Understanding the context (The University of Wolverhampton)
The University of Wolverhampton demonstrated an informed understanding of their organisational makeup after conducting internal analysis. From this, it found that within the previous four years, 30% of its Black students studied business management, creative arts and design, computing or education. They found that the differential attainment within these subject areas over the past four years was over 30%, which was disproportionately impacting overall provider levels. This information guided which areas would be prioritised. The subject areas highlighted were then the focus of interventions in 2020–21, with the remaining subject areas subsequently targeted from 2021–22. From the findings, the university concluded that Black students are disproportionately represented in cases of academic misconduct. From this, they used a logic chain model which demonstrated a multi-stage approach to decrease academic misconduct for targeted students in the prioritised subjects and subsequently aimed to increase the attainment of students from marginalised ethnic groups. By understanding their own student composition, the provider was able to implement a multi-stage intervention, tailored to its contextualised needs and priorities.