Ethnicity and Degree Attainment: Developing a Sophisticated Measurement Tool

Concerns over the relationship between ethnicity and degree attainment have led to allegations of institutional racism in higher education (HE). The statistics imply that non-White groups fare less well than their White counterparts but these statistics may be misleading. INSPIRE is exploring the nature of the Government’s categorisation of ethnic groups to determine whether they are ‘fit for purpose’ in an HE context. The figures used in this project are those for our University’s statistical return to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) for the 2006/7 academic year.