Sta/Medr/14/2026: Race equality monitoring measures for higher education: August 2016 to July 2025

Main points

Applicants, applications and offer rates

• The proportions of UK-domiciled UCAS applicants and applications to full-time undergraduate courses at Welsh Higher Education (HE) providers who were from an ethnic minority background have overall increased from 2016 to 2025. This was true for all of the ethnic minority background groups used in this report (Asian, Black, Mixed and Other).
• The percentage of applicants being made an offer has been consistently higher for those from a White or Mixed ethnic background than those from an Asian, Black or Other ethnic background. This was true for 18 year old applicants and applicants of all ages.
• The proportion of applicants who were placed for entry into higher education (accepted onto a course) who were from ethnic minority backgrounds has overall increased from 2016 to 2025.

Students

• The proportion of undergraduate entrants from ethnic minority backgrounds domiciled in the UK at Welsh HE providers has increased from 10.3% in 2016/17 to 19.8% in 2024/25. There is a general trend of an increasing proportion of entrants being from each of the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic background groupings, with the largest increases being amongst those from an Asian ethnic background.
• Between 2016/17 and 2024/25, students from a White ethnic background have consistently been more likely to be awarded a first class honours degree than students from any other ethnic background.
• Students from a Black ethnic background have consistently been more likely to be awarded a lower second class or third class degree than students from other ethnic backgrounds.

Staff

• The proportion of staff, academic and non-academic, from ethnic minority backgrounds has increased from 2016/17 to 2024/25. The largest increases have been amongst staff from Asian ethnic backgrounds.
• Academic staff from a White ethnic background have consistently been more likely to be on permanent terms of employment than staff from any other ethnic backgrounds.
• For non-academic staff, those from a White ethnic background have also been most likely to be on permanent terms of employment. However, in 2024/25 there was a rise in the proportions of staff from Other and Mixed ethnic backgrounds on permanent terms of employment and a decrease in the proportion from a White ethnic background, lessening the disparity.
• Academic staff from Black ethnic backgrounds have been more likely to be employed at a middle or lower grade compared to staff from other ethnic backgrounds. A higher proportion of academic staff from the White and Other ethnic background groupings were employed in the higher grades, compared to the other ethnic background groupings.
• Disparities between ethnic backgrounds in the proportion of non-academic staff employed at each grade have narrowed between 2016/17 and 2024/25.

Governors

• Although the number of governors in the Welsh higher education sector is low, the proportion who were from ethnic minority backgrounds increased from 3.0% in 2017/18 to 16.0% in 2024/25.