Understanding student underrepresentation in higher education - PowerPoint Presentation

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Understanding student underrepresentation in higher education

David Bass, Equality Challenge Unit

Prof

Thilo

Kroll, Universities of Dundee and St Andrews

Attracting diversity: purpose of the programme

To support HEIs develop their student recruitment activity to be more inclusive of key target groups

with a particular focus on increasing access of underrepresented PC groups.

To further align student recruitment, WP and equality work, increasing efficiency, maximising resources and increasing impact of existing work.

Support institutions in complying with

Eq

Act 2010.

Expected outputs and outcomes

Outputs:

Institutional action plans and reports

shared learning on approaches, what works, common barriers, etc.

Outcomes:

Underrepresented /PC groups are identified and action take by HEIs to encourage and support them to apply.

Representation of underrepresented PC groups is increased across HEIs.

WP and E&D staff involving each other in developing local strategy and activity at an early stage to identify opportunities for collaborative work.

Collecting and

analysing

equality data, e.g. on WP student’s protected characteristics or PC group conversion rates for applicants.

Collaborative approach, with other institutions, ECU and Prof Liz Thomas, to developing and delivering work.

What’s worked

(in this project and in general)

Equality Act 2010

Replaces previous anti-discrimination law, consolidating it into a single act.

Extension to ‘protected characteristics’:

Age Pregnancy and maternity

Disability Race

Gender (sex) Religion and belief

Gender reassignment Sexual orientationMarriage and civil partnership

Public sector equality duty (PSED)

HEIs must:

Eliminate discrimination

Advance equality of opportunity

Foster good relations

In regards to advancing equality of opportunity, this means: reducing disadvantage, meeting (unmet) needs, and encouraging participation where it is low

EHRC technical guidance: equality of opportunity = “substantive equality”

Quantitative analysis

Examine institutional data for evidence of differential outcomes.

Benchmark against institutional, sector and population data.

Identify areas of possible underrepresentation for further analysis.

Activity: data analysis

Hypothetical institutional example for education : 20% male, 3% BME, 6.5% w/ a disability

Assessing underrepresentation

Making subjective judgements - going back to the PSED:

In

regards to advancing equality of opportunity,

HEIs must have ‘due regard’ to:

Minimising disadvantage

Meet needsEncourage participationWhere does the data leave us?

University of Dundee: Attracting Diversity – Understanding the student experience

Qualitative Approach

Access

Enrolment

Retainment

Student performance/Outcomes and differences

Graduation data/experiences

Job readiness/career prospects

Questions: What are the

Barriers and

facilitators of access? For whom?

Who

enrols

? What facilitates enrolment?

What hinders it? (People, processes…)

Who stays, who drops out? And why?

Methods: QUAL Key stakeholder

Perspectives

Setting: Community (outside university); Schools

Methods: QUAL Admissions and

programme

staff; student experiences

QUAN: Admissions dataset (patterning of enrolment characteristics)

Setting: University

Methods: QUAL Students, Tutors (reasons for drop out)

QUAN: Patterning of characteristics of

retainment

and dropout

Setting: University

Setting:

Community

General approach

quantitative analysis of specific characteristics of the current student intake, namely gender, ethnicity, age and

disability (initial focus on gender differences)

qualitative analysis of the experience of applicants

devising a plan of action to remove barriers.

Quantitative component

Questions

What is our current profile for each protected characteristic, as an institution and by academic School?

How has this profile changed over time and can this change be explained?

How does this profile compare with that of other Scottish institutions?

Can evidence of potential barriers to applicants with specific protected characteristics be identified in the data?

Qualitative component

Aim:

To undertake qualitative analysis of the experience of a sample of applicants, by means of focus groups conducted through the Dundee Students Union (DUSA

)

Approach

the focus of this pilot study

is to

obtain general perceptions in relation to female/male students in defined discipline areas where gender under-representation has been identified as an area of

concern

Four schools have been identified, based on an analysis of the quantitative data which revealed stark gender differences in terms of numbers of applications in Computing (male > female), Nursing (female > male), Engineering (male > female),

Education and Community Learning (female > male)UREC approval for the chosen approach soughtStudent volunteers are to be selected by School Office staff. An email invitation, via DUSA

Dear (School Secretary name)

I have been involved in a project led by Admissions and Student Recruitment which looks how the University is able to attract students who might perceive barriers linked to equality and diversity regarding certain courses. The next stage of our project is to organise focus groups with students to find out why they came here. In order to narrow the research, we decided to focus on gender as a specific characteristic and chose your School.

Could you please select and invite first year Scottish domicile (male/female) students in the (School/course name) to attend the focus group, which is going to be on Wednesday the 27

th

May from 1 pm in Dalhousie Building? We need exactly five students from your (School/course name) in order to run the research, which is informal and which is obtaining ethical approval. Every participant will receive free lunch and a £10 Amazon voucher. Please send me the names and emails of the volunteers and if you have any questions about the project, I am happy to answer them. Best wishes,…

Deputy

President

Approach (continued)

Invitation letter for 5 student volunteers from each participating school by the school secretary, outlining the nature of the project.

Availability of the DUSA Deputy President to answer any student queries.

Outlining of the project at the start of the focus group and distribution of participant information sheets to be read and responded to as required. Collection of signed consent forms and concluding remarks at the focus group to explain the project’s next steps.

Focus Group Topic Guide

Why did you choose Dundee for your studies

?

What helped you make this decision

? What is your view of:

Prompts the University in general?your chosen field of study discipline/topic area specifically? In your view, how diverse is the student population:Prompts in the University? in your field of study/discipline/topic area? What, do you think, are some barriers to attract or retain:Prompts female/male studentsmature studentsstudents with disabilitiesin your field of study/discipline/topic area?What can the University do, in your view, to attract an even more diverse student population?

Results

To be expected around 1 June or slightly thereafter

Discussion

Reactions and thoughts

Is there similar activity happening that you’re aware of?

Feasibility at your institution?