‘Inclusivity’ is a word that gets thrown around a lot in university, and sometimes it feels like a slogan instead of a process people apply to their daily lives. After my three years of being at university, as an international student; I feel like inclusivity happens with the new friends we make and the way we listen to them. Universities bring people from across the globe with different experiences, personalities, and learning styles together in one place. You will know that you don’t know the full story of everyone in your classroom. That being the case, this opens a chance for you to greet your classmates or anyone in general with a perspective of curiosity instead of judgment. It’s always important to consider where people might be feeling excluded, for example, a group project meeting. The same voices might take the lead if no one is mindful enough to pause and think “Has everyone been heard from yet?”. Language is important too, using people’s right names and pronouns, stopping yourself from making jokes if someone has a word that hurts them (Harvard Business, 2020). These are all small things that begin to establish trust; being inclusive doesn’t mean you’re perfect. You will make mistakes. I know I do. Learn from them and move forward. Inclusion isn’t something to be added to an agenda, It’s the basis for effective learning (Harvard Business,2020). It’s for making and keeping those friends you made in university, and for a campus where more people feel like they belong. And the best thing is that we all have a part to play in creating this reality.
Shared Responsibility in Practicing Inclusivity
Inclusivity is made possible if we were to consider it a responsibility everyone shares, and not only the universities concern. As I mentioned earlier, it involves how we prepare to work in groups, how we respond to each other if we don’t agree with each other’s views, and how understanding we are when someone has a different perspective. For example, asking a classmate you haven’t spoken to before but are assigned in the same group what they would feel comfortable working on in the project. Or being observant enough to realize when one of your group members is lost in the discussion, this is when you can take the initiative to clear the misunderstanding and proceed (University of Oxford,2024). This will all go a long way towards creating a comfortable environment, where everyone has a chance to contribute without focusing on correcting each other but creating routines where everyone feels heard (University of Oxford,2024).
What It Feels Like to Not Be Represented
Feeling like you’re not heard or misunderstood has been a very common issue happening with university students, with 50% of students feeling like ‘they don’t have a voice’. Being unheard or misunderstood is becoming a regular experience for the average Uni student, and it is very much a problem of inclusivity. The fact that half of Uni students feel like they do not have a voice on campus means that not all students feel represented or valued on campus where the decisions are made. Students feel this when their opinions are ignored in the classroom (Education Week,2019). In the end, the effects of not feeling included on campus make the university environment, where everyone is supposed to be welcomed, also a place where not everyone’s voice is heard. Being left out is not the only thing that happens, because when Uni students feel like they do not have a voice, they feel invisible . I haven’t felt this way in my university, but I felt like this should be mentioned to speak about all the issues of not being inclusive.
What Universities Can Do
Universities need to build areas where the opinions and thoughts of students actually count. This can be from lecturers wanting to listen to the input of students and actually taking it into consideration (Oxford Academic,2025). As well as listening to the voices of students in societies that have a positive impact on students’ wellbeing. Even the smallest steps, such as better ways of voicing concerns or follow-through sessions in class make a difference(Oxford Academic,2025). This helps the students feel that their thoughts are represented, and the feeling of invisibility lessens. Luckily, in Westminster as an international student, I have felt that our thoughts and concerns have always been their priority. In the University of Westminster, we have so many societies that you can feel represented in. The university has always sent forms when we approach the end of a semester about your modules where you can always voice your opinions. Another example I can use from my university is our student hub, the center where your voice matters. Overall universities need to be taking these approaches to genuinely make students feel represented and heard.
As I finish typing this blog, I wanted to conclude it with my final thoughts on this topic. Being inclusive in university is just creating space where students understand that their opinion matters. Being inclusive is not only about being supportive when someone voices their concerns; but also about giving students the chance to have their voices heard and make a difference. When a university hears, follows up, and gives their students a way to contribute, it builds trust. When it provides societies where they can see themselves, it builds a sense of belonging. Even with this increasing awareness among universities, inclusivity also provides them with the opportunity to create learning environments where each student can participate actively.
References:
The Three A’s of Inclusion: Awareness, Authenticity, and Accountability. (2020). Available at: https://www.harvardbusiness.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/The-Three-A-s-of-Inclusion-Awareness-Authenticity-Accountability.pdf.
University of Oxford (2024). IncludED: a Guide to Inclusive Teaching. [online] www.ctl.ox.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.ctl.ox.ac.uk/included-a-guide-to-inclusive-teaching.
Wallace, M. (2024). In a Time of Unrest, How Can College Students Feel Heard on Campus? – Possip. [online] Possip. Available at: https://possip.com/in-a-time-of-unrest-how-can-college-students-feel-heard-on-campus/.
Torres, C. (2019). Silence Will Not Save Us: Why We Cannot Ignore Students’ Experiences (Opinion). [online] Education Week. Available at: https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-silence-will-not-save-us-why-we-cannot-ignore-students-experiences/2019/07.
Kehe, D. (2024). How We Can Help Our Students Who Feel Invisible. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/teachers-on-fire/how-we-can-help-our-students-who-feel-invisible-dbc55b88b63d [Accessed 11 Dec. 2025].
Fung, D. and Lo, Y.Y. (2025). Teacher input prompts and student listening strategies in EMI classes. ELT Journal. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccaf021.
Westminster.ac.uk. (2019). University of Westminster, London. [online] Available at: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/.
Westminster.ac.uk. (2025). Students’ Union | University of Westminster, London. [online] Available at: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/current-students/university-life/students-union [Accessed 11 Dec. 2025].
Westminster.ac.uk. (2019). Student hub | University of Westminster, London. [online] Available at: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/current-students.