Assessment of the Impact of the Multicultural
Curriculum Transformation Institute on Faculty
and Students at Northern Illinois University
Prepared by
Professor Robin D. Moremen, Department of Sociology
Professor Michael J. Gonzales, Center for Latino and Latin American Studies and
Department of History
September, 2007
Forward
By Michael J. Gonzales
Over a dozen years ago, the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences called a
meeting of the Directors of Black Studies, Women’s Studies, and the Center for Latino
and Latin American Studies. NIU students had been loudly and publicly demanding more
undergraduate courses that focused on the experiences of African-Americans, Latinos,
and Women, and the university did not have the resources to hire large numbers of
additional faculty to offer these classes. So, what could we do about it? The response was
to experiment with a summer institute that would help current faculty interested in
transforming their courses to integrate information and perspectives indicative of the
experiences of minorities and women. No one could predict how the faculty would
respond, or if the agitated students would accept this as an answer.
Through the years, this first “Multicultural” Task Force has grown from the three
Directors to include faculty representatives from most of the colleges on campus as well
as administrators from the Provost’s office and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The summer institute was funded from the start by the Provost’s office, and the Directors
of the original three units served as rotating Task Force chairs for successive two-year
terms.1 I am the sole remaining member of the original three who founded the
Multicultural Curriculum Transformation Institute, and I chaired the Task Force last year
and will chair it again in Spring, 2008. This year, the Provost’s Office decided to replace
the Task Force with a university committee, and I would like to acknowledge the
contributions of those long-serving Task Force members who were not selected by the
Provost to serve on the new Committee. Special thanks go to Professors Charles Carter,
Shi Ruei Fang, William Goldenberg, and Robin D. Moremen. I would also like to thank
those long-serving members who will continue as Committee members. They are
Professors Virginia Cassidy, Associate Provost, LaVerne Gyant, Director of Black
Studies, Murali Krishnamurthi, Director of Faculty Development, and Amy Levine,
Director of Women’s Studies.
In Fall 2006, Provost Alden asked the Task Force to compile a brief report that would
indicate the impact of the summer Institutes on the university’s curriculum. The
following assessment demonstrates the Institute’s success. Robin Moremen collected the
data and drafted the report, and together we completed the current version. The report is a
preliminary assessment that does not do justice to the impact of the summer Institutes,
nor does it fully reflect the efforts of Task Force members and Institute participants,
panelists, and small group leaders. But it is a clear indication that their collective efforts
have been beneficial to faculty and students alike.
1
The Director of Faculty Development also served a single two-year term.
2
Assessment
By Robin D. Moremen and Michael J. Gonzales
Introduction
The Multicultural Curriculum Transformation Institute, which lasts for a week or more
during the summer, provides faculty with ideas and resources to make their courses more
inclusive of scholarship, theories, concepts, and contributions of people historically
underrepresented in the curriculum. This includes persons of diverse racial and cultural
heritages, different genders, sexual orientations, social classes, and religions. The
Institute also provides fundamental information regarding university policies and services
for students with disabilities. The Institute addresses pedagogy by providing a unique
forum for discussing important, sensitive, and potentially controversial issues essential to
effective classroom instruction and communication with our diverse student body. It also
provides a safe environment that invites personal transformation of faculty participants
and the opportunity for establishing professional contacts and friendships.
The Institute does not ask faculty to abandon traditional texts or classroom techniques,
but encourages them to incorporate relevant materials and concepts that will improve
their courses and allow them to communicate more effectively with students. In the end, a
multicultural curriculum provides a more comprehensive, relevant, and accurate
intellectual perspective that prepares students to succeed in a diverse world.
During the Institute, information is disseminated and daily discussion occurs through
thematic workshops, a plenary session featuring a distinguished authority in the field, and
small group meetings that process information and apply it to each participant’s course
syllabus. Task Force members organize the Institute and serve as workshop panelists,
small group leaders, chairs, and discussion facilitators.
Interested faculty, instructors, and administrators apply to participate in the Institute and
they must identify a course to transform by incorporating multicultural materials and
perspectives.2 Our data reflect the number of Institute participants over a five-year
sampling period, together with the courses that they transformed after participating in the
Institute. Consequently, the answer to the following question provides only a snapshot of
the total number of students exposed to transformed courses over the life of the Institute:
How many students at NIU have taken courses that were
transformed as a result of the Multicultural Curriculum
Transformation Institute?
2
Many participants use the methods and information that they learned at the Institute to transform other
courses as well. We collected data on all transformed courses.
3
Methodology
Time and staff limitations necessitated restricting our sample to the five-year window
from 2001-2006. During that period, the Institute was canceled in 2004 but otherwise
took place as scheduled. During these years, eighty-six (86) faculty, staff, and instructors
participated in the Institute:
YEAR
NUMBER OF
PARTICIPANTS
18
19
15
20
14
2001
2002
2003
2005
2006
The data show that women composed sixty-two percent (62%) of the participants and
men thirty-eight percent (38%). Seventy-eight (78%) of these participants identified
themselves as white, and twenty-three (23%) as persons of color. Participants represented
six of the seven colleges on campus, as well as several administrative tracks:
COLLEGE
NUMBER OF
PARTICIPANTS
24 (28%)
22 (26%)
15 (17%)
13 (15%)
5 (6%)
4 (5%)
3 (3%)
LA&S
EDUC
BUSI
HHS
VPA
ADMIN
ENG
We should note that of the eighty-six (86) participants, twelve (12) are no longer at NIU,
but we see no significant demographic differences between those who left NIU and those
who remained in the sample.
On February 15, 2007, the seventy-four (74) participants remaining at NIU received an
email via Groupwise requesting their participation in the assessment (please see
Appendix 1). Those who had not responded by February 28, 2007 received an email
reminder with another copy of the assessment questions. The final response rate was 90.5
percent (67 of 74 responded). The results were entered into an Excel spreadsheet and sent
to Institutional Research (IR) on April 3, 2007. IR was asked to provide us with the
following information:
1.
2.
The total number of students enrolled in all transformed courses for
the sample years
The number of undergraduates enrolled in all transformed
undergraduate courses for the sample years
4
3.
4.
The number of graduate students enrolled in all transformed graduate
courses for the sample years
The number of students enrolled in transformed courses designated as
General Education courses for the sample years
Institutional Research provided us with the data that we requested on May 10, 2007.
Results – Quantitative
From 2001 to 2006, a total of 132 courses were transformed. Ninety-three (93) of the
transformed courses were at the undergraduate level (100-400); and thirty-nine (39) were
at the graduate level (500-600). Eleven (11) of the undergraduate classes were General
Education courses. Seven hundred seventy (770) sections of these classes were taught
since 2001, with a total enrollment of 19,639 students.
As Chart 1 indicates, 80 percent of the students enrolled in the transformed courses were
undergraduates (n = 15,667), and 20 percent were graduate students (n = 3,972). Of the
undergraduates enrolled in transformed courses, 28 percent (n = 4,390) were students
enrolled in General Education classes.
As Chart 2 indicates, the majority of undergraduates were impacted by courses in the
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, followed by the College of Business and the
College of Health and Human Sciences. The majority of graduate students were impacted
by courses in the College of Education, followed by the College of Business and the
College of Health and Human Sciences.
Approximately 4,000 students per year have taken courses transformed by the
Multicultural Curriculum Transformation Institute, representing approximately sixteen
percent (16%) of the total student enrollment.3 Of those 4,000 students, approximately
one in five (22 percent) have been enrolled in a General Education course.
Results – Qualitative
Given time, staff, and space limitations, a thorough assessment of the qualitative impact
of multicultural transformation is not possible at this time. However, an indication of the
qualitative impact is provided by those who responded to our invitation to share their
impressions of the effectiveness of their transformation efforts. Nearly one-half of the
participants (49 percent) responded, and almost unanimously they expressed satisfaction,
surprise, and joy at the positive impact of multicultural transformation on their courses
and students. Faculty and students alike clearly benefited from this experience, as the
testimony presented in Appendix 2 demonstrates.
3
This estimate is based on an approximate enrollment of 24,000 students per year.
5
Conclusions
The Multicultural Curriculum Transformation Institute has managed to impact a large
number of students on an annual basis. This has been achieved without the cost involved
in hiring additional faculty or paying stipends to Task Force members, many of whom
have demonstrated unusual dedication to this important endeavor. During a five-year
period, over 19,000 students have been exposed to transformed classes, and over 20% of
these classes have been General Education courses. This is, of course, only a snapshot of
the true quantitative impact of the Institute, which has been in existence for well over a
decade. It seems likely that the total number of students exposed to transformed courses
is double the number captured in our five-year sample. More courses have been
transformed in the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Business, Health and Human
Sciences, and Education, although the Institute’s impact in Visual and Performing Arts
and Engineering should not be minimized. Testimony by faculty also shows that
multicultural transformation has enriched the classroom experience for instructors and
students alike.
The Multicultural Curriculum Transformation Institute, grounded in the dedication and
vision of the Multicultural Task Force, has had an important impact on the university’s
curriculum. One-quarter (25%) of all undergraduates currently enroll in at least one
General Education course transformed during the Institute, and our survey indicates that
the results have been excellent. This is an essential first step toward exposing all
undergraduates to a multicultural curriculum, and the university should consider a
multicultural requirement in the General Education curriculum.
Chart 1. Number of Students Impacted by MCTI
(2001-2006)
16000
14000
12000
10000
Number of
Students
15667
8000
6000
4000
4390
3972
2000
0
Undergraduate Students
Students in Gen Ed Courses
Category of Student
6
Graduate Students
Chart 2. Number of Students Impacted by MCTI
by College & Level (2001-2006)
7000
6032
6000
5000
3666
Number of 4000
Students 3000
3405
UNDGRD
GRAD
2044
2000
1349
1010
1000
520
262
708
507
120
16
0
LA&S EDUC BUSI
HHS
College
7
VPA
ENG
Appendix 1
Dear Past Participants:
Provost Alden has requested an assessment of the impact of the transformation efforts of the MCTI. Specifically, he
would like to know how many sections of transformed courses have been taught since 2000 as a way of determining how
many students have been exposed to a transformed curriculum. If you provide us with the course numbers of all of the
transformed courses that you have taught since your participation in the summer institute, then the Office of Institutional
Research will be able to provide us with the numbers of students who enrolled in those courses. These numbers will be
reported in the aggregate and no individual students will be identified. We would be most happy to share this
information with you once it is generated.
Please REPLY to this email by March 1, 2007. You may answer the following questions within the body of your reply:
1. What course did you transform during the summer institute that you attended (if you need assistance, please see the
list of proposed courses below)?
2. Have you taught this course since you attended the summer institute?
3. What other courses have you transformed since the summer institute, either wholly or in part (please provide the
course prefix and number[s])?
4. Which of these courses have you taught since their transformation?
5. Which of the above courses are General Education (Gen Ed) courses?
We would also be interested in any open-ended comments that you are willing to share with us about the effectiveness of
your transformation efforts:
We know that you have very busy schedules. We wish to thank you for your time and attention to this important matter
for the Provost. In addition, we appreciate your ongoing efforts in creating a more diverse and accepting curriculum.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Provost’s Task Force on Multicultural Curriculum Transformation
PROPOSED UNDERGRADUATE COURSES:
AHLS 448
FINA 350
AHP 295
FLFR 445
AHPH 444
FLMT 401
BIOS 106
FLMT 491
CAHL 206
FLSP 211
CAHL 411
GEOG 202
COMD 200
HIST 171
COMD 221
ILAS 235
COMS 220
ILAS 332
COMS 362
ILAS 432
COMS 403
JOUR 335
COMS 496C
JOUR 401
CSCI 470
JOUR 435
ENGL 200
JOUR 481
ENGL 315
KNPE 111
ENGL 375
KNPE 340
ENGL 406
KNPE 343/344
ENGL 407
MEE 200
ENGL 432
MEE 390
EPFE 201
MEE 452
EPS 492
MEE 481
EPSY 430
MEE 482
EPSY 440
MGMT 335
FCNS 301
MGMT 346
FCNS 320
MGMT 355
FCNS 445
MGMT 447
MGMT 487
MKTG 335
MKTG 364
MKTG 370
MKTG 443
MKTG 495
MUSC 152
MUSC 252
MUSC 275
MUSC 352
MUSC 371
MUSC 391B
MUSC 393
NURS 310S
NURS 316
NURS 436
OMIS 340
OMIS 452
OMIS 460
OMIS 475
OMIS 498
PHDN 269
PSYC 225
PSYC 372
PSYC 418
SOCI 260
8
SOCI 354
SOCI 370
SOCI 455
SOCI 473
TECH 420
TECH 473
THEA 216
THEA 322
THEA 410
TLEE 342
TLEE 342
TLEE 460
TLSE 455
UBUS 311
UBUS 311
UEET101
UNIV 101
WOMS/GEOG/
BIOS 324
PROPOSED
GRADUATE
COURSES:
CAHA 501
CAHC 521
COMD 675
COMS 562
CSCI 580E
ENGL 501
EPS 501
EPSY 530
ETR 521
ETT 523
FCNS 504
FCNS
517/518/519
FCNS 524
FCNS
551A/551B
LECI/TLCI 634
LECI/TLCI 657
LTIC 501
LTLA 539
MGMT 598
MGMT 698
OMIS 675
TLCI 510
TLSE 563
Appendix 2
 “While I enjoyed the Institute and found it helpful, I was still amazed at how much
the transformation impacted how well my class ran. I made very significant changes
to the syllabus and tone of the class and my classes were much more enjoyable to
teach! My students participated far more, really engaged with the material and we all
had a much more enjoyable time covering, essentially, the same core lessons. At the
end of the semester, my evals went up significantly from the semester before. This
semester I am applying the same techniques and getting very similar results.”
 “Feedback from my students indicates that they welcomed the integration of more
diversity issues into readings and assignments. They would like to see more courses
in our program add diversity components.”
 “I just got an e-mail today from a student who took the class 3 semesters ago
requesting information as to where he could get some of the materials we used in
class. They made such an impact on him that he's been talking about it with friends.
It's not the first time that has happened. Adding that material to the course, although
it was controversial, really enhanced the learning experience of my students.”
 “The MCTI has changed my teaching and my interactions with students. I have
enjoyed teaching much more since putting into practice the things I learned during the
institute.”
 “I found the MCTI to be very useful, and although I've only ‘transformed’ one
course, my participation in the MCTI has certainly changed the way I interact with
my students in other courses.”
 “[The MCTI] changed my perspective on teaching what is a technical
subject…Students responded well to the multicultural perspective.”
 “I implemented a multicultural survey into my course, so that students could use the
data from this survey for statistical analysis. A number of students have commented
that they found the survey data very informative, and the results of their data analysis
sometimes surprising.”
9