Black students feel left out by 'white cliques'

London: University coursework should be marked anonymously to deal with concerns that potential bias against a "foreign-sounding name" can cost students marks, a report by the National Union of Students (NUS) recommends.

The report also urges universities to minimise "eurocentric bias" when drawing up curriculums.

"This is critical, not only to demonstrate to black students that their learning reflects their own experience, but to promote understanding among their white peers," it states.

It is standard practice for universities to assess exams anonymously because of concerns about preconceptions relating to race, sex or previous knowledge of a candidate, but the NUS report calls for anonymity to be extended across all "assessment procedures", which would include course work.

Assessment

The NUS which accepts that it is not possible to keep every form of assessment, such as presentations by drama students, anonymous is also urging universities to address concerns about bias by having any contested work reassessed by a different lecturer. The report, Race for Equality, is based on a survey of 900 students with African, Asian and Caribbean backgrounds.

The survey found that, while most students were positive about their institutions, 23 per cent described the universities they attended as "cliquey" and 7 per cent as "racist".

There was also widespread frustration that courses did not reflect non-white backgrounds and views. A third of black students felt unable to bring a perspective based on their race to tutorials.

Understanding history

Many of the students surveyed called for more diverse perspectives. One said: "Britain colonised most of the world and played a heavy role in the slave trade. How can you understand contemporary Britain without acknowledging this history or understanding how the rest of the world shaped it?"

— The Guardian News& Media Ltd