March 2003/09
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| To: | Heads of HEFCE-funded higher education institutions Heads of universities in Northern Ireland |
| Of interest to those responsible for: | Widening participation, corporate planning |
| Reference: | 2003/09 |
| Publication date: | March 2003 |
| Enquiries to: | John Selby or Jennifer Newman tel 0117 931 7343 or 0117 931 7441 e-mail j.selby@hefce.ac.uk or j.newman@hefce.ac.uk |
Executive summary (read on-line)
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Executive summary
Purpose
1. In May 2001 (HEFCE 01/29) we asked higher education institutions to submit full three-year strategies and action plans for widening participation (WP). This document provides an overview of those strategies and plans, and shows the development which has taken place since 1999, when institutions submitted initial strategic statements of their approach to WP.
2. In addition to providing this overview of developments in the sector, which is of interest to policy-makers, the review will provide useful information for institutions as they monitor and revise their own strategies, providing a picture of the emerging patterns within the sector against which to benchmark their own work.
Key points
3. Significant gains have been made in institutional approaches to WP. Areas that had been identified as weak in 1999 had all improved.
4. Though there is evidence of a general improvement, there is still significant variation between institutions in the sophistication of their approaches to WP, with some excellent practice but with others taking a less strategic approach.
5. The strategies are generally well integrated with the action plans, and there is considerable evidence of links between WP and other institutional strategies, particularly for learning and teaching.
6. Two-thirds of the strategies show commitment to social inclusion, and nearly the same number focus on student success and retention.
Action required
7. None: this report is for information.