AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM
ACTION ORIENTED PROGRAMS
EFFECTIVE DATES: March 1, 2011 – February 29, 2012
ADOPTED BY: President James Gaudino and President’s Cabinet
AUTHORITY: 41 CFR § 60-2.17 (b)
Central Washington University (CWU) remains committed to reaching its affirmative action
goals, and it continues to use a variety of action oriented programs to achieve these goals.
Consultations regarding affirmative action goals and strategies occur regularly among the
president’s cabinet, Department of Human Resources including the Office for Equal
Opportunity, deans, directors, and search committees.
The university shows its commitment for affirmative action in the broadest sense through goal
VI in the 2006-2011 CWU Strategic Plan: Build inclusive and diverse campus communities that
promote intellectual inquiry and encourage civility, mutual respect, and cooperation. Each
division of the university (academic affairs, business and financial affairs, university relations,
student affairs and enrollment management, and the president’s office) supports this strategic
goal through divisional goals and strategies.
INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGIES
Administration: President Gaudino has diversified his cabinet in the last year by hiring chief of
staff, provost and vice president for academic and student life, and vice president for business
and financial affairs/chief financial officer. The executive assistant to the president also attends
cabinet meetings.
Inclusiveness: President Gaudino hired a half-time faculty member, Dr. Delores “Kandee”
Cleary, to serve the university as its first Chief Diversity Officer, the Inclusiveness Coordinator.
The President’s goal is to ensure that students get the best education possible while having a
truly remarkable college experience. In his State of the University address, he encouraged
members of the university community to embrace inclusiveness by conducting self-examination
and increasing our awareness. He promised to provide mentoring and assistance but also said
he would demand accountability. His goal, our goal, is to assure student success. This can only
be done with a faculty and staff that reflects diversity, challenges assumptions and perceptions,
and expects excellence.
Strategies to support this philosophy are being implemented and continuously explored. These
include:
 Organizational changes to support improved cooperation and effectiveness so that the
university can provide the best educational experience for our students, in spite of severe
budget pressures.
 Evaluation and modification of the recruitment and hiring process to ensure that, while
efficient, adequate time is spent to examine position details and qualifications, and to
discover and implement excellent recruitment strategies. A collaborative approach
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
including members of the human resources staff, appointing authorities, managers, and
others is essential.
The professional development and training program is being analyzed by members of the
human resources department. The program must be accessible and relevant for all
employees. It must articulate and support a general all-encompassing philosophy regarding
the university’s mission and the implementation of that mission as the individual employee
level. Workplace education must be seen as important to the success of the university, its
employees. It must have a positive impact on the students served. It must include, as a
basic component, an understanding of the issues of diversity and inclusiveness, as well as
the role that a diverse workforce plays in the university’s success.
Strategic Planning: The university is currently (2010-2011 academic year) engaged in a renewed
strategic planning process. Inclusiveness and diversity are included in the proposed university
values and core themes. The first objective under this general theme is “Recruit and retain
faculty, staff and students from minority, underrepresented, and other groups within the
geographic area.”
Advisory Groups: The president and the inclusivity coordinator have reconfigured CWU’s
advisory bodies related to inclusiveness. The Inclusivity/Diversity Council has been established
along with sub-committees. Sub-committees include: Internal Committee, Incident Discussion
Committee, Campus Community Committee, and External Committee. Bylaws and operating
procedures have been created. The council is currently in the process of developing an
Inclusiveness Strategic Plan that will be integrated into the university’s strategic plan.
President Gaudino is committed to maintaining and enhancing the university’s relationships
with Native American tribes. He is currently exploring the feasibility and funding for a
longhouse type structure at CWU.
Education and communication: Education and communication are integral to the success of our
affirmative action program. In an effort to enhance services and increase efficiency and
communication, the Human Resources Department, Student Employment, Office for Equal
Opportunity, Center for Disability Services, and Environmental Health and Safety have been
combined. Discussions are currently underway to determine the optimal organization structure
to ensure recruitment, hiring, retention, data collection and analysis, etc. are done effectively.
Because of the current Washington State and the national economic situation, it is anticipated
that minimal recruitment and hiring activity will again occur during the 2011-2012 affirmative
action plan reporting period. The success of the recruitment and hiring processes that are
conducted will be critical to the success of our affirmative action program.
Data Collection and Analysis: CWU will continue to work on data collection and analysis
including personnel actions (especially terminations and promotions), and, compensation data.
With the inclusion of office for equal opportunity staff in the larger, comprehensive human
resources organizational structure, this work should be easier to accomplish. The combined
staff with work to assess data collection procedures and identify modifications needed in order
to provide annual promotion analysis and annual retention analysis.
During the past year, the director of the office for equal opportunity and the director of human
resources operations, employment and labor relations, produced quarterly reports of personnel
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actions for the president and vice presidents. This process will continue to be evaluated in order
to provide meaningful information to the cabinet and other levels of the institution.
RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES AND APPLICANT POOLS
Creating qualified and diverse applicant pools is the responsibility of all employees at Central
Washington University. Appointing authorities, members of search committees, and other
employees have an impact on the people who apply for and accept positions.
Anticipated tight economic times in the foreseeable future will reduce the number of searches
for vacant positions. Other organizations and institutions will be in the same position. Those
organizations that attract larger pools of qualified applicants will be able to be more selective in
their hiring decisions and will increase the quality of their workforce, both generally and in
comparison to other institutions. Only through broad-based recruitment using a variety of
recruitment methods can CWU ensure large, qualified pools of applicants. Qualified pools are
essential to achieving a diversified workforce.
Recruitment activities are employed to attract a large pool of qualified applicants. Recruitment
activities can be used to encourage applicants for specific positions or to increase the general
image that potential applicants have about an organization. CWU hopes to attract applicants
through job postings and brochures about CWU and the Kittitas Valley that provide detailed
information and describe the university’s attributes. Recruitment tools must be crafted to
address both active and passive job seekers.
A review of recruitment practices and applicant pools in 2009-2010 revealed that in 24.53%
(26/106) of possibilities, there were no applicants for affected groups where a goal existed.
Additionally, in 56% (49/88) of the remaining cases, applicants from affected groups were
underrepresented. So, in over 71% of possibilities within CWU searches, there were either no
applicants from an affected group or an underrepresentation of affected group members in a
given applicant pool. To remedy the situation, the university will research, analyze, and adopt
best practices strategies to increase the number of applications from members of affected
groups.
Action oriented programs to address underrepresentation of affected group members in
applicant pools include (administrative responsibility in parentheses):

Applicant Flow Information:
o Review applicant flow data to determine whether applicant pools contain sufficient
numbers of affected group members in relation to their availability. Departments
and appointing authorities may discontinue searches or expand recruitment efforts
when searches do not produce sufficient numbers of female and/or minority
applicants (president, vice presidents, appointing authorities, and search
committees).

Position Descriptions:
o Analyze position descriptions to ensure that they accurately reflect position
functions and qualifications (supervisor, appointing authority, and Human Resources
Department).
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o
o

Recruitment measures:
o

Review position descriptions to insure that all qualifications are job related
(appointing authorities, search committees, and Human Resources Department).
Explore alternative inclusive language, particularly for faculty positions. For
example, rather than “women and minorities are encouraged to apply,” some
institutions use the following: “The search committee/appointing authority is
especially interested in qualified candidates who can contribute, through their
research, teaching, and/or service, to the diversity and excellence of the academic
community.”
Initiate aggressive measures at the recruitment stage to produce adequate numbers
of underrepresented groups in the applicant pool (search committees and
appointing authorities). Use a variety of mechanisms to increase numbers of
affected group applicants:

Contact referral organizations and conduct community outreach (appointing
authorities and search committees);

Network with other diversity recruiters (Office for Equal Opportunity and
Human Resources Department);

Announce position openings at jobs.cwu.edu, campus intranet and in the
Central/Today! (Human Resources Department);

Encourage employees who are affected group members to refer applicants
(search committees);

Send job announcements to agencies and/or institutions that may elicit
affected group applicants (search committees);

Post announcements on various websites and list serves (search committees
and Human Resources Department);

Utilize professional publications and organizations whose readership or
membership is diverse (appointing authorities and search committees).
Job applicants from Yakima and Kittitas Counties:
o
Enhance efforts to attract job applicants from Yakima and Kittitas Counties. There
has been a decline in the number of applicants for positions within the clerical,
general maintenance, custodial, and food services job groups. Efforts will be
focused on Yakima County where the population is significantly more diverse than
the general Ellensburg area. Strategies might include creating links with minority
groups, exploring increased and different modes of recruitment, and utilizing
current minority employees to gain information and connect with their represented
group. The university will also consider taking steps to increase the number of
internal applicants by identifying internal candidates, meeting them to encourage
interest, identifying promotional requirements, determining and supporting
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employees in meeting these requirements, and monitoring and encouraging their
progress.
PRELIMINARY SCREENING STAGE
The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures define adverse impact as a
“substantially different rate of selection in hiring . . . which works to the disadvantage of
members of a race, sex, or ethnic group.” Adverse impact looks at the consequences of hiring
practices, rather than intent.
An adverse impact analysis for hiring activity at Central Washington University during the
reporting period suggested that adverse impact may have been present in less than six percent
of the cases.
CWU has a strong record of ensuring that position descriptions are crafted to reflect job
responsibilities. The Human Resources Department works with hiring managers and
search committees on a search-by-search basis. The following action programs are used
to address adverse impact at the preliminary screening stage (effective parties in
parentheses):
1) Analyze position descriptions to ensure that they accurately reflect position functions
(supervisor, appointing authority, and Human Resources Department).
2) Ensure that position qualifications do not constitute inadvertent discrimination (supervisor,
appointing authority, and Human Resources Department).
3) Train search committees in nondiscriminatory screening and selection practices (Human
Resources Department).
4) Review screening tools and selection criteria for faculty, exempt, and civil service searches
to ensure that they are not discriminatory and/or that they will not have an adverse impact
(Human Resources Department).
Determining which applicants are invited for interview involves both objective and subjective
selection criteria. Good ground work in the development of position descriptions, including
required and preferred qualifications, assures the institution that successful applicants are able
to perform position responsibilities. Making decisions about interviews often involves group
process and subjective analysis.
INTERVIEW STAGE
An adverse impact analysis has suggested that adverse impact may be present in more than 50%
of searches for affected group members at the interview stage.
Central Washington University has implemented several strategies to ensure that decisions
about applicants to be interviewed are made for defensible and non-discriminatory reasons
(effective authorities in parentheses):
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


Initiate aggressive measures at the recruitment stage to produce adequate numbers of
affected groups in the applicant pool, thereby increasing chances for a diverse group of
interviewees (search committees and appointing authorities).
Review rationales provided by search committees or appointing authorities when
interviewees are selected from among semi-finalists (Human Resources Department) to
ensure that the decisions are job-related and non-discriminatory.
Enhance interview climate for affected group members by requiring female and
minority representation on search committees (appointing authorities).
HIRING STAGE
The ultimate goal of any recruitment process is to hire qualified people that enhance the
university’s ability to complete its mission of educating students. Appointing authority and/or
search committee must examine the cumulative record for each interviewee to determine the
best candidate for hire. Search documentation is vital to this stage of the process.
An adverse impact analysis has suggested that adverse impact may be present in more than 60%
of searches for affected group members at the hiring stage.
Central Washington University employs the following strategies to address the possibilities of
adverse impact at the hiring stage (effective authorities in parentheses):



Require rationales from appointing authorities for all those interviewed but not hired
prior to the extension of an employment offer. Review rationales to determine whether
hiring decisions are job-related and non-discriminatory (Human Resources Department).
Ensure that search committee recommendations are not in rank order. This preserves
the accountability of the appointing authority, preserves a qualified slate of applicants
for the longest possible period, and allows for a range of candidate abilities and
directions for the appointment (president, vice presidents, appointing authorities,
search committees).
Evaluate administrators and appointing authorities on their affirmative action and equal
opportunity efforts (president, vice presidents and chief of staff).
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