University Diversity Challenge: BAME Students and Small Specialist Institutions

Introduction

Widening participation in the United Kingdom (UK) was introduced as a concept at the turn of the century by a government that proposed using a meritocratic approach to increasing higher education participation by 50% (Millward, 2021). This commitment to increasing university attendance continued on from the massification of the higher education system in the UK following the Robbins report (1963) that fundamentally and revolutionarily sought to promote equality of opportunity in terms of access to higher education to facilitate social mobility. A university degree in the UK is considered a sound investment for the future, especially as there is a clear graduate premium in earnings, and the widening participation agenda is credited to some extent with significant growth and diversification within the university student population (Bathmaker et al., 2016). There is a continuing need however for activity that addresses disparity in the student experience in part due to differences in the quality of the educational experience, the recruitment processes between universities, and consideration of how existing models of provision might not meet the needs of all students (Milward, 2019).

Since the introduction of widening participation, universities within the UK have been required to develop a strategic approach to the delivery of activity associated with it, including mechanisms with which to monitor progress. Initially, attention was only given to increasing access to higher education providers by students from diverse backgrounds, with little consideration for the whole student lifecycle. Following the Dearing Report (1997), a shift in the position of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was notable and social class and widening participation became a major priority. Prior to the 1990s however, the Council’s position had been that increasing representation of students from under-represented social groups was beyond the scope of the higher education sector (HEFCE, 1996a). This fundamental shift facilitated consideration of all aspects of the student life cycle, however higher education students and those from under-represented backgrounds remained largely excluded from consultations during the creation of widening participation policies (Greenbank, 2006). The lack of recognition of the experiences and needs of diverse students suggests those with privileged social locations were making decisions and thus potentially perpetuating hierarchy-enhancing ideologies (Pratto et al., 2006). Without hearing the voices of the under-represented, there is a risk of adopting a deficit thinking discourse in partnership with a single prescribed way of thinking (O’Shea et al., 2016). Ultimately, universities and higher education providers were charged with setting targets to increase diversity within their student populations whilst concerns around how practicable and realistic this would be for the different types of higher education providers were largely ignored. Currently, very little evidence exists to document the associated challenges around widening participation, specifically for small specialist degree providers.

Following exploration of widening participation activity within the UK, the aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of and the background to the challenges that small specialist degree providers face in terms of achieving targets linked to widening participation. This is specifically in the context of increasing ethnic diversity within the student population and ensuring parity of experience on campuses with specific examples provided for land-based degree providers. The chapter will end with an overview of action that is being taken to address these challenges.