Ethnicity, gender and degree attainment – key outcomes

1. Ethnicity, gender and degree attainment – key outcomes Higher Education Equality Challenge Academy Unit

2. Introduction • Background – former DfES research • Scope of project activities: • Survey of HEIs • Documentary analysis • Case studies – experiences of HEIs • Brief literature review • Quantitative data analysis • Qualitative data analysis

3. Outcomes, recommendations and action • Outcomes in relation to original research • Next steps: • Research agenda • Practical action • Ownership and responsibility

4. Have assessment and marking arrangements been fair?

5. Student support: resisting a deficit model • Some questions to research: What are the levels of peer interactivity and support? What are the levels of engagement between academics?

6. Key recommendations There should be a robust evaluation of learning, teaching and assessment practices in the light of any discovered attainment variation. Research and development initiatives relating to teacher development and curriculum design should include ways of addressing degree attainment variation. HEIs should ensure that student support activities are adequately resourced to enable them to support the raising of degree attainment for all students. Examples of institutional work should be disseminated more widely within the sector by advice and support organisations, as this can help facilitate understanding and practice.

7. Data Collection • Why it is important? • Rapid Change and Competitive Advantage • Provides data to help decision making, manage resources and performance (KPIs) • Allows benchmarking internally and externally • Employment and the student experience • Legal Requirement • What is Happening? • Quality/accuracy of Data varies (compliant and noncompliant) • Data collection seen as the final outcome • Lack of joined up thinking in places • Separate MIS systems around different activities • Where is the data kept, if published, access and links to organisation interventions

8. The Student Cycle Market data Employability Competitor Degree Classification WP data Student Satisfaction and Appeals Complaints Retention/Attrition/Drop out

9. Key Recommendations • Data Collection needs to be • Systematic and systemic • Published • Action orientated focusing on outcomes • Able to be accessed by different parts of the organisation • Used to develop performance indicators (activities and staff) • Available to undertake Impact assessments • Other • Linked to Strategy and Operational plans • Develop University Equality and Diversity Scorecard

10. Perceptions and understandings … …explored in survey and in interviews • 54 HEIs of 133 in England • 22 semi-structured interviews • determinants of differential attainment seen as complex • single factor explanations unlikely

11. Differential attainment by gender Much agreement in sample: • Gendered approaches to study, subject differences and gendered expectations of men and women - seen as most important factors • Women’s attainments in HE are despite continued obstacles • Naturalisation of lowered expectations for working-class men?

12. Differential attainment by ethnicity • Intersections of ethnicity and social class: need to work and related factors seen as most important determinants • thus, emphasis on the economic and ‘material’ • marginalisation of ethnic minority students seen as important at general level • but at institutional levels seen as much less important • due to sensitivity of topic/ worries about discussing own institution?

13. Key recommendations • HEIs should promote student feedback; appropriate and reflective development interventions should be undertaken where negative perceptions are found • Sector organisations should ensure that any negative perceptions do not carry over into subsequent investigations -- Changes and initiatives should be within a framework of education for all, but mindful of issues affecting particular groups

14. Supporting infrastructure • Explored in survey, documentary analysis of policies and schemes and case studies of HEIs • Infrastructure needed to support improved degree attainment is not consistent across the sector Equality and Diversity Committees • Presence of Equality and Diversity committees was very important in HEIs • Representation on these committees is typically wide including senior management, HR, library staff, student union • BUT problem regarding positioning of committees in relation to reporting structures, including to governing bodies that have responsibility for meeting legal requirements • Lack of clarity in some HEIs regarding how the Equality and Diversity committee fitted in to the strategic direction of the institution

15. Supporting infrastructure Co-ordination/cross-fertilization • Some initiatives disadvantaged by low visibility on strategic agenda • Risk of isolation due to lack of sufficient resources, absence of activities in key documentation and inadequate mechanisms to gather student feedback • Positioning of equalities issues in HR with lack of connectedness to learning and teaching and quality enhancement Policies and procedures/support from management • RR(A)A and Equality Act have prompted a focus on documentation • However, more is required in terms of action beyond data collection • Management commitment was lacking in some HEIs

16. Key recommendations • HEIs should undertake a review of their Equality and Diversity committee to strengthen their capacity to raise degree attainment • Sector organisations should promote the engagement of academics with attainment gap issues • HEIs should consider how equality policies and schemes can be further developed in order to improve degree attainment • The importance of equality and diversity principles and practice should be promoted in learning, teaching and assessment