Report overview

This report was commissioned by TASO to develop a typology and narrative of current approaches to addressing the ethnicity degree awarding gap (EDAG). The findings are intended to inform TASO’s future work, influence policy and decision-making in the sector and provide a data dashboard for researchers. Through this, we hope these findings will drive change in addressing this gap.

Access the full report: Approaches to addressing the ethnicity degree awarding gap
Access the executive summary report: Approaches to addressing the ethnicity degree awarding gap

Building on recommendations – how to generate evidence in this space

By considering the nuances of different approaches to tackling this gap, providers will be better placed to develop interventions that are tailored to their own organisational context. Theories of Change (ToCs) and evaluation plans should be developed while planning interventions to maximise the likelihood of success.

Please find our guidance below to help you with this.
Our approach to evaluation
Theory of Change resources

Case studies – good practice in developing approaches

As the APPs analysed as part of this project do not include the evaluation findings from their interventions, it is impossible to outline good practice in the interventions themselves. Therefore, the findings from this project explore the processes of developing interventions to address the EDAG, not the impact of the interventions themselves.

The following case studies are examples of good practice within this process.

Multi stage approach (Arts University Bournemouth)
Understanding the context (The University of Wolverhampton)
Acknowledging barriers and challenges (University of Winchester)
Students as co-creators (University of Westminster)
Theory of Change (The University of Kent)
Evaluation strategy (Bloomsbury Institute Ltd)

Interactive data dashboard

The landscape of approaches to address the EDAG is extensive, and the data on these interventions offer great potential to better assess their impact on addressing this gap, both now and in the future.

For this reason, this report is accompanied by a data dashboard that will help develop the knowledge and understanding of the current landscape of interventions addressing this gap in higher education providers across England. We hope this data may encourage further gathering of evidence on which interventions are most effective on a national scale.

The data shows the interventions currently outlined within APPs, however it does not indicate their efficacy. The dashboard should therefore not be used as a toolkit or resource to guide decisions on approaching the EDAG but to help those conducting research to understand the nature and impact of interventions to address the gap.