Year: 2017
Type: book
Abstract: This month, the Director for Fair Access to Higher Education called for fundamental changes to widening participation at universities.Progress with encouraging more young people from low and moderate income backgrounds into higher education has been slowing.While the number of disadvantaged pupils going to university has increased over the past decade, the access gap at our most selective institutions remains stubborn and wide.Getting a degree from a top university is one of the surest routes to a good job, but those from less privileged homes are substantially underrepresented in the best universities.We need radical change to shift this, and a central element must include a greater use of contextual admissions.Contextual admissions, where the social background of a university applicant is taken into account in the application process, leading to a reduced grade offer or other forms of priority, is a crucial tool in the battle to widen access to higher education.Reflecting the difficulty of the journey taken by those from disadvantaged backgrounds should be a common sense principle in university admissions.Low social mobility and lack of educational opportunity is arguably the biggest social challenge of our times.To tackle this, it is crucial that young people from low and moderate income backgrounds have a fair chance of getting in to the best universities.This is widely accepted at the top Ivy League universities in the US.I have seen it in action at Harvard where I sat in on an admissions decision meeting.Top American universities give less advantaged students a break, in contrast to many of our leading universities.This report shows that some of the UK's most selective universities do recognise this necessity too.However more needs to be done to ensure that contextual data can deliver on the promise of transforming access to higher education.Universities need to focus more on information that reflects the individual circumstances of the applicant, and there needs to be greater transparency and consistency.Those from less well-off backgrounds are less likely to have access to the information and networks that can help them navigate complicated admissions processes.We need to make sure candidates are aware when and how they may benefit from contextualisation.
Authors: Vikki Boliver, Claire Crawford, Mandy Powell, Will Craige
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2767550147