Policies & Data
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Our Approach
The university is required to comply with a myriad of federal and state laws and regulations. Among them are laws and regulations pertaining to civil rights, anti-discrimination, equal opportunity, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Compliance with these laws and regulations is the first step in building an inclusive and welcoming community for all.
In addition, UC Santa Cruz is governed by UC policies, both systemwide and local. In collaboration with campus partners, ODEI develops, revises, and implements policies and procedures to cultivate an inclusive and welcoming campus climate for all. ODEI also curates, recommends, and models best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion work through various programs and initiatives.
We see data — both quantitative and qualitative — as foundational in our work. We collect, analyze, and interpret data to inform our strategies and assess our programs and initiatives. We apply a critical lens when using data. This means we do not see data as neutral, inherent, or objective because people’s identities and experiences are not neutral, inherent, or objective; instead, they are multifaceted, nuanced, and fluid. With this in mind, we interrogate the historical and contemporary contexts in which data is situated.
We constantly wrestle with tensions between equally valid methods, perspectives, and priorities. We acknowledge many of the caveats data may bring about — notably, for example, that statistics may fall short of fully capturing the rich and diverse individualities. At the end of the day, our data-informed decision-making is grounded in the recognition that data is about people and should serve people’s needs.
As with all our work, we do our policy and data work in community. For example, we coordinate closely with the Division of Student Affairs and Success on the Gender Recognition and Lived Name policy, AB 21, and bias reporting, among others. We partner with Institutional Research, Analytics, and Planning Support to pull insights from existing survey results and institutional data and develop additional surveys to gauge campus climate. We work with Staff Human Resources, the Equity & Equal Protection Office, the Office of the Ombuds, Staff Advisory Board, Academic Senate, and various employee affinity groups to promote a diverse workforce and an inclusive and equitable workplace.
We continue to revise our policies and procedures, improve our programming, and explore additional meaningful data in our work. We invite you on this journey with us.