STUDENT EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY STATISTICS PRO-FORMA
Under its Terms of Reference, the Equality and Diversity Committee (EADC) must ‘review existing
policies, procedures and service provision in relation to equality and diversity’ and ‘agree policy in
relation to equality and diversity issues’.
In order to fulfil its remit, EADC considers quantitative and qualitative equality and diversity-related
information in respect of both staff and students on an annual basis.
As the responsible person for a particular area of operation of the University, or for monitoring one of
the University’s Student Experience KPIs, EADC requests the completion of this pro-forma in order to
help it fulfil its responsibilities.
Equality legislation groups people by ‘protected characteristics’ and it these protected characteristics
you are asked to consider when completing this pro-forma.
The protected characteristics are: disability, race, sex, age, gender reassignment, marriage and
civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief and sexual orientation.
NB: The University has collected information from students in respect of disability, race, sex and age
for a number of years and, with effect from the academic year 2012-13, has collected information
relating to religion or belief and sexual orientation. No routine monitoring of the remaining protected
characteristics takes place.
Area of operation
Employability & Careers Centre
Name and job title of person completing pro-forma
Dave Stanbury, Director of Employability
Date assessment completed
25.01.2013
Q1. What are the main responsibilities/objectives of this area of operation/KPI? Please explain
in no more than 50 words.
We work with students, graduates, University staff and employers (including entrepreneurs and the
not-for-profit sector) to enhance the employability of Essex students and graduates, enrich their
experience and add value to the wider community.
Q2. What policies/procedures that fall within this area of operation have been subject to an
Equality Impact Assessment this year?
There have been no formal impact assessments undertaken this year. However, as part of our
preparation for Matrix we will review policies this spring.
However, we did carefully consider access issues when redesigning our student drop in and reception
area. As a result we purchased a height adjustable PC table.
Q3. What key equality-related actions have you taken in the year under consideration? Please
indicate where these were in response to a previously identified issue.
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A greater proportion of students were supported by the E&CC across all reporting categories
compared to the previous academic year. The E&CC achieved substantial increases and in one
case (mature students) doubled the contact rate.
A successful Housewarming’ event for new mature students starting degrees in 2012 – ‘Making
your degree count greater was held attracting 32 students to the workshop style session in
September 2012).
International Careers Week 6-10 February 2012 was a successfully attracted international and
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home students to a wide range of topics on global themes. Activities included:
o Careers in Asia with Global Career Company
o Increasing your chances in the UK Job Market
o Getting a Job in the UK – a Careers Seminar for Chinese Speakers
o Working in the UK After Study - an Immigration Update
o Job Hunting for Chinese Nationals and Mandarin Speakers
o Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Is it a Career or Just a Gap Year?
o Frontier - International Volunteering
o Fulbright - Postgraduate Study in the US
o Job Applications
o Job Interviews
A survey of international students on how the Employability and Careers Centre might best meet
their career needs was carried out by a visiting member of staff from a Swedish University in
December 2012.
The level of WP engagement in frontrunners and the University’s internships scheme was
researched last year. Key findings:
o The proportion of WP students that secured an internship (identified by Polor2) for
2010-11 was 31.3% and 18.6% of the students that were registered on the scheme came
under this WP category.
o 11.1% of students that secured a frontrunner placement in 2010-11 were identified as
WP under the Polor2 category.
Q4. Statistical information. In relation to the protected characteristics mentioned above, please
provide a profile of those students who have accessed your service, been subject to
procedures relating to your area of operation, or been considered under this KPI, this year.
Number of
contacts by
E&CC
Total UoE
Total individual students seen
Equivalent to
proportion of
student body
2010-11
result
11880
2706
22.8%
15.10%
884
196
22.2%
16%
Female students
6356
1600
25.2%
15.40%
Mature undergraduate students
1667
361
21.7%
10.50%
Non-white students (declared)
3946
1008
25.5%
14.90%
International students*
3026
672
22.2%
13.00%
All non-UK students *
5010
1263
25.2%
14.50%
Students with a declared disability
* calculated on fee status, not nationality
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Q5. Referring to the list of protected characteristics at the top of this form has any positive or
negative impact on any group of people who share a protected characteristic been identified?
If yes what steps, if any, have been taken/are you intending taking to either address any negative
impact or to mirror practice to encourage a similar positive impact on other groups.
WP students have slightly more negative graduate outcomes when compared to the total student
population. For this reason we are working with Outreach as part of the Access Agreement to develop
a strategy to add value to WP students through mentoring and other approaches (see Q10 below for
more details). This project will involve analysing in more detail the nature of the negative effects and
how these play out across different client groups.
Q6. Have there been any formal complaints made about this area of operation in relation to its
effect on people who share a protected characteristic? Please answer Yes or No. If yes, please
expand and indicate whether any action was taken/will be taken to change practice as a result.
None that I am aware of.
Q7. What feedback, positive or negative, has been received in relation to this area of
operation? Please explain how you have used/intend to use this feedback to make changes, where
relevant.
“It was an invaluable experience. I got advice with my CV, job interview and even career advice. Very
awesome. Thank you all.” (mature student)
“The service was very useful, the advisors were very supportive and constructive and helped me feel
much more positive about a variety of issues.” (mature student)
“I feel it helped my CV look more professional and it helped me realize what to put in it.”
(International student)
Q8. What equality-related plans, not mentioned elsewhere in this report, are in place for the
coming year?
Planned activities academic year 2012-13
 Working jointly with Education Outreach we have appointed a part-time, fixed term WP
Employability Officer funded from Access Funds. The aims of this role are to: research current
WP support practice at Essex; benchmark against good practice in the sector; devise policy and
practical plans to implement improved support for WP students for 2013-14. Outcomes from
this project will be fed into planning for future Access Agreements.
 Two organisations who aim to improve access into career areas for students from nontraditional/ under-represented ethnic minority backgrounds have been invited to present to
students. They are’ Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) London ‘(not-for-profit), and the
‘Student Leadership Development Programme’, offered by Elevation Networks.
 A second International Careers Week will run 28 January-1 February, based on the success of the
first year.
 A Job Hunting workshop will run March 2013 for mature students.
Please now submit the completed form to diversity@essex.ac.uk for consideration by the Equality and
Diversity Committee (EADC). EADC will assess the information provided and will either:
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Request that consideration is given to identified issues by USG;
Decide that no further consideration of this information is required.
The individual completing the pro-forma will be informed of the outcome of the assessment by EADC.
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EADC Response
Area of operation
Employability and Careers Centre
Have any issues been identified that EADC
would like further consideration be given to?
Yes
What, if any, are the issues identified?
EADC would have found it helpful to have known
what proportion of the comparative protected
characteristic accessed the ECC.
For example, it was noted that the number of
female student contacts was reported but not the
number of male student contacts and the number
of non-white student contacts but not the number
of white student contacts.
11 February 2013
Date:
Signed
Karen Stephenson, Secretary to Equality and
Diversity Committee
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