Running Head: FINAL PROJECT PHASE 2

Final Project Phase 2

Jessica Turpin
Post University

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Final Project Phase 2

The Sunshine State University report illustrates some problems that are occurring in the
school. One of the problems is the lack of diversity and the imbalance of full time female
students to male students with the males outnumbering the females. According to the report
5,561 out of 12292 total students attending the Sunshine State University are female (Sunshine
State University, 2016, p.1, 2). That makes the percentage 45 % female to 55 % male. While the
difference is not extreme, it is a problem for a school that promotes diversity. Similarly, the
student body at the university is predominantly white non-Hispanic students. With a population
of 8462 total undergraduate students, 5831 identify as white non-Hispanic. This is equal to
roughly 69% of the student population.
Sagebrush Corporation (2004) indicates that data can be used to improve development
and identify the root cause of problems. The data in the Sunshine State report has done the job
of identifying the area in need of improvement. These identified areas are significant to the
University because the very definition of success of the goal of the strategic plan is a diverse
student body that graduates with academic, social, personal, professional, spiritual, and cultural
competency. With more than half of the students being male and 70% being white non-Hispanic,
the concept of diversity is not being fulfilled. When defining the success of a goal as diversity,
the pass or fail should be measured on the percentage of students from varying cultures with
none exceeding the 50% mark. Although a 30% non-student body may be considered diverse
elsewhere, it should be the focus of improvement for a university promoting itself on its diverse
population and experiences.
While the strategic plan defines success by the production of students that are culturally
competent and have traveled abroad to live the experience of other cultures, it does nothing to

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ensure that there will be opportunities present on campus for students to learn from other
cultures. The plan does not address the difference in percentage between white non-Hispanic
and other races. The means by which and cultural experiences are addressed in the plan are by
way of over-seas experiences which could be extremely costly to students.
As stated in a previous assignment, Marr (2016) indicates that a researcher should have a
question in mind before seeking out the data to answer it. This report instead gathered data with
no question in mind but illustrated a problem in doing so. In order to address the problems
demonstrated by the Sunshine State University, the strategic plan should include steps to increase
the diversity of the students enrolled at the university. Increasing the diversity in the student
body could enhance the cultural competency of the student body at large and save the student
money by keeping the student at home while still allowing them to experience various cultures.
The information presented on the report also shows that the acceptance rate 51% they are fairly
not extremely selective. This indicates that the lack in diversity might be the result of how and
where they are recruiting and consider taking steps to increase their appeal to various diverse
populations and women. A piece of information lacking in the strategic plan is how the
university could go about reaching out to a more diverse student body.
A few ideas to reaching a more diverse population are as follows. Offer scholarships to
target populations including women and members outside of the white non-Hispanic population.
Attend college fairs outside of those normally scheduled. Promote the University at various
cultural events and centers. Ensure the diverse population already enrolled is having its needs
met by means of culturally significant and sensitive activities, churches, and other social centers
to increase word of mouth advertisement from Sunshine State alumni. Include a specific,

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measurable, attainable, realistic and timely (SMART) goal in the strategic plan to be used for the
measurement of success (Johnson, Moore, Thornton, 2014).
While the success of the goal of the strategic plan does take culture and diversity into
account, the steps included do little to increase the opportunities to satisfy this on campus. The
information on the report indicates that this is an area that needs to be improved on however the
only suggestions for increasing cultural competence and diversity is to promote student travel
and study abroad opportunities. This can be a very costly experience for the student and does
little to ensure the student will get anything out of it apart from a very large bill. A good strategic
plan would look to improve the cultural diversity on campus before looking to send its students
abroad.

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References:

Johnson, C., Moore, E., Thornton, M. (2014) A SMART approach to motivating students
in secondary physical education. JOPERD: The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation &
Dance May2014, 85(4), p42 3p
Marr, B. (2016) Data driven decision making: 10 simple steps for any business. Forbes.
Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2016/06/14/data-driven-decisionmaking-10-simple-steps-for-any-business/#3de02e6c7283
Sagebrush Corporation (2004) Data driven decision making: a powerful tool for school
improvement. Retrieved from
https://www.erdc.k12.mn.us/promo/sage/images/Analytics_WhitePaper.pdf
Sunshine State University (2016) Sunshine State University Common Data Set 20152016. Pp. 1-2, Retrieved from https://post.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-3296828-dt-contentrid-26506239_1/courses/EDU515.901014086377/Rubrics%20%26%20Assignments/Sunshine
%20State%20University%20Common%20Data%20Set%20for%20Strategic%20Planning.pdf