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Black British minority ethnic (BME) students are nationally underachieving in comparison to their Ethnic Chinese and White peers, typically 16% graduate attainment gap in the UK. Previous research has suggested that attainment gap could be explained by BME students’; lack of sense of belonging; disengagement; typically commute from their family home to University; typically have part-time employment. However, peer assisted learning (PAL) has been shown to have a positive impact on addressing and resolving students’ alienation and disengagement. However, a question still remains regarding whether student perceptions hold up to statistical analysis of learning performance when scrutinised in comparison to similar cohorts without PAL interventions. \ud This paper presents the results of a statistical study for two cohorts of students on engineering courses with a disproportionately high representation of BME students. The research method undertook a statistical analysis of student records for the two cohorts to ascertain any patterns of correlation between: PAL; student ethnicity; and student parental employment upon student academic performance; and placement attainment. Student family employment background has been shown to typically influence student engagement and retention on educational studies. \ud The analysis of the results of the two cohorts indicate that PAL has no significant impact on the academic performance; however PAL has a positive impact upon the placement attainment for BME students and students with parents in non-managerial/professional employment. Previous research evaluation of peer assisted learning programmes have focused on quantitative study of students’ surveys and qualitative semi-structured research interviews with students on their student engagement and learning experience. Whereas this paper evaluates the intervention from a quantitative statistical analysis of the student records data approach to evaluate the impact of the peer assisted learning has on a cohort’s academic performance and placement attainment in comparison to different social categories (classifications). The results are compared with the results of another cohort with a similar student profile, but has no peer assisted learning intervention implementation

The national British Minority Ethnic (BME) attainment gap is 16% (Berry and Loke, 2011). BME students frequently report being isolated and lonely (Cotton et al, 2011), and experience derisory support (NUS, 2011). At Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) a pilot Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) programme on an engineering course to aid inclusivity, as at UCL PAL has increased student retention (Angelini, 2011). The initial results at SHU are positive: \ud "They [Mentors] kept me on a course and reassured me that we will get to cover what I signed up for somewhere in the future as I felt that the course was not what the university said it would be and was considering dropping out."\ud However, the PAL costs are unsustainable to be replicate across all engineering courses. This workshop proposes a World Cafe, Brown (2005), to promote knowledge exchange between conference delegates of academics, students and administrative support to identify what would be required, by whom, and how to make a PAL programme sustainable for all engineering students. A world cafe workshop with table clothes (Fouche and Light, 2011) provides framework for focus groups participants to converse, share and capture the cross-pollinate ideas, realistic and viable outputs Schieffer (2004).\ud Angelini, M. (2011) Measuring the effects of Peer-Assisted Learning on the development of students in transition to maths-based teaching programs. In CETL-MSOR Conference 2011 (p. 9).\ud Berry, J. & Loke, G. (2011) Ethnicity and Degree Attainment. DfeS Research Report RW92. London: DfES\ud Brown, J. (2005). The world café: Shaping our futures through conversations that matter. Berrett-Koehler Store.\ud Cotton, D., George, R. & Joyner, M. (2010) The Gender and Ethnicity Attainment Gap Project: Executive Summary. Plymouth: Teaching and Learning Directorate, Plymouth University.\ud Fouché, C., & Light, G. (2011). An Invitation to Dialogue ‘The World Café’In Social Work Research. Qualitative Social Work, 10(1), 28-48.\ud NUS. (2011). Race for equality. A report on the experiences of Black students in further and higher education. London: \ud Schieffer, A., Isaacs, D., and Gyllenpalm, B. (2004). The world café: part one. World