The Yerevan communiqué (2015) as well as national strategies on the social dimension encourage HEIs to provide inclusive systems that allow access to previously excluded student groups and to ensure that the composition of the student body corresponds to the societal distribution. To allow a broader access to university, more diverse applicants (i.e. with more diverse academic knowledge and skills, from diverse national, cultural/ linguistic backgrounds, with diverse levels of maturity/ work experience) need to be addressed more clearly. OBJECTIVES of this project are twofold. First, the project aims to raise awareness among actors at Higher Educations Institutions (HEIs) for the importance of Diversity Management (DiM), enhance their corresponding competences and implement means to ensure sustainability of taken measures. Second, the project aims to improve study conditions and thus reduce drop out and foster student success. The project’s TARGET GROUP are Programme Leaders (PLs) as they are the main decision-makers in their own programmes and have the capacity to adapt their curricula to contemporary needs. Additionally, they dispose of formal as well as informal power to find strong support for the implementation of diversity-sensitive practices on an institutional level. They have influence on their subordinates (teaching staff, administrative support personnel) and can highlight the benefits of an inclusive DiM approach. Since they require a sound intake of students they have a keen interest in communicating effective DiM strategies to their faculty for the benefit of all involved agents (teachers, students, administrative staff) as well as for the whole HEI (competitive advantage from a marketing, teaching, learning and service perspective). So far, PLs seem to be poorly prepared to ensure student success for a more diverse student population. In addition, their study programmes and curricula do not sufficiently meet inclusivity demands. To counter-act these drawbacks, this project aims to improve PLs DiM competences in a specifically designed DiM training. PLs will be trained to be able to design inclusive curricula and classroom settings that manage diversity from a more holistic angle (incorporating demographic, cognitive, disciplinary, functional and institutional diversity) to improve student attainment for an increasingly diverse student body. Finally, a DiM trained PL acts as role model and is able to influence both administrative and teaching staff. Second, the project aims to support PLs in their leadership responsibility. By providing DiM tools and supportive means PLs get equipped to handle diversity. In this view, developed web-based trainings can be passed on to their administrative and teaching staff to raise awareness of the importance of the social dimension and DiM. In addition, materials and tools (incorporated in a specially designed toolbox) can easily be accessed to improve DiM competences and support staff to better meet the challenges of the social dimension in their daily working routine for the benefit of their study programme and all students. Finally, these measures should bring the participating partners’ social dimension strategies to life and foster organisational development and social dimension mainstreaming. In this vein, the developed training program is supposed to be integrated in the institutions’ staff trainings. All in all, the diversity-sensitive measures taken are meant to positively impact success of ALL students, reduce student drop out and enhance graduate employability. In the medium term, the effect of the developed outputs will be measured via a specifically designed DiM self-assessment questionnaire. The consortium consists of four partners: University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria brings in core values of interfunctional team work as well as means to facilitate cooperation among team members with conflicting interests. Birmingham City University (UK) brings in extensive working knowledge in demographic diversity, particularly disabilities, ethnical/religious/ linguistic background, age, social mobility. Due to their wide range of differing disciplines and their numerous interdisciplinary projects Technische Hochschule Köln (Germany) addresses extensive working knowledge in disciplinary diversity. Laurea University of Applied Sciences (Finland) has a specially designed teaching model called “Learning by Developing” which allows flexible and appreciative ways for studying. Laurea is thus well suited to address the segment of cognitive diversity. Concerning project management and the applied methodology, a work package structure will be implemented. Work packages are assigned to those partners who have the required competences. The project structure ensures an effective project progression with clear responsibilities and milestones which will be supported by transparent procedures of monitoring as well as quality and risk management.
The EnhanceIDM project set out to raise awareness and increase diversity management competencies of programme leaders in higher education (as part of academic middle management). To fulfill these objectives, the project devised four intellectual outputs, (1) a re-analysis of programme leaders needs with regard to diversity management in the form of a survey, (2) the development of a blended-learning training composed of a face-to-face meeting and an extensive e-learning component. (3) A web-based toolbox comprised of tailor-made, concrete “tools” regarding inclusive practice and diversity management covering the entire student life-cycle and (4) an IDM self-assessment as an ongoing process gauging awareness, attitudes and approaches towards IDM. All of the envisaged outputs were carried out successfully over the project run. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND TARGET GROUP While institutional strategies and inclusion and diversity management (IDM) policies and are often in place, these policies need to be implemented and come to life on the level of the study programme. Programme leaders occupy a central position regarding access and retention of non-traditional students or underrepresented groups in tertiary education: They supervise and regulate access to their programmes, they are responsible for the design and implementation of (inclusive, flexible) curricula, they retain personal contact with students and are aware of their problems in navigating the curriculum and in the classroom. Further, they act as supervisors to other teaching and administrative staff, dispose of formal and/or informal authority and are able to seek out and secure support for the implementation of diversity-sensitive practices at a faculty or institutional level. As a consequence, this group of academic middle managers has far-reaching potential to create more inclusive study environments. EnhanceIDM explicitly targeted this group and devised tailor-made staff-trainings and a readily available toolbox as well as an ongoing self assessment process to support them even beyond the project duration. PROJECT OUTPUTS - RESULTS AND IMPACT The initial re-analysis of programme leaders needs regarding inclusion and diversity management was carried out in the form of a survey among 270 programme leaders at the four participating institutions in AT, DE, FIN and the UK (return rate: 33%). The results showed considerable differences in attitudes and approaches towards IDM in the various countries, and along the lines of gender and discipline. These findings informed and framed the other outputs of the project. A blended-learning training consists of a face-to-face part and an extensive e-learning component: Again, especially during the face-to-face training in May 2019, considerable differences in approaches and attitudes emerged among participants. This, however, proved fruitful for the interactive discussion formats of the workshop. As a result, it can be said that the exchange among colleagues inspired the strongest learning curve and was valued most by participants. Also, more practical formats like devising personal action plans for specific areas in their study programmes were considered particularly useful by participants, rather than merely theoretical, one-directional input. The training was instrumental in raising awareness and contributed to putting IDM on the agenda at the various institutions. The training format was embedded in staff development offerings at the partner institutions. Subsequent e-learning modules were set up on a Moodle platform and were structured along the student life-cycle: from access to teaching and learning, assessment and finally, ensuring student success. Also, theoretical foundations and institutional management as well as staff engagement issues were addressed. The e-learning followed the structure of the so-called HEAD-wheel devised by FHOOE. The web-based toolbox follows the same structure as the e-learning, however, it provides practical guidelines and “HowTos” and approaches (“tools”) in dealing with ever more diverse students cohorts (www.idmtoolbox.eu). With a view to measuring the impact of the measures carried out, a self assessment procedure was set up in the form of an anonymous online survey. Training participants were asked to complete it before as well as after the training to measure potential changes in awareness and approaches towards IDM. The self assessment is intended to serve as a useful vehicle to measure personal and institutional development of IDM. Submitted regularly, it measures changes in staff attitude with regard to diversity related tasks and can be used as a tool for the assessment of diversity awareness before, during and after IDM- related interventions in HE and to assess individual and collective progress over time.