Race and Ethnicity Self-Identification
If you are having difficulty accessing My Personal Information, please contact the Service Desk at 593-1222.
Purpose for New Guidelines and requesting updated Race/Ethnicity Information
December 2009
Dear Colleagues:
The U.S. Department of Education has adopted new guidelines for obtaining and reporting race and ethnicity data for employees of all educational institutions. In the past, employees were limited to choosing one category to describe racial or ethnic identity. The new method, which is required by the federal government, includes a two-part question that addresses ethnicity as well as racial heritage, and allows you to choose more than one category to describe your racial identity.
We are asking each Ohio University employee to update your race and ethnicity data, which is used for many federally mandated reports that the University must complete. You can do this in the new "My Personal Information" online tool.
You can easily update your information by linking to "My Personal Information" through the University Human Resources (http://www.ohio.edu/hr/), the Payroll Department (http://www.ohio.edu/finance/payroll/) or via the Faculty/Staff web page.
To make your update:
1. Click on "My Personal Information"
2. Select Other Misc. Information
3. At question 3. "Race: Are You Hispanic or Latino? Please enter a Y or N."
- If you have never answered this question, the status will be "No Result Found" and there will be an "Add" button directly above the "Select" heading. In that case, click on "Add," enter Y or N in the block that says "Hispanic or Latino" and the click "Apply."
- If you have answered this question previously then your answer will be displayed and will be selected. There will be an "Update" button for you to edit your response. If you would like to edit this response, click on the "Update" button, enter the appropriate response and then click on "Apply."
4. At question 4, "Race: Select one or more of the races with which you identify. Enter a Y or N.
- If you have never answered this question, the status will be "No Result Found" and there will be an "Add" button directly above the "Select" heading. In that case, enter a Y or N in each of the boxes for which you would like to respond, then click "Apply."
- If you have answered this question previously then your answer will be displayed and will be selected. There will be an "Update" button for you to edit your response. If you would like to edit this response, click on the "Update" button, enter the appropriate response and then click on "Apply."
5. Click on "Home" to go back to the My Personal Information main menu.
We appreciate your prompt attention in updating your race and ethnicity information. For more information about reasons for these changes, please read below or go to: http://www.sheeo.org/ipeds/race-eth-home.htm . If you have any questions about the race and ethnicity requirements, please feel free to contact one of our offices.
Sincerely,
Laura L. Myers, Executive Director, Office for Institutional Equity (myersl@ohio.edu)
and
Mike Williford, Associate Provost for the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (willifor@ohio.edu)
What are the significant changes?
Beginning in academic year 2010-2011, the US Department of Education (DOE) will require all colleges and universities to adopt a new framework for collecting self-reported racial and ethnic data. Instead of being asked to select one from a list of five racial descriptors, individuals will identify themselves as Hispanic/Latino or non-Hispanic/Latino, and then choose as many as apply from a list of five racial descriptors (American Indian/Alaska Native; Asian; Black or African American; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; White). For additional information about each of these ethnic and racial descriptors, see DOE National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Statistical Standards for Defining Race and Ethnic Data.
How will this impact Ohio University?
The DOE’s Final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the US Department of Education (2007) sets forth guidelines for all educational institutions. The format changes will have significant impact on all colleges and universities. At Ohio University, for example, this means that all academic and administrative units that capture or utilize race and ethnic data will need to adjust their collection and reporting methods. From Admissions forms to Board of Regents reporting, from civil rights compliance monitoring to medical and health care and research, and tracking of employment, Ohio University will soon be migrating to new data collection framework for the tracking of employment, educational and co-curricular opportunity and participation. Intrinsic in this is a technological infrastructure for capturing, storing, and retrieving data in the new format.
Why is this change happening?
This change has been in the works for nearly two decades. In the early nineties, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) began researching the best way to capture racial and ethnic demographic information. This included defining new race and ethnic categories, identifying the best process for acquiring the more accurate self-reported data, and defining the most representative and least burdensome categories for reporting out data. In 1997 the OMB issued the Revision to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, redefining the categories for race and ethnicity in the US. This document had an historic significance as it allowed people, for the first time, to "check more than one box" and choose all racial and ethnic descriptors that they believe describe their heritage. The 2000 US Census used this standard, and you will see the next evolution of the framework when you participate in the 2010 census. All government offices and agencies are expected to adopt this protocol for their own employees and the entities they serve.
Data reported in the 2010-2011 year must represent the new reporting categories. The DOE is allowing institutions to use either the old and/or the new categories before that time.
