Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) – a leader in widening access to higher education in Scotland – is well placed to increase access to postgraduate study for British Muslims from low-income backgrounds. Determined to eradicate all forms of education inequality in order to make GCU as inclusive an institution as possible, over 20% of its Scottish entrants are from the 20% most deprived backgrounds. This is above the sector average.

There are several initiatives and programmes in place to narrow the BME awarding gap including, but not limited to, the Dignity at Work and Study Policy as well as the Understanding Unconscious Bias online course which aims to highlight how unconscious or hidden bias can impact on the workplace. Since signing the Advance HE’s Tackling Racism on Campus initiative in 2020, GCU introduced staff training to raise awareness of racism and racial inequality and rolled out workshops to aid staff awareness and understanding of intercultural practices and beliefs.

As well as developing its Religious Observance Policy in 2020 to ensure students are treated fairly, the institution also boasts a stand-alone multi-faith centre, with GCU’s Faith and Belief Centre dedicating Fridays to Muslim prayers. The institution has employed a Muslim Chaplain to support Muslim students and staff.