Our outcomes report on responses to new priorities for access and participation plans has found promising signs of progress, with 90 per cent of universities and colleges with a plan submitting variations to respond to the priorities of John Blake, Director for Fair Access and Participation at the OfS.
Last year, we announced new priorities for regulating access and participation and asked providers to request variations to their existing access and participation plans in response to the priorities. These four priorities focused on improving the transparency of access and participation plans for students; raising attainment in schools; ensuring better student outcomes; and developing more flexible and diverse pathways into higher education. One of the findings from the report evaluating the outcome of these variation requests found that universities and colleges are demonstrating their ability to meaningfully contribute to addressing our new priorities,
John Blake, Director for Fair Access and Participation at the OfS, said:
“It is good to see that many universities and colleges have already begun working with schools to improve student attainment, which will pay dividends for a student’s higher education journey. An overwhelming majority of universities and colleges are developing plans designed to improve attainment, which is crucial to ensure equality of opportunity.
“The report shows that the OfS’s Uni Connect programme is reaching students across England to boost and support their transition into higher education. Universities and colleges should continue targeting the needs of local schools and students in their outreach work.
“There are also welcome signs that universities and colleges are considering how best to evaluate the impact of their work in this area. Many are already working in partnership, including with other universities and colleges and with TASO (a hub for higher education professionals to access resources to help improve equality), to share and disseminate their findings. This is so important in building a shared knowledge of the types of interventions which work best, and helping to build activities and strategies which are demonstrably effective.
"Students from all backgrounds should be able to benefit from the life-changing opportunities higher education offers. While it is encouraging to see a diverse range of courses – including an increase in degree apprenticeship, we are still eager to see universities and colleges improve on their approaches to flexible study. To ensure a lasting and meaningful impact for these promising new initiatives, we encourage further development, design, delivery, and evaluation from universities and colleges."
A letter detailing updates to our work in this area, including when we plan to publish a consultation response and further guidance, has been sent to universities and colleges today. This includes proposed changes to the timings of submission of new access and participation plans, which is a direct response to the emerging findings of a consultation into the future of equality of opportunity regulation.