What is the BAME awarding gap in UK higher education?
In the UK Higher Education sector, there are persistent disparities in degree outcomes awarded to groups of students from different backgrounds.
The “BAME awarding gap” refers to the difference in the proportion of White UK students who are awarded a 1st or 2:1 degree as compared to their Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME)* counterparts. It is also known as the “ethnicity degree awarding gap”. The gap exists even when factors like prior attainment are controlled for.
It is now well established that the gap does not exist because of deficiencies with students themselves, but that the responsibility for the gap lies with institutions.
An important report by Universities UK and NUS in 2019 (Closing the Gap, Amos and Doku, 2019) identified various factors that contribute to differential degree outcomes. These include institutional culture, lack of representation among staff and within curriculum content, a sense of not belonging among BAME students, and socio-economic inequalities.
The same report recommends a number of interventions to tackle the gap, such as:
- Developing racially diverse environments
- Increasing cultural competence
- Providing strong leadership
- Capturing and evaluating the relevant data.
Ultimately, each university is unique and operates within its own context. This should be reflected in the strategies that institutions implement to close the gap. Click here to learn more about the interventions we have in place to address the gap.
* The term "BAME" is an umbrella term. We acknowledge that this does not refer to a homogenous group, but refers to culturally distinct groups of people.