In this month’s Diversity Milkround blog from Dan Robertson at the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion, he discusses race equality at UK universities.

Three out of five Black Students do not expect to be in work within six months of graduating.

This is the startling, and let’s face it, depressing finding from a two year research study by the London based charity Elevation Networks and published by its partner The Bow Group.

Conducted to understand the perceptions of Black undergraduates the Race to the Top: the Experiences of Black Students in Higher Education report also found:

• Black students felt they would face discrimination when attempting to pursue a career in the legal services, media, fashion and financial services industries.
• 68% of Black students expect to be earning less than £25,000 in their first graduate role.
• Black students generally believe there is not currently enough mentoring or support given to them to assist them in their choice of where to go to university.

  There is a sizeable discrepancy between the expectations of Black students and the outcomes they face following graduation.

  The report, as expected goes on to make a number of policy recommendations including the proposal for the Government to add a diversity element to any new State-produced University league table that is published. This could be contentious.

  Not only could this league table highlight the grades of black students in comparison to white pupils – something I am nervous about as grades are not a fair representation of a student’s ability. They also represent the student experience – it could potentially re-ignite the debate started by the PM David Cameron last year when he accused Oxford University of admitting only one black person. Of course Oxford defended itself and disputed the figure as “inaccurate and highly misleading” whilst the charity Operation Black Vote stated that black students are being ‘squeezed out of Oxbridge’ and consequently out of elite careers like politics.

  For the record, as reported in The Guardian newspaper, Oxford has accepted 32 black students for undergraduate study this academic year, the highest number in 10 years. This represents a 14% improvement on last year’s admissions round, when 8.8% of black applicants were successful compared with 24.1% of white applicants, writes Jeevan Vasagar.

  Black students and the class door

  It seems to me that there a number of inter-related issues here, the first being the continued elitism of some of our current institutions, which clearly adversely impacts on the participation rates of black studies. However, Oxbridge, and the Russell Group, whilst being a fair target, are also an easy target.

  The focus on elitism misses the wider issues of race equality which produce headline figures such as those contained within the Elevations Network report and related data from the Institute for Public Policy Research, which in 2010 found that ethnic minorities had been disproportionately affected by the recent rise in unemployment and that this pattern can be observed within the graduate market.

  It’s been over ten years since the Macpherson report which put a spotlight on ‘institutional racism’ in our educational institutions and our workplaces. I wonder how much has really changed in that time.

  By Dan Robertson, Diversity & Inclusion Director, Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (www.enei.org.uk).

Universities can expect a decline in applications following the fee increase, according to students. Many even claimed their current course is not worth the money.

A survey of more than 100 students and graduates by Milkround (www.milkround.com) revealed more than 80 percent of its respondents believe raising university fees will have a negative effect on the number of university applicants. Over half believed the degree they are currently studying or have graduated with is not worth the fee.

Despite this, many students are not willing to compromise on getting the full university experience to save money, rejecting a variety of potential solutions.

Some 35 percent stated they would not consider staying at home whilst studying in order to cut costs, compared to only 24 percent who would see this as a strong potential option.

There was little call for more degree subjects to be available online, with two thirds (66 percent) of respondents dismissing this suggestion.

Nearly a third (31 percent) favoured the alternative of condensing three year courses into two year courses as long as they didn’t lose content. The group was divided when asked whether this should be done by abandoning the first year of courses if the work in this year does not count towards the final grade, with 54 percent for and 46 percent against the concept.

The pros and cons of first years generates debate. Students would save money and time spent on work that does not contribute overall, but many universities argue that the first year is important to establish the transition from A-levels to producing work of a degree standard. Taking the first year away may lead to students needlessly losing marks that would count towards their degree for simple errors which do not genuinely reflect the quality of their knowledge.

The survey also highlighted students’ astute awareness of the current job market. Seven out of ten believe placement years should be compulsory for all subjects, reflecting that many recruiters now actively seek applicants with experience as well as good grades. 

The importance of having a degree has not been forgotten, with over half of respondents commenting that they do not believe they would have progressed in their career faster, had they gone straight into employment instead of attending university.

Milkround  spokesperson Abbie Baisden said: “Students value the University experience as a whole, but resent the rise in costs. The rejection of living at home while studying, and the insistence of more courses to include placements, proves they want their University experience to provide them with more than knowledge on the subject they studied. They expect life skills and experience that will benefit them in their career and beyond – especially with the rise in study costs.”