Milestones

To assess and support an improved academic advising experience for students and advisers, groups working on this initiative are building on prior data collection and collaborating with NACADA, the Global Community for Academic Advising. To better understand and evaluate the academic advising program at Grinnell, this work has engaged more than 50 faculty and staff and has collected survey data from students, faculty, and staff over the course of the fall 2024 semester. An in-depth overview of this work is available on the Quality Initiative SharePoint site. 

Milestones

The working group is currently completing analyses of student participation in different HIPs across a range of demographics. Graham Miller met with the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment to discuss updated progress on the analysis in the fall of 2024, and a working group comprising units that develop and lead co-curricular and curricular HIPs will convene in spring 2025 to discuss findings and evaluate next steps.

Milestones

The group has sought feedback to guide staff development efforts and is working to finalize program learning outcomes for pathways that will align with staff members’ career phase. In addition, the group is inventorying and consolidating existing development resources, as well as researching new programs, to support staff-wide access. This has included testing GLADIS integration through Teams in preparation for a campus-wide release.

Milestones

The Office of Admissions has developed interventions that respond to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to ban the consideration of race in admissions decisions. Grinnell College matched with over 40 Questbridge students in fall 2024, the highest number in the College’s history. Grinnell has also strengthened the Laurel Scholars program, hiring Roy Salcedo as the Director of Intercultural Affairs in July, 2024 to support the Laurel Scholars’ experience on campus. Finally, The Office of Admissions is developing partnerships with community-based organizations to expand student recruitment. To this end, the College hosted 10 students from the College Choice Foundation in fall 2024 and recently agreed to a new partnership with the Cleveland-based organization, College Now.

Belonging and Connection

Milestones

Through partnership between the Department of Physical Education and Recreation (PEAR) and the Division of Student Affairs, this working group is exploring ways to enhance student belonging and community through co-curricular and extra-curricular endeavors. In reviewing previous reports and recommendations, the organizational structure has shifted in two major ways to support the student-athlete experience: First, the faculty coaches in the department are working in a modified two-sport coaching model allowing head coaches to substitute game management for the assigned secondary sport to allow coaches to focus on their primary sport in a way that benefits the teams and individual students. Second, we have added full-time strength and conditioning non-student professionals to support Grinnell's 20 varsity athletic teams. The group has also engaged an organizational culture coach who has reviewed previous reviews, done a site visit to conduct interviews, and will be returning in the spring to facilitate a workshop dedicated to PEAR.

Milestones

Residence Life has developed the G-CORE program to enhance the residential life experience for students. The G-CORE program seeks to create connections for students within their living communities and has created intentional experiences to help facilitate connection. With the program now fully implemented, Residence Life has worked with Communications and Marketing to develop an overview of G-CORE for our community that provides overarching understanding of the goals and focus areas, including a diagram providing strategies for implementing programs and events. Additional communication has been shared monthly within the monthly DSA Newsletter and in various features, like Living in the Residence Halls? How G-CORE Is Building Community There and Beyond. Residential Life has sought to assess new programming through survey data, receiving 290 student responses as of January, 2025. Other experience surveys include the Residential Staff Experience Feedback Survey, as well as the G-CORE Campus Partner Collaboration Experience Survey. In addition, the Residence Life team has developed various training and reference materials including fall and spring training for RLC and CAs/HCs, a reference calendar for RLC and CA staff, and a manual that outlines G-CORE programs, events, and facilitation guides to reach the established goals and learning outcomes while being adaptable towards the various on-campus residential communities. 

Collective Equity

Milestones

To support this initiative, the working group is identifying opportunities to tour all cultural centers to assess physical needs and develop a capital improvement timeline and budget. Future work will identify best-in-practice peer colleges and will engage in further analyses to better understand costs associated with starting and sustaining cultural centers.

Milestones

Seeking to gain $5M (through either cost savings or new revenue) by fiscal year 2029, this initiative has already resulted in $2.9M in annual operational savings. Looking to harness the expertise of those across the college, the working group has requested new ideas from the broader campus community through the annual budgeting process and the Toward a Sustainable Future project. The Treasurer’s Office, in collaboration with Institutional Initiatives, is currently analyzing these data to implement new revenue-generating strategies. If you have an idea to provide efficiencies, eliminate duplication of efforts, or increase operating revenue, you can submit your idea through the online form.

Milestones

Teams working on this project have already made a significant impact on campus. After the Information Technology and Academic Mission Alignment (ITAMA) group concluded its work and submitted a final report to the president, Information Technology Services (ITS) has subsequently implemented many of the report’s recommendations. The Information Technology Implementation Task Force (ITITF) was also established to continue to work with ITS for the foreseeable future in identifying and implementing additional recommendations in the report. Many of these recommendations are more strategic than tactical, and include items like governance, process, policy, and campus relationships. Critically, the work has fostered collaboration between ITS and academic departments, allowing for a more nuanced approach to cybersecurity decisions, emphasizing context and how technology is utilized across roles. As part of this approach, ITS has engaged in a strategic reorganization to develop an academic technology area that fosters strong relationships with faculty and supports their unique technology needs. The consulting firm MOR Associates returned to campus in January to assess progress and identify areas where additional effort is still needed, meeting with college leadership, the ITAMA group, and ITS Directors. To evaluate activities to date and identify ongoing areas of concern, a ten-question Qualtrics survey was distributed to all faculty and staff on Thursday, January 9th. Administered by MOR Associates, the survey received over 70 responses within the first 24 hours. To gather additional feedback, MOR Associates will offer virtual sessions with faculty in February. Later in February, the workgroup will receive a comprehensive report including findings from the virtual sessions, survey results, and final recommendations.

Milestones

To support individuals on campus, ODEI has developed two Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), Umoja and QERG (Queer Employees Resource Group), and has held informational meetings for individuals who expressed interest in chartering a Latine ERG and an ERG for community members with a disability. Further work is underway to better understand and develop action items for staff employee engagement, and HR will launch pulse surveys in early spring. Finally, HR and ODEI have developed tools to better understand College recruitment data, an effort that will be further supported through the launch of ADP, a new Human Resources platform, later in the spring.

Shared Goals and Common Ground

Milestones

Working with partners across campus and in the community, this group has taken key steps to advancing this initiative, even in the face of challenging construction delays. When the whole Grinnell community enjoyed a remarkable celebration with the building’s namesake, Edith Renfrow-Smith, in October 2024, this included an opportunity for the public to tour the building, including the Weingart ’61 Civic Innovation Pavilion. The group has continued providing selected tours to preview the space, however due to permitting restrictions and some ongoing finishing work, the Weingart ’61 Civic Innovation Pavilion will not be available for use until fall 2025. Some students began move-in over fall break in 2024, and the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce hosted a special event for all Renfrow Hall students, welcoming them as new residents of the city’s downtown. The remaining Renfrow residents moved in following winter break. This means that at the beginning of the spring 2025 semester, the College has welcomed the first full group of students to live in the recently completed Renfrow Hall!

Milestones

As a first step, the working group has collected 68 survey responses from faculty and administrative departments to map how the College engages with partners locally, statewide, nationwide, and internationally. The committee will work in the spring to seek additional data, then to analyze and map data in order to evaluate Grinnell’s connection with broader communities.

Measuring Progress