O f f i c e f o r F a i r A c c e s s

Professor Les Ebdon CBEDirector of Fair Access to Higher Education

London, UK | February 2016

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To promote and safeguard fair access to higher education for people from

lower income backgrounds and other under-represented groups.

Institutions charging higher fees must have an access agreement with OFFA

Our remit covers:

• full-time undergraduates

• part-time undergraduates

• postgraduate teacher training courses

• England only.

OFFA’s role

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Entry rates of disadvantaged 18 year olds in England

For 18 year olds from low participation

neighbourhoods, the 2015 entry rate was

18.5%, compared with 17.8% in 2014, and

13.6% in 2009.

Entry rate among the least disadvantaged 18

year olds was 2.4 times higher than that

among the most disadvantaged (down from

3.7 in 2006).

0%

4%

8%

12%

16%

20%

2006 2009 2012 2015

Entr

y R

ate

Entry rate among the most disadvantaged, 2006-2015 (POLAR 3, Quintile 1)

18.5

%

Source: UCAS (End of cycle 2015, 18 year olds)

0

1

2

3

4

2006 2009 2012 2015En

try r

ate

ra

tio

(Q

5:Q

1)

Difference in entry rate between most and least disadvantaged groups

Source: UCAS (End of cycle 2015, 18 year olds)

Q5: Least disadvantaged; Q1: Most disadvantaged

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Ten years of progress… what’s behind it?

• Increase in outreach

• Whole student lifecycle

approach

• More tailored, evidence-based

spend

• More collaborative work

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‘Student lifecycle’ approach

Supporting students:

• preparing for HE (building

expectation, aspiration,

attainment)

• entering HE

• retention and student success

• progression to further study or

to/within employment

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The importance of student success

“Widening access to higher education alone is not sufficient to achieve goals of social justice, social mobility and economic prosperity; support for students to be successful in higher education and beyond is also required.”

CFE/Edge Hill University (2013) International research on the effectiveness of widening participation

“Access without support is not opportunity”Cathy Engstrom and Vincent Tinto, Syracuse University

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Whole-institution approach

• We want to see a strategic, whole-

institution approach

• Widening participation embedded

across the institution

• Internal collaboration – ensuring

departments are working towards

the same goals

1

2

3

4

5

Reducing the participation

gap at higher tariff

universities

The challenges for widening access to higher participation

Addressing the decline in

part-time and mature

student numbers

Addressing differential

outcomes

Areas and regions with low

participation (“cold spots”)

Access to postgraduate

study

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3) Differences in outcomesPercentage point difference of the outcome from the sector-adjusted average, split by quintile

Source: HEFCE 2013/14, Higher education and beyond: Outcomes from full-time first degree study

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Differences in outcomes by ethnicity

2013-14 graduates by ethnicity, entry qualification and degree classification

Source: HEFCE 2015/21, Differences in degree outcomes: The effect of subject and student characteristics, Figure 12

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Key opportunities for fair access

• Government commitment to fair

access

• Green Paper

• Teaching Excellence Framework

• The end of student number

controls

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New Government guidance

“We are asking universities to go further and faster than ever before, especially the most selective institutions. This guidance for the first time identifies groups of students where most attention is needed, such as white boys from the poorest homes and students with specific learning difficulties. We want to see smarter spending, with more outreach and much deeper partnerships with local schools.”

Jo Johnson MP, Minister of State for Universities and Science

Drag or drop your photograph here

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A shared responsibility

• Universities

• Colleges

• Schools/teachers

• Families

• Employers

• Unions

• Charities

• Skills organisations

• Communities

• Government

Any questions?