Call to look at wider background of students

UNIVERSITIES SHOULD look at A-level grades alongside background information about potential students when making offers to give all young people fair access to higher education, according to a watchdog.

Chris Millward, the Office for Students’ director for fair access, is suggesting institutions should be “ambitious” in their approach to using “contextual admissions”. The call comes as a report urges universities to be more transparent about the information on students they take into account when deciding who should be offered places.

The report, by the Fair Education Alliance (FEA), says that institutions should be required to publicise the contextual data they use in admissions, for example by putting it on the UCAS application page for each course.

At the report launch today, Mr Millward will say: “An ambitious approach to contextual admissions must be central to our strategy if we are going to make progress on access at the scale and pace necessary to meet the expectations of government, students and the wider public. A-level grades can only be considered to be a robust measure of potential if they are considered alongside the context in which they are achieved.

“I do not believe that the inequality of access we see currently can reflect a lack of potential, and promoting equality of opportunity must be concerned with unlocking potential for students from all backgrounds.”