Background
The Jacobs School of Engineering is committed to fostering an inclusive and welcoming community, to increase retention and graduation rates, and to promote a sustainable culture of academic excellence among all engineering students at UC San Diego. Through the work of the IDEA Center and beyond, we strive to support leaders who can work effectively in teams and work collaboratively across various student organizations.
The Purpose
Student organization leadership is responsible for promoting diversity and inclusion in everyday interactions with peers and other members of the campus community. In particular, organization leaders must promote the inclusion of students from groups that are marginalized in engineering including (but not limited to) Black, Latinx and Native American students, women students of all races, students with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community and first-generation college students. It is not enough just to state that you want diversity; student organization leaders must take action to promote and ensure it. All of UC San Diego’s recognized and engineering student organizations must complete the following requirements in order to be eligible for funds through the Jacobs School of Engineering.
Requirement Overview
Below outlines expectations of this requirement, as well as pertinent steps and deadlines. Failure to uphold these responsibilities may adversely affect the following:
- Any travel, matching, or reimbursements funds of your organization
- Triton Engineering Student Council (TESC) Funding
Step 1: Complete Anti-Bias/Anti-Harassment Training - Fall Quarter
Board Members must attend training in the Fall provided by the Center for Student Involvement (designed by the National Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC), which includes the topics of Anti-Bias and Anti-Harassment. The Jacobs School of Engineering expects student officers to apply what they learn from this training to their mission and role within their organization.
Step 2: Make an EDI Plan - Fall Quarter
In Fall quarter, Engineering Student Organizations must submit a plan as a Google doc for how they will apply what they learned about anti-bias/anti-harassment/inclusion in the operation of their organization for the current academic year. The organization’s plan for diversity and inclusion must be created as a Google Document and must include:
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Names of all board members for the current year and the date each board member completed the NCRC training.
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A plan (1-2 pages) for how the organization will address diversity and inclusion through their operation in the current academic year. This plan should include the following sections:
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An introductory paragraph that discusses the EDI challenges faced by your organization since being back from Hybrid/Remote instruction for your organization.
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A list of 1-2 actions/activities that your organization will execute to address diversity and inclusion in your organization. The description of each action/activity should include:
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The motivation for the action/activity and why these specific activity.
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A specific description of what you will do.
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Submit your plan:
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Share your Google Document (with commenting access) with gmosqueda@ucsd.edu and marguelles@ucsd.edu.
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Upload your information, including a link to your Google doc, on the following TypeForm.
Step 3: Carry out EDI Plan - Winter & Spring Quarters
Organizations should carry out their plans for diversity and inclusion. We encourage student organization members also to attend diversity and inclusion events hosted across campus (virtually or in-person).
Step 4: Submit Reflection - Spring Quarter
Engineering Student Organization must submit a reflection paper discussing which activities in the organization’s plan were successful and which were not, and commenting on what you believe the organization should work on for the upcoming school year. This reflection should be written as a Google Document and should contain the following components:
- An introductory paragraph discussing the overall success (or lack thereof) of the plan implementation
- A list of the actions/activities proposed in the diversity and inclusion plan. For each action/activity, use your proposed measure to reflect on the success and impact (or lack thereof) of that action/activity. If the action/activity was not successful, reflect on why not.
- A reflection on what you believe you believe the organization should work on for the upcoming school year. (This reflection should be written in collaboration with incoming leadership)
Submit your plan:
- Share your Google Document (with commenting access) with gmosqueda@ucsd.edu and marguelles@ucsd.edu.
- Upload your information, including a link to your Google doc, on the following TypeForm.
Questions and Assistance
We believe that this explicit focus on diversity and inclusion will help create a stronger set of student organizations within the Jacobs School of Engineering.
Alternatively, if you have any questions or need assistance or ideas for how to proceed, you can reach out to Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Jacobs School of Engineering Gilberto Mosqueda at (gmosqueda@ucsd.edu) or Program Coordinator IDEA Engineering Student Center Alejandra Arguelles at (marguelles@ucsd.edu).