In the Commission’s consultations, students from African backgrounds noted that it could be more difficult for them to access placements given workplace discrimination and bias, consequently creating barriers to progress in their coursework. Practical placements were also noted as an issue for the broader international student cohort, with concerns about the quality of placements on offer and experiences of racism when completing the placement. With numerous university qualifications that require practical components, this poses a significant challenge for universities. Successful completion of placements is a requirement for these degrees, and it is concerning if students are failing or choosing to withdraw based on poor experiences. This will require careful consideration of how to educate and regulate course requirements off-campus. Ongoing questioning of English language proficiency and suspicion that international students cheat contribute to poor student experiences and often disengage them from studies. Students told the Commission how important it is to feel welcome and trusted. Without these feelings of belonging, student experience and performance can decline and lead to disengagement from university. International students described a lack of diversity among academic staff, with students finding it difficult to see themselves represented in faculties and leadership positions. The lack of visible role models can be a barrier to progression to higher degrees, undermining feelings of belonging and inclusion. Recent research also highlighted a bias in academics in responding to emails from people with non-white sounding names. The research, which looked at the propensity of academics to answer emails about a meeting to discuss potential PhD supervision, found that white sounding names averaged a 7% higher reply rate and a 9% higher positive response rate than the non-white sounding names. 68 This experience was echoed in consultations with some academics describing similar experiences. (b) Staff experiences In initial consultations, First Nations academics, and academics from other negatively racialised backgrounds, described numerous examples of interpersonal and institutional racism. General themes emerged around feeling ‘othered’ and less confident expressing their opinions or identity. Workplace structures, with high levels of casualisation and a hierarchical academic structure, compounded this. For instance, academics who spoke with the Commission highlighted how negative student feedback can perpetuate racism, particularly for those teaching challenging subjects such as race theory or Australia’s settler colonial foundations. Anonymous feedback from students can be hurtful and, at times, 44