Targeting the Aimhigher and widening participation resource
In 2007, we set up a task group at the request of the Minister of State for Higher Education and Lifelong Learning to review the way widening participation activity in higher education (HE) is targeted, including Aimhigher.
Guidance
As part of this review, the task group produced guidance for higher education institutions and Aimhigher partnerships (HEFCE 2007/12). This guidance:
- refines the definition of the target cohort for Aimhigher and other outreach activity delivered by higher education providers
- provides a methodology which will make the targeting process more effective
- sets out a process for measuring the effectiveness of targeting
- sets out a three-stage model to ensure that the majority of learner beneficiaries will come from the target group.
The guidance states that as a principle:
'Resources should be targeted at learners with the potential to benefit from higher education who come from under-represented communities. Overwhelmingly these learners are from lower socio-economic groups (groups 4-8 in the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification, NS-SEC), and those from disadvantaged backgrounds who live in areas of relative deprivation where participation in HE is low.' (See paragraphs 21 to 30 in the guidance.)
We have clarified the position of 'looked after' children in the care system and people with a disability or a specific learning difficulty in the guidance for Aimhigher partnerships 2008-11 (HEFCE 2008/05) and in our frequently asked questions about targeting higher education outreach activity.
Further information
For further information contact Clair Murphy, tel 0117 931 7138, c.murphy@hefce.ac.uk.
Last updated 10 September 2009