Widening participation strategic assessments
Frequently asked questions
HEFCE 2009/01 asks all higher education institutions and further education colleges to submit widening participation strategic assessments by 30 June 2009. These strategic assessments are institutional statements that outline an institution's overarching commitment to widening participation. They provide an opportunity for institutions to set out all that they are doing in widening participation and how widening participation is embedded within the culture, policy and practice of diverse institutions.
Last updated 12 January 2009
Contents
- What are the benefits of widening participation strategic assessments for the higher education sector and for students?
- What implication does the introduction of strategic assessments have for access agreements?
- Will institutions have to submit new access agreements alongside their strategic assessments?
- Isn't this an unnecessary bureaucratic burden for institutions? What will HEFCE and OFFA do with the assessments once they have been submitted?
- HEFCE's priority in the past has been to embed widening participation activity within the work of the institution. Does having a requirement for a standalone strategy show that this policy has failed and that WP is reduced to the margins of institutional activity?
1. What are the benefits of widening participation strategic assessments for the higher education sector and for students?
We believe that a single document that publicly outlines the overarching institutional commitment to widening participation (WP) will have real benefits to institutions and their students. As well as providing public reassurance, strategic assessments will give greater coherence and structure to institutions' WP commitment. This may help them identify gaps in their provision and support for learners. Bringing this institutional commitment together in one document will provide an opportunity for institutions to demonstrate, and take credit for, all that they are doing in respect of WP. It will also help institutions overcome some of the information gaps and misconceptions that result from only reporting on expenditure from additional income in access agreement monitoring reports.
2. What implication does the introduction of strategic assessments have for access agreements?
Access agreements continue to be a legislative requirement. Institutions will still need to report against these to the Office for Fair Access. Institutions are being invited to append access agreements to their strategic assessments so that the two documents can cross-refer to each other. This will enable OFFA and HEFCE to work together more closely in understanding the full extent of institutions' widening participation activity and commitment.
3. Will institutions have to submit new access agreements alongside their strategic assessments?
No, they will not have to submit new access agreements. Institutions are being invited to append their existing access agreements to their strategic assessments so that the two documents can cross-refer to each other. But, institutions may want to amend their access agreements to avoid duplication between the two documents - for example, they may choose to prune information such as 'WP background', including it in their strategic assessment instead.
4. Isn't this an unnecessary bureaucratic burden for institutions? What will HEFCE and OFFA do with the assessments once they have been submitted?
Strategic assessments will fill a very important information gap. The National Audit Office report, 'Widening participation in higher education' (June 2008) and the National Council for Educational Excellence's recommendations (October 2008) have both highlighted that we need to know more about what impact institutional widening participation funds are having, across all institutions. These assessments will give us that information, and act as a basis for further dialogue with institutions.
The assessments must be submitted by 30 June 2009 and we will undertake a thorough analysis of the information submitted over the summer months. As part of this, we will be commissioning a meta-analysis to get a broad sector overview. We will also work with Action on Access and the Higher Education Academy to disseminate good practice.
Institutions will then submit an interim progress report in December 2009 with annual reports submitted in December each year thereafter to form part of the 'single conversation'.
HEFCE and OFFA's aim is that strategic assessments should be developmental, in order to help inform institutional activities and HEFCE's policy development.
5. HEFCE's priority in the past has been to embed widening participation activity within the work of the institution. Does having a requirement for a standalone strategy show that this policy has failed and that WP is reduced to the margins of institutional activity?
No. This is a flexible form of reporting which allows institutions to use their own, existing corporate documents to show how WP has become an integral part of the policies, processes and cultures in their institutions. The additional evidence we will gather from the process will enable us to illustrate robustly how institutions demonstrate a commitment to WP and how this contributes to the development of diverse student bodies.