Universities ought to be downgraded if black college students underperform and workers are too white, ‘woke’ report says
Universities should be downgraded if black students underperform and all the professors are white, according to a new report.
Dr Katharine Hubbard, of Buckinghamshire New University, wants the higher education watchdog to take account of ‘racial equity’ when grading universities.
Under her proposal, up to one in five universities could see their rating change due to ‘racial inequity or underrepresentation’.
The controversial paper comes after data showed only 1 per cent of academics are black.
In addition, only 17 per cent of black students get a first – compared with 36 per cent of their white peers.
Dr Hubbard said: ‘Can an institution really be considered gold standard when it has a black awarding gap of over 25 percentage points and students never encounter a black academic?
‘If racial inequity is a structural issue, we can only tackle it through changing structures.
‘It’s time to make racial equity a more substantive part of the metrics that drive institutional behaviours and action.’
Universities should be downgraded if black students underperform and all the professors are white, according to a new report (file picture)
Dr Hubbard’s main target is the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), which is run by the Office for Students (OfS) regulator.
It gives universities a rating based on teaching quality, of gold, silver and bronze – with all results published online for prospective students to read.
She wants ‘racial equity’ and ‘proportionate representation of global majority staff’ to become some of the metrics assessors use to rate a university.
Her flag-based system identifies institutions with significant inequity in student outcomes or staff representation, and adjusts TEF ratings accordingly.
She said that currently, seven gold-rated universities have black awarding gaps that exceed 25 percentage points, and more than half of gold and silver institutions significantly under-recruit black academics.
Her paper, published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi), also points out that out 164 vice-chancellors, only two are black.
It concluded: ‘Imagine how much more seriously the sector might take inequity in academic hiring if TEF success depended on having representative proportions of global majority staff.
‘Institutions seeing their TEF gold rating being adjusted to silver or bronze on the basis of large persistent ethnicity awarding gaps might take much more meaningful action.
‘The metrics we use in higher education are active political choices. Which metrics are included and excluded from league tables and regulatory frameworks drive institutional behaviours.’
However, Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: ‘This proposal is demeaning and patronising towards black people.
‘In all walks of life, position and status should be based on merit. Universities are already saturated in woke ideology. The proposed racial profiling takes notions of decolonisation a step further and it has very sinister undertones.’
Dr Hubbard is currently director of learning enhancement and academic practice, and her research focuses on ‘inclusive practice’.
A spokesman for Universities UK, which represents vice chancellors, said: ‘The data in this report rightly highlights that racial inequity persists in higher education. The sector must continue to build on work to confront this issue head-on to ensure that everyone with the potential to succeed at university can do so, regardless of their background.’
