Participants wanted for 'Prepare to Succeed: better student outcomes for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) learners in London' project focus groups

To participate you must be a UK student from a BAME background.

You'll be required take part in a one-hour-long focus group on Wednesday 23 March and will receive a £25 Amazon voucher for your involvement.

We have three sessions scheduled, which will take place at the UCL Institute of Education. You can choose to attend whichever time is the most convenient for you:

• 11:30am-12:30pm
• 1:30-2.30pm
• 2:45-3:45pm

If you're interested in taking part, please complete the application form and indicate which session you will be able to attend.

For further information about the project, please see below. Should you have any questions, please contact Anna Leamon: anna.leamon@ucl.ac.uk.

What is the 'Prepare to Succeed' project about?

This project has been created in response to research which shows that some BAME student groups have less opportunity to access and progress into and through higher education and in work than other students.

This project will focus on the information, advice and guidance (IAG) provided for BAME students prior to their progression on to higher education, and seeks to identify whether this could be improved in order to give students an equal opportunity to succeed in higher education and after graduation. 

Students are invited to take part in focus groups talking about their experiences of IAG and support activities before entering higher education. The research from these focus groups will help universities and students co-produce new IAG support activities that will be trialled in schools at the start of the 2016/17 academic year.

Who are we looking for? 

AccessHE is looking for foundation, first or second year UK domestic students from a wide range of BAME backgrounds to take part in one-hour-long focus groups. You do not need to have any experience of formal IAG activities prior to entering into higher education but you must be prepared to talk about your experiences of any support you received before entering higher education in the focus group session. Students from all BAME backgrounds are welcomed.

What will you be asked?

As part of a small group, you will be asked about your own experiences of the IAG you received before you went on to higher education. You will be asked about the sources of information you used to better inform your decisions and how you made those decisions, including subject choice. 

We would like to hear about the expectations you had of going on to your current studies and how that matches up or contrasts with your experience of HE. You will also be asked to suggest what aspects of HE it would have been useful to know about before you started your current course.  

How will your contributions be used? 

Your contributions may be used to inform future work being done to support better HE outcomes for BAME learners. Information, advice and guidance activities will be launched following the focus groups, which will draw upon the contributions made.

Anna Leamon, Senior Access Officer, UCL Widening Participation