Widening Participation in Higher Education

This 4th report from the Public Accounts Committee (HC 226, session 2008-09, ISBN 9780215526557) follows on from an NAO report on the same topic (HC 725, session 2008-09, ISBN 9780102954203). Participation in higher education has increased since 1999-2000, but particular groups remain under-represented. Men from lower socio-economic backgrounds are significantly under-represented, particularly those from white ethnic backgrounds, as are young people living in deprived. Factors such as socio-economic background, gender, place of residence are all influences on whether an individual attends higher education, with GCSE performance being a strong predictor of higher education participation. Despite£392 million allocated to widening participation in higher education institutions, between 2001-2 and 2007-08, progress has been slow. There is an improving trend overall in the participation of students coming from state schools, low participation neighbourhoods and lower socio-economic backgrounds. Variation exists between universities, with the Russell Group of universities (an association of major research-intensive universities of the United Kingdom, including Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, and the University College London) generally performing poorly. Accountability for performance remains weak as at present the Higher Education Funding Council for England does not require universities to provide information on widening participation activities and expenditure, but this is now going to be reintroduced. Universities have a role to play in widening participation by working with schools to increase the pool of pupils who aspire to participate in higher education. The Committee believes that universities need to target schools in disadvantaged areas to reach those most in need.