Queen Mary, University of London
Student Equality Survey
1.
2.
Context ______________________________________________________ 2
Methodology and Sampling ______________________________________ 2
2.1
Sample – Gender (Q13) __________________________________ 2
2.2
Sample – Race (Q17) ____________________________________ 2
2.3
Sample – International students (Q27) _______________________ 3
2.4
Sample – Age (Q16) _____________________________________ 3
2.5
Sample – Disability (Q28) _________________________________ 3
2.6
Sample - Sexual orientation (Q23) _________________________ 3
2.7
Sample - Religion belief (Q20) ____________________________ 4
2.8
Sample - Gender Identity (Q14)____________________________ 5
2.9
Sample - Caring Responsibilities (Q15) ______________________ 5
3. Findings _____________________________________________________ 6
3.1
Awareness of policies and how to complain (Q1 and Q2) ______ 6
3.2
Satisfaction with Queen Mary services (Q3) __________________ 7
3.3
Awareness of staff and students (Q8) ______________________ 10
3.4
Experience of unfair treatment (Q9 and Q10) ________________ 10
3.5
Feeling of safety on campus (Q11) ________________________ 11
3.6
Positive comments about Queen Mary and diversity (Q12) _____ 11
3.7
Have you experienced racism on Campus (Q18) _____________ 12
3.8
Promoting good relations between students of different ethnicities _ 12
3.9
International students ______________________________________ 12
3.10
Faith at Queen Mary __________________________________ 13
3.11
Sexual Orientation _____________________________________ 13
3.12
Disability_____________________________________________ 14
4. Recommendations ____________________________________________ 15
5. Appendixes __________________________________________________ 16
1
1. Context
Queen Mary student equality survey was conducted from 12th May 2011 to 26th June
2011. 772 students took part in the survey which represents 5% of the Queen Mary
student population.
2. Methodology and Sampling
The survey was carried out online using Survey Monkey. The percentages below
represent participation of respondents by membership of equality group1.
Sample – Gender (Q13)
Gender
Survey respondents
Queen Mary UG &PG
2009-10
346 (59.8%)
7644 (52%)
219 (37.8%)
7082 (48%)
14 (2.4%)
Not available
Female
Male
Prefer not to say
The proportion of female students who took part in the equality survey is higher
than their proportion in the Queen Mary student population.
Sample – Race (Q17)
Ethnicity
White
Asian - Indian
Asian – Other
Asian – Pakistani
Asian – Bangladeshi
Mixed Background
Chinese
Black – Black African
Black – Other
Black – Black Caribbean
Other
Prefer not to say
Survey respondents
281 (48.8%)
52 (9.0%)
45 (7.8%)
39 (6.8 )%
32 (5.6%)
31 (5.4%)
24 (4.2%)
21(3.6%)
6 (1%)
3 (0.5%)
33 (5.7%)
21 (3.6%)
Queen Mary UG &PG
2009-10
4144 (37%)
1574 (14%)
835 (7%)
979 (9%)
720 (7%)
976 (9%)
276 (2%)
705 (6%)
50 (>1%)
194 (2%)
0 (0%)
576 (5%
White and Chinese students are slightly over-represented in the survey in
comparison with their representation in the Queen Mary student cohort. Asian
students are slightly under-represented. Black and Mixed background students
were under-represented.
1
The results of this survey are a sample only and cannot be interpreted as representative of the
student population of Queen Mary.
2
Sample – International students (Q27)
Are you an
international student
Yes
No
Survey respondents
Queen Mary UG &PG
December 2010
165 (29.0%)
5235 (31%)
404 (71.0%)
11708 (69%)
The proportion of International student who took part in the survey was in line
with their representation in the College.
Sample – Age (Q16)
Age
Under 21
21-25
26-34
35-50
51+65
Survey respondents
346 (59.8%)
219 (37.8%)
14 (2.4%)
17 (2.9%)
>10 (0.9%)
Comparisons are not available due to a difference in age categorisation.
Sample – Disability (Q28)
Disability
Survey respondents
Queen Mary UG &PG
2009-10
55 (9.6%)
669 (4.5%)
508 (89%)
14009 (95.1%)
>10 (1.4%)
48 (0.3%)
Yes
No
Prefer not to say
Disabled student are slightly over-represented in the survey compared to their
representation at Queen Mary. This can be due to the fact that the survey was
anonymous which can have a positive impact on disclosure rates.
Disability - type
Dyslexia/ Dyspraxia/ AD(H)D
Mental Health
Wheelchair user/ Mobility difficulties
Medical, e.g. epilepsy, diabetes, asthma
Multiple
Visually impaired/ Blind
Hearing impaired/ Deaf
Other
Survey respondents2
48.8%
37.2%
9.3%
7.0%
4.2%
2.3%
2.3%
11.6%
Sample - Sexual orientation (Q23)
2
Numbers are too small to be presented in raw data
3
This is the first time that the College has collected information about sexual
orientation of its students. There is no internal data for comparison.
How would you describe your sexual orientation?
82.7%
3.1%
2.0%
G
ay
w
om
sp
ec
i
ea
se
O
th
er
(p
l
0.9%
en
/L
es
bi
an
fy
)
an
m
G
ay
se
xu
al
4.5%
Bi
o
sa
y
8.1%
Pr
ef
er
no
tt
He
te
ro
se
xu
al
90.0%
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Sample - Religion belief (Q20)
This is the first time the College collected information about religion/belief of its
students. There is no internal data for comparison.
The majority of the respondents have no religion/belief (33%), followed by
Christian students (24%) and Muslim students (22%).
A recent study from the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU)3 gives a basis for comparison
of the College’s respondent group. It is captured below. The Census 2001 provides
comparison with the population in Great Britain.
Religion/Belief
No religion
Christian
Muslim
Hindu
Buddhist
Jewish
Sikh
Other
Prefer not to say
Queen Mary Higher Education ONS census
%
– ECU survey4 %
Britain 20015
33%
31%
15.0%
24%
44%
71.8
22%
9%
2.8%
6%
2%
0.9%
3%
2%
0.3%
2%
2%
0.5%
1%
1%
0.6%
4%
7%
0.3%
5%
0%
7.8
3
Religion and belief in higher Education: the experiences of staff and students, 2011
http://www.ecu.ac.uk/publications/religion-and-belief-staff-and-students-in-he
Categories have been adjusted to match.
4
These figures are not meant to be statistically representative but to give an indication based on the
survey of 3935 students.
5
ONS Census 2001 Great Britain:
4
Total
100%
* may not total exactly 100% due to rounding
98*
100%
Sample - Gender Identity (Q14)
This is the first time the College collected information about gender identity of its
students. There is no internal data to compare with.
3.7% of the respondents declared living in a different gender identity that the one
they were assigned at birth. Another 4.4% choose the “prefer not to say” option to
that question. These figures are rather higher than one might expect, this could
partly be explained by the phrasing of the question that possibly caused confusion.
However, it is important to note that more than 10 students agreed to take part in
the focus group on this topic.
Sample - Caring Responsibilities (Q15)
95% of the respondents had no caring responsibilities.
Among those who do have caring responsibilities: 0.5% are pregnant students, 2.8%
are the primary carer for a child, 1% are the primary carer for an older person, and
1.2% are the primary carer for another dependant.
5
3. Findings
Awareness of policies and how to complain (Q1 and Q2)
The majority of respondents are aware that Queen Mary has policies on equality and
diversity.
6
The majority of respondents declared that they would not know where to complain
about equality and diversity. This is a pattern found under Q10, Q18 and Q25.
Satisfaction with Queen Mary services (Q3)
Overall respondents are satisfied with how the above services take into account
their personal requirements.
Certain groups of students are slightly less satisfied, they are described below:
- Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual respondents are less satisfied than all respondents
with the enrolment/induction, fresher's week and social events at Queen Mary.
- International students are less satisfied with the application process, the
enrolment/induction, the finance department, social events. There are more likely to
find other services “adequate” when other respondents are “satisfied” or “very
satisfied”.
- Female respondents are slightly less satisfied with the College’s sports facilities
- Disabled students report being dissatisfied with a number of services at Queen
Mary compared with non-disabled student, including: the application process,
enrolment/induction, fresher’s week, accommodation/residences, e-learning facilities,
social events, catering outlets and sport facilities. They are overall satisfied with
access to buildings on campus.
7
- Improvement of services (Q4)
In order to improve services to take into account the diversity of students at Queen
Mary, respondents suggested:
- More events that do not only revolve around alcohol/club nights and a place to
socialise on campus with less alcohol focus
- Better services for mature students, more social events for them and the
promotion of a culture that included them
- Prayer facilities that cater all needs are available and open to all faiths, better
communication with students about these facilities
- Better support from the student union for the LGBT students and society,
especially following the events in Tower Hamlets where stickers were found in the
borough declaring Tower Hamlets a “Gay free zone”.
- Opening hours of the College don’t always cater for students who have
responsibilities outside the College.
- Better communication about events happening on campus
- Developed interactive campus maps to improve accessibility of the campus
- Better integration of international students with home students; there were
generally comments that there should better way to encourage mixing of students
- Taking account people with different abilities in sport facilities and clubs
- Learning, teaching, assessment practices and diversity (Q5)
8
Overall, respondents feel that the above services take well into account the diversity
of Queen Mary’s students.
- Again disabled respondents are less satisfied with the services above, especially
delivery of classes, accessibility to learning handouts, online resources, group works
and field trips.
- Suggestions to enhance services to take account of the diversity of
students (Q6)
There are many positive comments about Queen Mary to that question.
Suggestions include:
- Awareness raising of different group and different needs
- Promote an inclusive culture
- Taking into account people responsibilities outside universities including caring
responsibilities, for example to give notice when lectures are rearranged and field
trips organised.
- Ensure the standard of support is consistent between departments and courses,
especially for disabled students. For example, course slides are not always available
before the lecture which can cause problems for disabled students.
- Ensure College’s expectations of its students are explained and communicated to
all students
- Better taking into account of mature students and their needs
- Enhance student mixing
- Integration of equality and diversity in the curriculum
- Disability awareness for support staff
- Barriers (Q7)
132 students responded to Q7: “If you feel that any of the learning, teaching or
assessment practices creates barriers to the participation of students based on age,
disability, race/ethnicity, sex, transgender status, religion/belief, sexual orientation,
pregnancy/maternity please give details of your concerns”:
Among the comments there were:
- A numbers of positive comments about Queen Mary
- Concerns about barriers for student with childcare responsibilities and
timetable
- A number of concerns regarding disability, including: access to buildings, size of
laboratory coats, perception of lack of mental health support for students in SMD,
no room to rest on campus, disabled students reported that it is not best practice to
have to explain at the beginning of each exam attended that they are entitled to
extra-time, need to disability awareness for tutors.
- Mature students reported feeling patronised by lecturers and not having their
needs taking into account, they reported issue with timetable changes, etc.
- Pregnant students reported a lack of information and procedures, they did not
know who should they tell and some experienced patronising or unsupportive
comments from academic staff.
- LGBT students reported that staff (including academics) should be given training
about sexual orientation and the University should make it clear that they will not
tolerate homophobic comments.
- Timetabling can be an issue for students who practice certain faiths.
9
Awareness of staff and students (Q8)
Overall, respondents felt that staff and students at Queen Mary were aware of the
diverse needs of Queen Mary student population.
Experience of unfair treatment (Q9 and Q10)
36% (209) of the respondents reported having experienced or witnessed unfair
treatment, harassment or bullying whilst at the College. The table below presents on
which grounds respondents of Q9 felt they had experienced or witnessed unfair
treatment, harassment or bullying.
Q9 Have you experienced or witnessed unfair
treatment, harassment or bullying in relation to your:
Race/Ethnicity
Religion & Belief
Gender
Disability
Sexual Orientation
Age
Transgender status
Caring for an adult/child
%
%
respondents respondents
to Q9
to all survey
50 (24%)
6%
47 (22%)
6%
42 (20%)
5%
21 (10%)
3%
21 (10%)
3%
20 (10%)
3%
>10 (2%)
0.5%
>10 (2%)
0.5%
10
Q10 asked respondents who replied Yes to Q9 about their experience and whether
they reported it. 72 students responded to Q10.
Among the comments there were:
- Older students experienced stereotypes and exclusion because of their age
- Problems for disabled students not getting the support they should received in
their department, lack of awareness of academic staff and support staff about some
disabilities and mental health issues
- Homophobic comments and insults toward Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (LGB)
students
- Female harassment on campus and in some S&E schools
- Feeling of alienation due to belonging to a different race, religion and from
students with no religion
- Lack of awareness-raising about equality for staff and students
Very few students had reported these issues. This was mainly because they did
not know where to report them and/or were worried it could have an impact on
their studies.
Feeling of safety on campus (Q11)
Please rate how safe you feel on campus
Very safe
Safe
Neither safe or unsafe
Unsafe
Very unsafe
226 (39.1%)
246 (42.6%)
77 (13.3%)
26 (4.5%)
>10 (0.5%)
The majority of respondents reported feeling safe on campus; however there
were many comments about students having concerns that anybody can walk to the
campus and inside campus building without having to show a QM staff or student
card.
There were also comments about the character of the Mile End area and attendant
feeling of non-safety especially during winter time/evening time.
Positive comments about Queen Mary and diversity (Q12)
Almost half of the respondents (47.8%) declaring having experienced or
witnessed positive experience of good practice in meeting the needs of diverse
students within QM.
Among the comments there were:
- Personal circumstances being taken into account for placement/assessment
- Accommodation of religious festivals
- The existence Ladies gym
- Prayer facilities and good timetabling practice to ensure student can
accommodate their faith
- Good support from DDS and Advice & Counselling
- Celebration of festivals
- Satisfaction with societies
- Satisfaction with catering
11
Have you experienced racism on Campus (Q18)
7.5% of respondents to Q18 declared having experienced racism. The majority of
students who reported experience of racism were from White-British background
(37%), followed by Students from White-other background and Mixed background
(12% for both).
However, most of the respondents who commented for this question, reported
minor incidents.
It is clear from their comments that most students would not know where to
report racist incidents at Queen Mary and are worried about potential
consequences for their studies.
Promoting good relations between students of different ethnicities –
comments (Q19)
133 responses were received on how to promote good relations between students
of different ethnicities.
Among the comments there were:
- Suggestions on how to encourage students to mix with those from different
backgrounds: celebrations of festivals, of nationalities, of themed days, of different
cultures (including food festival); promote group work in seminars and ensure group
in seminars are randomly selected; organise interfaith events.
- Suggestions that halls of residence should be better mixed
- An Equality and Diversity training/talk should be provided.
International students
Comments (Q27)
Forty nine students commented on how well Queen Mary meets the needs of its
international student population.
Among the comments there were:
- A number of positive comments and satisfaction, especially with Advice and
Counselling and pre-enrolment letters
- Dissatisfaction with the fees, with the lack of diversity of Queen Mary’s staff in
comparison with the student body, with the integration system
- Some respondents found the application process difficult
- Another respondent pointed out that the College should make clear to its
international students of what is expected of them, as it might be different from
their home countries.
12
3.10 Faith at Queen Mary
- Use of facilities (Q21)
Do you use the facilities Queen Mary provides to students for
religious/faith purposes
No
241 (70.7%)
Yes, multi-faith centre
67 (19.6%)
Yes, chaplaincy
15 (4.4%)
Yes, contemplation room (library)
11 (3.2%)
Yes, other
>10 (2.1%)
- Suggestion for improvement (Q22)
68 respondents gave comments to how Queen Mary impacts on the practice of their
faith.
There were a number of positive comments about the facilities Queen Mary
provides for students.
Amongst the negative comments there were:
- Issues about timetable, especially around non- Christian festival, Friday lectures
and seminars
- Lack of facilities on campuses other than Mile End (or communication about
them)
- Feelings that resources and attention should be more equally distributed
- Meeting the dietary requirements
- Problems of communication of the role and purpose of the contemplation room
in the library
3.11 Sexual Orientation
- Homophobia on Campus (Q24 and Q25)
Have you experienced or witnessed homophobia during your
time at Queen Mary?
Yes, experienced
11 (2.0%)
Yes, witnessed
39 (7.0%)
No
516 (92.3%)
Nine per cent of the 556 respondents to Q24 have witnessed or experienced
homophobia on campus.
Among the students who reported having experienced or witnessed homophobia,
many reported remarks, comments, jokes that are homophobic. None declared
having reported the incidents and among those who commented, none knew where
to report it and doubt any actions would have happened.
13
- Improving the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender student
experience (Q26)
62 students responded to Q26. Among the comments there were:
- Suggestions for more awareness-raising about LGBT issues including: showing
films, especially during LGBT history month
- Provision of gender free toilet facilities
- Training for staff and students
- Better support from Student union and publicity about the LGBT Student
Society
- Clear policies on that homophobia will not be tolerated; students felt Queen
Mary did not respond appropriately to the events in Tower Hamlets where stickers
were found in the borough declaring Tower Hamlets a “Gay free zone”.
To note: a couple of respondent’s answers to questions about LGBT students
indicated hostility towards them. These comments were hostile enough to be
considered as indicative of serious hatred towards LGBT people.
3.12 Disability
- Disabled students’ experience (Q30)6
There a number of positive comments from disabled students on their
experience at Queen Mary, however issues remains, such as:
- Accessibility: problem with the Lincoln’s inn fields having no lift, lectures taking
place in the Queen’s building, sometimes in rooms which are not accessible by lift.
- Awareness: many students commented that there is lack of awareness of both
staff and student about disabilities, especially mental health. Many suggested an
awareness-raising session, events
- Students noted that there is no place to rest on campus although the College is
currently addressing this.
- Disabled students found that sport/drinking culture at Queen Mary made it
difficult for them to socialise with students.
- Other comments from all students on disability Q31:
There were some comments about the accessibility of Mile End campus mainly
around the complexity of building access for wheelchair users and problems with the
lift in Pooley house and difficulties in opening the doors in Charterhouse square.
Finally it was pointed out that the computers in the Arts foyer are too high.
6
This question was only answer by respondents who declared having a disability
14
4. Recommendations
Although the number of respondents is limited, this survey provides some initial
insights about how respondents feel about equality and diversity and whether the
College address their needs.
Relevant comments will be shared with services and departments.
It is recommended that the survey is carried out on an annual basis to monitor
progress. Focus groups on relevant topics will be carried out during the academic
year 2011-2012
Specific recommendations:
- Queen Mary should communicate to students the procedures to report
discrimination, unfair treatment, bullying and harassment, as well as racist and
homophobic incidents (Q1, Q2, Q10, Q18, Q24 and Q25).
- Queen Mary should benchmark with other HEIs levels of racism, homophobic and
other hatred incident (Q9, Q18, Q24, and Q25).
- Queen Mary should look into exploring further the dissatisfaction of disabled
students and how services and facilities could be improved. Harmonisation of
provisions (including exam) is necessary (Q3, Q5, Q7 Q30 and Q31).
- Queen Mary should communicate the provision of facilities and arrangements for
faith group to all students (Q4, Q7, Q10, Q22 and throughout survey open
comments).
- Queen Mary should review its policy and procedure for pregnant student and
students with caring responsibilities, including support available to them. Awareness
raising will be necessary in this area (Q7).
- Queen Mary should consider concerns about student safety on campus (Q11).
- Queen Mary should explore the problem international students experience with
the application process and the fees payment system at Queen Mary, as well as
setting clear standards of expectations (Q3, Q27).
- Disability awareness should be provided to relevant staff members in
schools/institutes/departments (Q6).
15
5. Appendixes
 Questionnaire
Please see attached PDF Document.
16