A new report released yesterday by Universities UK (UUK) and the National Union of Students (NUS) report into the black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) student attainment gap in UK higher education says that universities must work to close the attainment gap (white students are statistically more likely to get a 2:1 or a First than BAME students).

The publication of the report, Black, Asian and minority ethnic student attainment at UK universities: #ClosingtheGap, follows contributions from 99 universities and student unions and six regional roundtable evidence sessions with 160 attendees on how the attainment gap should be tackled.

Dr Laura Bailey, Lecturer in the Department of English Language and Linguistics and Student Success Project Lecturer, comments on these findings: “the School of European Culture and Languages is very fortunate to be one of the seven pilot schools in the Student Success Project, which has been working for the last five years to close this gap. We’ve been gathering data and finding out what works. We’ve begun to develop racially diverse and inclusive environments by evaluating our reading lists, inviting speakers from diverse backgrounds and introducing staff awareness training. We need to have open conversations about race at every level, from individual students and staff to the highest levels of university management, and the School is leading the way on this. The BAME attainment gap is one of the most important issues facing higher education today, and we have to make some changes in the way we do things.”