Outline

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Outline

• Action on Access
• HEFCE strategic aims
• Drivers for change
• Holistic approach
• Challenges for Employability
• Summary

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National Coordination Teams

• Action on Access
• Enhancing Student Employability (ESECT)
• National Disability Team

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Action on Access is the national co-ordination
team appointed to support the widening
participation (WP) activities in England, for

• the HEFCE
• the LSC
• also supporting the DEL(NI) WP strategies

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Action on Access Supports

• Aimhigher Partnerships for Progression (P4P)
  (jointly funded by the HEFCE and the LSC)
• Individual institutions delivering higher
  education

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Action on Access Structure

• Director
• 6 Associate Directors with policy remits
• 9 Regional Advisers
• Learning and Teaching Consultant
• Schools Policy Adviser
• Central Support Team

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Action on AccessPolicy Remits

• Research and Curriculum
• Staff Development and Dissemination
• Adult Learning
• Further Education

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Action on Access Other Activities

• Networking with and informing other WP
  initiatives
• Helping Aimhigher P4P partnerships develop
  effective monitoring and evaluation processes
• Publishing and disseminating good practice and
  policy

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HEFCE Strategic Aims

• Widening participation and fair access
• Enhancing excellence in learning and teaching
• Enhancing excellence in research
• Enhancing the contribution of HE to the economy
  and society

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The White Paper

• WP Agenda
• Shift away from reliance on 3 year full time
  honours degrees
• Foundation Degrees
• Linkage between Excellence Challenge and P4P
• Abolishment of upfront fees
• Uplift in WP premium
• Commitment to fair access
• Focus on retention/success

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Widening Participation and Fair Access

• Aim to provide the opportunity of higher
  education to all those who could benefit from it
• Objectives
• To increase participation towards 50
  participation of those aged 18 to 30 by 2010
• To widen participation, without increasing
  student non-completion
• To stimulate student demand
• To improve lifelong learning opportunities

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HE Participation Rate of 18-30 year olds by
Region 2000-01
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Increased Participation

• Not simply a case of providing more places
• Need to generate demand for HE
• Need to improve progression routes
• Complex balance between student demand, capacity
  and employers needs

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Widened Participation

• Economic prosperity and social well-being linked
  to educational experience and success
• Will not be achieved by simply increasing
  participation
• Need to ensure that a persons background and
  previous educational and life experiences do not
  deter them from considering HE

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Participation and Family Circumstances
Source HEFCE 2001
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Extra Unemployment of Ethnic Minority Graduates
Over White Graduates
Source HEFCE 2001
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Access Indicators

• Not simply under-represented ethnic groups and
  lower socio-economic groups
• Need to be more sophisticated
• For example parental level of education and
  average results of school/college attended

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Lifelong Learning

• In addition to the focus on young first time
  entrants
• Need to encourage participation of part-time and
  mature students
• Develop vocational qualifications and workplace
  learning schemes
• Enable students to return to learning to refresh
  knowledge or upgrade skills in order to sustain
  their employability

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Drivers for Change

• HEFCE/LSC P4P initiative to be integrated with
  the EC scheme under the Aimhigher brand.
• Widening participation strategies and action
  plans condition of grant
• Performance indicators
• Premium funding - 265m to support WP student
  success and provision for disabled students
• ASNs for Foundation Degrees

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Holistic Approach

• Linkage of institutional strategies (WP, LT,
  Outreach etc.)
• Permeating to programme development, student
  support, careers services
• Move away from the bolt-on approach
• Positive intervention at each stage of the
  student lifecycle

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Supporting WP throughout Student Lifecycle

• Critical times in student lifecycle
  vulnerability
• Continuing flexible and tailored support
• Key skills and experience

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Challenges for EmployabilityRaising Aspirations

• Introduce nature of graduate employment
• Role models from communities
• Work related visits
• Simple guides to employment
• Explain professional roles and self-employment

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Challenges for EmployabilityRaising Attainment

• Subject related learning resources demonstrating
  graduate work
• Staff development programme for mentors

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Challenges for EmployabilityOn Course

• Target students
• Network of employer/professional body mentors
• Resource packs and internet material
• Career management skills

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Challenges for EmployabilityAfter Graduation

• Track nature and type of employment by targeted
  group
• Encourage individuals to be mentors of the future

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Summary

• In an era of mass higher education we must ensure
  that the benefits are shared among people from
  every background.
• Working in partnership within and across the
  educational sectors and with organisations and
  stakeholders outside education is essential
• The challenge is huge, the potential rewards
  enormous

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Contact Action on Access

• Individual team members
• Action on AccessSchool of Lifelong Education
  DevelopmentUniversity of BradfordRichmond
  RoadBradford BD7 1DP
• Tel [phone]
• Email info_at_actiononaccess.org
• www.actiononaccess.org