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Innovative Pilot Program for Students to Promote Intercultural Development

Action Item (as stated with DEI strategic plan launch in 2016)

Starting in Fall 2016, the university will pilot an innovative student assessment and training program, with the ultimate goal of administering the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) or a similar assessment tool to a large cohort of students annually. The tools will assess intercultural acumen, defined as the ability to shift cultural perspective and appropriately adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonalities. This will be supported by follow-up that includes a customized learning plan, intercultural training and pre- and post-assessments to gauge program effectiveness and inform future program investments.

Progress update

Since 2016, the Intercultural Development Inventory has become a major component of the intercultural learning program at the Trotter Multicultural Center. Anchoring this work at Trotter has allowed for ongoing development of three iterations of IDI administration as well as topical workshops, created at the request of student groups and course instructors. In Year Five, a total of 2,716 students participated across all intercultural learning options.

During Year Five, Student Life developed three separate, non-IDI topical workshops in response to the needs and interests of various student groups and faculty members. In all, 368 students participated in five workshop sessions, with content drawn from theoretical frameworks and other intercultural learning tools. Workshops included:

  •       Intercultural Learning: An Exploration of Organizational Cultural
  •       Intercultural Communication featuring ICS framework
  •       Cultural Intelligence featuring CQ capabilities framework

The IDI remained our most popular and versatile intercultural learning offering, with 2,348 individuals from our academic partner cohorts and 14 student groups participating.

The Inventory is most commonly used for the individual development track, which includes an individual results session following completion of both the inventory and a group results session. During the individual session, which is facilitated by a licensed, campus-based IDI consultant, students receive a 30+ page report generated by IDI, including their individual results profile and an Intercultural Development Plan tailored to those results. During Year Five, 88.1 percent of participants in this track completed their one-on-one meeting with an IDI consultant, up from 69.8 percent in Year Four. 

Key Metrics of IDI Participation for Year Five

  • 1041 Completed Inventories
    • 817 completed for IDI Workshop Participation
    • 224 completed as a post-assessment for a course or program (e.g., Rackham PD DEI Certificate and ARTDES 434)
  • 782 IDI group results workshop participants (17 workshops) 
  • 525 IDI individual results sessions with licensed IDI consultants

Intercultural Learning Cohorts

Academic Classes and Program Partners (12 cohorts)

  • School of Education: EDUC 471 Development Summer Internship Program Course (IDI w/individual)
  • College of Engineering:
    • M-STEM Summer Bridge Program M-ENGN & M-SCI (Summer 2020)
    • ENGR 260 Course (Fall 2020 and Winter 2021)
  • Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design: ARTDES 434 Course (Winter 2021)
  • Rackham Graduate College: PD DEI Certificate (2020/2021)
  • Ross School of Business: BBSA Student Leaders (Winter 2021)
  • School of Nursing:  
    • N196 Course (Summer and Fall 2020)
    • N 373 Course (Fall 2020 and Winter 2021)
  • School of Public Health: EPID 603 Course (Winter 2021)

Student Life and Student Organization Cohorts (7 cohorts)

  • CAPS: Postdoc and Fellows (Winter 2021)
  • Planet Blue Student Leaders (Fall 2020)
  • Student Sustainability Coalition (Fall 2020)
  • UM Sustainable Food Program (Fall 2020)
  • Panhellenic Association – Fall 2020
  • Wolverine Support Network- Winter 2021
  • Music Matters-Winter 2021

Looking ahead, the intercultural learning program at Trotter will continue to develop topical workshops for organizations and classes. The IDI will remain a signature offering of the program. 

Our ongoing priority will be to maintain high-capacity training of additional IDI consultants. This will ensure that all participating students, organizations and classes have an opportunity to understand their current levels of intercultural competence and gain insights on how to interact more effectively across differences within and beyond the campus community. 

Responsibility:  Division of Student Life