BAME Awarding Gap Project

Through our data led approach, the BAME Awarding Gap Project addressed the disparities in the outcomes and experiences of undergraduate Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and white students.

Overview

Analysis of UCL data shows that there is a small but statistically significant discrepancy in the rate of good degrees achieved by Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students compared with white students, despite entering UCL with the same high entry qualifications.

While UCL students, whether white or BAME, tend to perform well above national benchmarks, this discrepancy, known as an awarding gap, has persisted for the past few years. UCL’s ‘close the gap’ project ran alongside UCL’s participation as the only Russell Group institution in a HEFCE-funded consortium project led by Kingston University. This project used a value-added metric and an inclusive curriculum framework to address the BAME awarding gap. The consortium project came to a close in 2019 and further information can be found on the project webpage.

Project Team

A project team was assembled to address the awarding gap at UCL, comprised of three Co-Leads, a working group and Faculty Leads. The teams worked closely with Deans and faculty leads to analyse faculty-specific data and introduce a toolkit of interventions to close the awarding gap. The outcomes of this project also fed into UCL’s application to renew its Race Charter status.

Co-Leads

• Paulette Williams, Head of Student Success Projects and Co-Lead BAME Awarding project
• Dr Julie Evans, Faculty Tutor in Brain Sciences
• Professor Parama Chaudhury Co-Lead (Analysis & Evaluation) and Chair of the BAME Awarding Gap Fund. 

BAME Awarding Gap Working Group

• Ash Talwar, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager
• d’Reen Struthers, Senior Teaching Fellow
• Paulette Williams, Head of Student Success Projects, Co-Lead BAME Attainment Project
• Ijeoma Uchegbu, Professor, Pharmaceutics
• Julie Evans, Faculty Tutor Brain Sciences, Co-Lead BAME Attainment Project
• Katy Redfern, Director of Social Mobility and Student Success
• Jason Davies, Senior Teaching Fellow
• Simon To, Leadership Development and Change Manager, Students’ Union
• Sandy Ogundele, BAME Officer, Students’ Union
• Rosalind Duhs, Principle Teaching Fellow

Faculty Leads

School of Life and Medical Science (SLMS)

Leslie Gutman 

Faculty of Brain Sciences
E: l.gutman@ucl.ac.uk

Afia Ali

Faculty of Life Sciences
E: afia.b.ali@ucl.ac.uk 

Rochelle Burgess

Faculty of Population Health Sciences
E: r.burgess@ucl.ac.uk

Alvena Kureshi

Faculty of Medical Sciences
E: a.kureshi@ucl.ac.uk 

School of The Bartlett: Engineering sciences and mathematical and physical sciences (BEAMS)

Michael Sulu
Faculty of Engineering Sciences 
E: m.sulu@ucl.ac.uk

Tamara Alhilfi
Faculty of Mathematical & Physical Sciences
E: t.alhilfi@ucl.ac.uk

Judy Stephenson
Faculty of the Built Environment
E: j.stephenson@ucl.ac.uk

School of Law, Arts and Humanities, social and historical sciences and Slavonic and Eastern European studies (SLASH)

Jonathan Chan
Faculty of Laws
E: Jonathan.chan@ucl.ac.uk

Adam Harris 
Faculty of Social & Historical Sciences
E:adam.s.harris@ucl.ac.uk

Clive Nwonka
Faculty of Arts & Humanities
E: c.nwonka@ucl.ac.uk

IOE, Faculty of Education and Society 

Ashraf Hoque
E: a.hoque@ucl.ac.uk