The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Universities vow to widen student access
Process of entry made easier for applicants from most deprived areas
Universities across Scotland have vowed to widen access to people from the most deprived areas of the country at a faster rate.
Action to be taken includes contextualised admissions, making clearer the minimum entry requirements for all courses, making it easier for students to move from college direct to university courses and guaranteed offers for care-experienced applicants who meet minimum entry requirements.
The 15 recommendations of the Working to Widen Access report are to be enacted at Scotland’s 19 higher education institutions.
Universities Scotland said it will make a “significant contribution” to a Scottish Government target of deprived backgrounds making up 20% of the student population by 2030.
Professor Sally Mapstone, principal and vice-chancellor of St Andrews University, led the working group on university admissions.
She said: “Scotland is taking a big step forward with contextualised admissions in a concerted bid to widen access at a faster rate.
“Universities will set minimum entry requirements for all courses: we will be very clear to whom this applies; and we will use consistent, user-friendly language to describe the process.
“We want to ensure that all potential applicants from disadvantaged and nontraditional backgrounds understand that they are welcome, supported and belong at the heart of our universities.
“We are confident that making these changes will help more prospective students, and their advisers, to realise that opportunities are there, within touching distance.
“The reforms to admissions, combined with the new action we intend to take with schools and colleges, will tackle the challenge of widening access from many angles. There is a lot to do but it is very encouraging to see momentum build behind this programme of work.”
Greater “clarity and consistency” is also to be used in the terms and language that universities use when it comes to widening access.
Professor Andrea Nolan, convener of Universities Scotland, said: “Student recruitment is typically an area of intense competition between universities. Taking action to join up, agree a shared language and achieve more consistency in our admissions processes shows that we are serious about doing things differently.”
Shadow education secretary Liz Smith said: “It is essential that all applicants, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, know exactly what will be required of them as they make that application.
“We also very much welcome the fact that the new policy will be evidence based and that widening access will be judged by successful student outcomes rather than by meeting any artificial Scottish Government target.”
It is essential that all applicants ...know exactly what will be required of them. SHADOW EDUCATION SECRETARY LIZ SMITH