Making university accessible for all
WHILE academic achievement in the Leaving Certificate is the primary measure for admission to university reflected in the school league tables, initiatives to widen access are rebalancing the access for under-represented student cohorts. These improve the diversity in our universities.
Once considered the preserve of the elite, the student profile of Ireland’s largest university has seen significant change. Today, UCD aims to be representative of our society and proudly boasts that 32pc of undergraduate students come from communities where access to education is not a given, not always expected, or historically not always possible. Among this diverse group are students with disabilities, students from low-income households, mature students, ethnic minorities, lone parents, those who study on a part-time basis, refugees, and asylum seekers.
This sea-change didn’t happen by accident, but rather through a planned and deliberate strategy to become a diverse and inclusive university, or as UCD describes it, a ‘University for All’. Our access philosophy is based on the concept that ‘‘a student is a student’’. At the heart of this deceptively simple idea is an appreciation of the breadth of talent, experience and contribution of all students. We believe that in a diverse and inclusive university all students feel welcome; their experience, perspective and opinions are respected and valued. In short, they belong. We believe that in order to achieve excellence, a university must be diverse and inclusive.
UCD’s success in diversifying the student profile is, in my view, directly attributable to our decision to adopt this ‘‘whole-institution’’ approach. Launched by Higher Education Minister Mary Mitchell O’ Connor in 2017, ‘University for All’ is a systemic response to mainstreaming inclusion, which weaves access into the fabric of the institution at every level, recognising that it is everyone’s business. The aim of this initiative is to engage the entire university community, academic and professional staff in the creation of an inclusive campus that celebrates difference and enables all students to thrive and realise their ambitions.
In order to stimulate and support this change, we developed the ‘Toolkit for Inclusive Practice in Higher Education: From Vision to Practice’. This toolkit covers four main components: programme and curriculum design, student supports and services, the physical campus and buildings, and the IT systems and infrastructure. It aims to ensure each of these components are designed around the needs of all students.
The journey towards an institutional approach was prompted by the changing nature of the student body, how to support their diverse backgrounds, needs, and abilities, how to advance their education and development as citizens.
While UCD has a strong tradition of ensuring educational access for ‘‘non-traditional’’ students, this work was seen as the primary responsibility of the team in the Access Office. The move towards a whole-institution approach was informed by growing access research literature highlighting the importance of institutional leadership, practice and culture in the development of inclusive institutions.
Likewise, the Higher Education Authority access policy points to the need to integrate access and inclusion into everyday life “so that it permeates all faculties and departments, and is not marginalised as the responsibility of the designated access office”. Irish universities are demonstrating early signs of mainstreaming and embedding equality of access, but there remains an absence of institution-wide policies and practices to foster and inculcate inclusion and diversity.
The university’s strategy — Rising to the Future 2020-2024 — foregrounds our commitment to developing an inclusive community. The ‘‘University for All’’ initiative is sponsored by the registrar and deputy president, Professor Mark Rogers, governed by the university’s widening participation committee, chaired by Professor Grace Mulcahy, and led by UCD Access and Lifelong Learning, which is now located in a centrally-positioned hub that profiles inclusion. From this hub, access and participation moves from an add-on to a central pillar of the university’s mission.
The university has made considerable progress to embed access and inclusion issues across the institution. For example, a range of admissions routes has been extended to enable prospective students from all sections of the community to study in UCD. In 2018, the university reserved almost one quarter (24.8pc) of our under-graduate places for students applying through these entry routes. UCD was designated as a University for Sanctuary, and as an Age-Friendly University in 2018.
The newest entry route is Open Learning, led by Dr Bairbre Fleming, which enables part-time study at undergraduate level. There are now more than 300 students enrolled, who choose from 350 modules, which can be combined for a certificate or diploma awards, and as a pathway to degree level study.
Financial barriers are often an obstacle to higher education. UCD offers Ireland’s largest means-tested scholarship programme, Cothrom na Feinne, with 335 students receiving awards last year.
The university’s approach to outreach and mentoring is governed by the university outreach network, chaired by Associate Professor Caitriona Cunningham. Using an intergenerational approach, primarily in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin County Council areas, UCD has established partnerships with 35 community organisations, six DEIS primary schools, 18 second level schools and 18 further education colleges.
Finally, our odyssey towards a University for All continues. We have achieved many successes so far. Higher education institutions are complex organisations and it is worth remembering that institutional transformation is not easy; it takes time, patience and perseverance. To be a fully inclusive campus involves
change at all levels.