Must do better: a last chance for universities to improve access

Sam Gyimah, the universities minister, emphasised how important it is that we “crack the issue of admissions” at Oxford and Cambridge in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph, amid concerns that too few black and ethnic minority and disadvantaged students get admitted.

I visited Oxford last month, and was pleased to see it publish access data for each college, so I know more is happening to improve transparency. But much more needs to be done, and this is not just an Oxbridge challenge. It is one for more selective universities generally, and for those courses that are toughest to get into at other universities. If you are from a rich neighbourhood, you are six times more likely to get to one of those universities than someone from a poor neighbourhood.

Access is a top priority for the Office for Students, the new regulator for higher education in England, because universities remain an important route to the professions. That’s why we have been given powers to ensure that they do all they can to attract talent from all backgrounds. Our tough regulatory framework sets higher expectations to narrow gaps in access and participation. All that wish to charge tuition fees above £6,000 per year must have their plan to reduce those gaps approved.

We’re interested in results, not just plans. But those plans should show how those universities are breaking down the barriers that make it so hard for disadvantaged students. We want universities to set ambitious goals for improving fairness in access to university, success at university and progression into work and life, whatever age students start.

Part of the deal made when fees increased to £9,000 a year was that universities would do more to improve access. Increasingly, universities give young people a break in their admissions policies, recognising how much harder it can be for a young person at a tough inner city school to get good A-levels, by reducing required grades a little, or running an extra “foundation year” to help them reach the standard they need. These students do well when they get in.

Universities and colleges have done a lot to improve access over the past 20 years, and there are more disadvantaged young people entering higher education than ever before. But too many talented teenagers still miss out because of where they came from.

That’s why we want universities to be more ambitious. For all students, we want to see better value for money, and we are concerned that surveys still show too many are not satisfied with their higher education experience. But for those who aren’t getting a fair deal, we have a duty to act in their interests.

So, if a university does not keep the promises in its plan, if it does not improve enough, or if it is not ambitious in what it proposes, we will act. Our powers include making the university cap its fees at around £6,000 a year, a third less than they might otherwise charge. We would hope that every university would set and achieve sufficiently ambitious goals so that we did not need to introduce such penalties.

But it is simply not acceptable for anyone’s background to be a barrier to accessing the rewarding opportunities that worldclass universities offer and we will not hesitate to use our powers when necessary to improve access and participation.

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