Cuts to funded university places mean qualified middle-income applicants risk being rejected in their bid to get onto popular courses, the fair access commissioner has suggested.
In his final annual report before stepping down, Sir Peter Scott praises support for learners from poorer backgrounds but also highlights grounds for concern.
Scotland has already met an interim target of ensuring 16 per cent of new entrants to full-time, first-degree courses come from the 20% most deprived communities as measured by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). Sir Peter’s report states: “Although progress towards 18 per cent in four years’ time and 20 per cent by the end of the decade cannot be taken for granted… Scotland continues to set the pace in terms of fair access to higher education among the UK nations.”
