National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education Standards of Professional Practice for Chief Diversity Officers

The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) have developed and approved Standards of Professional Practice for Chief Diversity Officers (CDOs). The standards established in this document are a formative advancement toward the increased professionalization of the CDO in institutions of higher education. These standards encompass a broad range of knowledge and practices that are reflected in the work of CDOs across differing professional and institutional contexts. The standards are useful as guideposts to help clarify and specify the scope and flexibility of the work of CDOs, and provide a set of guidelines to inform and assist individual administrators and institutions in aligning the work of CDOs on their campuses with the evolving characteristics of the profession. The standards take into account the relatively wide variations in professional backgrounds, expertise, organizational structures, fiscal resources, and scope of administrative authority that exist across institutional contexts. The standards of professional practice should not be applied rigidly or prescriptively to define who is "qualified" to do the work of diversity in higher education institutions or how diversity and inclusion offices should be configured. This document should be used as a tool to facilitate the advancement of significant and effective change on college and university campuses by emphasizing the role of the CDO as an organizational change agent for equity, diversity, and inclusion.