Inclusive Excellence

The College strives to build a diverse community of learners with the drive to serve and lead in their communities, the nation, and the world.

In unison with College’s Inclusive Excellence Plan,  DEI-IE courses will enhance intentional and critical thinking among students and enable them to make decisions based on research and evidence while retaining their commitment to fairness and compassion.

What is Inclusive Excellence coursework?

All UVA Wise students take a required broad-based liberal arts core designed to cultivate the qualities that define educated people. The following DEI goals will be added in order to help develop students' understanding of what it means to live as citizens in a global culture.

• Protentional DEI components within the Liberal Arts Core.
• DEI Faculty Advocates that provide guidance and multidimensional perspectives on to the faculty they are assigned, around the development of creating or transforming their course to match the DEI requirements.
• Support and encourage the creation of general college courses that are interdisciplinary and interdepartmental.

Language

Diversity: Any dimension that can be used to differentiate groups and people from each other. Such differences include but are not limited to: race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, age, dis/ability, geographic region, education, politics, culture, religion, language, and military status.

Equity: the guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of marginalized groups.

Inclusion: the act of creating environments in which any individual or group can feel a sense of belonging, acceptance, support, and value.

Preamble

Social Justice is a process, not an outcome, which (1) seeks fair (re)distribution of resources, opportunities, and responsibilities; (2) challenges the roots of oppression and injustice; (3) empowers all people to exercise self-determination and realize their full potential; (4) and builds social solidarity and community capacity for collaborative action. (UC Berkeley Social Welfare)

Universal DEI Syllabi Statement

UVA Wise strives to be excellent in all aspects of college life; therefore, a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is essential.  This commitment enacts the principles of social justice, defined as:

“... a process, not an outcome, which (1) seeks fair (re)distribution of resources, opportunities, and responsibilities; (2) challenges the roots of oppression and injustice; (3) empowers all people to exercise self-determination and realize their full potential; (4) and builds social solidarity and community capacity for collaborative action.” (UC Berkeley Social Welfare)

Within our learning communities, we aspire to address inequality and  promote equity. We are mindful of what we teach and who we are teaching.

DEI Courses Require:

1. Include UVA Wise DEI Syllabus Statement and the College’s DEI definitions with the preamble.
2. Course learning objectives that match the principles of UVA Wise DEI.
3. Course content emphasizes established DEI materials, assignments, and/or topics
4. Course evaluation question related to your DEI objectives

Faculty will be prepared for teaching with DEI pre-semester Orientation and faculty Mentorship

Application Deadlines

While UVA Wise DEI will accept applications and renewals any time during the academic year, there are definite deadlines if the professor wants the DEI designation to appear on the Registrar’s official schedule of classes:

•     Spring Courses – August 1
•     Summer Courses – November 1
•     Fall Courses – January 15