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The information published on these pages shows:
The number of students who attained a particular degree or other academic award, or a particular level of such an award, on completion of their course with us.
It also shows these numbers by reference to:
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The gender of the individuals to which they relate
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Their ethnicity
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Their socioeconomic background.
UEA regularly assesses its performance in terms of access, success and progression for students with different characteristics including degree awarding rates for underrepresented groups to ensure we are taking action to address these.
UEA has made an institutional commitment to social diversity enriching learning for all. This means that we take a whole institutional approach to widening access and participation that spans all aspects of the student journey, including academic, personal, social and professional development; engaging with all staff and services to ensure equality of opportunity for all potential and current students. Key commitments include:
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Increasing access to Higher Education (HE) generally, and UEA specifically, for students from areas of lower higher education participation and of social deprivation and a whole lifecycle approach to support retention, attainment of good degrees and progression to further employment or further study for these students at UEA
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Increasing access to UEA for specific Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students and a whole lifecycle approach to close the black attainment gap at UEA
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Increasing access to UEA for mature students and supporting the student experience to level the playing field in terms of retention and success
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Supporting the whole student lifecycle for disabled students, particularly in terms of ensuring success and progression, including particular focus on supporting students with mental health problems, learning difficulties or Asperger's Syndrome or other Autistic Spectrum Disorder
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Increasing understanding of, and support for, students who experienced disruption in their education including having been in local authority care and/or from military families
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Increasing understanding of, and support for, students with different educational backgrounds including non-A level qualifications or significant breaks from education
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Increasing understanding of, and support for, students facing additional pressures including estrangement from parents, being parents and/or having other caring responsibilities.
We have dedicated staff focussed on taking action to meet these important commitments and have been working on our current plan since 2020/21, delivering significant activity as summarised in the following diagram:
Specific examples of activities designed to address gaps highlighted in the data published on this page include the following;
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To address a potential gap in prior attainment for these groups applying to UEA we are placing greater emphasis on attainment raising activity for both GCSE and Level 3 qualifications
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Our Inclusive Education Policy is designed to remove systemic barriers to equality of HE experience including addressing specific attainment gaps for black students and those from areas of disadvantage. The policy establishes a proactive, whole‐institution approach, embedding inclusive practice as part of a mainstream provision (rather than compensatory or additional) to maximise the opportunity for success for all, through four interrelated elements:
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Inclusive Curriculum – the content of what is taught and learning materials
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Inclusive Assessment – the way student attainment is measured and qualified
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Inclusive Pedagogy – the way the content of the curriculum is taught
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Inclusive Environment – the non‐classroom experience
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Former UEA Vice-Chancellor Professor David Richardson led a university group that published a set of recommendations designed to decisively tackle racial harassment in higher education in the UK. The Universities UK (UUK) advisory group published a series of practical steps as part of their efforts to address racial inequality, informed by an in-depth consultation with panels of BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) students and staff with experience of racial harassment. UEA are now working to meet all of these recommendations.
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We have also developed a specific action plan to address the factors influencing degree attainment for Black students at UEA spanning living and studying elements of the student experience. The key focus for this work is on increasing awareness and understanding of the issues and challenging mind-sets through conversations at all levels and making systemic, structural and cultural changes to ensure representation, diversity and sense of belonging on campus.
More detail on UEA performance and action planning can be found in our Access and Participation Plans for 2019/20 and 2020/21 to 2024/25. We are developing a new Access and Participation plan which will run from 2025/26 to 2028/29.