Degree attainment: Black, Asian and minority ethnic students

Examples

Below are some examples of how providers are tackling the black, Asian and minority ethnic degree awarding gap which you may find helpful when developing your own approaches. Some of these approaches may not yet be fully evaluated.

We will update this page with more examples of effective practice as we identify them. If you have, or are aware of, examples of effective practice in this area please contact [email protected].

Taking a whole provider approach

These case studies from King’s College London and London Metropolitan University outline the institution-wide work they are undertaking across academic departments and professional services to close their awarding gaps for black, Asian and minority ethnic students.

• Read the KCL case study: An institution-wide approach to addressing the Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) attainment gap
• Read the London Met case study: Creating racial and social justice in higher education

A targeted approach to closing attainment gaps

This case study from the University of Winchester recognises the diversity of experiences of black, Asian and minority ethnic students. It outlines the targeted approach they have adopted which has informed their work to close their awarding gap for black and Asian students.

Read the University of Winchester case study

Facilitating conversations about race

This case study from King’s College London outlines the opportunities they have created to facilitate conversations about race where students and staff can share their experiences, consider what actions can be taken and share these with senior stakeholders in faculties at the university.

Read the King's College London 'Conversations about race' case study

Inclusive education

This case study from King’s College London outlines the work they have done to engage black, Asian and minority ethnic staff and students to close their awarding gaps

Read the King's College London 'Inclusive Education Student & Staff Partners Programme' case study

Using a value added metric and an inclusive curriculum framework to address the black and minority ethnic awarding gap

This project was run by Kingston University as part of our Addressing Barriers to Student Success (ABSS) programme. It explored using a value added metric and an inclusive curriculum framework to address the black and minority ethnic awarding gap in higher education providers.

You can read about the practicalities of embedding these innovative approaches into a range of higher education providers in our case study.

The video below introduces Kingston University’s Inclusive Curriculum Consultant programme, an approach that aims to address the awarding gap for black, Asian and minority ethnic students.

Scaling up active and collaborative learning for student success

This ABSS project led by Nottingham Trent University aimed to promote greater student engagement by encouraging students to work together to become the main contributors to all discovery and knowledge building processes in class and online.

Find out more about the project

Developing a black and minority ethnic student advocate programme

This case study published on the Compass Journal of Learning and Teaching provides an overview of the experience of developing a black and minority ethnic student advocate programme at the University of Hertfordshire to reduce the awarding gap between white and black and minority ethnic students.

Effective data analysis for targeting interventions

In its access and participation plan 2020-25, the University of Manchester used its disaggregated data for Asian students to highlight continuation and awarding gaps for Pakistani and Bangladeshi students who were more likely to live at home during their studies than Indian and Chinese students.

This data enabled the university to target interventions for commuter students where it will have the most impact on continuation and subsequently attainment rates.

Read the University of Manchester’s plan