In September 2025, the University was awarded the Race Equality Charter (REC) Bronze award by Advance HE. The Race Equality Charter Lead and a dedicated REC-USAT self-assessment team of staff and students are now working towards achieving the aims set out in our action plan.

AdvanceHE Feedback

The panel identified key areas of strengths within our application:

• clear strategic commitment: substantial reward, recognition, and resources have been allocated to advance race equality work.
• visible senior leadership buy-in demonstrating that race equality is embedded as an institutional priority.
• a diverse and representative application team, ensuring credibility and breadth of perspectives.
• establishment of dedicated Race Equality and Charter Manager roles designed to support and sustain progress on race equality.
• student induction training modules were singled out by the Panel as a notable strength and example of good practice.

The panel also identified areas for development, including:

• streamlining and clarifying our EDI governance structure.
• improving accountability and local ownership of race equality work across faculties and PSS directorates.
• accelerating efforts to improve ethnic minority representation on governance committees.
• targeted measures on intersectional inequalities, particularly for staff.

Priority Areas

We have identified 5 key areas of focus for our work:

1. remove barriers to racial inclusivity and sense of belonging amongst staff and students.
2. address bullying and harassment issues specific to ethnic minority groups.
3. improve student recruitment and outcomes from under-represented ethnic minority groups.
4. review and address the disparity in staff recruitment and career progression from under-represented ethnic groups.
5. increase representation of Ethnic Minority Group colleagues on decision-making committees across the University.

Our Implementation Goals

Our focus is on increasing accountability, belonging and capability across the University. We will do this by:

• accountability: creating clear KPIs for recruitment, progression, awarding gaps and culture metrics and tie action plans to faculty, school and departmental objectives.
• belonging: creating a trusted platform that harmonises practice and provides a safe environment for staff and students to engage and learn about race equality.
• capability: building practical capability across the University through targeted training, inclusive recruitment toolkits and curriculum support.

Our Implementation Plan

Our action plan includes targeted areas of activity across our staff and student community: