The British public is generally supportive of universities teaching a broader range of perspectives and targeting particular groups for admissions, according to new polling that found little enthusiasm for a US-style purge of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives.

Amid increasing attacks on EDI?in the UK and across the Atlantic, the thinktank More in Common, along with researchers from the University of Oxford and UCL set out to discover whether attitudes among the public had changed since a similar study was?published in March 2024.

The latest research?finds that, overall, a majority continue to think EDI is a good thing, but scepticism has grown, with 52 per cent now likely to see EDI positively compared with 62 per cent previously.

But a minority of three in 10 say they would view businesses, universities or government more positively if they cut back on EDI, with most saying it would make no difference.

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Regarding?universities ¨C often the battleground for these types of debates ¨C the public appeared split on various interventions.

The polling finds that people are more likely to say EDI does not restrict free speech?on campus ¨C but a significant minority (30 per cent) believe that it does. More than half (56 per cent) think EDI policies do not undermine academic excellence.

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Most support universities providing diversity training for academics, mirroring a similar attitude towards EDI in all workplaces.

But on policies specific to higher education, there was more debate. The public supports diversifying the curriculum when it was framed as ¡°broadening the curriculum to include more perspectives from non-European countries¡± but less so when it was branded ¡°decolonisation¡±.

The public is slightly more likely than not to support universities declining to host speakers who might express offensive views. Thirty-seven per cent agree institutions should do this compared with 28 per cent who disagree.

There was also a split on having targets for academics and students from minority backgrounds, and?most opposed scholarships?specifically for ethnic minority applicants.

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There was more support for targets on women in academic positions and increasing access for students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Roughly one in three took a neutral position on many of these questions, which the authors said could reflect a reluctance to weigh in on debates about what is seen as a controversial topic or could represent genuine indifference.

¡°Those who did not themselves go to university are significantly more likely to say they are unsure about questions around EDI-related activity in universities,¡± the report says.

Tim Soutphommasane, chief diversity officer at Oxford and co-author of the report said that ¡°properly understood, EDI in universities is about creating the conditions for academic excellence¡±.

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¡°And it should go hand in hand with a commitment to free speech. As this study highlights, there is majority support for a range of initiatives aimed at creating a more inclusive culture within universities, and most (56%) think EDI policies don¡¯t undermine academic excellence.¡±

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com