Our Commitment to EDI
While equity has long been a core value and part of The RP Group's work, our understanding of what it means to be an equitable organization has evolved. Since 2021, The RP Group's Board of Directors and staff have more explicitly centered equity, diversity, and inclusion within our work.
Racial identity is frequently the most salient indicator of advantage and oppression within our system. To advance equity broadly, our work must begin with race and acknowledge how it intersects or interacts with other characteristics to produce inequitable experiences and outcomes. As institutional research, planning, and effectiveness (IRPE) professionals, we have the privilege and responsibility to go beyond identifying gaps in students’ outcomes and to use data to inform actions that eliminate these gaps.
We are committed to offering support and insights into how we believe The RP Group and IRPE field must change to help students succeed. Just as our Mission, Vision, and Core Values guide our approach to research, professional development, and representation, we need to affirmatively and publicly articulate our commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
The RP Group’s Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
The RP Group recognizes it is not enough to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion; we must proactively work to oppose racial inequity and lead social justice within the educational system. To drive systemic change and advance equity for racially and other minoritized groups, The RP Group must uplift student voices and leverage its unique position as both a provider of research and professional development services, and as a representative body for IRPE professionals.
We recognize that we are all in different places in our journeys. The RP Group’s positions and documents will continue to evolve as we grow personally and professionally as an organization and as individuals.