordinary experience which is
expected to be beneficial.
A Cultural celebration that is a participatory entertainment that doesn’t exclude any race
or culture. Exposing students to pleasurable activities in different cultures can expose them to a
beneficial perspective of cultural diversity. This can include activities, general customs, dances,
art, history, and publications. According to Lee et al., they explain that “community celebrations
have one or more themes such as enjoyment, fun, and relief from everyday life; bringing people
together and creating a sense of community; building community; showcasing people, the arts,
cultural traditions, community assets; educating through providing opportunities for skill
development or personal transformation; creative expression; social healing, for example,
Aboriginal reconciliation; valuing diversity by providing exposure to a range of ethnic cultures
and challenging racist values; social action, in particular advocacy for the most disadvantaged
within the community; and the interconnection between self, community, spirit and the
earth”(Insun).
This passage stresses that through cultural celebration, the truly disadvantaged people
will help eliminate negative prejudices. Next, student diversity affairs at “Upstate” in South
Carolina stated that students will better “understand the importance of healthy and positive social
relationships with others” and “use Multicultural Affairs as a clearinghouse to campus, local and
national resources on issues related to diversity”(University of South Carolina, 2012).
Implementing this creative event into a campus wide promotion of diversity will make a stronger
student body in terms of communication and education. Lastly, Lee et al. states, “Although
cultural expression and preservation form important parts of a minority culture’s identity,minority cultures struggle to collectively express, share and thus preserve their cultural heritage
in light of a system and structure that favors the dominant population and culture”(Insun). This
reinforces that instead of taking a rather narrow-minded dominant view, the student body as a
whole can gain an appreciation for different skills and mindsets brought to the table.
Multicultural events enable students to unknowingly benefit from new experiences that could
potentially add beneficial tools to the future arsenal of all students when faced with extreme
workforce diversity in the future.
Study Abroad Immersion Program
Study Abroad is one of Miami University’s proud accomplishments. According to
Miami University’s statistics, currently 41 percent of students study abroad during their
undergraduate career and Miami University has been ranked 2nd in the United States for
undergraduate student involvement in study abroad. There are over 350 co-sponsored programs
that students are able to participate in, as well as sponsored and exchange programs (Miami
University). Even further, Miami University even has its own campus abroad in Luxembourg
called the Miami University John E. Dolibois Center and offers many study abroad programs
through the university itself.
Studying abroad immerses students into diversity situations, opening their eyes to new
people, places, cultures, and ideas. This can often lead to culture shock to the student when theyfirst reach the country. This can be solved by keeping in contact with friends and family at home
and developing routines. Usually, people will learn to adapt to their new environment in a matter
of weeks and truly embrace their new experiences. However, returning home can cause an
incident called “Reverse Culture Shock.” After traveling abroad, many students want to share
their experiences with their family and friends but may be disappointed in their lack of interest in
their life-changing experiences. It may also be a shock to discover how family and friends have
moved on and changed while the student was gone. These realizations, as well as the students’
new realizations from their experience, may lead the student to resent their home country,
become depressed, or alienate themselves (ABCNews). This can lead to a lack of integration of
diversity because the student may reach to anything familiar to try and become assimilated back
into the university. Transitioning classes have been proven to help with these issues and help the
student to adapt more easily (Miami University). Also, studies show that networking with
people abroad has proven to help diversity problems (ABCNews).
Using this information, we have come up with one alternative solution to Miami’s
diversity issue: require students that have recently studied abroad to enroll in a re-entry course.
This class would include adaptation strategies, presentations about diverse cultures, and the
importance of diversity, among other related topics.
Miami University currently offers two classes, IDS 156 “Study Abroad Reentry Seminar”
and ATH 484 “Beyond the Field Experience: Processing Cultural Adjustment.” These courses
intend to help students integrate their study abroad experience into Oxford’s campus. However,
these are not mandatory and many students choose not to take these courses. If a mandatorycourse was offered, students would learn how to use what they have learned from abroad
experiences to accept and embrace diversity at Miami.
Increasing Involvement among IFC, NPHC, and Panhel
Miami University’s “Greek system constitutes a large part of campus life, with about a
third of the student body involved in more than 50 fraternities and sororities” (Miami university--
oxford, 2011). There are three different governing bodies within the Greek communities at
Miami University, the Interfraternal Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, and Panhel. Each
council governs a different type of organization. The Interfraternal Council governs thirty
fraternities located on Miami’s Oxford campus. The NPHC is the governing body of Miami’s
traditionally African American fraternities and sororities, which currently consists of 4 sororities
and 3 fraternities. Finally, Panhel is the governing body of sixteen sororities. The panhellenic
sororities and IFC fraternities at Miami lack the amount of diversity that is seen throughout the
NPHC organizations. This lack of diversity has been identified as a problem at other
universities, including The University of Pennsylvania and the University of Alabama.
Penn’s Greek life has been described as “really not diverse at all” (Anzilotti, 2011).
Statistics show that groups such as African American women report lower numbers in the Greek
system than in the overall community (Anzilotti, 2011). The Greek community at the University
of Alabama was discussed by Author Paul Loeb during a campus event. He spoke about “theneed to eliminate the racial segregation at the University, which he sees exemplified in the all-
white Greek system and Student Government Association” (Smith, 2011). These other
universities have the same diversity problems that Miami University is facing and the solutions
they have implemented may help reduce Miami’s lack of involvement among organizations. The
University of Pennsylvania has tried to bridge the gap between fraternities and sororities by
organizing mixers between the two different types of organizations. Since this has been
successful, to continue bridging this gap they plan on joining together for philanthropy events
(Anzilotti, 2011). The solution proposed by Paul Loeb is to actually increase diversity within
every organization on campus and also increase the interactions between Greeks and non-
Greeks.
Although Greek life is very prominent at Miami University, there is very little
interactions between the organization under the three governing bodies- IFC, NPHC, and Panhel.
Since similar problems are seen at University of Pennsylvania and University of Alabama,
similar solutions may be effective at Miami. By increasing the interactions between the different
types of organizations, students will become more aware of the benefits of a more diverse
student body and benefit individually.
Implementing Diversity Into Curriculum
In order to increase diversity on campus, it would be both convenient and beneficial to
start in the classroom. It would be convenient because, whereas with cultural events attendance
is optional, by implementing diversity issues and segments into the curriculum students wouldinevitably be exposed merely by attending class. In the fields of engineering and business, for
example, in the curriculum is a dedicated portion to making ethical decision and analyzing case
studies to learn from, this would be the same form a diversity portion of the curriculum would
take.
In some classes, such as a history class, diversity is easier to blend into the already
planned class schedule. In these classes open discussions would be a viable way to examine
diversity and it’s positive effects on people and organizations. In classes such as a technical
engineering class diversity topics are more difficult to introduce fluidly. In classes like this, a
group project which required a certain amount of diversity per group, whether this be diversity in
terms of race, ethnicity, gender, or engineering discipline, by working with a diverse group the
benefits would be easy to see how diversity allowed for more perspectives when solving
problems. In each class requiring reflection papers would force students to critically analyze
diversity’s positive effects.
Rather than merging diversity into a normal class, Miami could also require students to
take a multicultural course, at a minimum during their freshman year. A study conducted at the
University of Cailfornia-Berkerley showed that a multicultural course had a greater appreciation
of works of culture in different societies. By implementing diverse topics directly into the
curriculum students are given the opportunity to increase their cultural awareness and the school
becomes more appealing to underrepresented groups because diversity is being stressed as animportant avenue of student development.
Another study showed that students whose professors included racial and ethnic materials
reported a higher level of satisfaction with their college experience (Humphreys). There are
many benefits to increasing diversity on college campuses, including increased recruitment,
increased retention and increased satisfaction of college courses. According to “Ten Core
Ingredients for Fostering Campus Diversity Success”, key elements to include in campus
This tactic could be very beneficial for students that are willingly open to experience new
perspectives. A campus-wide event that is well-promoted will improve integration of minoritiesinto campus at a reasonable rate if held annually. According to an interview with Dr. Ronald B.
Scott, the multicultural event Global Rhythms is held annually as a symbolic worldwide event in
which different cultures of the student body came together and formed a cohesive bond through
music (Scott). Fundraisers, alumni donations, and further approval of the event prove possible in
the future. College students are looking for things to do and be entertained with, so the
multicultural event will attract many students with the proper approach to advertisement. The
institution will produce a more diverse output of students every year this multicultural event is
hosted. This would help promote a more visible minority culture at the school and therefore
promote the influx of more culturally diverse students, as they would feel more comfortable.
When implemented, a multicultural event impacts all different areas of the student body
who choose to attend. More decisions will be faced by students everyday regarding their diverse
environment and how they treat what is around them. The idea may very well affect the majority
of students if advertised in a way that is entertaining and informative. Further promotional
approaches in classrooms will also help events like Global Rhythms expand and be more
prevalent in the future.
Study Abroad Immersion Program
This tactic could be very beneficial for students coming back from abroad, as well as the
people they encounter. Because 41% of undergraduates study abroad, this program would notdirectly reach a majority of the school. However, because the 41% will be encountering others,
this program has the possibility to indirectly reach a majority of the campus. Learning how to
work with different people is a valuable skill for anyone and studying abroad is a great way to
appreciate diversity. This will make the university a better and more diverse place by allowing
study abroad students to not forget everything that they learned abroad, but use it in their
everyday lives.
Because some transition classes are already offered by the university, the cost of this
implementation should be minimal. The university would probably have to pay for more class
sections and for the redesign of the course, but these costs would be minimal when compared to
some other tactics.
This is a desirable idea because, even though those who study abroad may not expect to
get reverse culture shock, this will be a preventative action. Therefore, the student will be less
likely to feel depressed or alienated when arriving back at the university. It will make the
transition easier for students and allow them to get the most out of their college experience.
This may be slightly difficult to implement due to the fact that the class would be
mandatory. With complex class schedules and costs, this may discourage people from studying
abroad. However, if the course was made to be a small number of credits or possibly a sprint
course, the possibility of this implementation rises greatly.
Increasing Involvement among IFC, NPHC, and Panhel
This tactic would benefit affiliated students by increasing the interactions between the
more diverse and the less diverse organizations. These interactions may increase students
interest in joining more diverse organizations that they were not originally interested in. It would
increase students’ understanding and appreciation of diversity and also increase their
understanding of the importance of increased diversity. An increase in diversity on Miami’s
campus as well as an increase of integration among minorities and non-minorities would be
beneficial to the entire campus and make it a better place to attend school. Since the Greek
community only consists of a third of Miami’s student population, the entire student body would
not be affected by this tactic. Therefore, a better tactic would be to implement a solution that
affects more than a third of Miami’s student population so more people will benefit.
Implementing Diversity Into Curriculum
This strategy would improve integration of minorities because it would purposefully put
minority members into groups with members of other demographic groups. This program would
cost the university very little money. The biggest expense would be diversity training, if needed,
for professors to undergo before teaching about diversity in the classroom. This could be done in
a span of a couple days led by either the Diversity Affairs department at Miami or by an outside
source; because this is the only requirement this idea is very possible to do. While the idea
might not be desirable from a student’s perspective, because it is more information to retain,
from the perspective of the school, it is very desirable because a more diverse and accepting
school leads to more regional, or national, awareness and applicants from minority groups. By
educating students about diversity issues the school would, most likely, become a better place
because minority groups would feel more accepted and all students would be more sensitive to
cultural differences. If this program was successful, Miami, as a whole, would be a much better
place, in terms of diversity, and would hopefully climb up from the D- given by US Weekly.
C O N C L U S I O N
As well as analyzing the results according to the criteria, a survey was also conducted to
see how the students felt about these alternatives. The alternative believed to have the greatesteffect was a campus-wide event followed sequentially by integration of diversity in the
classroom, a mandatory “Return from study abroad program,” increasing Greek integration, and
finally an online simulation. These results were taken into consideration when choosing the best
alternative. The team also compared the criteria of each alternative to each other with certain
criteria holding more weight. The most important criteria included cost, desirability, and
reachability to the majority of campus. Of course the other criteria were held as important, but
these were the topics most discussed.
Unfortunately, faults in the criteria led to automatic rejection of some alternatives.
Increasing involvement in diverse Greek life organizations and creating a study abroad
immersion program would affect the campus. However, the majority of students would not reap
the benefits of these implementations. This project’s goal is to integrate all of Miami, not just
the Greek life or study abroad students. This led to the elimination of these two options as the
chosen alternative. However, integrating diversity into the classroom or hosting a campus-wide
event would affect everyone at the university, students and faculty alike. One drawback of the
event is the fact that is on a volunteer basis. It would most likely attract people who are already
interested in diversity rather than the people who need educated about it the most. When
integrating diversity into the classroom, this is not an issue. Also, to make the event a success,
the diversity will need funds that it does not currently have access to while integration into the
classroom would be relatively inexpensive for the university. However, a voluntary event is
much more desirable for students than another topic to worry about in the classroom. This isshown by the survey as well. However, surprisingly, these two options were very close in the
survey depicted by the graph below. The lower the ranking, the more students agreed to the
alternative’s success.
Figure 1. This graph shows the results taken from a survey taken by Miami University students
and staff. It displays the average rankings chosen by survey takers with the smaller values
representing a more beneficial technique for integration, and larger values representing a less
Using the criteria and survey, the team compared the results as shown in the evaluation
and conclusion. From these analyses, the team has decided that it is feasible to implement a
diversity program into Miami University’s curriculum. We feel that this is the best option out of all of the alternatives by reaching all of Miami’s students and faculty, being cost efficient, and
successfully educated the student body about why diversity in life is important.
