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Black students are increasingly less likely to get a first or 2:1 than their white peers, according the latest Ethnic Representation Index for higher education in England and Scotland.
This need for better representation for students was the impetus behind the development of the index, first launched in 2022. I began it while deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Arts London, with the intention of creating a consistent methodology and agreed metrics to measure the progress of universities in England and Scotland in addressing institutional racism, as well as to examine the sense of belonging and inclusion among Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) staff and students.
The index exposes the so-called “awarding gap” – that’s the difference between the proportion of white and BAME students awarded a first class or 2:1 degree. For Black and other ethnic minority students in England, it now stands at 14.1%, up from 12.3% the previous year. Indeed, 76% of universities in England and a similar proportion of universities in Scotland have a gap of more than 10%.
For Black students in particular, the gap is even greater. It now stands at 21.6%, up from 19.3% in England. In Scotland, 81% of universities have a Black awarding gap of over 25%.
Despite this, though, the index does show some encouraging signs. This is its third and latest iteration, which I co-authored with Chris Lloyd-Bardsley, Adam Weigel and Sandra Longville at the University of Arts London, covers the 2022-2023 academic year.
According to data from the National Student Survey, the gap in reported satisfaction rates between white and students from ethnic minority backgrounds has narrowed over the last few years. Black students reported a better university experience than their white peers.
Staff representation
Staff, by and large, are becoming more representative of the student body. For instance, 20.2% of academics and 33.3% of undergraduates in England are from ethnic minority backgrounds.
This is by no means parity, but it is progress when we consider that, in the last index, 18.5% of academics were from ethnic minority backgrounds. Representation among professional services staff, professors, senior managers and governors increased, too.
Progress has also been made in Scotland. Black and ethnic minority students comprise 11.6% of the undergraduate student body there, 16% of postgraduate researchers – and 15.4% of academics. Representation among executive board members also increased.
Interestingly, irrespective of the near parity in minority ethnic student and academic populations in Scotland, the awarding gaps are still high. This could in part be due to the concentration of staff and students from minority ethnic groups in different departments, schools and subject areas. So, while the overall representation looks equal, minority ethnic staff populations may be concentrated in only a few areas.
Nonetheless, addressing the awarding gap isn’t entirely about representation.
Some universities are signed up to the Race Equality Charter: an award provided to institutions addressing problems faced by ethnic minority staff and students. Universities can apply for a bronze or silver award depending on progress.
At the time of developing this year’s index, 52 universities had achieved an award. I am pleased to note that 77% of these increased the proportion of Black and ethnic minority academic staff relative to students and 65% increased their proportion of Black academics.
Yet while universities have made progress in some areas, it has stalled in others. In some cases, it has even retreated. The ethnicity pay gap measures the average gap across all university staff, including academic staff and professional services staff. The ethnicity pay gap increased this year by 0.4 percentage points to 6%. At some universities, gaps as high as 27.4% were reported.
In Scotland, the figures are better, but a pay gap of 1.9% nevertheless persists.
Mixed success
And while representation may have increased among academics and professorial staff, the same cannot be said for the highest echelons of management. In England, Black and ethnic minority representation among executive teams fell from 7.7% to 7%. Black representation in England also fell, to only 0.7%.
In Scotland, ethnic minority representation among executives increased, but Black representation fell. There are no reported Black executive board members in Scotland.
For students in England, the disparity in continuation rates (the proportion of students who continue their studies into a second year) is 1.3 percentage points between Black and ethnic minority and white students. The disparity in completion rates (the proportion of students who can be tracked through to the end of their qualification) is 2.7 percentage points.
For Black students in particular the gap is even greater. There is a continuation rate gap of 2.5 percentage points and a completion rate gap of 4.5 percentage points between Black and white students. Some universities in England reported completion rate disparities for Black students of over 15%.
Moreover, Black and ethnic minority graduates in England are 2.5 percentage points less likely to be in employment or further study 15 months after graduating than their white peers, though this does mark a slight improvement of 0.4 percentage points from last year.
Students from an ethnic minority background have previously been shown to worry that the absence of lecturers from a similar background could have an effect on their achievement, as well as their sense of belonging at university, their engagement with their course. For these students, having a teacher that looks like them can have a transformational impact.
We may be tempted to believe the path toward equality in higher education is straight and narrow. Make the commitment, put in place the strategy, the rest will follow. This is evidently not the case. We should gain some comfort that universities are making progress in some areas. However, it is disappointing that higher education institutions have fallen back elsewhere.
David Mba does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.