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Widening Participation Experiences in England

Widening Participation Experiences in England. Forum on higher education and social inclusion Melbourne 16 th July 2008. Steve Egan Deputy Chief Executive. HEFCE strategic plan 2006- 2011 Aim:

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Widening Participation Experiences in England

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  1. Widening Participation Experiences in England Forum on higher education and social inclusion Melbourne 16th July 2008 Steve Egan Deputy Chief Executive

  2. HEFCE strategic plan 2006- 2011 • Aim: • To promote and provide the opportunity of successful participation in HE to everyone who can benefit from it. • Objectives: • To increase and widen participation in HE. • To stimulate and sustain new sources of demand for HE among under-represented communities and to influence supply accordingly. • To improve opportunities for lifelong learning for everyone who can benefit. • To embed widening participation in the corporate policy and practice of HEIs.

  3. Myths about widening participation • Widening participation lowers academic standard • WP students drop out at a higher rate • The social class participation gap remains unchanged • WP is social engineering

  4. Equal opportunities and social inclusion Increased productivity and economic competitiveness Change what we mean by higher education for a more diverse body of learners The case for widening access and strategic direction

  5. Key issues in HE in England • Lower socio-economic groups are under-represented • Men are under-represented • Need to raise aspiration, attainment and progression to HE for learners from under-represented groups • Retention • Target of 40% level 4 by 2020

  6. What do we mean by ‘widening participation’? • Addressing social inequalities in access to higher education • Who are we targeting? • NS-SEC groups 4 – 7 • areas of relative deprivation • Parents or carers with no background in HE • Learners with a disability • Young people aged 13-19 and adults under 30 from groups that are under-represented in higher education • Other groups not excluded – low SEC is the key

  7. Full-time young participation by socio-economic class

  8. Women are over-represented in comparison to menYoung (17 to 20) Higher Education Initial Participation Rates (HEIPR) by sex 1999-00 to 2005-06

  9. Research from HEFCE-funded agencies and government Research direct from the sector HEFCE directly - commissioned research: ‘Four cities’, 2007 Identifying the issues

  10. Key barriers and Issues • Aspiration and attainment • Advice • Finance

  11. Programmes of support and intervention (1/3) Student support – Office For Fair Access (OFFA) • Approved access agreements • 95% of institutions charging full fee • £96 million spent on bursaries and scholarships for lower income students in 2006-07 • Total investment in bursaries and scholarships for the sector is around 21% of additional fee income • £21 million additional investment in outreach work in 2006-07

  12. Government student support package • Student loans • Means tested maintenance grants • Access to learning fund

  13. Programmes of support and intervention (2/3) Aspiration and attainment raising:

  14. Progression and curriculum reform • £103 million invested in 30 Lifelong Learning Networks (LLNs) • HEFCE supports other initiatives such as science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) programmes to increase the numbers of young people progressing to an HE qualification

  15. Programmes of support and intervention (3/3) Funding for recruitment and retention • 2008-09: £352million allocated by HEFCE to higher education institutions • £1million available in 2008 to fund additional projects to identify good practice relating to retention

  16. Measuring change: performance indicators (PIs) • Measure of UK-wide HEI performance • Russell Group institutions tend to perform lower than newer universities but there has been some improvement • Year on year comparison – allows us to track progress in attracting under-represented learners

  17. Widening Participation – Performance Indicators

  18. Progress and the future • The ‘gap’ is narrowing • Report by the National Audit Office June 2008: • Women are now better represented than men • non-white ethnic groups are better represented than white people • Continued firm government commitment to WP • Ongoing need to build firmer evidence bases for WP interventions and their success

  19. Widening Participation Experiences in England Forum on higher education and social inclusion Melbourne 16th July 2008 Steve Egan Deputy Chief Executive

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