Sector Approaches to Understanding and
Addressing the Ethnicity Attainment Gap
Sarah Lawther
CADQ
September 2014
Contents
1 Executive summary ............................................................................................ 3
2 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 5
3 Sector data ........................................................................................................ 6
3.1 Student participation ..................................................................................... 6
3.2 Student continuation ..................................................................................... 6
3.3 Student attainment ....................................................................................... 6
3.4 Destination of leavers ................................................................................... 7
3.5 Progression and attainment ........................................................................... 7
4 Understanding and addressing the ethnicity attainment gap .................................... 9
4.1 Building positive relationships with students .................................................... 9
4.2 Raising aspirations ...................................................................................... 10
4.3 Seeking support ......................................................................................... 10
4.4 Social and cultural capital ............................................................................ 11
4.5 Understanding assessment .......................................................................... 11
4.6 Academic language development .................................................................. 13
4.7 Curriculum ................................................................................................. 14
4.8 Belonging .................................................................................................. 14
4.9 Identifying what is working well ................................................................... 14
5 Student Groups ................................................................................................ 16
5.1 International students ................................................................................. 16
5.2 Black students............................................................................................ 16
6 Retention and success resources ........................................................................ 17
7 References ...................................................................................................... 18
Sector Approaches to Understanding and Addressing the Ethnicity Attainment Gap
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1 Executive summary
Across the sector, black and minority ethnic (BME) students are less likely to attain a
‘good’ degree (measured as a first or 2:1) than their white counterparts. This difference
is usually defined as the ethnicity (or BME) attainment gap1. The attainment gap (UK)
has decreased in the last few years, from a peak of 18.8% in 2005/6 to 18.4% in
2010/11 and 17.7% in 2011/12 (ECU, 2013, p83) and is highest in England (an 18.5%
gap), (ibid, p81).
Reflecting the sector trend, BME students at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) are, on
the whole, less likely to attain a ‘good’ degree than their white counterparts. The
University, in response to the Equality Act 2010 and recent guidance from the Office for
Fair Access (OFFA) is committed to narrowing this ethnicity attainment gap.
This document provides a picture of the experience of BME students across the sector as
well as information about other institutions’ approaches to understanding and addressing
the ethnicity attainment gap. No single cause has been found to solely explain why there
is a gap (Richardson, 2013, p11), rather, “the evidence points to a complex range of
differently connected factors” (Singh, 2011, p24), and therefore we do not know of a
single strategy that has been able to close it. In addition, often the BME student
experience is interlinked with other identities such as gender, socio-economic status as
well as prior educational and societal experiences.
Explanations about why the attainment gap exists (and subsequent strategies to address
the gap) have considered the role of the institution (institutional racism and unconscious
bias for example), the role of the student (so a deficit model of the student such as their
self esteem or sense of belonging) and more recently, “the quality of students’ learning
and particular their conceptions of learning”, highlighting the role of effective learning,
teaching and assessment strategies (Sanders, 2014, p13).
In response, therefore, many institutions are addressing the attainment gap with a
number of strategies. Some are taking an institution wide approach, others are also
including smaller, local projects that address specific issues such as described in the
Disparities in Student Attainment (DiSA) briefing papers. A common factor is that
interventions are often aimed at all students, with the belief that strategies to address
the BME attainment gap will also have the benefit of raising the attainment of all
students.
This report is themed by strategies that are being implemented across UK HEIs to
improve the attainment of BME students (rather than themes around the causes of the
attainment gap):
 building positive relationships with students;
 raising aspirations;
 seeking support;
 raising social and cultural capital;
 understanding assessment;
That is, the percentage of white first degree undergraduate students achieving a good degree minus the
percentage of BME first degree undergraduate students achieving the same.
1
Sector Approaches to Understanding and Addressing the Ethnicity Attainment Gap
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



academic language development;
curriculum;
belonging; and
identifying what works.
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2 Introduction
This resource has been created to support schools as they develop strategies for
improving the attainment of BME students. It provides a picture of the experience of
BME students across the sector as well as information about other institutions’
approaches to understanding and addressing the BME attainment gap.
This is an area that many institutions are currently looking at, so this doesn’t provide an
exhaustive list, rather a summary of some of the strategies that are being trialled at
institutions based around key themes. It is hoped that this will provide a starting point,
with links to further information given throughout so that areas of particular interest and
relevance can be followed up.
Sector Approaches to Understanding and Addressing the Ethnicity Attainment Gap
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3 Sector data
The Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) annually provides a detailed analysis of student data
from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). In the Equality in higher education:
statistical report 2013 Part 2: students report, data is provided for BME students as a
whole and where possible according to ethnic groups2 as often there are notable
differences between these groups. ECU data only includes UK domicile students, that is,
students whose normal residence was the UK prior to entry into higher education.
Students whose ethnicity is unknown have been excluded. The ECU acknowledges that
there are limitations to these classifications. This short research project, Ethnic
Categorisation, explored students’ views of ethnic categorisation (Soocoormanee, DiSA
briefing paper 1)3.
3.1 Student participation
In the last nine years white student participation has decreased, whilst BME student
participation has increased (14.9% in 2003/04 to 18.8% in 2011/12). The largest
increase within this group is the participation of black UK domiciled students, which has
risen from 4.4% in 2003/04 to 6.0% in 2011/12 (ECU, 2013, p60).
3.2 Student continuation
ECU provides figures for first year4 fulltime undergraduate students and whether they
continue or qualify, transfer to another HEI or whether they are no longer in HE. 91.6%
of white first year full-time UK undergraduate students continued or qualified compared
to 87.8% of BME students who continued or qualified. Black students (85.3%) were the
least likely of the student groups to continue or qualify (ECU, 2013, p78).
3.3 Student attainment
The ethnicity attainment gap as measured by the ECU refers to the number of white UKdomiciled first degree undergraduate students attaining a ‘good’ degree (measured as a
The Equality in higher education: statistical report 2013 Part 2: students report aggregates the 2001 census
classification categories into the following groups:

white (this includes all white ethnic groups including white British)

black (including black of black British: Caribbean, black or black British: African and other black
background)

Asian (including Asian or Asian British: Indian, Asian or Asian British: Pakistani, Asian or Asian British:
Bangladeshi and other Asian background)

Chinese

mixed

other ethnic background (ECU, 2013, p6)
3
The work of Vertovec may also be of interest. He argues that when considering the needs and nature of
different groups other factors in addition to ethnicity need to be taken into consideration, such as the growth of
multilingualism, immigration status, different labour market experiences and so on, due to the ‘super-diversity’
of the UK (Vertovec, 2007).
4
This includes students for whom this is their first year of study even if their first year is on the second or
subsequent year of a programme and does not include those students in their second and third year at an
institution.
2
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first or 2:1) minus the number of BME UK-domiciled first degree undergraduate students
attaining a ‘good’ degree. The attainment gap (UK) has decreased in the last few years,
from a peak of 18.8% in 2005/6 to 18.4% in 2010/11 and 17.7% in 2011/12 (ECU,
2013, p83). The gap is highest in England (an 18.5% gap) (ECU, 2013, p81) with black
students in England less likely than any other BME student group to attain a first or a
2:1; in 2011/12, 71.5% of white students and 43.2% of black students attained a ‘good’
degree (ECU, 2013, p83).
The ethnicity attainment gap increases with age ranging from 8.6% for those students
that are 21 and under to 26.3% for those aged 36 and over (ECU, 2013, p199).
The ethnicity attainment gap was greater for those students studying non-SET subjects
(19.2%) than those studying SET (Science, Engineering and Technology) subjects
(15.3%), (ECU, 2013, p86).
BME males were more likely to attain a first class degree than BME females and BME
females were more likely to attain a 2:1 than BME males. When figures for first class and
upper second class honours degree are grouped together, a higher proportion of BME
females attained a first class or 2:1 degree than BME males (ECU, 2013, p191). This
reflects the pattern for all males and all females in England (ECU, 2013, p49). Black BME
males were least likely to again a ‘good’ degree (52.0 %), (ibid, p191).
3.4 Destination of leavers
Information about leavers is gained from the higher education (DLHE) survey conducted
by HESA. White UK-domiciled leavers were more likely to be in full-time paid work
(56.5% including self-employed) than BME leavers (47.8%) with Asian or Asian British:
Bangladeshi leavers least likely within this group to be in full-time work (42.1%). Black
or black British African leavers were most likely to be assumed to be unemployed
(16.2%), (ECU, 2013, p93).
Further information is available in this report such as ethnicity by subject and type of
institution as well as multiple identities such as gender and ethnicity, ethnicity and
disability. ECU are currently unable to provide data that looks at ethnicity and UCAS
tariff.
3.5 Progression and attainment
It may be that strategies that are successful in reducing the progression gender gap
then result in a larger attainment gender gap perhaps because students are progressing
that previously would not have progressed and are then attaining low grades. The Open
University, for example, in their early evaluation following the development of resources
for all students and tutors to support academic English skills (aimed at narrowing the
BME attainment gap), found that whilst this had worked to increase the progression rate
for BME students, there had been a slight decrease in attainment rate for these students
(Richardson, 2011). At NTU, research to explore the gender attainment gap found that,
Sector Approaches to Understanding and Addressing the Ethnicity Attainment Gap
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of the few courses looked at in more detail, those with a small progression gap had a
larger attainment gap and vice versa suggesting that this may be a trend worth
exploring (Lawther, Banyard and Murphy, 2014).
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4 Understanding and addressing the ethnicity attainment
gap
Research in this area has not, as yet, found a single cause to solely explain the ethnicity
attainment gap. In addition, often the BME student experience is interlinked with other
identities such as gender, socio-economic status as well as prior educational and societal
experiences. In response, therefore, many institutions are addressing the attainment
gap with a number of strategies. Some are taking an institution wide approach, others
are also including smaller, local projects that address specific issues such as described in
the Disparities in Student Attainment (DiSA) briefing papers. A common factor is that
interventions are often aimed at all students, with the belief that strategies to address
the BME attainment gap will also have the benefit of raising the attainment of all
students.
This section describes the key areas that have been put forward as possible reasons for
the ethnicity attainment gap as a result of research into the BME student experience.
Where possible examples are given of strategies that are being used to address these
themes. Please note that there is a variation in the type of evidence available for the
effectiveness of these initiatives. Some of the projects described have been evaluated
over time. However, many of the projects are at the early stages and whilst they have
been evaluated these can be with small numbers of students. In a few cases strategies
are being trialled that are based on recommendations that have been borne out of
research and have not yet been fully evaluated. Links to further information about each
of the initiatives described have been included.
4.1 Building positive relationships with students
The Disparities in Student Attainment Project (University of Wolverhampton and
Coventry University) highlighted the importance of the student/lecturer relationship, of
‘feeling known’, to the success of BME students. BME students tended to have a greater
variation in grades than white students, typically gaining lower grades in modules that
required a close relationship with a member of staff such as a dissertation or project
module. High achieving BME students often attributed a close relationship with a
member of staff as a reason for their success but also described that they had different
expectations about the student/tutor relationship than they subsequently experienced.
This project also found that BME students had better prospects when they were in the
minority within a cohort.
In response, the DiSA project team recommend addressing a number of areas.
 The importance of lecturer/student relationship particularly for
project/dissertation modules.
 The importance of the lecturer as role model, as interlocutor, in building
confidence and raising aspirations.
 The importance of clarity of roles and to manage expectations.
 The potential to unconsciously group think BME students and the Pygmalion effect
(lower expectations leading to lower performance).
 Improving complaints/communication with staff so that students feel comfortable
to raise any issues.
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4.2 Raising aspirations
A synthesis of BME student research in 2009 suggests the possible role (even if
unwittingly) of institutional racism as, even accounting for other factors (such as family
educational experiences, social deprivation), there is still a disparity in attainment
between white and BME students (Singh, 2009, p6). Although hard to measure, it is
thought that students’ experience of racism in society and in previous education may
affect their confidence to succeed at university. The Ethnicity, Gender and Degree
Attainment Project Final report cites research that suggests this was seen to be a
particular issue for black and African origin students (HEA and ECU, 2008, p21).
A small, local project, Raising Aspirations and Intellectual Capability, aimed to “improve
student attainment levels by raising all students’ awareness of the importance of
developing an academic identity” by introducing the students to a self-perception tool
(Singh and Cowden, 2012). All students reported that this “had a positive impact on
their understanding of the importance of developing an intellectual identity. Some of the
more pronounced feedback came from ‘non-traditional’ students” (Singh and Cowden,
DiSA briefing paper 11).
The University of Northampton mentoring scheme (called PADARE) pairs African Social
Work students with social worker mentors. Early analysis suggested that this may be
improving the attainment of BME students, however the HEA Briefing paper that referred
to this research is no longer available on their website.
4.3 Seeking support
The ECU report, Male students: Engagement with academic and pastoral support
services, looked at the awareness and use of support services by ethnicity and gender.
They found that men were less aware than women of support services and preferred to
“identify a problem then seek a solution” (ECU, 2012, p11) rather than the more
discursive approach to support often taken by females (ECU, 2012, p15). Men were
more likely to use informal support (friends, family) and less likely to self-refer for
formal support. They were also more likely to wait until referred to formal support by a
member of staff (ECU, 2012, p16).
Differences between the ethnic groups studied also reveal differences in awareness and
use of services. Black male students, for example, were least likely to be aware of study
support within timetabled sessions and Asian students most likely to have used this
service (ECU, 2012, p29). This report gives several examples about how institutions are
exploring ways of providing support in response.
Edinburgh Napier University have changed the way they advertise their academic skills
and guidance provision to encourage young males to access this support. They offer a
‘one to one retention service’ that in 2010/11 was used by 240 students (49% male,
31% aged 18-20) compared with academic skills workshops that were used by 718
students (28% male, 1% aged 18–20) (ECU, 2012, p40).
Sector Approaches to Understanding and Addressing the Ethnicity Attainment Gap
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The Business School at the University of Central Lancashire use an attendance
monitoring scheme to identify students potentially ‘at risk’ and to refer these students
(in the case of poor attendance in three or more modules) to the student support team.
“The retention team see around twice as many men as women” (ECU, 2012, p38).
Birkbeck College use an Academic support tutor referral form for staff to use when
marking to encourage students to access support (ECU, 2012, p38). Evidence of its
effectiveness isn’t given in this report.
4.4 Social and cultural capital
Retention research has found that a lack of preparedness for higher education impacts
upon retention of first year students (Ozga and Sukhanandan, 1998) and this has also
been found to be the case with BME students. The Black and minority ethnic student
degree retention and attainment report reported that BME students in their research
(interviews with 17 BME students) felt that a lack of preparedness for learning in HE and
their subsequent academic development once at university was a greater reason for the
attainment gap than their ethnicity, culture or racism. These students considered
“family, including parental lack of experience and understanding of higher education,
class, poverty and prior schooling all to be highly relevant, particularly for BME students
at Russell Group universities” (Stevenson, 2012, p13). The Disparities in Student
Attainment Project found that BME students weren’t always aware of the importance of a
‘good’ degree to further study and employment.
In response, several institutions are trialling initiatives to raise the awareness of both
students and their families in areas such as: how the degree classification works, the
importance of a ‘good’ degree to future study and employability, what is required of a
student at university as well as work that supports students’ understanding of
assessment. The Information for Parents page, University of Wolverhampton, for
example, contains information about the different types of degree and a section ‘What
degree classification should my child/family member aim to achieve?’.
Many of the strategies aimed at addressing a lack of preparedness for HE for BME
students will also be relevant to widening participation students. Dr Robert Jones has
written a synthesis of research for those new to widening participation that can be found
on the Higher Education EvidenceNet page. The original report is currently not available
on the HEA site but I have a saved copy so please do email me if you would like me to
send it to you.
The HEFCE report, Differences in Degree Outcomes looks at the relationship between
students’ prior background and chances of attaining a first or 2:1 degree for Englishdomiciled A-level students.
4.5 Understanding assessment
The Ethnicity, Gender and Degree Attainment Project Final report reports that different
methods of assessment favour different genders (HEA and ECU, 2008, p10) and that
Sector Approaches to Understanding and Addressing the Ethnicity Attainment Gap
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BME students are more likely to perceive assessment practices as unfair (ibid, p16). It
recommends that “ways in which to strengthen conversations with students about study
expectations, standards, performance criteria, assessment and feedback should be
considered and actioned” (HEA and ECU, 2008, p29). The Disparities in Student
Attainment Project also found that BME students were less likely to perform as well as
their white peers in non-standard assessments.
A number of institutions are implementing strategies that:
 support staff to write clear assignment briefs;
 support students to understand what is expected in assessments (and the
language used here);
 give students the opportunity for discussion about assessment and to ask
questions about anything that they don’t understand.
The first two examples given below illustrate where changes to assessment type have
narrowed the attainment gap. The DiSA project team and the Ethnicity Gender and
Degree Attainment Project Final report raise the awareness of the limitations of this
approach, that it may be ‘shifting the problem’ and disadvantaging other groups of
students, as it is “by no means clear that a single form of assessment will produce fair
results for all students” (HEA and ECU, 2008, p17). It is recommended that students are
supported with understanding and engaging with non-traditional types of assessment.
The effect of assessment regimes on the performance of BME students studying
mathematics-based courses research (DiSA briefing paper 14) explored types of
assessment and disparity in attainment. It found that there was more likely to be a
disparity in student attainment when non-traditional types of assessment were used.
There was less likely to be a disparity in assessments that are most used in education
prior to HE and where students perceived the assessment to be appropriate to the
subject. In one module with a high disparity in attainment between white and BME
students, the assessment type was changed from a portfolio to a time constrained
assessment after which there was no significant disparity in attainment. It is
recommended here that additional support and justification is given to students when a
non–traditional assessment is used (Fairclough, DiSA briefing paper 14).
The Equality in Legal Assessment 2 (EILA2) paper in the Compendium of effective
practice in higher education retention and success (Andrews, Clark and Thomas, 2012,
p64) gives the example of a revision in assessment type for LLB students at University of
Northampton that reduced the BME attainment gap.
The University of Roehampton are mid-way through a project, Reimagining Attainment
for All: enabling the success of BME students (RAFA), working with BME students to
enhance assessment practices. The project will develop a CPD programme in conjunction
with BME students for academic staff to enhance assessment and has begun a series of
master classes for both staff and students on factors contributing to success in
assessment. This project also aims to raise aspirations of students through its use of
BME students as role models. Please note that the links to the Roehampton work are no
longer available. They are currently developing this project as part of the HEA Black and
minority-ethic strategic development grants.
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4.6 Academic language development
The Open University’s research on ethnicity and attainment reports that statistical
analysis to uncover the cause of the attainment found that the attainment gap couldn’t
be explained by student variations in their ratings of courses, their academic
engagement, their approaches to studying or variations in their conceptions of learning.
50% of undergraduate ethnic minority students at the Open University reported that
English was not their first language (compared to 8% of white undergraduates) and a
“strong link between degree attainment and academic language development” was found
(Richardson, date unknown). In response, resources were developed for all students and
tutors to support academic English skills. Early evaluation has indicated that student
completion rates have increased overall for all students except Chinese or Other
students who showed a decline in completion rate. There was a greater increase in
completion rates for mixed Asian and black students (however overall there is still a gap
here between all ethnic groups and white students). There has been a slight increase in
student attainment of ‘good’5 grades overall but a slight decline in attainment of ‘good’
grades for ethnic minority groups.
The Open University are continuing this work and, in response to a review of the
literature, have identified a number of further strategies to address the attainment gap
that will be aimed at all students:
 developing a sense of belonging;
 academic engagement;
 staff expectations of students and students’ expectations of themselves;
 student engagement with their own work and their peers (including working with
other students);
 building skills in HE and in the discipline, in particular developing academic
English;
 raising awareness of what success looks like; and
 building confidence, for example, through praising relative achievements and
motivational support.
Easy ways to improve your scientific English language, (DiSA briefing paper 4) describes
a module that was available to all students to develop their extended reading skills and
scientific writing ability. This was to address the needs of a mixed BSc Biomedical
Science cohort that typically come from a variety of backgrounds and abilities. Ten
students were involved in evaluating the module using focus groups and a reading
comprehension test. “There was a 40% improvement in use of terminology, punctuation,
grammar, presentation and structure in tests after the intervention for the group as a
whole…When this analysis was undertaken for students for whom English is a second
language (ESLn=6), there was a 63% improvement” (Patel and Adefila, DiSA briefing
paper 4).
The Race Equality Toolkit (Universities Scotland), in its Learning and Teaching section,
gives guidance about how to meet the needs of UK and international bilingual students.
5
A ‘good’ grade is measured as a first or 2:1.
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4.7 Curriculum
Improving the degree attainment of black and minority ethnic students (Berry and Loke,
2011) recommends that the BME student experience can be improved within the
curriculum in a number of ways.
 Inclusive learning and teaching, and recommends the Inclusive learning and
teaching in higher education: a synthesis of research report by Hockings (2012)
as a useful introduction to this.
 Internationalisation of the curriculum. Berry and Loke give the example of the
University of Greenwich who have embedded the “opportunity to discuss ethnicity
and cultural difference” within a BSc Pharmaceutical Science course (2011, p49).
 Involving students in the design and delivery of learning (Berry and Loke, 2011,
p68-9).
 Berry and Loke also describe that in response to curriculum review by
institutions, initiatives are being trialled that aim to develop “core academic and
social competencies” (such as academic skills, employability skills, cross-cultural
capabilities) and piloted in departments with a high number of BME students
(2011, p51).
See also Race for Equality: A report on the experiences of Black students in further and
higher education for student views on the importance of an inclusive curriculum.
4.8 Belonging
Fostering a sense of belonging was found to be at the heart of improving the retention
and engagement of all students by the What Works? Student Retention and Success
programme. Singh reports that studies in the US have highlighted the importance of a
sense of belonging to the retention of BME students (Singh, 2009, p 27) and that other
research has suggested that because BME students are typically less likely to travel
away from home to come to university and therefore not participate on campus activities
they may “suffer a general sense of alienation from university life” (Singh, 2011, p29).
Research in the UK by the NUS (Race for Equality: A report on the experiences of Black
students in further and higher education) reported that a “significant minority” of
students felt excluded from their learning and teaching environment: with “23 per cent
describing it as ‘cliquey’, 17 per cent as ‘isolating’, 8 per cent as ‘hostile’ and 7 per cent
as ‘racist’” (2011, p4). Student-led solutions to improving the BME student experience
outlined in this report echo those of the DiSA Project such as increased clarity of the
tutors role, the importance of relationship with and access to a tutor. They also include
more specific recommendations such as recognising the unique issues that black
students face and improving black representation in role models and staff (NUS, 2011,
p29-30).
4.9 Identifying what is working well
The University of Derby are just beginning research that uses statistical analysis to
identify modules where there is no BME attainment gap or where BME students
outperform their white peers. These modules will be used to identify good practice.
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A number of projects have looked at BME students who are achieving highly. The
advantage of this approach is that many of these examples have also served to raise
aspirations among BME students and to promote a positive perception of BME students.
The Disparities in Student Attainment Project asked high achieving students, ‘To what do
you attribute your success?’ A student conference was held to explore this idea further.
The presentation, Creating a Safe Environment for Disparity in Attainment Research to
Take Place, discusses their methodology and ethical considerations that were addressed
in this research (Soocoormanee et al, date unknown).
The University of the Arts London Tell Us About It Project asked high achieving students
from a diversity of backgrounds to describe the challenges they faced with learning, how
they had overcome them and any advice they would give to future students. They were
given a small bursary and could contribute in any way they wanted such as video, mind
maps, sketches. A booklet, ‘Tell Us About It’ Student Voices in Creative Practice, has
been created as a result that is used to enhance teaching and learning. Students
describe early issues such as difficulty with different teaching methods, loneliness, lack
of confidence and a lack of space and time to discuss diversity and to share and
celebrate their own experiences and backgrounds. Supportive staff, clear expectations,
work placements and the opportunity to explore their own identity through their work
are given as examples (among others) of what has helped these students to overcome
these challenges.
The Journeys to Success project at Roehampton University used the Appreciative
Enquiry6 (AI) approach to explore with BME students across four disciplines what had
contributed to their attainment and their view of a “perfect university”. The research
project was launched during Black History Month and began with Dr Gurnham Singh as a
guest speaker. Please note that the links to the Roehampton work are no longer
available. They are currently developing their work as part of the HEA Black and
minority-ethic strategic development grants.
The Appreciative Inquiry approach was also used at NTU as part of the HERE Project research. This approach
focuses on identifying what is working and is particularly beneficial when researching sensitive topics.
6
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5 Student Groups
5.1 International students
Improving the degree attainment of black and minority ethnic students recommends
distinguishing between international and UK-domiciled BME students to determine
whether the cause of disparity is because of ethnicity or to do with domiciliary status
(Berry and Loke 2011, p25). In their study they report that Portsmouth University found
that raising awareness of the term BME and its distinction from international students
helped staff to focus on issues that were particular to BME students and that were
independent of English language ability (Berry and Loke, 2011, p62).
The NUS Race for Equality: A report on the experiences of Black students in further and
higher education found little difference in quantitative data between international and
home students experiences but reported that the qualitative data revealed that black
international students “faced many unique difficulties” (NUS, 2011, p5).
The Higher Education Academy provide a number of resources that can be found on their
resource page, Internationalisation. Of particular interest to new lecturers may be the
guide, Engaging home and international students: a guide for new lecturers.
5.2 Black students
The Race to the Top: the Experience of Black Students in Higher Education report looks
at the experiences of black students from African and African and Caribbean
backgrounds within Higher Education and the challenges they face in gaining
employment.
The NUS Race for Equality: A report on the experiences of Black students in further and
higher education explored the experiences of black students in further education and
higher education with the aim of understanding why black students have lower attainment
rates than their white counterparts and why they are more likely to be dissatisfied with
their academic experience.
Dr Sheine Peart (NTU) has recently won the BERA/SAGE Practitioner Research Award for
her work exploring the experiences of black males in further education. As a result of this
research Black on Track UK, a peer support group, has been set up at CENTRAL COLLEGE
(FORMERLY South Nottingham College) to support black students to succeed in and enjoy
education.
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6 Retention and success resources
The HERE Project Toolkit is a practical resource for programme teams aimed at
improving student engagement and retention. It covers many of the themes that have
been discussed here such as belonging, supporting transition to learning, improving
communication and relationship with staff. It is based upon research that was carried out
at NTU, University of Bradford and Bournemouth University as part of the What works?
Student Retention and Success programme (Thomas, 2012). Further details about the
HERE Project are available on the HERE Project website.
The STEMming the Doubts Enhanced transition and induction to HE programmes is a
guide to transition and retention that was developed as part of the National HE Stem
Programme. Related resources within this series are available to support transition such
as a guide to promoting social engagement (Guide 5) and optimising the experience of
part-time students (Guide 8).
The Compendium of effective practice in Higher Education Retention and Success
contains case studies of good practice from a range of institutions based around six
themes; pre-entry and induction, learning and teaching, friendship and peer support,
participation and belonging, using data to enhance the student experience and bringing
about strategic change. The second volume of this compendium contains further
examples of effective practice around these themes.
The HEA Retention and Success page contains further resources.
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7 References
ANDREWS, J., CLARK R. and THOMAS, L., 2012. Compendium of effective practice in
Higher Education Retention and Success [online]. Available at:
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/what-works-studentretention/Compendium_Effective_Practice [Accessed 10th June 2013].
BARRETT, D., 2013. Developing your access agreements. Presentation given at the
“Evidence based Access Agreements: target setting, evidence building, monitoring and
evaluation” conference on Tuesday 12 March 2013 at Woburn House Conference Centre,
London, WC1H 9HQ. Available at:
http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/Events/Pages/EvidenceBasedAccessAgreements.aspx
[Accessed 15th April 2013].
BERRY, J., HIGHER EDUCATION ACADEMY AND LOKE, G., EQUALITY CHALLENGE UNIT,
2011. Improving the degree attainment of black and minority ethnic students [online].
Available at: http://www.ecu.ac.uk/publications/improving-attainment-of-bme-students/
[Accessed 10th June 2013]. This involved 15 institutional teams were involved together
with Professor Glynis Cousin (University of Wolverhampton) and Dr Gurnam Singh
(Coventry University).
CLARK, R., ANDREWS, J., THOMAS, L. and AGGARWAL, R., 2013. Compendium of
effective practice in higher education: Volume 2 [online]. Available at:
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[Accessed 10th June 2013].
ELEVATION NETWORKS TRUST, 2012. Race to the Top The Experience of Black Students
in Higher Education [online]. Available at:
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EQUALITY CHALLENGE UNIT (ECU), 2013. Equality in higher education: statistical report
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EQUALITY CHALLENGE UNIT, 2012. Male students: Engagement with academic and
pastoral support services [online]. Available at: http://www.ecu.ac.uk/publications/malestudents-engagement-with-academic-and-pastoral-support-services [Accessed 12 May
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FOSTER, E., LAWTHER, S., KEENAN, C., BATES, N., COLLEY, B. and LEFEVER. R., 2011.
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HEFCE, 2014. Differences in degree outcomes: Key findings [online]. Available at:
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HERE Project Toolkit: A resource for programme teams interested in improving student
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HOCKINGS, C., 2010 Inclusive learning and teaching in higher education: a synthesis of
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earning_and_teaching_in_higher_education [Accessed 19 January 2013].
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LEEDS METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY, 2010. Improving the degree attainment of black
and minority ethnic students [online]. Available at:
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[Accessed 15 January 2013].
NATIONAL UNION OF STUDENTS (NUS), 2011. Race for Equality: A report on the
experiences of Black students in further and higher education [online]. Available at:
http://www.nus.org.uk/PageFiles/12350/NUS_Race_for_Equality_web.pdf [Accessed 15
January 2013].
NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD and BOURNEMOUTH
UNIVERSITY. The Here Project [online]. Available at: http://www.hereproject.org.uk/
[Accessed 19 January 2013].
OZGA, J., SUKHANANDAN, L., 1998. Undergraduate Non-completion: developing an
explanatory model. Higher Education Quarterly, 52 (3), 316-333.
PATEL, A., and ADEFLIA, A., date unknown. English Language Development for
Undergraduate Biomedical and Bioscience Students Disparities in Student Attainment
briefing paper four [online]. University of Wolverhampton. Available at:
http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=25312 [Accessed 15 April 2013].
RICHARDSON, J., 2011. The Open University’s research on ethnicity and attainment
[online]. The Centre for Inclusion and Collaborative Partnerships: The Open University.
Available at: http://www.open.ac.uk/about/inclusion-and-curriculum/research/researchseminars/ethnicity-and-academic-attainment-%E2%80%93-promoting-studentsuccess#Discussion [Accessed 15 April 2013].
RICHARDSON, J., 2013. The under-attainment of ethnic minority students in UK higher
education: what we know and what we don’t know. Journal of Further and Higher
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ROEHAMPTON UNIVERSITY, 2010. Journeys to Success Final Report [online]. The Higher
Education Academy. Available at:
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BME_Summit [Accessed 15 April 2013– No longer available].
ROEHAMPTON UNIVERSITY, 2013. Reimagining Attainment for All: enabling the success
of BME students [online]. The Higher Education Academy. Available at:
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/funding/detail/BME_strategic_Roehampton [Accessed 15
April 2013– No longer available].
Please note the links to the Roehampton work are not currently available. They are
currently developing this project as part of the latest round of HEA funding for BME
attainment work details of which can be found here
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/workstreams-research/themes/retention-andsuccess/student-attainment/black-and-minority-ethic.
SANDERS J., REICHART, M., HAMILTON K., and ATKINS., P, 2013. Great expectations:
creating a positive environment to achieve positive outcomes. Poster presentation given
at the “What can higher education contribute to improving social mobility in the UK?”
conference hosted by the Higher Education Academy on 26 - 27 March at Macdonald
Manchester Hotel, Manchester City Centre [unpublished].
SANDERS, J, ROSE-ADAMS, J. 2014. Black and minority ethnic student attainment: A
survey of research and exploration of the importance of teacher and student
expectations. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 16 (2), 5 – 27.
SCUDAMORE, R., 2013. Engaging home and international students: a guide for new
lecturers [online]. The Higher Education Academy. Available at:
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/node/3302 [Accessed 15 April 2013].
SINGH, G., 2009. A synthesis of research evidence. Black and minority ethnic (BME)
students’ participation in higher education: improving retention and success [online].
Available at: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/node/2904 [Accessed 15 April 2013].
SINGH, G., and COWDEN, S., date unknown. Raising Aspirations and Intellectual
Capability Disparities in Student Attainment briefing paper eleven [online]. University of
Wolverhampton. Available at: http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=25312
[Accessed 15 April 2013].
SOOCOORMANEE, P., Ethnic Categorisation. Disparities in Student Attainment briefing
paper one [online]. University of Wolverhampton. Available at:
http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=25312 [Accessed 15 April 2013].
SOOCOORMANEE, P., CURETON, D. AND SEKHON, J., date unknown. Creating a Safe
Environment for Disparity in Attainment Research to Take Place [online]. Available at:
http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=25312 [Accessed 12 June 2013].
Sector Approaches to Understanding and Addressing the Ethnicity Attainment Gap
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STEVENSON, J., 2012. Black and minority ethnic student degree retention and
attainment [online]. Available at: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/node/2905 [Accessed
15 January 2013].
THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACADEMY, 2013. Internationalisation [online]. Available at:
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/workstreams-research/themes/internationalisation
[Accessed 15 January 2013].
THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACADEMY, 2013. Retention and Success [online]. Available at:
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/workstreams-research/themes/retention-and-success
[Accessed 15 October 2014].
THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACADEMY and EQUALITY CHALLENGE UNIT, 2008. Ethnicity,
Gender and Degree Attainment Project Final report [online]. Available at:
http://www.ecu.ac.uk/publications/ethnicity-gender-and-degree-attainment-report
[Accessed 19 January 2013]. This research looked at 8 case studies of HEI’s using
quantitative and qualitative research as well as HESA and NSS data.
THOMAS, L., March 2012. Building student engagement and belonging in Higher
Education at a time of change: a summary of findings and recommendations from the
What Works? Student Retention & Success programme [online]. Available at:
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/what-works-studentretention/What_Works_Summary_Report.
THOMAS, L., 2012. Building student engagement and belonging in Higher Education at a
time of change: final report from the What Works? Student Retention & Success
programme [online]. Available at: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/node/2932
[Accessed 15 April 2013].
UNIVERSITIES SCOTLAND, 2010. Race Equality Toolkit: Meeting the needs of
international bilingual students [online]. Available at: http://www.universitiesscotland.ac.uk/raceequalitytoolkit/learning_teaching/bilingual-students.htm [Accessed
15 April 2013].
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHAMPTON, 2010. Reflective report on the work of the HEA Summit
Initiative/Project (2009-10) on Raising BME Attainment [online]. The Higher Education
Academy. Available at:
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/inclusion/northampton_ethnicity_summit
[Accessed 19 April 2013 – No longer available].
UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS LONDON, 2008. 'Tell Us About It' Student Voices in Creative
Practice [online]. Available at:
http://www.studentstories.co.uk/assets/pdfs/20100310153604_2003409879.pdf
[Accessed 15 April 2013].
UNIVERSITY OF WOLVERHAMPTON, 2013. Disparities in Student Attainment (DiSA)
[online]. Available at: http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=25312 [Accessed 12
May 2013]. This is a joint project between the University of Wolverhampton and
Coventry University that aimed to explore recommendations from the ECU and HEA
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Ethnicity, Gender and Degree Attainment Project Final report (2008). Details about the
project can be found at http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=25151. Briefing papers
can be found at http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=25312. Poster presentations
can be found at http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=31188. The Information for
Parents page can be found at http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=27800.
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