The experience of BME commuting students

Abstract

The reasons for the black and minority ethnic (BME) student degree attainment gap are complex and multifactorial. However, it appears that increasing numbers of all students are commuting to campus from the parental and family home, something now disproportionately exemplified by BME students at Leeds Beckett University.This paper outlines findings from a small, qualitative project focusing on commuting BME undergraduates and explores how their issues and needs have been addressed through a range of cultural, infrastructural and curricular interventions.The main issue of concern which supports the recent report (Thomas and Jones, 2017) is that many commuting BME students will prioritise academic engagement but are unaware of the wider social and cultural capital that can be gained from participating in extra-curricular activities. It is clear that some difficulties faced by BME commuting students are identical to those faced by all commuting students: stress, impractical timetabling and assessment deadlines, ‘invisibility’. BME students (commuting and non-commuting) are already often disadvantaged by a poorer learning experience than that of their peers and consequently by lower degree attainment (Richardson, 2008a & b, Newbold et al., 2011) and reduced employability (Allen, 2016), an inequality that may be compounded in the case of those disproportionately high numbers of BME students who also commute. University action must be situated within a broader framework of inclusive academic practice, drawing on a “holistic engagement vision” (Pickford, 2016, p. 31) of infrastructural support and partnership working between students and staff.

Exploring Learning experiences of Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students in a Public Health Undergraduate Degree.

“…The removal of a stressful commute was experienced as a convenience by some students who reported that it was easier to engage in activities and learning without travelling. However, one student who expressed this early in the interview later volunteered a contradictory view that it was more difficult to maintain engagement when participating from home, consistent with previous findings that commuting can adversely affect participation and a sense of belonging to the institution (Smith, 2018). The sense of belonging is important in the discussion of themes below.…”

Building a Sense Of Belonging in students: Using a participatory approach with staff to share academic practice

“…BAME students commute from their parental and/ or family home in much higher numbers compared to non-BAME students who more commonly live in private residential accommodation near to campus or in university accommodation and residences where social activities are more easily accessible. Our findings supported by the literature (Smith, 2018;Thomas, 2012 ;Thomas & Jones, 2017) suggest more could still be done with sourcing on-campus dwell space, social learning spaces, multicultural curricular activities and reading lists, more explicit recognition of commuting students and BAME students in our prospectus and institution al marketing material and care with timetabling to allow students to access masterclasses and clubs at lunchtime rather than, say, in the evening. These issues would all enhance a greater sense of student belonging for all and more integration between commuting and on campus students.…”

“…Some difficulties faced by BAME commuting students are identical to those faced by all commuting students: stress , impractical timetabling assessment deadlines, and invisibility. BAME students (commuting and non -commuting) are already often disadvantaged by a poorer learning experience than that of their peers and consequently have lower degree attainment (Smith, 2018;Richardson, 2008a & b) and reduced employability (Allen, 2016), an inequality that may be compounded in the case of those disproportionately high numbers of BAME students who also commute. Our parallel work on the Inclusive Course Design Tool (Smith et al, 2020) also informed this project.…”

“… BAME and commuting students have often been found to have a reduced sense of belonging to their university (Thomas, 2012;Thomas & Jones, 2017;Smith 2018) and this has been considered as one of the issues which may influence the complex multifactorial BAME student award gap. BAME students commute from their parental and/ or family home in much higher numbers compared to non-BAME students who more commonly live in private residential accommodation near to campus or in university accommodation and residences where social activities are more easily accessible.…”

Learning from the experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) university students who withdraw from their undergraduate degree

“…Both female and BAME populations were reported the most likely to be employed during HE (Moreau and Leathwood 2006). Further evidence suggests BAME students are more likely to live at home with family while studying at university, a choice often influenced by cultural attitudes, caring responsibilities and finances, further reducing opportunities for social interaction and extra-curricular activities (Smith 2018).…”