We aim to raise awareness of the issue of BME underachievement in the university and to create a sense of ownership of the problem. We intend to take action to effect a mainstream consideration of mitigating actions and to embed change in policies and routine procedures.
The team aims to promote understanding of the meaning of the term “BME” across the institution. We will gather further data on students’ entry profile and achievement at subject level and disseminate it to Faculty Executives and Departments; it is acknowledged that questions will remain about the outcome data if it is not related to students’ entry profiles.
The annual review process should contain reporting guidelines on BME student progress and achievement and the team feels that a requirement for this should be accompanied by guidance on how to address such issues at course and department level. We intend to review tutorial provision because we have noted that there are significant variations between departments in staff approaches to and arrangements for tutorials within the overall requirements of university policy.
We expect to improve student communication in order to raise awareness of the various support services for the diverse range of students some of whom do not seem to be aware of the services on offer or think that they are not relevant to them. We will encourage clear dissemination of university policies on Equality and Diversity noting that further work needs to be done to make the connection between policy and practice.
We have agreement and funding to facilitate qualitative local research probably based on a focus group approach and covering matters such as teaching and assessment practices student/lecturer interactions and experience of university services including support schemes. We also hope to raise the profile of the Equality and Diversity Unit and explore the potential for targeted mentoring of BME students in conjunction with the local community.
Team members
Mr Mike Coeshott Head of School
Continuing and Educational Studies mike.coeshott@port.ac.uk
Mrs Clare Callaghan Head of Department
Accounting and Finance clare.callaghan@port.ac.uk
Dr Jenny Walden Head of School
Creative and Cultural Industries jenny.walden@port.ac.uk
Mr Tom Lewis Impact Assessment Co-ordinator
Office of the University Secretary tom.lewis@port.ac.uk
