Queen Mary, University of London
Student Equality Survey
1. Context 2
2. Methodology and Sampling 2
2.1 Sample – Gender (Q13) 2
2.2 Sample – Race (Q17) 2
2.3 Sample – International students (Q27) 3
2.4 Sample – Age (Q16) 3
2.5 Sample – Disability (Q28) 3
2.6 Sample - Sexual orientation (Q23) 3
2.7 Sample - Religion belief (Q20) 4
2.8 Sample - Gender Identity (Q14) 5
2.9 Sample - Caring Responsibilities (Q15) 5
3. Findings 6
3.1 Awareness of policies and how to complain (Q1 and Q2) 6
3.2 Satisfaction with Queen Mary services (Q3) 7
3.3 Awareness of staff and students (Q8) 10
3.4 Experience of unfair treatment (Q9 and Q10) 10
3.5 Feeling of safety on campus (Q11) 11
3.6 Positive comments about Queen Mary and diversity (Q12) 11
3.7 Have you experienced racism on Campus (Q18) 12
3.8 Promoting good relations between students of different ethnicities 12
3.9 International students 12
3.10 Faith at Queen Mary 13
3.11 Sexual Orientation 13
3.12 Disability 14
4. Recommendations 15
5. Appendixes 16
1. Context
Queen Mary student equality survey was conducted from 12th May 2011 to 26th June 2011. 772 students took part in the survey which represents 5% of the Queen Mary student population.
2. Methodology and Sampling
The survey was carried out online using Survey Monkey. The percentages below represent participation of respondents by membership of equality group[1].
Sample – Gender (Q13)
Gender / Survey respondents / Queen Mary UG &PG 2009-10Female / 346 (59.8%) / 7644 (52%)
Male / 219 (37.8%) / 7082 (48%)
Prefer not to say / 14 (2.4%) / Not available
The proportion of female students who took part in the equality survey is higher than their proportion in the Queen Mary student population.
Sample – Race (Q17)
Ethnicity / Survey respondents / Queen Mary UG &PG 2009-10White / 281 (48.8%) / 4144 (37%)
Asian - Indian / 52 (9.0%) / 1574 (14%)
Asian – Other / 45 (7.8%) / 835 (7%)
Asian – Pakistani / 39 (6.8 )% / 979 (9%)
Asian – Bangladeshi / 32 (5.6%) / 720 (7%)
Mixed Background / 31 (5.4%) / 976 (9%)
Chinese / 24 (4.2%) / 276 (2%)
Black – Black African / 21(3.6%) / 705 (6%)
Black – Other / 6 (1%) / 50 (>1%)
Black – Black Caribbean / 3 (0.5%) / 194 (2%)
Other / 33 (5.7%) / 0 (0%)
Prefer not to say / 21 (3.6%) / 576 (5%
White and Chinese students are slightly over-represented in the survey in comparison with their representation in the Queen Mary student cohort. Asian students are slightly under-represented. Black and Mixed background students were under-represented.
Sample – International students (Q27)
Are you an international student / Survey respondents / Queen Mary UG &PG December 2010Yes / 165 (29.0%) / 5235 (31%)
No / 404 (71.0%) / 11708 (69%)
The proportion of International student who took part in the survey was in line with their representation in the College.
Sample – Age (Q16)
Age / Survey respondentsUnder 21 / 346 (59.8%)
21-25 / 219 (37.8%)
26-34 / 14 (2.4%)
35-50 / 17 (2.9%)
51+65 / >10 (0.9%)
Comparisons are not available due to a difference in age categorisation.
Sample – Disability (Q28)
Disability / Survey respondents / Queen Mary UG &PG 2009-10Yes / 55 (9.6%) / 669 (4.5%)
No / 508 (89%) / 14009 (95.1%)
Prefer not to say / >10 (1.4%) / 48 (0.3%)
Disabled student are slightly over-represented in the survey compared to their representation at Queen Mary. This can be due to the fact that the survey was anonymous which can have a positive impact on disclosure rates.
Disability - type / Survey respondents[2]Dyslexia/ Dyspraxia/ AD(H)D / 48.8%
Mental Health / 37.2%
Wheelchair user/ Mobility difficulties / 9.3%
Medical, e.g. epilepsy, diabetes, asthma / 7.0%
Multiple / 4.2%
Visually impaired/ Blind / 2.3%
Hearing impaired/ Deaf / 2.3%
Other / 11.6%
Sample - Sexual orientation (Q23)
This is the first time that the College has collected information about sexual orientation of its students. There is no internal data for comparison.
Sample - Religion belief (Q20)
This is the first time the College collected information about religion/belief of its students. There is no internal data for comparison.
The majority of the respondents have no religion/belief (33%), followed by Christian students (24%) and Muslim students (22%).
A recent study from the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU)[3] gives a basis for comparison of the College’s respondent group. It is captured below. The Census 2001 provides comparison with the population in Great Britain.
Religion/Belief / Queen Mary % / Higher Education – ECU survey[4] % / ONS census Britain 2001[5]No religion / 33% / 31% / 15.0%
Christian / 24% / 44% / 71.8
Muslim / 22% / 9% / 2.8%
Hindu / 6% / 2% / 0.9%
Buddhist / 3% / 2% / 0.3%
Jewish / 2% / 2% / 0.5%
Sikh / 1% / 1% / 0.6%
Other / 4% / 7% / 0.3%
Prefer not to say / 5% / 0% / 7.8
Total / 100% / 98* / 100%
* may not total exactly 100% due to rounding
Sample - Gender Identity (Q14)
This is the first time the College collected information about gender identity of its students. There is no internal data to compare with.
3.7% of the respondents declared living in a different gender identity that the one they were assigned at birth. Another 4.4% choose the “prefer not to say” option to that question. These figures are rather higher than one might expect, this could partly be explained by the phrasing of the question that possibly caused confusion. However, it is important to note that more than 10 students agreed to take part in the focus group on this topic.
Sample - Caring Responsibilities (Q15)
95% of the respondents had no caring responsibilities.
Among those who do have caring responsibilities: 0.5% are pregnant students, 2.8% are the primary carer for a child, 1% are the primary carer for an older person, and 1.2% are the primary carer for another dependant.
3. Findings
Awareness of policies and how to complain (Q1 and Q2)
The majority of respondents are aware that Queen Mary has policies on equality and diversity.
The majority of respondents declared that they would not know where to complain about equality and diversity. This is a pattern found under Q10, Q18 and Q25.
Satisfaction with Queen Mary services (Q3)
Overall respondents are satisfied with how the above services take into account their personal requirements.
Certain groups of students are slightly less satisfied, they are described below:
- Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual respondents are less satisfied than all respondents with the enrolment/induction, fresher's week and social events at Queen Mary.
- International students are less satisfied with the application process, the enrolment/induction, the finance department, social events. There are more likely to find other services “adequate” when other respondents are “satisfied” or “very satisfied”.
- Female respondents are slightly less satisfied with the College’s sports facilities
- Disabled students report being dissatisfied with a number of services at Queen Mary compared with non-disabled student, including: the application process, enrolment/induction, fresher’s week, accommodation/residences, e-learning facilities, social events, catering outlets and sport facilities. They are overall satisfied with access to buildings on campus.
- Improvement of services (Q4)
In order to improve services to take into account the diversity of students at Queen Mary, respondents suggested:
- More events that do not only revolve around alcohol/club nights and a place to socialise on campus with less alcohol focus
- Better services for mature students, more social events for them and the promotion of a culture that included them
- Prayer facilities that cater all needs are available and open to all faiths, better communication with students about these facilities
- Better support from the student union for the LGBT students and society, especially following the events in Tower Hamlets where stickers were found in the borough declaring Tower Hamlets a “Gay free zone”.
- Opening hours of the College don’t always cater for students who have responsibilities outside the College.
- Better communication about events happening on campus
- Developed interactive campus maps to improve accessibility of the campus
- Better integration of international students with home students; there were generally comments that there should better way to encourage mixing of students
- Taking account people with different abilities in sport facilities and clubs
- Learning, teaching, assessment practices and diversity (Q5)
Overall, respondents feel that the above services take well into account the diversity of Queen Mary’s students.
- Again disabled respondents are less satisfied with the services above, especially delivery of classes, accessibility to learning handouts, online resources, group works and field trips.
- Suggestions to enhance services to take account of the diversity of students (Q6)
There are many positive comments about Queen Mary to that question.
Suggestions include:
- Awareness raising of different group and different needs
- Promote an inclusive culture
- Taking into account people responsibilities outside universities including caring responsibilities, for example to give notice when lectures are rearranged and field trips organised.
- Ensure the standard of support is consistent between departments and courses, especially for disabled students. For example, course slides are not always available before the lecture which can cause problems for disabled students.
- Ensure College’s expectations of its students are explained and communicated to all students
- Better taking into account of mature students and their needs
- Enhance student mixing
- Integration of equality and diversity in the curriculum
- Disability awareness for support staff
- Barriers (Q7)
132 students responded to Q7: “If you feel that any of the learning, teaching or assessment practices creates barriers to the participation of students based on age, disability, race/ethnicity, sex, transgender status, religion/belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy/maternity please give details of your concerns”:
Among the comments there were:
- A numbers of positive comments about Queen Mary
- Concerns about barriers for student with childcare responsibilities and timetable
- A number of concerns regarding disability, including: access to buildings, size of laboratory coats, perception of lack of mental health support for students in SMD, no room to rest on campus, disabled students reported that it is not best practice to have to explain at the beginning of each exam attended that they are entitled to extra-time, need to disability awareness for tutors.
- Mature students reported feeling patronised by lecturers and not having their needs taking into account, they reported issue with timetable changes, etc.
- Pregnant students reported a lack of information and procedures, they did not know who should they tell and some experienced patronising or unsupportive comments from academic staff.
- LGBT students reported that staff (including academics) should be given training about sexual orientation and the University should make it clear that they will not tolerate homophobic comments.
- Timetabling can be an issue for students who practice certain faiths.
Awareness of staff and students (Q8)
Overall, respondents felt that staff and students at Queen Mary were aware of the diverse needs of Queen Mary student population.
Experience of unfair treatment (Q9 and Q10)
36% (209) of the respondents reported having experienced or witnessed unfair treatment, harassment or bullying whilst at the College. The table below presents on which grounds respondents of Q9 felt they had experienced or witnessed unfair treatment, harassment or bullying.
Q9 Have you experienced or witnessed unfair treatment, harassment or bullying in relation to your: / % respondents to Q9 / % respondents to all surveyRace/Ethnicity / 50 (24%) / 6%
Religion & Belief / 47 (22%) / 6%
Gender / 42 (20%) / 5%
Disability / 21 (10%) / 3%
Sexual Orientation / 21 (10%) / 3%
Age / 20 (10%) / 3%
Transgender status / >10 (2%) / 0.5%
Caring for an adult/child / >10 (2%) / 0.5%
Q10 asked respondents who replied Yes to Q9 about their experience and whether they reported it. 72 students responded to Q10.
Among the comments there were:
- Older students experienced stereotypes and exclusion because of their age
- Problems for disabled students not getting the support they should received in their department, lack of awareness of academic staff and support staff about some disabilities and mental health issues
- Homophobic comments and insults toward Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (LGB) students
- Female harassment on campus and in some S&E schools
- Feeling of alienation due to belonging to a different race, religion and from students with no religion
- Lack of awareness-raising about equality for staff and students
Very few students had reported these issues. This was mainly because they did not know where to report them and/or were worried it could have an impact on their studies.
Feeling of safety on campus (Q11)
Please rate how safe you feel on campusVery safe / 226 (39.1%)
Safe / 246 (42.6%)
Neither safe or unsafe / 77 (13.3%)
Unsafe / 26 (4.5%)
Very unsafe / >10 (0.5%)
The majority of respondents reported feeling safe on campus; however there were many comments about students having concerns that anybody can walk to the campus and inside campus building without having to show a QM staff or student card.
There were also comments about the character of the Mile End area and attendant feeling of non-safety especially during winter time/evening time.
Positive comments about Queen Mary and diversity (Q12)
Almost half of the respondents (47.8%) declaring having experienced or witnessed positive experience of good practice in meeting the needs of diverse students within QM.
Among the comments there were:
- Personal circumstances being taken into account for placement/assessment
- Accommodation of religious festivals
- The existence Ladies gym