More funded places in higher education ‘could boost access’

The Scottish Government should consider increasing the number of funded places in higher education to help boost access for poorer students, a new report has said.

Peter Scott, Scotland’s commissioner for fair access, said bolder action was needed to speed up progress towards “challenging but achievable” targets.

Ministers want 20% of new entrants to come from the most deprived parts of Scotland by 2030.

In his first report in the role, Mr Scott said that while progress had been steady current momentum “may not be sufficient” to meet the benchmark.

He concluded that while free higher education for Scottish students provided “the foundation on which fair access can be built... other decisive action is needed”.

Increasing the total number of funded places in universities for all students would help to address fears that some are being “displaced” by more deprived applicants in the drive for fair access, the report said.

It also calls for universities to make much “bolder” use of contextual admissions, emphasising that “making lower offers to applicants from deprived backgrounds is not ‘dumbing down’ entry standards”.

“Not all applicants have the same advantages, in terms of family support or school experience.”