29 November 2006

Widening access given further push in higher education proposals - Rammell

A review commissioned by Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell into outreach activities by Higher Education institutions, was launched today at a Widening Participation Symposium.

The symposium, which was arranged by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in order to generate discussion on how to further narrow the social class gap in Higher Education, brought together a group of educational experts from Universities, colleges and other parts of the education sector across the country. Attendees at the meeting engaged in debates and workshops that sought to find ways to make faster progress in opening up Higher Education to all.

Among findings of the review which was carried out by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) were that 89% of the institutions surveyed rated their progress in Widening Participation in the past four years as strong or very strong, with universities engaged in a number of outreach activities to attract students from all backgrounds such as looked after children, white working class boys, the disabled, and first generation entrants to higher education. The Minister welcomed this news but said that this level of commitment is something that needed to be strengthened and further nurtured.

Mr Rammell also launched a booklet comprising a range of measures which the DfES will take to further improve participation in Higher Education (HE). These include:

The development of up to 10 new partnerships between universities, colleges and schools to work with gifted and talented young people from deprived backgrounds, helping them to strive for entry to universities with the most demanding entry requirements.
Three new projects with the Royal College of Veterinary surgeons, Engineering Council UK and Royal Society of Chemistry. These projects will help to address barriers to professions that some students, but particularly those from lower socio economic groups, may face.
Exploration of an "Earn to Learn" concept - this might involve employment contracts whereby for example employees might work for 50% of the time and study for the other 50%.
Asking HEFCE and the LSC to investigate what needs to be done to address problems in some parts of the country where access to HE is limited.

Bill Rammell said:

"I'm absolutely determined to make this life-enriching experience of Higher Education accessible to everyone with the desire and potential to benefit. We need to do more, we need to do it quicker and we need to do it together. That is why I met today with educational experts to discuss what more we can do to increase the number of people from under-represented groups - particularly those from low socio-economic groups - to overcome the real and perceived barriers they face in getting to and succeeding in HE."

"There's much in the HEFCE review to celebrate. However, it emphasised that more can be done to target our outreach activities more effectively - to help maximise the impact of Aimhigher partnerships and other outreach by HEIs. This is why I'm asking Aimhigher partnerships to prioritise those from lower socio-economic groups in all of their activities including their work with gifted and talented pupils and I am also asking HEFCE to develop a set of practical recommendations on how to better target outreach activities by April next year."

Professor David Eastwood, Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, said:

'This review shows that universities and colleges have a long-term commitment to widening participation. We need to reinforce and nurture that commitment to ensure that everybody who can benefit from higher education, irrespective of background, has the opportunity to do so.

'We also need better evidence to evaluate the impact of their activities and will be working with the DfES and other partners to achieve more effective ways of measuring progress. As the review demonstrates there are many examples of good practice to build on.'

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The review was commissioned in July 2006 following publication of the last set of performance indicators from the Higher Education Statistics Agency. It can be found on www.hefce.ac.uk/widen

2. Copies of the booklet Widening participation in higher education can be found on www.dfes.gov.uk

3. The Gateways Development Fund (up to £6m over three years) was established following publication of the report and the Government's response in November 2005. It will support projects that tackle the full range of issues and barriers faced by people seeking to enter the professions through higher education