Commenting on UCAS’ findings published today [Wednesday 24 April 2013, see note 1] that students want more information when choosing whether to go to university, Professor Les Ebdon, Director of Fair Access to Higher Education, said:
“These findings are a warning that potential students are still not getting the information they need to help them make informed choices about higher education. Universities and colleges have a responsibility to help plug this gap by giving clear, accessible information, advice and guidance about which GCSE and A level subjects are required for entry to their courses, and the financial support they offer to students. They are already making considerable efforts to do this [note 2], but these results show that they need to work even harder.
“Good information, advice and guidance is an intrinsic part of the work that universities and colleges do to reach out to people from disadvantaged backgrounds and encourage them to aim for higher education. However, outreach activities currently tend to focus on school pupils aged 14-19. While this work with teenagers is very useful and should continue, I am keen to see more long-term outreach working with students at a younger age and also working with potential mature students by engaging with employers and local communities. I have therefore told English universities and colleges that I expect to see more long-term outreach in their next access agreements with OFFA [note 3]. It’s crucial to reach those who are not yet on the pathway to higher education as well as those who are already considering it.
“Good information and advice is essential if students are to understand that no one has to pay fees upfront, and that there is help with living costs, particularly for lower income students. As well as Government loans and the non-repayable maintenance grant, there’s also a huge amount of support from universities and colleges themselves. In fact, English universities and colleges are giving out at least £340 million in non-repayable bursaries and scholarships for people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the current academic year alone.”
ENDS
For further information, contact Zita Adamson, OFFA Communications Manager (0117 931 7272) or Sophie Mason, OFFA Press and Communications Adviser (0117 931 7204), or email press@offa.org.uk
Notes for editors
- The UCAS report is Highlights from applicant surveys conducted in 2012.
- Some examples of information, advice and guidance offered by universities:
- The Russell Group of highly selective universities has published Informed Choices, a guide to post-16 study options that looks at how the subjects you choose to study at school can impact on your university applications.
- The University of Leeds talent-spotting programme, Reach for Excellence, targets the brightest young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, offering them a two-year programme of academic and study skills support plus student finance information sessions for pupils and their parents/carers.
- Anglia Ruskin University’s Roadshow Bus visits schools with information about higher education including student finance.
- All English universities and colleges offering both full-time and part-time undergraduate higher education courses must have an access agreement with OFFA in order to charge higher fees. Access agreements set out the fees an institution wishes to charge and the access measures they will put in place to sustain or improve access and student retention. Access measures include outreach (e.g. summer schools, mentoring, after-school tuition, links with schools and colleges in disadvantaged areas and activities to improve retention and success), and financial support such as bursaries and scholarships. Our latest guidance on what we expect universities and colleges to include in their agreements is OFFA publication 2013/01, How to produce an access agreement for 2014-15.
- Source: Never Too Late To Learn: Mature Students in Higher Education (Million+/NUS, 2012).
- The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) is an independent, non-departmental public body established under the Higher Education Act 2004 to help promote and safeguard fair access to higher education. The main way we do this is by approving and monitoring access agreements [see note 3]. More about OFFA.