The AACN Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Tool Kit is designed to:

• Align the dimensions of the Inclusive Excellence Ecosystem for Academic Nursing (graphic displayed below). This ecosystem will assist nursing schools with organizing and guiding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

• Inform nursing schools of promising practices and strategies for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion and fostering inclusive excellence.
• Assist faculty with promoting and welcoming academic environments that embrace diverse life experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds.
• Serve as a catalyst for reflection and assessment of current pedagogy, teaching methods, and curricular strategies for inclusive teaching and learning environments.

What is Inclusive Excellence?

The operational definition of Inclusive Excellence as introduced by the Association of American Colleges and Universities includes four primary components:

1. A focus on student intellectual and social development. Academically, it means offering the best possible course of study for the context in which the education is offered.

2. A purposeful development and utilization of organizational resources to enhance student learning. Organizationally, it means establishing an environment that challenges each student to achieve academically at high levels and each member of the campus to contribute to learning and knowledge development.

3. Attention to the cultural differences that learners bring to the educational experience and that enhance the enterprise.

4. A welcoming community that engages all of its diversity in the service of student and organizational learning.
Inclusive Excellence Ecosystem for Academic Nursing

The Inclusive Excellence Ecosystem for Academic Nursing depicts a model for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within schools of nursing. The arrows depicted above are dual directional to depict the connectivity, intersection, and influence of all dimensions of the ecosystem. For instance, it is not sufficient that a nursing school transition to a holistic admissions process; it is imperative that the school also creates a welcoming environment where all students feel that they belong and will advance academically. Equity and inclusion are essential components to achieving the promise that greater diversity brings to higher education and the future health workforce.

The model’s four dimensions - Institutional Viability and Capacity, Access and Success, Climate and Culture, and Education and Scholarship - serve to widen the lens to allow a more comprehensive view that incorporates not only aspects of the overall institution on teaching and learning, but also the impact and influence of the communities in which the school is situated, the communities it serves, as well as the wider local, regional, national, and global contexts.

^{Source: Williams. D.A., Berger, J.B., & McClendon, S. A.. (2005). Toward a Model of Inclusive Excellence and Change in Post-Secondary Institutions. Association of American Colleges and Universities. Washington DC.}