Equity Badges

Project Description

Equity badges are physical beacons that signal a professor’s ability to support the needs of underrepresented students in their classrooms. They are also representations of an ally-ship to marginalized and vulnerable groups on campus.

Problem

What if there was an easier way for students to find professors that can support and connect them to the resources they need?

Insights

"From our research, we found that there are plenty of resources on campus for undocumented students. A big problem is that a lot of new students don’t know that these resources are available to them. Many undocumented students are afraid to seek out help because they don’t want to reveal their status to others. We also learned that many teachers on campus are unfamiliar with undocumented student issues or circumstances. Students explained that educators and teachers appeared unfamiliar with the state of being undocumented."

Solutions

We want to empower students to identify and choose the professors and faculty that have been supportive and understanding of their unique situations. They have the power to nominate professors for these badges.Through the MyCoach app, students are able to nominate their professors they deem to be allies for an equity badge. After 5 nominations, the professor will receive an email to sign up to the MyCoach app to become an ally Equity Badge. As a further incentive, a complimentary media kit gift set that includes an enamel pin, sew on patch, stickers, and zoom background will be shipped to the professor so that they can wear and show that they are an ally.