The story of the massification of higher education – whereby we have seen around 3% of 18-year-olds going to university in the 50’s, up to over a third in 2023 – is often the subject of debate. With such a growth in scale, it is right that our sector and our regulatory body are active in ensuring that the opportunities presented by this expansion are available to all who can benefit – and not contingent upon individual characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, disability, or socioeconomic background. It is for this very reason that all English higher education providers, who wish to charge higher rate tuition fees, are required by the Office for Students to invest in activities to promote fair access and outcomes for students.
The task of engaging with young people across the country, and targeting the specific groups who face the greatest barriers to access, is significant. As such, for most of the past two decades, we have had nationally funded programmes to support collaborative outreach. The latest incarnation of such a programme is Uni Connect, established in 2019.
The recent evaluation by Public First, commissioned by the OfS, provides us with a detailed insight into the value of the Uni Connect programme, and the structural challenges it (like predecessor programmes) faces. I would like to reflect on the report recommendations, and offer my own suggestions on how we might capitalise on successes in the short and long term.
Before doing this, I think it is worth reflecting on two questions. First, how much are we spending, across England, on access activity? Second, what progress are we making on ensuring fair access to higher education?
