Equality data is not always collected and recorded in the same way.
Standardising monitoring questions
The University of Sheffield used to have standalone data collection systems for its health, counselling and disability services. These were not linked to central student records, and didn’t routinely collect or record ethnicity data.
Since being involved in ECU’s project the university has aligned counselling and disability systems to ensure they record equality data in the same way. The university will now be able to identify key trends in take up of these services by age disability gender and race.
Central Collection and monitoring
Student services at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) has adapted and extended existing technology for monitoring student attendance to also collect equality data and information about key elements of student services provision.
The attendance of students at intervention points (for example, one to one interviews, group sessions) is now captured. This has enabled a consistent approach to data collection and the information gathered will be used in committee reporting from professional services.
LJMU will run reports at the end of each academic cycle focusing on protected groups and their use (or not) of the services available. These reports will inform service development and marketing strategies to ensure that groups currently identified as not accessing services not only feel more able to do so but know that services are available to them.
