ABSTRACT
Research indicating that students classed as Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) tend to achieve degree outcomes that are lower than their non-BME counterparts has been available for a number of years. However, it is in the degree attainment that the gap between BME and non-BME students is most apparent, and this therefore became a key performance indicator for the Derby project. This chapter considers some of the lessons drawn from one university in wanting to do something and finding the right balance between strategic leadership and operational interventions. In common with many modern universities in the UK, the University of Derby has a long history in prior incarnations before achieving university status in 1992. Those incarnations as a diocesan teacher training facility, an art school and a college of science and technology were all driven by responding to local needs by creating new opportunities for applicants.
