The idea to introduce social inclusion indicators came as part of the U-Multirank project, an international ranking tool that compares the performances of higher education institutions. ‘For many years we didn’t change the set of indicators in the U-Multirank framework, and we realized that we needed to add more in order to cover recent societal challenges,’ explain Kaiser and Veidemane, who have both worked on the project.
Student wellbeing
‘Social inclusion is a big part of the Sustainable Development Goals and an important topic for universities,’ continues Kaiser. ‘Students at the UT are very diverse. About 34% of students are international, but often they don’t feel at home here and struggle to integrate. This is important in terms of student wellbeing, which is also a topic high on the higher education policy agenda. Because students can only be successful if their wellbeing is taken care of.’
The U-Multirank team therefore decided to develop a set of indicators on social inclusion in its annual data collection. This set included, for example, the number of students from under-represented groups, such as first-generation students, students with disabilities, mature students, students with children and female students.
Guidelines
‘At this point we have a number of guidelines that can be used by universities to develop indicators on social inclusion,’ explains Veidemane. ‘These guidelines focus, for instance, on the progression of under-represented groups moving through the higher education pipeline. They also cover policies, outreach activities and financial factors, particularly students’ ability to access funding and scholarships to cover their tuition and living costs.’
These guidelines are not intended as a strict recommendation, but rather as a point of reference, stresses Veidemane. ‘It’s all about learning from each other and coming up with indicators that fit the specific context of the university. Because ideas on who are considered under-represented students differ across countries and even regions. In some places, institutes might focus on low socio-economic status, while others focus on gender balance or first-generation students.’
Making impact
While the indicators on social inclusion still need further development, the UT researchers hope they will become part of rankings and comparisons in higher education. ‘Social inequality is still a big issue and universities have a big role to play,’ says Kaiser. ‘We hope to take this further and make some impact. We envision to include the indicators in U-Multirank and perhaps other rankings, such as Times Higher Education, will also adjust their indicators. At the very least, we can influence the discussion about social inclusion at the UT and have impact at our own university.’
