VALIDATING THE
MULTIDIMENSIONALITY OF THE
CAMPUS CLIMATE FOR DIVERSITY
Lucy Arellano, University of California, Riverside
Chelsea Guillermo-Wann, University of California, Los Angeles
Marcela Cuellar, University of Southern California
Cynthia Alvarez, University of California, Los Angeles
Nickie Johnson-Ahorlu, University of California, Los Angeles
Sylvia Hurtado, University of California, Los Angeles
November 18, 2011
Association for the Study of Higher Education
Charlotte, NC
Introduction


Many colleges and universities assess campus
climate for diversity to improve student experiences
and outcomes
Campus racial climate framework (Hurtado, Milem, ClaytonPedersen, & Allen, 1998,1999)

2
Understand how students perceive the
multidimensional nature of the campus climate for
diversity
Purpose



Develop and validate a multidimensional model of
the campus climate for diversity
Model the interrelationship between four of the five
dimensions of the multidimensional model
Compare models across three sub-groups
 Race
 Gender
 Institutional
3
Type
Conceptual Framework

Campus Climate for Diversity
 Builds on previous campus racial climate
(Hurtado et al., 1998, 1999; Milem et al., 2005)
frameworks
 Individual Level Dimensions (Hurtado, Alvarez, Guillermo-Wann,
Cuellar, & Arellano, in press)
 Psychological
 Behavioral
 Institutional
Level Dimensions (Hurtado et al., in press)
 Compositional
 Historical
 Organizational
4
Review of the Literature

Few research studies incorporate multiple
dimensions of campus climate
Most only include a single dimension
 Psychological and behavioral are most studied
 Lack of clarity in operationalizing dimensions

(Hutchinson, Raymond, & Black, 2008; Rankin &Reason, 2008)

Campus climate across multiple sub-populations

Limited attention to differences between different sub-groups
(e.g. Cabrera & Nora, 1994; Hutchinson, et al., 2008; Jayakumar, 2008;
Locks, Hurtado, Bowman, & Oseguera, 2008)
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Data Source

Diverse Learning Environments (DLE) Survey
 Contains
multidimensional measures of the campus
climate for diversity

Institutional sample (n = 14)
3
community colleges, 6 public four-year institutions, 5
private four-year institutions

Student sample (n = 5,010)
 Students
of Color – 57.9%
 Female – 68.3%
 Two-year Institutions – 39.7%
6
Methods




Coding dimensions of campus climate for diversity in
DLE survey
Descriptive analysis
Exploratory factor analysis
Confirmatory factor analysis
 First-order

factors
Structural equation modeling
 Overall
model for entire sample
 Assess model fit for three sub-groups (6 models)
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Multidimensional Model of Campus
Climate for Diversity
8
v14
v15
v16
v13
Less
Discrimination
And Bias
v12
v11
v3
v17
v19
v20
v21
v22
v18
v23
Institutional
Commitment
to Diversity
v10
v24
v25
v2
v1
v26
v28
Psychological
Compositional
v42
v27
Satisfaction
with Diversity
v43
v41
v40
Harassment
v29
v39
v9
Behavioral
v8
Organizational
v7
v6
v46
v45
Negative
Cross-Racial
Interactions
Less Positive
Cross-Racial
Interactions
v38
v37
v44
9
v36
v32
v33
v34
v35
v4
v5
v30
v31
Findings and Discussion
10
Model Fits Across Sub-Groups
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Model
α
NFI
CFI
RMSEA
Overall
Students of Color
White Students
Female
Male
Two-Year*
Four-Year*
.655
.674
.630
.658
.648
.689
.764
.888
.907
.901
.891
.884
.892
.885
.897
.923
.926
.905
.912
.918
.901
.044
.039
.036
.042
.042
.038
.043
* Models did not include compositional diversity due to lack of item variability
Students of Color
and White Students
v14
v16
v13
Less
Discrimination
And Bias
v12
v11
v3
v15
v17
v19
v20
v21
v22
v18
v23
Institutional
Commitment
to Diversity
v10
v24
v25
v2
-.216
v1
v26
v28
Psychological
Compositional
v42
v27
Satisfaction with
Diversity
v43
v41
v40
Harassment
v29
v39
v30
v9
.422
Behavioral
v8
Organizational
v7
-.307
-.245
v46
v45
Negative
Cross-Racial
Interactions
Less Positive
Cross-Racial
Interactions
v38
v36
v32
v33
v34
v4
v5
v37
v44
12
v6
v35
Overall Model
Students of Color
White Students
v31
Female and
Male
v14
v15
v16
v13
Less
Discrimination
And Bias
v12
v11
v3
v17
v19
v20
v21
v22
v18
v23
Institutional
Commitment
to Diversity
v10
v24
v25
v2
v1
v26
v43
v28
Psychological
Compositional
v42
v27
Satisfaction with
Diversity
.592
v41
v40
Harassment
v29
v39
v30
v9
Behavioral
v8
Organizational
v7
v6
v46
v45
Negative
Cross-Racial
Interactions
Less Positive
Cross-Racial
Interactions
v38
v37
v44
13
v36
v32
v33
v34
v35
v4
v5
Overall Model
Males
v31
2-yr and 4-yr
Institutions
v14
v15
v16
v13
Less
Discrimination
And Bias
v12
v11
v17
v19
v20
v21
v22
v18
v23
Institutional
Commitment
to Diversity
v10
v24
v25
-.317
v26
.570
v42
v27
v28
Psychological
Satisfaction with
Diversity
v43
v41
v40
Harassment
v29
v39
v30
v31
v9
Behavioral
v8
Organizational
v7
v6
v46
v45
Negative
Cross-Racial
Interactions
Less Positive
Cross-Racial
Interactions
v38
v36
v32
v33
v34
v5
v37
v44
14
v4
v35
Overall Model without
Compositional Diversity
Two-Year Institutions
Discussion



15
Model captures four of five dimensions
 Explicit operationalization of dimensions
Model fits are acceptable
Sub-group distinctions and similarities across models
 Hearing Disparaging Remarks
 Reporting Discrimination
 Curriculum of Inclusion
Future Directions





16
Future research using multidimensional construct of campus
climate for diversity
Inquiry around why White students report discrimination less
frequently than SOC, and what forms groups report
Exploration of the extent to which hearing disparaging
remarks is a normative aspect of college life for males and
community college students
Further examination of the two-year institutional context and
climate
Invariance testing across these sub-groups
Contact Information
Lucy Arellano
lucy.arellano@ucr.edu
Diverse Learning Environments Website
www.heri.ucla.edu/dle
Questions?
17