University of Bedfordshire - Improving the degree attainment of Black and minority ethnic students

‘Eyes on the prize’

Eyes on the prize’ implies accentuating the positives rather than becoming too preoccupied with issues around low attainment, our aim being to determine more about the journey taken by our BME students who do attain and succeed.  We shall be focusing initially on our alumni and within this, the graduates from 2007-2008, and piloting this within the timeframe of the project, with the aim being to develop the work beyond the timeframe and the Academy/ECU programme. 

The University of Bedfordshire is committed to widening participation and enabling all its students to maximise their potential.  Its mission is to sustain a vibrant, multicultural learning community, enabling individuals to transform their lives by participating in excellent, innovative education, scholarship and research. The University has a diverse student population which includes significant BME students (46% of undergraduate students classify themselves other than ‘White British’).  Institutional data indicate that whilst 57% of White students gain good degrees (firsts and upper seconds) the performance of other groupings is significantly lower: e.g. Chinese 33%; Black 37%; Asian 41%.  An initial examination has indicated that the reasons for this are not simply due to ethnicity but are complicated by other factors such as prior educational attainment, age, family commitments and subject studied.

Prior to trying out any particular intervention to improve attainment, early discussion within the Summit Programme suggested the need to try to firstly further unpack the factors which explain the difference in attainment at Bedfordshire.  However, we will be doing so through a pilot project that focuses on accentuating the positives and the success stories rather than focusing upon low attainment.  This early work will be followed up beyond the life of the Academy/ECU programme.   We aim to determine, from a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, what happens to those BME students who do attain and succeed:  from the students who graduated in 2008, what helped them ‘attain’, and who influenced their progression from start through to completion of their studies?  Data from lecturers, support areas, and current students will also be collected.

Team members

Lesley Lawrence, Associate Director, Teaching and Learning, Lesley.lawrence@beds.ac.uk

Maria Udu, Equality and Diversity Officer, Human Resources, Maria.udu@beds.ac.uk

Ravi Kohli, Head of Department of Applied Social Studies, Ravi.kohli@beds.ac.uk

Amanda Thorpe, Head of Social Work, Amanda.thorpe@beds.ac.uk