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Access
- Scotland
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The Times has reported on figures released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency which show that efforts by universities to raise their state-school intake appear to have stalled. While the overall number of young students from poorer families and comprehensives attending university rose in 2005/06, it emerged that the top 20 research-led universities had experienced no change on the previous year and for nearly three quarters there had been a fall in numbers since 2002.
(The Times, 19 July 2007)
Universities must target more schools in poor areas to raise
the number of working-class children in higher education.
In spite of spending hundreds of millions of pounds each year
on widening access, too many are falling through the net,
according to Bill Rammell, the Minister for Higher Education.
The initiative comes in the wake of a 7.4% drop in applications
from less well-off sixth-formers with a 4.5% drop for all
English undergraduates.
Despite a slight rise overall since 1998, ministers are
concerned that not enough is being done to raise aspirations
among England's most disadvantaged young people. In recent
years, all universities have actively urged working-class
pupils and ethnic minorities to enter, through the use of
summer schools, campus visits and by developing partnerships
with local schools and colleges. In an audit of the HE schemes
the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) says
that there has been "real progress" but raises fears that
it "may have stalled".
While £386 million of public funds were spent on widening
participation in 2005/06, raising retention rates and helping
disabled students, Hefce says that few universities target
schools, for fear of excluding the pupils they wish to attract.
- The number of state-educated students at Oxford dropped
to 53.4% in 2004/05 and at Cambridge fell to 56.8%
- In 1998/99, 11.6% of students that entered university
were from "low participation neighbourhoods"
- Since then the numbers have risen to 13.1% of sixth-formers
from the worst-off areas.
(The Times, 29 November 2006)
Universities are being urged to recruit more students from
poor homes by reducing their A-level offers by more than 40
UCAS points, equivalent to a C grade instead of an A. The
advice to admission tutors is contained in a report by Aimhigher,
the government-funded body set up to widen access to higher
education. It wants universities to have more access to information
about the backgrounds and circumstances of a candidate so
they can make lower offers to those in difficult circumstances
or in poorly performing schools.
The report also suggests that candidates in local authority
care or who have long-term illnesses, family problems or are
caring for a baby or sick relative should be able to gain
extra UCAS points by taking in summer schools and access courses.
This is the first time that an official body has suggested
that the grades could be dropped across the board to reflect
disadvantage.
(Telegraph, 19 October 2006)
The number of students accepted for university courses in
2006 has fallen sharply as top-up fees come into force. The
admissions service, UCAS, said the number of candidates who
have had their university places confirmed since A-level results
were released was down by 3.7% from 2005. UCAS said 344,964
students have so far had places confirmed, compared with 358,315
by the same point last year.
For the first time, from autumn 2006, students will be charge
top-up tuition fees of £3,000 a year, more than double the
current fee. Confirmed places among young students from England
were down 4.7% in 2006. But the number of students accepted
on to university courses from EU countries outside the UK
and Ireland was up by only 10% to 13,357 in 2006.
(Telegraph, 31 August 2006)
Oxford University has drawn fierce criticism from independent
schools after announcing changes to its admission system designed
to attract more pupils from poorer backgrounds. Oxford colleges
will consider the academic record of a candidate's school
when deciding whom to shortlist for interview. Pupils from
schools near the bottom of the Government's league tables
could be offered an interview while some with better grades
from top schools may miss out. The initiative has been welcomed
by those campaigning for a fairer deal for state school pupils
at leading universities. However, heads from the independent
sector said the reforms risked discriminating against hardworking
pupils from their schools.
(Guardian, 27 August 2006)
Despite efforts by the Scottish Executive to widen access,
the proportion of Scottish pupils who go on to higher education
from state schools has risen only very slightly. Figures from
the Higher Education Statistics Agency show that 86.3% of
entrants to higher education in 2004-05 came from state schools,
compared with 85.9% in 2003-04. The Scottish figure is below
the UK average of 86.6% but compares well with a figure for
England of 85.9%. Likewise, the statistics show no change
in the proportion of young full-time undergraduates from 'low-participation'
neighbourhoods, still at 20.1%. Nevertheless, this figure
is still significantly higher than the UK average of 14.4%
for 2004-05.
(TES Scotland, July 21 2006)
(top)
The proportion of state school pupils and those from low-income
families at university has dropped to its lowest level in
three years, despite government pressure to increase their
numbers. And, according to the Higher Education Statistics
Agency figures released today, the worst performer is Oxford.
The agency said that 320 fewer state-educated pupils went
to university in 2004-05, down 0.1 of a percentage point from
86.8% of 2003-04. The percentage of students from low-income
families dropped from 28.6% to 28.2%.
(The Times, 20 July 2006)
(top)
A national study commissioned by the Universities Marketing
Forum has found that fears of debt are threatening to put
off half of Britain's sixth-formers from applying to university.
As students face £3,000-a-year top-up fees from autumn 2006,
teenagers said that the high costs of living and university
fees were the main barriers to studying for a degree.
The study found that 48% of teenagers considering going to
university said that they were 'very likely' or 'quite likely'
not to go because they could not afford the cost of living.
In February 2006 universities revealed that applications had
dropped for the first time since 2000 as young people rejected
studying for a degree in favour of getting a job.
(The Times, July 3 2006)
(top)
A senior government adviser has warned that Goverment attempts
to boost the numbers of university students from poor backgrounds
are failing as England becomes more divided into a society
of haves and have-nots.
The adviser told a meeting in London, held under
the Chatham House rules of anonymity that despite the injection
of £300m into encouraging universities to widen recruitment,
the proportion of students from poor backgrounds dropped in
2005.
Young people from middle-class homes are now six times more
likely to go to university than students from working-class
backgrounds, the gathering of MPs, headteachers, university
leaders and education experts heard. Poor students would not
have a fair chance to attend university until there was a
radical reform of the school system to ensure that poor children
got better access to good schools.
"There's plenty of choice in the English school system
at the moment, as long as you're not poor," he said.
"In the UK, children from a wealthy background get a
much better education than children from deprived backgrounds."
(Independent, 30 November 2005)
Less than one-third of university students will
qualify for a full maintenance grant when tuition fees are
introduced next year, the Government has said. Ministers said
they expected around 55% of applicants to get some financial
help, with 28% likely to get the full £2,700. The Government
is due to introduce fees of up to £3,000 a year for
university courses from September 2006.
Students coming from households where the annual
income is £17,500 or less will receive a full grant
of £2,700 and those from households with an annual income
of between £17,501 and £37,425 will receive a
partial grant.
The Department for Education and Skills also
announced a rise in the amount of support available through
student loans, with increases of between 2.8% and 19.2%. The
government aims to get 50% of young people into higher education
by 2010, the current figure is 43%.
(Guardian, 15 July 2005)
A new national university entrance test that
could help spot bright youngsters from deprived homes will
be tried out in 1,000 schools in September 2005. The two-and-a-half
hour test, to be taken by sixth-formers as they start their
A-level year, is designed to identify the cleverest applicants.
It could also be used to select students with difficult backgrounds
who have the potential to do better than affluent students.
Universities have pressed for the more widespread use of entrance
tests in the wake of the growing numbers of youngsters presenting
themselves for popular courses with three grade A passes at
A-level. More than one in five A-level scripts are now awarded
an A-grade pass. The test, being developed by an international
consortium of exam boards - the University of Cambridge Local
Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) and the Australian Council
for Educational Research (ACER) - will be operational by 2008.
By then any university - or faculty within a university -
will be able to use it to sift through candidates.
(Independent, 14 April 2005)
(top)
A young person's chance of going to university is still largely
determined by whether or not he or she lives in a good neighbourhood,
despite government attempts to widen access to higher education,
according to a report by the Higher Education Funding Council
for England (HEFCE). However, it also said the introduction
of tuition fees and the replacement of student grants with
loans did not appear to have deterred students.
The report, which analysed university attendance rates for
students living in every parliamentary constituency and ward
in the UK between 1994 and 2000, found that the educational
divide had changed little.
Sir Howard Newby, the chief executive of HEFCE, said that
the report showed "stark inequalities" and "just
how entrenched the divisions are" between children from
rich and poor backgrounds. The report also revealed the growing
divide in university attendance rates between men and women.
Women were 18% more likely than men to go to university in
2000, up from 6% in 1994. Male students from poor backgrounds
were also most likely to drop out of university.
The study, Young Participation in
Higher Education, also found that a student's month
of birth had an impact on their chances of going to university.
The oldest children in a school year, born in September, were
20% more likely to go to university aged 18 than children
born in August. Mark Corver, the HEFCE analyst who compiled
the report, calculated that 12,000 students a year missed
out on university places because of the educational disadvantage
they had suffered as a result of the month of their birth.
(Independent, 20 January 2005)
(top)
Cambridge University is backing discrimination in favour of
pupils from poorly performing state schools, according to
confidential guidance to admissions tutors. A handbook to
admissions tutors in all Cambridge colleges advises that seven
A grade GCSE passes by a pupil from a poorly performing school
should be treated as equal to eight A* passes from a 'highly
selective school'.
The move is set to spark a confrontation with independent
schools who claim the policy would be "discriminatory".
Pupils from public schools such as Eton and Harrow would be
at a disadvantage, but pupils from state grammar schools and
top-performing specialist schools would also be affected.
Independent schools have warned they would find it "disturbing"
if the new approach were to be rigidly applied by admissions
staff.
(Independent, 17 January 2005)
(top)
A secondary school in Fife is breaking new ground
by arranging for its most able S3 pupils to work with student
mentors from St Andrews University on research projects as
varied as nuclear physics and classical Rome. The scheme is
being lauded for its "double-whammy" effect. It
gives pupils a glimpse of the "ivory towers" of
one of the country's top universities and it raises their
personal aspirations. It also helps the university in its
work towards widening access.
The project, entitled "Working Together
to Improve", involves inviting the 25 brightest S3 pupils
to undertake a piece of university-style research. They are
mentored by school subject teachers and St Andrews graduates
who are specialising in the pupil's chosen area of research.
By Easter, the pupils must produce a 3,000 word project and
do a PowerPoint presentation to a panel. Student mentors assist
in the presentation as well as giving direction over five
to six months in research skills.
(TES Scotland, 19 November 2004)
(top)
The number of students from the poorest backgrounds entering
Britain's top universities has increased by nearly 50% since
Labour came to power, according to a new analysis of institutions'
admissions records. Poor neighbourhoods sent 49% more youngsters
to Oxford, Cambridge and 11 other leading institutions between
1997 and 2002. There were 2,587 students from the poorest
areas admitted to the universities in 2002, out of a total
intake of 33,575, compared with just 1,741 in 1997.
The poorest students now make up 8% of the intake to those
universities compared to 6% in 1997, according to the analysis
by the Sutton Trust, the educational charity founded by Sir
Peter Lampl. However, Sir Peter, argued that the number of
poor students at top universities was still far too low. Sir
Peter said: "This is a most welcome turnaround in life
chances and suggests the beginning of a much needed levelling
of the playing field. It is being achieved without any dumbing
down but the numbers are still small."
The analysis also revealed that the average A-level grades
of entrants to these top universities had increased since
1997, countering fears that poor students were being allowed
in with lower marks. The charity said it was "a clear
indication" that there was no "dumbing down"
to admit poorer students.
(Independent, 11 November 2004)
(top)
A report by the Sutton Trust has shown that virtually all
the extra places created at 13 leading universities since
1997 have gone to state pupils. The 13, including Oxford and
Cambridge, now admit 33,575 students a year, 5,975 more than
they did in 1997. Over the same period, the number of state
school pupils that they admitted rose by 5,888, meaning that
only 87, or 1.4%, went to independent school pupils. The result
has been to increase the proportion of students from the state
sector at universities under the heaviest Government pressure
to "widen access" from 61% to 68%. The shift was
hailed as "a real success story" by Sir Peter Lampl,
chairman of the Sutton Trust, which has spent £14 million
since 1997 encouraging pupils from state schools to apply
to good universities.
(Telegraph, 2 November 2004)
(top)
A young person's background should be given the fullest consideration
when selecting students, says the Schwartz committee on fair
admissions to higher education. It says that high A-level
grades cannot be relied on because young people from skilled
manual, partly skilled or unskilled family backgrounds are
less likely to achieve high grades than those from professional,
intermediate, or skilled non-manual backgrounds.
The report says: "The effect of social background on
attainment begins to appear by the age of two. Department
for Education analysis shows that pupils in lower income households
are over-represented in schools that add the least value to
pupils' performance. This means that some applicants will
have grades lower than they might have achieved had they attended
a different school, or had their families been wealthier."
The committee recommends that universities should recognise
that talent and potential may not be fully demonstrated by
examination results. Universities had to take "a more
holistic view", which meant giving explicit consideration
to the "background and context" of applicants' achievements.
Ideally, all applicants should be holistically assessed. To
begin with, however, universities should apply holistic assessment
to borderline applicants and applicants for oversubscribed
courses. They should also use discretion to vary the weighting
and grades required of applicants from different backgrounds.
One reason for doing so was to increase the "diversity"
of the student community.
The committee said: "Exposing students to peers form
different backgrounds can be seen as an important part of
their education. It is likely to enhance all students' skills
of critical reasoning, team work and communication, and to
produce graduates better able to contribute to a diverse society."
To help admissions tutors identify those from disadvantaged
backgrounds, the committee says the applications form should
be redesigned to include a 'deprivation index' of the applicant's
home neighbourhood, "structured information about the
type of school attended" and a series of "prompts"
to elicit information about the applicant's personal circumstances.
Other recommendations include a national interview centre
where applicants would undergo only one interview on behalf
of all institutions to which he or she had applied, and the
possible introduction of a national admissions test to supplement
A-levels.
(Telegraph, 14 September 2004)
(top)
There has been much debate about how universities should
broaden their intake of students but for many working class
youngsters, this discussion is an irrelevance. Their educational
future was set when they left school at 16.
The latest findings from the Government's Youth Cohort Study
show that whether you stay on at school after 16 still depends
heavily on your social status. 95% of 16 year olds from higher
professional backgrounds were still in education or training
in 2002. The equivalent figure for the routine occupational
group was only 76%.
Truancy figures suggest many who formally quit education
and training at 16 actually gave up several years earlier.
(TES, 25 April 2003)
(top)
Research shows decades
of reform fail to close the class gap
According to research published in April 2003, middle-class
children have benefited far more than their working-class
counterparts from the expansion on university education over
the past 20 years.
The chance of a young person from a well-off background becoming
a graduate has grown at a higher rate than that of a child
from a more disadvantaged home. Bright working class girls
actually had less chance of getting a degree after the rapid
university expansion of the 1980s than they did before it.
Conversely, the chances of a low ability girls from a wealthy
background increased from 5% to 15%.
The findings, in long-term studies by researchers at the
London School of Economics (LSE) and the Institute of Education,
London, come amid renewed ministerial attempts to close the
class gap in universities.
They will also call into question the ability of the comprehensive
system to improve the life chances of children from poorer
homes.
The two teams of researchers investigated the results of
"cohort studies" which have been following the lives
of two groups of children, one born in 1958 and the other
in 1970. The LSEs centre for economic performance compared
girls' and boys' degree chances according to their ability
and their social background. They found, regardless of gender,
that across all ability ranges, more of those from middle
class backgrounds had benefited than their working-class peers
from the expansion of university education.
The researchers at the Institute of Education used the same
studies to discover how working-class pupils' chances of getting
professional jobs changed over time. They found reforms including
comprehensive schooling had failed to improve children's social
mobility.
Professor Alan Smithers of Liverpool University said that
different attitudes to education rather than university admissions
policies, may explain the disparities. "If you come from
a low income background, part of the script is to get out
of the education system as quickly as possible, to earn money,"
he said.
Changing Britain, Changing Lives is available from
the Institute of Education bookshop, call 020 7612 6050
(Guardian, 10 April 2003)
The access regulator for universities will be told to focus
on increasing the number of applications by state school students
and not to set targets for improving admissions. Charles Clarke,
the Education Secretary, is taking steps to dilute the powers
of the regulator to divert accusations of government interference
in university entrance policies. Rather than having to agree
to raise the proportion accepted from state schools, elite
universities will have to show that they are encouraging the
most talented students to apply.
(TES, 4 April 2003)
(top)
Lord Dearing, whose report on higher education led to the
introduction of tuition fees, has urged the Government to
allow grants of £2,500-a-year for students from the
poorest homes. Lord Dearing said: "We cannot afford... a divided
society in which the children born to well-heeled parents
are destined for university, while for others there is only
a one in four chance of making it." The Government will unveil
proposals for higher education in a White Paper in November
2002. It is believed to include plans to extend means-tested
allowances.
(Independent, 10 October 2002)
(top)
Leading universities have started admitting an increasing
proportion of students from state schools since the Chancellor
complained about their "elitist" policies. More than 67% of
entries to the top 13 universities came from the maintained
sector last year, up from 63% in 1999. The figures were compiled
by the Sutton Trust, an organisation that promotes access
to higher education for children from poorer backgrounds.
(Times, 2 August 2002)
(top)
Universities are to be 'bribed' to accept more working-class
students as part of the drive to widen access to higher education.
The amount of additional money paid to English universities
for taking students from neighbourhoods where few go on to
higher education is being increased by about a quarter to
£47 million.
The announcement, by the Higher Education Funding Council
for England, comes as the Government is planning reforms to
undergraduate finance to increase support for students from
poor backgrounds.
(The Times, 8 March 2002)
(top)
Poorer further education and sixth-form students
in Wales are to get grants of up to £1,500. The move
will put pressure on England to follow suit. The Welsh Assembly
grant is available to all eligible students who have lived
in Wales for at least three years.
(TES, 15 February 2002)
(top)
The Government will struggle to meet its high-profile promise
to widen access to universities unless it pushes through university
reforms, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).
Poorer students had the same chance of getting into higher
education in 1999-2000 as they did six years earlier, according
to Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO. Sir Bourn said that the
£200 million spent each year by universities to help
widen access was a "matter for concern" because of poor targeting,
while special financial support was "over complex".
"The sector will have to recruit and retain more students
from hitherto poorly represented social groups and help them
to succeed if targets are to be met," said Sir John. Universities
will be asked by the Higher Education Funding Council to reveal
how the money they are spending has widened participation.
The NAO also found that while universities were helping to
raise aspirations, they were not so good at ensuring that
applicants had a "fair chance of succeeding".
(Financial Times, 18 January 2002)
(top)
According to a Government-funded report, underprivileged
students with poor A level grades should gain university places
at the expense of middle class pupils with better results.
The report says that universities should consider lowering
their entry requirements for sixth formers from underperforming
schools if they can prove they are motivated.
The controversial plans would require students to fulfil
a checklist of four non-academic skills. They would have to
demonstrate that they are self organised, work well independently,
are keen to learn and are interested in the subject area.
According to the report, Fair Enough?
by Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, the
benchmarks could apply even if students achieve poor grades
and would normally be borderline or rejected outright. The
report says: "If those with, at present, hidden potential
to succeed on undergraduate programmes are to be identified,
a wider range of criteria and a variety of fair admissions
techniques will need to be used." The report conceded that
offering lower grades may be discriminatory and that the wider
legal implications need to be explored.
(Daily Mail, 17 January 2002)
(top)
According to a study by the National Foundation
for Educational Research, worries over student debt are driving
at least 20,000 bright teenagers each year to shun university
in favour of a job.
Among those who dismiss full-time education
beyond 18, the desire to earn cash and escape hefty bills
is more important than a lack of interest in academic work,
the survey of more than 750 teachers and lecturers found.
The study was commissioned by the National Association
of Headteachers (NAHT) and the Sutton Trust.
For more information see www.suttontrust.com
and www.naht.org.uk
(TES, 30 November 2001)
The Government is to step up its campaign to increase the
number of young adults from poorer families going to university.
Under a £190 million three-year programme, £2,000
'opportunity bursaries' will be offered for the first time
in the autumn of 2001 to bright students from families without
a tradition of university education. The money will allow
an extra 25,000 students to take up university places by 2003-04.
Part of the money will be made available to education action
zones and schools in inner city areas to help them improve
links with universities.
It is feared that the Government will fail to meet its target
of getting 50% of 18-year-olds into university by 2010. Despite
a record 426,932 applications for university places in 2001,
universities are already conceding they are likely to have
unfilled places.
(Independent 20 August 2001)
(top)
If you come from an ethnic minority background in Britain,
you have far less chance of going into higher education. In
1999 black students made up only 3% of the total number accepted
onto degree courses. The figure for Asian applicants was 9%.
However, these figures are good because they represent a dramatic
increase in the second half of the 1990's which saw a 40%
rise in the number of black applicants and a 53% rise in Asian
applicants accepted into higher education. As the figures
start from such a low base, such high percentages do not translate
into high numbers.
The actual numbers of black applicants accepted onto higher
education courses in 1999 was 8,351. The number of successful
Asian applicants was 25,048, up from 16,424 compared with
in 1993. The figures come from the statistical bulletin Widening
Participation, Edition 2000, published in November
2000 by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.
(Independent, 24 May 2001)
(top)
An all-party committee of MPs has said that
elite universities should be offered financial incentives
to admit students from disadvantaged backgrounds with low
A level scores.
They recommended that universities such as Oxford,
Cambridge, Bristol and Warwick should be paid up to £2000
a year for every student recruited from social class IV and
V. The MPs said it was a "radical way to encourage to real
change" in universities' approach to widening access. Every
university should be required to set targets for becoming
more socially inclusive.
(Telegraph, 8 February 2001)
(top)
According to the latest official statistics
for students enrolling in October 2000, women accounted for
55% of degree entrants with As and Bs in their A levels compared
with 53.5% in 1999 and 51% in 1996, according to figures from
the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.
The same educational trends are being experienced
in the US and Ireland. and 56% of those with six or more Scottish
Highers.
The figures confirm a steady trend over the
last decade, reflecting the better performance of girls throughout
the education system, from GCSE and A level results to university
graduation rates. A once male-dominated academic world has
been transformed: women made up 54% of all degree applicants
for the academic year 2000.
(The Guardian, 9 January 2001)
(top)
The number of school leavers in Scotland going on to full-time
further (FE) or higher education (HE) has passed the 50% mark
for the first time ever. Annual statistics on leaver destinations
show the proportion from local authority schools and grant-aided
Jordanhill School taking up college or university places has
increased from 40% of the 55,800 leavers in 1992-93 to 51%
of the 55,569 leavers in 1999-2000.
The breakdown is 32% in full-time HE and 19% in full-time
FE, respective increases of 7% and 4% since 1992. Numbers
from independent schools are 83% in HE and 6% in FE.
(TESS, 29 December, 2000)
(top)
A new Scottish access programme for higher education sets
ambitious targets for schools in areas which send few children
to university. The University for Children and Communities
programme was launched at the end of October 2000 in Aberdeen
and Huntly, and will eventually cover the north-east of Scotland.
The partnership declares that within three years a school
should achieve or exceed the Scottish average of entry to
higher education by pupils. In 1998-99 that was 31%. In addition,
by 2010, participating schools should have at least half their
leavers going on to university or college. The programme aims
to support children, young people and their parents as well
as adult learning at all levels.
(TES Scotland, 27 October, 2000)
(top)
Government figures to be officially published in October
2000 will reveal that universities saw a drop in students
enrolled from the country's poorest neighbourhoods after the
Government introduced tuition fees in 1998. The first year
of the Labour Government saw 2,000 fewer student enrolments
from less privileged backgrounds, a group already representing
a tiny minority of the student population as a whole.
The figures come from the second batch of performance indicators
for academic institutions published by the Higher Education
Funding Council. Published for the first time in 1999, the
indicators record intakes of students from poor backgrounds
and state schools, and compare them with the average intakes
for universities with similar entry requirements and degree
subjects. The latest statistics are particularly interesting
because they focus on the 1998-99 academic year, which marked
the end of free higher education, when the Government introduced
means tested tuition fees for students and scrapped maintenance
grants.
In 1998-99 mature entrants fell by 10%, with a 1% decline
in the proportion of mature students with no previous academic
experience and from poor districts.
First
higher education performance indicators published
(Guardian, 26 September, 2000)
(top)
In mid-September 2000, the Government increased its efforts
to deliver more university places to working class pupils
in England by earmarking £131 million for this area
accompanied by a pledge that half of all students would not
pay tuition fees next year.
The income threshold at which parents of students in England
are expected to contribute toward tuition fees will be raised
from £17,370 in 1999 to £20,000 in 2001. At present
44% of students (33% of those who are financially dependent
on their parents and 85% of those who are not) pay nothing
towards their £1,050-a-year fees. The overall proportion
should rise to 50% next year.
The new money will help pay top universities in England to
recruit more admissions staff, send ambassadors to schools
and colleges and run more open days and summer schools. Advertising
and marketing involving schools and colleges will target families
and communities with no tradition of going to university.
Extra support for gifted and talented pupils will be funnelled
through the existing Excellence
in Cities scheme.
(Guardian, 15 September, 2000)
(top)
Official records reveal that the proportion of students from
poor families going to university has risen only marginally
since 1994. The first study by the Universities and Colleges
Admissions (UCAS) on changes in the social class of successful
applicants shows that students from low-income families are
still seriously under-represented at university.
In 1999, 21% of students accepted on degree courses came
from the wealthiest group (representing 11% of households)
compared with 21.9% in 1994. The 1999 figure for the poorest
group (which is 6.9% of households) was 2.9%.
MPs on the Commons Education Select Committee are holding
an inquiry into why so few pupils from poor backgrounds win
university places.
The number of successful black applicants has risen by nearly
40% and of Asians by more than 50%, but the numbers involved
are small.
(Independent, 11 August 2000)
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The number of applicants for higher education courses describing
themselves as black or Asian has risen this year. Almost 12,000
black applicants represented a 3.3% rise, while 34,481 Asians
were 2.6% more than in 1999. However, there are marked differences
between the various minorities. There was a 6.5% increase
among Bangladeshi students but a 3% drop in the number of
black Caribbean applicants.
(The Times, 26 May 2000)
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Top universities are to be twinned with inner-city schools
in a drive to increase their intake of students from poorer
families. Research shows that bright students from less affluent
areas often do not apply for or take up places at the
top universities, even when their A level grades warrant it.
Education secretary, David Blunkett, will also offer more
money for bursaries for 16 and 17-year-olds from poor backgrounds
to attend summer schools.
(Guardian, 10 May 2000)
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Scottish universities have received a late surge of applications
since ministers agreed to abolish up-front tuition fees. By
mid-April 2000, late applications were up by nearly 20% compared
with the same period in 1999 according to figures from admissions
officials, following a 2.5% fall in applications from Scotland
by the December deadline. There has been no increase in the
number of students from England and Wales applying for university
places in Scotland as they still have to pay tuition fees.
(Independent, 14 April 2000)
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Research by Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust, which
provides educational opportunities for young people, shows
that selection based on A level results is prejudiced against
candidates from poor backgrounds or state comprehensives.
The research shows that students from private schools are
25 times more likely to get to one of the top British universities
than those who come from a lower social class or live in a
poor area.
In response, the Department for Education said it would study
the scholastic aptitude tests used by the top American universities
to assess candidates' potential as an alternative to relying
on exam papers that tend to measure how well they have been
coached. A pilot of these scholastic aptitude tests is to
be funded by the Sutton Trust in 60 state and private schools
in May 2000, which will compare results achieved by students
with their A level results in summer 2000.
(Guardian, 11 April and Daily Mail, 18 April 2000
)
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New universities are no better than the old ones at recruiting
students from poorer backgrounds, according to the first higher
education performance indicators, published by the Higher
Education Funding Council (HEFC) in December 1999. The figures
also show that nearly one in five full-time degree students
fails to complete a course and those institutions ranked as
successful at widening access also tended to be those with
high drop-out rates.
Sir Brian Fender, chief executive of the HEFC, said: "Young
people from wealthy areas are more than 10 times more likely
to enter higher education than those from the poorest backgrounds."
Institutions with high A-level entry requirements and low
drop-out rates are also characterised by low working class
intakes. For example at Cambridge University only 1% of full-time
students fail to gain an undergraduate degree. 48% of Cambridge
students came from fee-paying independent schools and only
8% from working-class homes. At the other end of the spectrum
the University of East London takes 40% of its students from
working class homes and only 6% from private schools but its
drop-out rate is the highest in Britain, 36% of students who
started a first degree course in 1996.
However, on average only 16% of first year full-time students
fail to get a degree compared with 28% in Germany, 37% in
the US, 45% in France and 66% in Italy.
(TES and The Guardian, 3 December 1999)
Higher education performance indicators,
2000
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Under-represented groups are being encouraged to return to
learning through a £9 million scheme. The money which
comes from both the further and higher education funding councils
will go towards 70 projects aimed at increasing the recruitment
and retention of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The
projects aim to aid progression to further and higher education
and to remove obstacles faced by those wanting to continue
their learning.
Some of the schemes will target ethnic groups such as African-Caribbean
men and Bangladeshi and Pakistani women, who are under-represented,
while others address financial barriers by setting up local
credit schemes. In the Birmingham area, community-based
education facilities have been set up after research showed
that Muslim women were reluctant to travel to college. The
scheme will also include a summer school to raise awareness
of higher education opportunities.
Six universities in the North east are working together to
attract applications from school-leavers with no family history
of higher education. A system of mentors, taster sessions
and workshops with primary children and their families will
try to dispel some of the stereotypes attached to a university
education.
(TES, 12 November 1999)
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Bright teenagers from inner-city comprehensives are to be
sent to summer schools at leading universities. Five thousand
pupils will be offered places at 70 universities including
Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol and Nottingham under plans announced
by Tony Blair in November 1999. The Excellence in Cities
summer schools involve year 11 and 12 students from 24 inner
urban boroughs and there are plans to track some of the students
over the following two or three years to chart their progress
in terms of applications being made and offers received.
The Prime Minister and Education Secretary, David Blunkett,
hope the scheme will break down barriers so more inner-city
pupils win entry to these prestigious institutions. Fourteen
has been identified as the key age at which pupils lose interest
in academic progression and it is hoped that offering them
a glimpse of what real university life is like may raise their
aspirations.
Fewer than 20% of undergraduates at Oxford and Cambridge
come from comprehensives. Ministers believe too many
pupils from state schools shy away from top universities.
The balance of university admissions in general has so far
been unaffected by recent talk of opening the institutions
up to young people from poorer backgrounds. It is hoped that
initiatives such as the summer schools may begin to redress
the balance, though they may take years to make an impact.
A report by Sir David Watson, vice-chancellor of University
of Brighton, and Rachel Bowden makes clear that the proportion
of students from blue-collar backgrounds attending university
has remained virtually the same since Lord Dearing's report
on higher education in 1996.
UK admissions by socio-economic group
| Group |
1996 (% of total admissions) |
1999 (% of total admissions) |
| Professional |
14.6 |
12.8 |
| Intermediate |
39.1 |
38.2 |
| Skilled non-manual |
11.7 |
12.0 |
| Skilled manual |
15.3 |
14.7 |
| Partly skilled |
7.4 |
7.6 |
| Unskilled |
1.8 |
1.8 |
| Unknown |
10.1 |
12.9 |
Source: University of Brighton
After Dearing: a mid-term report, by David Watson
and Rachel Bowden is available for £4 from Education
Research Centre, University of Brighton, Bevendean House,
Falmer, East Sussex BN1 9PH.
(Daily Mail, 23 November 1999 and Guardian 25 July 2000)
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In the first official higher education league tables, performance
indicators will use data on the home postcodes of students,
similar to those introduced by the Universities and Colleges
Admissions Service as a tool to help institutions attract
more students from under-represented groups. Despite a 20%
increase in students from lower socio-economic groups between
1994 and 1998, they still make up less than half the intake,
and suffered a steeper fall in numbers than middle-class students
in 1998 when applications fell.
Alan Smithers, professor of education at Liverpool University,
said the new league tables, allied to incentive payments from
the Government, would add to the pressure to select by social
class rather than ability. Yet claims of under-representation
were based on myth, Mr Smithers said: "Lower socio-economic
groups are not under-represented at university compared to
A-level performance. The gap opens up in the earliest
years. The numeracy and literacy strategies in primary schools
mean we're intervening at a much more appropriate time, but
there's no point intervening post-18."
(TES, 29 October 1999)
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UNDERGRADUATES are to be paid by the Government to tell school
children why they should go to university. Students will receive
£5 an hour to go into schools in deprived areas and
promote the benefits of higher education. David Blunkett,
the Education Secretary, hopes that it will encourage people
whose parents did not go on to university to consider continuing
their training after leaving school.
Advertisements will be placed in university newspapers and
on student union boards inviting undergraduates to apply to
be part of the school 'hit squads'. The students will then
be vetted and receive two days of training before being sent
to schools around the country.
The student mentor scheme, which will be piloted from the
autumn term 1999, will be targeted at the Government's education
action zones. Ministers have allocated £1 million
to pay for the pilot project over the next three years, initially
in six areas including Newcastle, Southwark, Middlesbrough
and Birmingham. It is likely to be extended nationally in
the longer term. An initial 600 students will be recruited
this school year.
A source at the Department for Education and Employment said:
"The idea is to try to break the chain of people from deprived
backgrounds who haven't got any experience of higher education
not going on to university. We want to help people break out
of their peer group and family circle and go for it."
(Telegraph, 19 October 1999)
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Does a university education remain the privilege of the upper
and middle classes? The Universities and Colleges Admissions
Service (UCAS), has broken down the 413,000 applications to
UK universities in 1999 by neighbourhood as follows:
Who applies to study?
Source: UCAS
The data reveals a fall in applications from the country's
poorest areas. This is particularly worrying since students
from council estates are already significantly under-represented
on degree courses. The 1.6m households living in council flats
form nearly 7% of the UK total, but only 3% of applications
come from them.
These are disappointing figures for education ministers who,
despite abolishing student maintenance grants and introducing
tuition fees in 1998, are urging universities to increase
the numbers of poor and ethnic groups admitted to courses.
There are also signs of a growing regional divide. Large
drops in applications to northern universities suggest students
are choosing to study nearer home to save money.
Moreover, there has been a 5% drop in applications to Scottish
universities, three times the fall for the UK as a whole.
Radical reforms are being suggested which would provide additional
funding to universities which can attract more poor students.
The Scottish funding quango is in a good position to widen
access since, unlike in England, it oversees both universities
and further education, the two sides of post-16 education
split by the class divide.
Studies show that applicants from poor backgrounds are less
likely than their richer counterparts to secure a place at
university even when they have the same A-level grades. Graduates
can expect to earn 76% higher wages over their lifetimes than
non-graduates. And the educational divide lasts across the
generations. The children of those denied access to higher
education are less likely to go to university themselves.
Based on an article by Lee Elliot Major, deputy head of
Research Fortnight.
(Guardian, 9 August 1999)
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