2025 survey: Living Black at University
5 February 2025
Living Black at University was published three years ago this week. Whether you’ve fully embraced it, taken some first steps or are brand new to it, we’d love to hear from you in our new impact survey. Jenny Shaw, HE External Engagement Director, shares why.
“So much of student life is shaped by the experience of being in student accommodation. But if things go wrong – if that community does not feel comfortable, supported or safe – then this compromises mental health, the ability to study and, in some cases, the ability to remain at university. In this sense, accommodation teams carry a huge, and often under-recognised, weight of responsibility.”
I wrote these words for the launch of the Living Black at University (LBU) research three years ago. The rest of the blog, like the research itself, explored the experiences of Black students in university halls and private PBSA.
Here’s a short version: Black students are having a poorer experience in their accommodation than their peers; there is widespread racism and they are less likely to feel safe, comfortable or that they belong there. This leads to poorer mental health, achievement and retention.
Three years of Living Black action
Ever since, the student accommodation sector has stepped forward to address this inequity, recognising its crucial role in the student experience. As an early response, Unite Students and a growing number of universities published ‘Cultural Services Guides’ co-created with students themselves. The guides themselves are useful for new students, but just as important is the signal they send: you are welcome here and we have thought about your needs. And that signal is clearly important – Unite Students’ Black Services Directory was accessed more than 6,000 times in the year after it was launched.
The LBU Commission, now in its second phase, continues to work with Black students and a wide range of organisations to unpick the problem and to identify and support good practice. Many universities have set up their own LBU working groups, with student accommodation, EDI and student support teams working together for change. From these groups we’ve seen all sorts of innovations: enhanced staff training, Black sports initiatives and delicious new food options. Inspired by LBU, Student Minds launched the ‘Life as a Black Student’ project last year.
Taking a broader view, this project speaks straight to the heart of the higher education sector which values inclusivity and strives to be inclusive in practice. LBU enables student accommodation to make a meaningful contribution to tacking the “awarding gap” – the lower rate of first and upper second-class degrees achieved by students from ethnic minorities, which cannot be fully explained by other factors. A recent evaluation by TASO found that most approaches to the awarding gap focus on the curriculum, but they have limited impact. They recommend that “bottom-up activities” from “beyond the classroom” are also needed to create real change.
That’s where you come in.
2025 impact survey
To mark the third anniversary of Living Black at University, the Commission has launched a survey across the UK higher education sector to gather data and feedback from higher education accommodation teams, wider campus services and student support teams. We would also like to hear from EDI practitioners, including those involved in the Race Equality Charter.
Our aim is to celebrate what has been done so far, but also to understand the opportunities to take things further. That means there will be no judgement: whether you have done a lot, a little or nothing at all, that is valid and your feedback is equally welcome.
You can fill in the survey at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9LLTF7G
We look forward to hearing from you!