University backs alliance for Black students
Birmingham City University (BCU) is backing a bold new national partnership to help develop a community for Black university students.
BCU, the National Union of Students (NUS) and the African and Caribbean Students Network (ACSN) have announced the creation of the National African-Caribbean Society (ACS) Alliance, bringing together student leaders and institutions to drive sector-wide change.
The Alliance will be formally launched at the first National ACS Conference, hosted at BCU’s Curzon Building on 28-29 May 2026.
The conference will focus on student leadership, tackling institutional racism and strengthening networks across African and Caribbean societies nationwide.
Birmingham has been selected as the host city due to its young and diverse population, with 12.9 per cent of under 16’s identifying as Black or Black British.
Dr Melanie-Marie Haywood, Dean of Students at BCU, (pictured) said: “The National ACS Alliance is first and foremost and building community.
“By working in partnership with the NUS and the ACS Network we are creating the first national space where Black, African and Caribbean heritage students can connect, organise, and learn from one another.
“This is a celebratory moment because it affirms the role ACS have always played in nurturing identity, confidence and leadership, and it marks a step forward in building a sector where Black students are supported not in isolation, but together.
Figures from 2021-22 show that Black students are half as likely to graduate with a first-class degree as their white peers, highlighting racial inequalities in higher education.
The Alliance will also highlight inequalities in graduate outcomes. While university degrees increase earnings across all groups, disparities remain.
Institute for Fiscal Studies data shows a white British woman can expect to earn 28% more with a degree, compared to 20% for Black African women and 9% for Black Caribbean women.
