Mind the BME gap Aneez Esmail, Professor of General Practice Patrick Johnson, Head of Equality and Diversity

What is the problem? If you belong to a visible minority you are more likely to perform less well than a ‘white’ student in HE Despite controlling for other factors which impact on attainment, we find that ethnicity is still statistically significant in explaining attainment in HE: all students from minority ethnic communities … are found to be less likely to achieve a better degree relative to White UK & Irish students – and this result holds at all levels of attainment. (Broecke and Nicholls, DfES 2007) Major graduate recruiters will seek a minimum of a 2:1 for job vacancies. This presents issues around degree attainment

Possible explanations: Prior institution and entry qualifications Socio-economic background Lack of family background of university study Level of parental involvement (helicopter) The need to work/finance during study Choice of degree subject Low expectations from both teachers and students

Qualitative research Focus groups with students across the University and in the School of Social Sciences Some concerns more broadly relevant to wider body of ‘non-traditional’ students but failures impact more heavily on BME ‘non-traditional’ students Issue around help seeking behaviours and staff-student relationships Lack of confidence – ‘Imposter syndrome’ and ‘otherness’ Lack of preparedness for University life Lack of diversity in the curriculum as well as role models

What are we doing at Manchester? Care to not reinforce negative expectations resulting in unintended consequences such as patterns of self-replicating behaviour Publishing report from Degree Attainment working group Pilot work across the University, particularly School of Social Sciences Trial of the Race Equality Charter Mark Work to increase participation of BME groups in HE – coordinated through a dedicated post in partnership with the Race Relations Resource Centre Bespoke career mentoring for BME students and work experience opportunities

Plans for the future / recommendations: Strengthen induction processes for new students; Development of an early warning system to flag potential underachievement (attendance, failing modules); Contact with academic staff / support; Trial tailored peer support schemes; Development of appropriate support for English language and academic writing for all students;

Plans for the future / recommendations: Provide guidance on types of assessment and anonymised marking that may have specific influence on BME student achievement; Unconscious bias training and equality assessment of existing and new courses; Investigate further the career aspirations for BME students and the lack of participation in non-professional work.

Thank you! Any questions?