A Values-Led Approach to Enhancing the Student Experience - Improving Outcomes for BAME Students in Higher Education Conference 2021
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A Values-Led Approach to Enhancing the Student Experience Improving Outcomes for BAME Students in Higher Education Conference 2021 Sheila Gupta: Vice Principal People, Culture and Inclusion Queen Mary University of London Wednesday 30th June 2021
Our Vision, Mission and Values
Through the People, Culture and Inclusion Enabling Plan (PCI EP), QMUL ’Our Values in Action' Framework
sets clear expectations about what being a good Queen Mary citizen means in terms of values and behaviours.
Our Vision ‘is to open the doors of opportunity.’
2
Engaging Council, the Senior Executive Team and
Wider University Community
1. Actions build trust
2. Data provides transparency and helps to
measure progress
3. Initiating processes and support
4. Discussions at Senior Executive level and
Council
5. Confirming positions and activating interest
6. Implementing the People, Culture & inclusion
Enabling Plan university-wide
3
Governance and Decision-Making: The Staff and Student
Voice
Equality, Diversity and I am Chair of EDISG
Inclusion Steering Group Most senior EDI Committee within QMUL
First Action once in my VP
role Extended Membership to be more diverse
Race Equality Action Established the Race Equality Action Group
Group Supports Race Equality Charter
Change means
contributions Greater diversity on EDISG has contributed to creating trust and confidence
Student voice Our students play a vital role in shaping and delivering initiatives that support
their own educational journey and academic success.
Aspiration fulfilment For student engagement to be meaningful, we ensure the student voice informs
every aspect of the student journey
4
Race Equality Action Group (REAG)
1. Using our Values to promote race equality through REAG: representation
from BAME students and staff from across the University to shape, inform
and oversee our work
2. Responsibility to:
a) Provide oversight of how we promote race equality
b) Capture and include the staff and student voice and lived experiences
3. REAG and the Action Plan are underpinned by the key
principles of Race Equality Chapter (REC)
4. An intersectional approach: ‘diverse’ rather than ‘BAME’
5
Initiatives to Embed our Values Across our Staff and
Student Communities
Having values is one thing, but getting people to understand how to apply
these in their day to day life is another.
We have a shared belief with our SU in the importance of positive collegial
behaviour across Queen Mary by our staff and students. We are aligning
two key initiatives that are designed to embed Queen Mary’s values across
all that we do.
The QMUL ’Our Values in Action' Framework sets clear expectations about
what being a good Queen Mary citizen means in terms of values and
behaviours. To make these values relevant in real life, we are embedding
them across the employee life cycle.
So far, we have embedded our values into our appraisal; new academic
career pathways; revised academic promotions process; newly created
leadership framework; and reward processes.
Our academic promotions and reward policies explicitly recognise staff for
their contribution to good citizenship and inclusion.
6
Values and Behaviours in Student Engagement Project
• Improving staff-student engagement to promote a sense of
belonging
• Working with the SU on their own’ Values and Behaviours in
Student Engagement Project
• Ties in with the PCI work on Values in Action to apply these
values to staff-student engagement activities
• Focus this year is on the Academic Advisor role and related
training to bring our values to life in the physical and the on-line
classroom
• At the heart of enhancing the student experience in relation to
belonging and being supported - in response to the impact of the
pandemic.
7
The Humans of Queen Mary Campaign
Campaign Initiative Themes
SU and Professional Services Response to incidents of Identified salient themes of
staff co-created and launched inappropriate student conduct depersonalisation and
the Humans of QM Campaign online disrespectful conduct
Aim Overall
Prevent these incidents Work has been all the
and improve interpersonal more poignant given our
connections extreme circumstances
8
Values and Behaviours in Student Engagement Project
Learner/Engagement Analytics Online Communities
Focuses on how can we best analyse Focuses on adopting a co-created and
student engagement in relation to inclusive approach to better support
student learning: student learning by developing student
communities.
Identify those students early who need
either extra academic support, pastoral This work is based on the idea of
care or mental health support. This will ‘Houses’, i.e. small communities in a
also help us to better identify students larger community and includes work on
who are often from more dovetailing Peer-led Team Learning
disadvantaged backgrounds, who do into these communities, embedding the
not have the confidence to reach out to principle of students better supporting
module organisers and programme their peers in their learning.
directors, and to offer them more
targeted and tailored support.
9
Promoting an Inclusive Curriculum
Workstream tasks:
• Reviewing literature on the following: inclusive curriculums, inclusive pedagogy, the
attainment gap and much more
• Reviewing case studies of efforts to promote inclusive curriculum across higher
education
• Gaining student perspectives of the inclusive curriculum’s proposed principles
using focus groups and surveys
• Producing case studies of good practices at QMUL
Emediong Jumbo
3rd year Global Health
My understanding of what an inclusive curriculum aims to do:
Student Lead for the Global Health Anti-
racism Subcommittee
Accessible Diversify Participatory Empower
Students becoming empowered
The learning environment Diverse teaching content learning
is accessible and tailored and practices. Students Students becoming through the learning environment,
to all students need to see themselves active participant in where critical reflection and
reflected. knowledge production consciously takes place
10Promoting an Inclusive Curriculum Continued
Emma Bowker My Project Focuses My work on the project will
focus on three main aspects:
3rd year History
and Politics 1: Bringing current
student experiences
Assessment and to the education
feedback
“As a joint honours student I have strategy.
experienced first hand the
inconsistencies in assessment and 2: Gathering qualitative and
quantitative data through
feedback between academics and Assessment
survey's and interviews, and
Design and
the schools within the university.” Modes of analysing the data to inform
Feedback
the assessment and feedback
“An education strategy that is strategy.
informed by student experiences
allows students to develop a greater Focused,
Generate
feedback
3: Completing desk based
research to make
that is Use student
understanding of what is required streamlined, Work
and aligned
supportive feedback to recommendations to be
for assessments and will allow staff assessment and of students evolve with students
to enable assessment to enhance the included in the
to create an environment which feedback which
learner journey
progresses them to and workstream tasks.
gives students the most the student learning realise their feedback
experience. academic practices
opportunities to thrive.” potential
11Promoting an Inclusive Curriculum Continued
My role as a student intern:
Producing Researching the
recommendations as to surrounding literature to
how academics can embed gain an understanding of
citizenship and the best practice for
sustainability graduate Citizenship embedding graduate
attributes into their and Literature attributes within courses
programmes sustainability
Student
Pilot scheme Assisting with student
Assisting with the planning focus groups
and communication of the
focus groups on graduate Kieran Reidy
attributes to ensure that the
pilot scheme student voice is
represented
I am delighted to be able to be involved in this workstream, providing support to Queen Mary in refreshing
its graduate attributes. At Queen Mary, the student opinion is always welcome and none more so than in
this project where I feel my student voice is valued and appreciated.
12Promoting a Culture of Dignity and Respect and
Addressing Harassment and Discrimination
• We recognise that an inclusive and supportive culture and environment are key to ensuring a positive
student experience.
• We are therefore applying our values to our policies and processes on harassment and discrimination
to foster community trust and confidence.
• Our work in this area is intersectional in focus based on data and evidence.
• Some examples of initiatives that we have in train are:
➢ Preventing and Addressing Incidents of Racial Harassment
➢ Engaging with students and policy development
➢ Training to address intersectional issues
13Wellbeing and Mental Health
• ‘Diversity Speaks’
• Offer Black, Asian and ethnically diverse students within
Humanities and Social Sciences students an opportunity to take
part
• We are keen for all students to succeed, feel valued and supported
while they study at QMUL. These group sessions aim to:
- Improve the experience of ethnic diverse students at
university
- Begin to tackle wider issues of anxiety and promote positive
emotional well-being
- Share ideas and experiences to find better ways to manage,
whilst building confidence
- Identify potential barriers to their advancement in their
studies
• We fund external counsellors from specific BAME backgrounds
14EDI Training
Extensive programme of race equality training including:
• Introducing Inclusion
• Unconscious Bias
• Targetted EDI training for those in decision-making roles and
specialised workshops
• Active Bystander training
• Talking confidently about race
• Coaching, mentoring, Action Learning Sets to support diverse
leaders
• Through Queen Mary Academy a wide range of academic
development and researcher development provision to enhance
career development and progression opportunities at all career
stages.
15Improving the Talent Pipeline: increasing access and
participation for BAME students in postgraduate
research study
Feedback from our students and alumni
indicates that anxiety over the PGR application
process is a real barrier for many:
• We will be running three events with • IBM colleagues also provide mentoring and
participants from academia and industry to career modelling for BAME students, to show
support students navigate the PGR them the range of career opportunities that are
application process and will be open to other accessible to them.
London universities to be of most value
• Skills enhancement programme for research interns:
we run funded internships for BAME students to give
them ‘hands-on’ experience of research projects. With
support from IBM, we offer a skills enrichment
programme to help interns develop their confidence
and professional skills to apply for PGR opportunities.
16Inclusive Leadership
1. Inclusive Leadership is essential to delivering the values-based
culture espoused in the 2030 Strategy. Commitment
2. This concept of the inclusive leader is embedded in our newly
developed leadership framework that defines the behaviours and Collaborative Courage
competencies expected of leaders at the University.
3. It is an important attribute for all leaders if they are to foster an Inclusive
Leadership
inclusive environment in which they are able to optimise a diverse
talent pool of students and staff. Culturally Cognizance
Intelligent of bias
4. Our students tell us that they do not see people like them in our staff
community, particularly at senior levels.
Curiosity
5. Like most universities, women and PoC are underrepresented at
middle and senior levels of University leadership.
6. For us, having a fair and transparent succession planning route
through this model is key to creating a pipeline of future leaders, so *Deloitte University Press 2016. The six
that we enhance diversity at all levels of the University’s leadership signature traits of inclusive leadership: Thriving
and decision-making structures. in a diverse new world
17Engaging our Alumni
Zahra Arjomand Nia Dr Reena Wadia Samerah Saeed
BSc Pharmaceutical Dentistry, 2011 BSc Biochemistry, 2008 & Medicine,
Chemistry 2019 Technology Specialist Periodontist. 2013
Consultant for Capgemini and social General Surgery Registrar, University
media extraordinaire Hospitals Birmingham
Jasneet Taak Dr Karen Akinsanya Dr Ibilola Amao
Physics BSc, 2019 BSc Biochemistry, 1989 Civil Engineering BEng, 1985
Co-founder of Accelerate, educating Executive Vice President, Chief Biomedical Principle Consultant, Lonadek Global Services;
BAME students who are pursuing STEM Scientist and Head of Discovery R&D at Board Member, IP Week; Governing Council
based degrees Schrödinger Member, Energy Institute and Board Member
New Partnership for Africa’s Development
(NEPAD) Business Group
18Engaging our Alumni
Zeeshan Nazar Dara Nasr Junior Ogunyemi
BSc Psychology, 2019 Law LLB, 1996 BSc Economics, 2011
Commercial Manager in Banking CEO & Co-founder of Zipstream
Managing Director at
and Financial Services for BT. Technology
Twitter UK
Aaron Akinyemi Dr Martin Griffiths CBE DL Navjot Sawhney
BA English and History, 2007 Medicine MBBS 1991 Aerospace Engineering MEng, 2013
Multimedia Broadcast Journalist Consultant Vascular, Endovascular Founder of The Washing Machine Project
and Producer at BBC & Trauma Surgeon at Barts Health
NHS Trust
19Research project: The influence of the Higher Education
built environment on student outcomes
• Part of a national project conducting research into the influence of the
Higher Education built environment on student outcomes
• Why are we doing this? Because no cohesive body of evidence
exists to demonstrate the link between the quality of the HE built
environment and improved student outcomes.
• The initial areas of focus will be the:
➢ Impact of design and use of green spaces and sports facilities
on student outcomes
➢ Impact of living arrangements including living on campus on
student outcomes
➢ Relationship between design and use of campus spaces and
places on social capital and learning culture
20Thank you
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