Our JEDI Action Plan consists of specific long-term goals to work towards transforming our workplace, programs, and industries to be more just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive.
Every employee contributes to this work, and at the end of every year we come together as an organization to evaluate our progress. Department leaders’ progress reports and goals for the future are evaluated anonymously by volunteers at every level of the organization before being published in preparation for next year’s work. After three years of hard work, intensive review, and lessons learned, we expanded the scope of our work, originally called the Anti-Racist Action Plan.
What We Accomplished in 2023
Actions to transform our workplace
- We launched the part-time JEDI Coordinator role with Malika Watson at the helm. Malika was integral in pioneering the position and helping us better understand where our JEDI needs lie. Under her leadership, we were able to centralize calls for JEDI discussions, conference proposals, volunteer work, and team-specific support.
- We assessed our newly implemented reduced-hour work week and inclusion & belonging in the workplace through 3 company-wide pulse checks.
- We made significant enhancements to the Hiring Manager’s Toolkit, engaged in strategic hiring meetings with hiring managers, and refined the onboarding process.
Actions to transform OUR PROGRAMS
- We added a JEDI language preferences section to our style guide to encourage consistent usage of thoughtful, inclusive language across all teams, web pages, and other external-facing materials across CET.
- We continued with the Curriculum Review project. In 2023 we updated, expanded upon, and/or implemented individual site plans to engrain JEDI concepts into their curricular frameworks.
- CET successfully re-evaluated its application requirements to reduce barriers of entry for students. More specifically, we changed our GPA requirement to a GPA recommendation, and eliminated the faculty recommendation requirement for students with a GPA above 3.0.
Actions to transform OUR Industries
- We worked with several vendors to implement the use of gender-inclusive salutations and language on their platforms.
- We maintained a strong presence at several national and international conferences and symposiums. CET staff presented on financial aid and inclusive advising best practices at NAFSA’s annual conference in Washington D.C. and Diversity Abroad’s Global Inclusion Summit in Chicago.
Planning for 2024
In 2023, our work resulted in significant progress made on our long-term goals. Here are some initiatives and goals we will focus on in 2024:
Actions to transform our workplace
- Continue to refine the ways in which we measure each team’s progress toward their JEDI goals.
- Increase employee engagement in company-wide surveys to ensure we are promoting inclusive and welcoming spaces for both US-based and on-site staff.
- Roll out new individual professional development budgets for employees and continue to provide and promote JEDI-related professional development opportunities.
Actions to transform our PROGRAMS
- Tackle website accessibility to increase compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act and Web Consortium Accessibility Group standards.
- Improve student recruitment methods at CET. We will continue to build our relationships with Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and strategically extend our outreach to university multicultural centers.
- Continue the Curriculum Review project by identifying gaps in staff JEDI knowledge and working to implement necessary training.
Actions to transform our INDUSTRIES
- Continue to support the development and restructuring of our programs under a JEDI lens.
- Continue to critically assess the JEDI and sustainability goals of vendors we work with.
- Launch a formal volunteer relationship with our long-time philanthropy recipient, Fund for Education Abroad (FEA).
In Summary
Out of CET’s 27 goals set for 2023, 15 were achieved, 6 saw significant progress made, 5 remained in their beginning stages, and only 1 remains incomplete. Considering the implementation of the 30-hour reduced hour work week (RHW) and a resource-intensive onboarding of several new employees, we are incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made in 2023. As of now, we have identified 22 goals for 2024 to help us continue our forward momentum.