What is the DICE Inventory?
The AAMC worked in collaboration with the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU)/Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) to create the Diversity, Inclusion, Culture and Equity (DICE) Inventory. The DICE Inventory aims to help institutions conduct a comprehensive review of institutional policies, practices, procedures, and programs that impact the climate and culture around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The DICE Inventory is a self-assessment created for academic medicine and other higher education institutions to assist in identifying areas for improvement and help incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into institutional efforts and the strategic planning process. Additionally, the DICE Inventory provides institutions with a report outlining specific strengths and areas for improvement related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The inventory contains 89 questions to assess characteristics of the institution and the policies, practices, procedures, and programs that contribute to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture for students, faculty, administrators, and staff. It can be implemented at the institution or school level, and it addresses policies, practices, procedures, and programs in the following areas:
- governance, leadership, and mission,
- institutional planning and policies,
- communication and engagement,
- data and assessment,
- faculty and staff, and
- students.
“One of the highlights of the DICE inventory has been its vital role in our strategic planning process — from providing a comprehensive “current state” analysis to guiding our vision for a future state in which equity, inclusion and diversity are fully interwoven into the fabric of our culture.”
Dr. Philip Boiselle, MD
Dean
Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University
How does an institution complete the DICE Inventory?
The DICE Inventory is a qualitative data collection tool whereby a facilitator guides implementation team members in a set of conversations to complete the inventory and better understand where the institution is at this moment in time on the path to excellence in diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Information collected to complete the DICE Inventory comes from preexisting data sources, such as the varying programs and policies in place at the institution or school. The DICE Inventory provides institutions with a snapshot report that outlines specific strengths and areas for improvement related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. By reviewing and analyzing the final report, institutions are able to further understand strengths and areas in need of improvement that ultimately support the creation of a diverse, equitable, safe, and inclusive culture for all students, faculty, administrators, and staff.
“The DICE Inventory questions complimented and validated some of the data and analysis that we had done, as well as provided additional insight into other DEI questions and areas that required some focus. It allowed us to enlist more of our leadership, faculty, administrators, staff and students to take a look at ourselves through our policies, practices and institutional planning.”
Brenda Latham-Sadler, MD
Vice-Chief Academic Officer
Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
What is the AAMC Council of Deans (COD) Collective Action Initiative (CAI) on Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?
In alignment with the AAMC’s Strategic Plan, the AAMC created the COD CAI on Advancing DEI by which medical school deans were invited to collectively administer the DICE Inventory at their institutions. While it was a voluntary initiative, a total of 101 AAMC-member institutions completed the DICE Inventory and submitted their results to the AAMC for compilation in a national report. Aggregate data from the COD CAI initiative indicated the following:
- Approximately 60% of medical schools had a total score of above 80% across all DICE Inventory items. No significant differences were observed based on medical school region, faculty size, ownership type (e.g., private or public), or accreditation year (e.g., before or after year 2000).
- Across all medical schools, the average scores for all subsections within the “Governance, Leadership, and Mission” and “Students” inventory sections were above 80%, indicating that there are substantial DEI efforts in place to address these areas.
- Across all medical schools, the average scores for all subsections within the “Data and Assessment” inventory section were between 66% and 73%, indicating that there are moderate DEI efforts in place in addressing these areas.
- Over 40% of medical schools scored below 60% in the subsections “Faculty and Staff: DEI Staff Recruitment and Development” and “Institutional Planning: Strategic Planning and Accountability”, indicating that these are areas of improvement for many medical schools to enhance their DEI efforts.
“Beyond the LCME accreditation requirements, the DICE Inventory has anchored our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and Culture Committee providing a common language to help us achieve best practices.”
Paula M. Termuhlen, MD
Dean
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine