Campus Leaders Castañeda, Ashley Participating in State Evaluation of Equity in the Undergraduate Experience

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Mari Castañeda, dean of the Commonwealth Honors College and professor of communications, and Dean of Students Evelyn Ashley are part of a group of leaders working with the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education on its equity agenda.

The statewide group was convened by Carlos E. Santiago, commissioner of the Department of Higher Education, and tasked with creating a new guidance document for Massachusetts public higher education called “The New Undergraduate Experience (NUE) in Massachusetts Public Higher Education: Dismantling Barriers, Recognizing Students’ Cultural Wealth, and Advancing Racial Equity.”

“It is an honor to be part of this effort to reimagine the New Undergraduate Experience and to be in conversation with colleagues from across the state about racial equity in higher education,” Castañeda said. “Not only is it timely, but the recommendations we develop will be critical for the future success of our students and educational institutions across Massachusetts.”

In 1989, the Board of Regents of Higher Education issued “The Undergraduate Experience,” a nearly 60-page document detailing recommendations to define the student experience at Massachusetts public colleges and universities. Santiago said the report is long overdue for a comprehensive update that acknowledges and responds to today’s changing times. He said the top policy priority of the department is to advance racial equity, and the new guiding document will clearly express a collective vision for the cultural, curricular, pedagogical and structural changes needed for a true transformation of public higher education.

“It is an exciting privilege to be working with colleagues from across the state to analyze policy and procedures that effect the student experience in order to create higher education environments that are conducive to the success of all students,” said Ashley.

The group Castañeda and Ashley are working with is composed of two working committees, Teaching & Learning, and Student-Ready Colleges & Universities, as well as an overarching Steering Committee that is coordinating and overseeing the work. The 60-plus members of the three New Undergraduate Experience committees represent all 29 Massachusetts public higher education institutions, and include students, faculty, staff, administrators and executive leaders.In addition, community partners, representing industry employers, K-12 public education, college access and success organizations, cultural institutions, racial justice advocacy organizations and the American Associated of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) are also serving on and leading the project.

The committees have been meeting regularly since January, and have begun drafting their equity-minded recommendations concerning campus climate and culture, student services and support, pedagogy and the curriculum, and faculty/staff hiring and development. The draft recommendations will be submitted to the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Higher Education in June, and their feedback will inform the final report that will be presented to the Board of Higher Education in the fall of 2021.