Policy Number: EQ.03.02.170530
Applies to: Washington State University’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine faculty, staff, administration, and students.
Date: 12/2/2025
1.0 Policy Statement
It is the policy of the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine to implement a variety of strategies to demonstrate a commitment to health equity, access, opportunity, and excellence, thereby achieving outcomes consistent with these values among its students, faculty, staff, and administration.
2.0 Definitions
Access
The commitment to ensuring everyone has equal opportunity to be included in all programs and activities, with consideration of individual needs.
Excellence
Recognition that an organization’s potential and success are dependent on how well it values, engages, and embraces the rich knowledge and experiences of its members.
Health Equity
The assurance of conditions for optimal health for all people. We pursue this mission and vision in service of all communities and all peoples of Washington.
Members of the Organization
Members include paid and non-paid faculty, administration, staff, and students.
Opportunity
A commitment to creating environments where each member of the community has the full opportunity to thrive.
3.0 Responsibility
Responsible Office: Office for Health Equity
Oversight Committee: Equity Committee
4.0 Procedures
Implementation of this policy enables the college to achieve its mission by promoting health equity, access, opportunity, and excellence among students, faculty, staff, and administration. In so doing, the college enriches education and clinical training, research and scholarship, clinical care, service, and outreach activities. It ultimately improves access to quality health care for all communities in Washington State and beyond.
The college aligns with and draws upon campus and university policies and resources that promote health equity, access, opportunity, and excellence.
Infrastructure
The college demonstrates its commitment to health equity, access, opportunity, and excellence through investments in the following:
- Departments and Department Chairs – All college departments and department chairs are responsible for compliance with applicable university and college policies.
- Equity Committee – A standing committee codified in the College of Medicine Bylaws with elected student, staff, and faculty members representing key college constituents. The Equity Committee is an advisory group to the Dean of the College of Medicine.
- Office for Health Equity – Collaborates with units across the college to build capacity toward advancing our efforts.
Students
Each degree-granting unit uses appropriate strategies for recruitment, admissions, retention, and curriculum that promotes health equity, access and opportunity, excellence among the student body, and fosters the ability to effectively serve a diverse, broad-ranging community.
- Recruitment – The college deploys a variety of recruitment strategies to ensure a broad applicant pool for its degree-granting programs including recruitment at community colleges and institutions in rural counties.
- Admissions – The college degree programs use an admissions process that considers mission-aligned experiences and attributes in addition to traditional metrics to ensure fair and equal opportunity for admission.
- Retention – The college is committed to supporting and retaining all students by offering a wide array of student support services.
- Curriculum – Degree programs provide students with academic curricula that include a focus on health equity, structural competency, access, and the opportunity to ensure graduates are prepared to serve a diverse community.
Faculty, Staff, and Administration
Best practices for recruiting, hiring, and retaining faculty, staff, and administrators are followed in accordance with University, State and Federal laws and guidelines. Moreover, the college is committed to fairness, excellence, access, and opportunity through every aspect of its statewide system, including promotion and tenure guidelines, processes, practices, and institutional culture.
Recruitment/Hiring
- The search committee chair and membership include individuals from diverse experiences and roles within the college.
- The search committee chair ensures that the recruitment and hiring process adheres to best practices and policies identified by the college and the University.
- Search committee chairs and members complete training in best practices (e.g., Inclusive Excellence Bias Training) for reducing bias in the hiring process.
- Human Resources and search committee members review position descriptions for potential bias.
- Open positions are disseminated to the public using strategies that are known to reach a broad applicant pool (e.g., strategic advertising in wide-ranging outlets, direct outreach to qualified candidates).
Dissemination/Awareness
The college helps students, faculty, staff, administration, and the broader community learn about its commitment to health equity, access, and opportunity, along with excellence through:
- An annual conference
- College website, including college policies, Bylaws, memoranda, and communications
- Social media accounts
- Medical student handbook
- Recruitment materials
- Student Orientation and Faculty Onboarding
- Dean’s All College Quarterly Meetings
- Research results related to health equity, access, opportunity, and excellence
- Faculty and staff meetings
- Ongoing access training for students, faculty, staff, and administration as required by SB 5227
- Periodic climate surveys to understand the state of students, faculty, and staff as required by SB 5227.
Evaluation
The college evaluates the impact of its activities using a continuous quality improvement process. The Office for Health Equity, in collaboration with the Equity Committee, department chairs, and administrative unit leads, provides an annual report on efforts that are distributed to students, faculty, staff, and administration.
- The impact of activities listed in this policy is monitored via the aligned metrics located in the college’s strategic plan.
5.0 Related Policies
- WSU UPPM 10.55: Equal Employment Opportunity Policy
- WSU UPPM 10.60: Policy Prohibiting Discrimination and Harassment
- State of Washington Senate Bill 5227
- Accreditation Standards of the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology
- Committee on Accreditation for the Exercise Sciences (CoAES)
- Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)
6.0 Key Search Words
Health equity, access, opportunity, excellence.
7.0 Revision History
Original Approval: 4/12/2016
Policy Number: EQ.03.02.170530
Revision Approval: 2/28/2017, 5/30/2017, 6/8/2018, 5/14/2019, 3/29/2022, 12/2/2025