Commitment to Success Program:
Background and Purpose
CSP Review Report (pdf)
In June 2000, The Ohio State University adopted a Diversity Action Plan (to read more about the Diversity Action Plan, click here>>). One initiative that has helped support this plan is the Commitment to Success Program (CSP). CSP staff research how diversity impacts and enhances both educational and work settings at Ohio State. The findings produced through CSP assessments can help university programs gain a richer understanding of diversity in their settings, as well as possible steps to further improve the learning climate for all involved.
The purpose of CSP climate assessment is to understand student and faculty perceptions of the climate for diversity and learning in their respective colleges, departments and classrooms. By utilizing surveys and focus groups, CSP assessments also consider the personal experiences of students, faculty and staff regarding the policies, practices and learning environment within academic units and classroom settings. Since the program began, fourteen academic units and one central support office have engaged in a CSP climate assessment and received at least a preliminary report. The following steps are followed in the CSP assessment:
- Define the unit's objective for diversity assessment.
- Specify the population that is of interest.
- Select method(s) for data collection (e.g., online surveys, focus groups, etc.)
- Determine who will be in the sample.
- Design the assessment.
- Pretest/revise the assessment questions.
- Administer the assessment.
- Focus group/interview preparation (if applicable).
- Data analysis.
- Report to client unit.
Through their research, CSP also supports and supplements existing efforts to increase the retention and successful completion of all students at Ohio State with an emphasis on historically underrepresented student populations (i.e., students of color, women, GLBT students, nontraditionally aged students, and students with disabilities). CSP has sponsored a large number of workshops, discussions, and presentations on diversity climate issues, both alone and with other campus units. These have included several significant, ongoing collaborations. One such collaboration with the Office for Disability Services and the Nisonger Center included several U.S. Department of Education grants, which made possible several disability climate assessments. Another collaboration with The Women's Place has produced a regular series of very well–attended, open discussion sessions.
Currently, CSP and the Ohio State Department of Theatre co–sponsor the InterACT Theatre Project for Social Change. The theatrical troupe has worked with the Multicultural Center, GLBT Student Services, the Office of Minority Affairs, the Todd A. Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male, and the Office of International Affairs. By using original data from CSP assessments, InterACT produces workshops on a wide variety of topics and uses interactive theatre to engage participants in difficult discussions on diversity and inclusion.