Goal 10: Policies, processes and practices

The following page outlines specific policies, process and practices in support of Sustainable Development Goal 10 Reduced inequalities.

Non-discriminatory admissions policy 

We have a public admissions policy (reviewed 2021) which is non-discriminatory and sets out fair access principles across undergraduate and postgraduate recruitment, including widening participation commitments. We apply evidence-based positive action through contextual admissions, assessing each UCAS application in the context of an applicant’s circumstances and, where eligible, making contextual offers to ensure a fairer assessment of potential. Our guidance explains that contextual information is considered automatically and what kinds of circumstances and indicators are used (for example postcode disadvantage, school performance, care experience or refugee status). These policies are complemented by widening participation programmes and access schemes that support applicants from under-represented groups.

Underrepresented groups – tracking applications 

We systematically measure and track applications, offers and admissions for under-represented groups including ethnic minorities, women, disabled students, LGBTQ+ students, those from low-income and first-generation backgrounds, and newly settled refugees. Data are published annually through our Access and Participation Plan, Office for Students and HESA returns, and our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Reports. These data inform our widening-participation targets and help us monitor progress on equality of access in line with SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Our Access and Participation Plan outlines admissions statistics of different groups of students, especially those currently underrepresented within the University. It describes how these aspects are tracked during the admissions process to ensure fair access for all students, regardless of background.  For examples this shows that we have had increases in students from Low Participation Neighbourhoods and that this has been primarily those from students who are Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic groups (an increase of 2.5% over the last five years, compared to just 0.3% for White low participation neighbourhood students) and particularly Asian students. Over the same period we saw a big increase in participation of female low participation neighbourhood students (2.2%), compared to just 0.6% for males.

We produce an annual report on  Access and Student Success and use PowerBI reporting to look at the number of offers made to different groups of students. We also produce annual Equality Information Reports which contain statistics on underrepresentation across age, disability, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation.

Underrepresented groups – recruitment 

We deliver a range of programmes to recruit students, staff, and faculty from underrepresented groups. This is evidenced in our annual report on Access and Student Success. 

Our widening participation initiatives, including the Manchester Access Programme and Gateways Programme, engage learners from primary through post-16 education. In 2023–24, the University worked with 50,566 students across 1,195 schools and colleges, prioritising areas with low progression to higher education. New initiatives such as Manchester Young Academics and mA*ths Online were introduced to support high-achieving students in mathematics from underrepresented backgrounds. Within the Faculty of Science and Engineering, 296 prospective undergraduate students from disadvantaged backgrounds received mentoring to support their transition to university.

Over £11 million was distributed to 5,900 students through bursaries and scholarships, including the Manchester Bursary and Undergraduate Access Scholarship, both targeted at low-income households. The Black Leadership Programme, part of the Manchester 10/10 Initiative, supports Black students in leadership and professional development, while the Global Graduates Programme funded 37 students from underrepresented backgrounds to gain international experience and enhance employability.

We also actively recruit and support forced-migrant students through our Sanctuary Scholarships, which cover tuition fees and living costs for asylum seekers and newly settled refugees, enabling them to enter higher education and contribute to our learning community. We also welcome staff affected by war, famine and conflict through our work with CARA (the Council for At-Risk Academics ) to help academics from any country in the world, on any continent, who are being forced to flee by the risk of imminent imprisonment, injury or death, and works with them to find them temporary refuge in universities and research institutions until they can one day return home to help re-build better, safer societies.

The Access and Participation Plan (2025–2028) includes a strategic objective to increase applications, admissions, and progression of students from underrepresented groups. Delivery is coordinated through a dedicated staff collaboration hub, with cross-cutting workshops on inclusive recruitment and access.

Among our staff we want to ensure that local people, who are underrepresented in our workforce, have opportunities to work at the University and so we established an initiative called The Works to address this. As a Disability Confident employer, we commit to interviewing all disabled applicants who meet all of the essential criteria set out in the person specification. Further our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy and Recruitment and Selection Policy embed inclusive hiring practices across all faculties and professional services. Person specifications are reviewed to remove bias, panels receive EDI training, and short-listing targets ensure fair representation.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee 

We have a well-established Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) governance structure responsible for embedding diversity, equity, inclusion, and human rights across the University. Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) committee is chaired by the Vice-President for Social Responsibility and includes representatives from all faculties, professional services, staff networks, and the Students’ Union. The committee reports directly to the University’s Senior Leadership Team and Senate, ensuring that EDI priorities are integrated into institutional strategy and decision-making.

Our EDI work is supported by staff in our central EDI team, whose role is to advise on and implement policies, programmes, and trainings related to diversity, equity, inclusion and human rights on campus. They also work with our governing bodies, and present annual data and information in terms of diversity of our workforce. 

Support for underrepresented groups 

We offer a wide range of support to staff, students and faculty members from underrepresented groups.  

Our EDI team co-ordinates a variety of staff network groups that provide mentoring, peer support and socialising opportunities for various underrepresented groups such as women, BAME staff, those with a disability and more. We also deliver targeted EDI leadership programmes to address structural underrepresentation and promote inclusion across all levels of the University.

Our students are also provided with extensive mentoring and peer support – both for specific groups of students and more broadly. Examples include at our Counselling Service where we provide specific LGBTQ support, run peer-to-peer workshops on issues such as stress and anxiety and specific support for people with mental health challenges and disabilities.  

Access and support for those with disabilities 

We provide accessible facilities for people with disabilities. We work in partnership with AccessAble to provide a detailed access guide for all our buildings from a pan-disability perspective. Every venue is visited and assessed in person by a highly trained surveyor. All new buildings are also built to include disabled access during construction. Many buildings also have the Deaf Alerter fire alarm warning and PA system. We have a Disability Advisory Support Service that helps all staff who have a disability to access support. 

We support students with a large range of conditions that can affect their university life, we do this through access schemes, mentoring and other targeted support. Our University Support Plan is a confidential, tailored plan of support that the University will put in place for any individual with additional needs. We provide a Disability Adviser and Assistant Disability Adviser in the Disability Advisory and Support Service (DASS), who will be a main point of contact to discuss any disability and study related difficulties. Our students can access a Specialist Mentor, through our targeted Autism Spectrum Condition support, who help them get used to the new environment at University.

For our members of staff, we have a Disability Advisory Support Service that supports all disabled staff employed by the University as well as staff working with disabled staff. We also provide specialist mentors to help people with disabilities complete various tasks (transition/ notetaking/l ab/ personal assistant support) as well as generally helping to settle into the new environment at university. Where the University does not have in-house support, we source this from Quality Assurance Group accredited Non-Medical Helper providers. 

Reasonable accommodation 

We have a reasonable accommodation strategy for people with disabilities including adequate funding. 

Our accommodation strategies include providing a variety of adjustments e.g., wheelchair accessible rooms; ensuites; hoists; vibrating pillows and deaf alerters/flashing lights; disabled parking; fridge in rooms to store medication and pastoral care.   

We support also students with funding applications for the UK’s Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) grants. These are non-repayable grants to help pay for the extra essential costs that people may have as a direct result of their disability.