Stories from black minority ethnic (BME) students: how can we enhance their University experience to improve their degree attainment?

This presentation focusses on the story of how students and staff worked together to improve BME students’ degree attainment. Elements of the BME undergraduate students’ experience were narrated via focus groups. The presentation will be a structured “illustrated tale” highlighting six interventions implemented to support BME students more effectively to achieve more 2:1 and 1st class good degrees. Changes in progression and achievement rate will be monitored longitudinally over the next 3 years but reflections on emergent findings will be reviewed innovatively in terms of the realities of the “happy ending.” The interventions are wide-ranging and attempt to solve some of the challenges described by the students. They focus on i) the development of one- stop, inclusive assessment guidance, ii) an exploration of “white curricula”, iii) enhancing their student voice, iv) staff development about unconscious bias and v) strategic initiatives and collaborative curricular projects in the Faculties.

http://issotl.com/conf/index.php/issotl16/index/pa...