The University is a member of Advance HE's Race Equality Charter (REC) and has been awarded a Bronze REC award in May 2020 in recognition of our commitment to the Charter's aims to improve the representation, progression and success of minority ethnic staff and students within higher education.
Our Race Equality Action Plan includes information on how we developed our approach, how we listened and responded to the concerns of our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff and student communities and how we will monitor and be held accountable for outcomes. It is underpinned by the REC five fundamental principles:
- Racial inequalities are a significant issue within higher education. Racial inequalities are not necessarily overt, isolated incidents. Racism is an everyday facet of UK society and racial inequalities manifest themselves in everyday situations, processes and behaviours.
- UK higher education cannot reach its full potential unless it can benefit from the talents of the whole population and until individuals from all ethnic backgrounds can benefit equally from the opportunities it affords.
- In developing solutions to racial inequalities, it is important that they are aimed at achieving long-term institutional culture change, avoiding a deficit model where solutions are aimed at changing the individual.
- Minority ethnic staff and students are not a homogenous group. People from different ethnic backgrounds have different experiences of and outcomes from/within higher education, and that complexity needs to be considered in analysing data and developing actions.
- All individuals have multiple identities, and the intersection of those different identities should be considered wherever possible.
You can read about our progress to date here: Race Equality Charter - One Year On.
The Equality Change Programme has been tasked with implementing the REC action plan.
Further Information