Ambitious targets aim to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups studying at … [+]
Elite universities have set ambitious targets to almost halve the equality gap in the next five years.
Previous research has suggested that at present rates of progress it would take almost a century to give students from disadvantaged backgrounds the same chance of getting into the most selective universities as their more affluent peers.
But universities have upped their game and their plans could halve the gap by 2025 and eliminate it entirely within 20 years, according to analysis published today by the Office for Students (OfS), England’s higher education regulator.
Students from the most advantaged areas are more than six times as likely to attend the U.K.’s most selective universities—including Oxford and Cambridge—than those from the least advantaged.
But stung by criticism over their lack of diversity, leading universities have put together ambitious plans to improve access to those from underrepresented groups.
And if these plans come to fruition the gap would fall from 6:1 to 4:1 by 2025, and disappear entirely within 20 years, according to the OfS.
“Today’s young people are significantly more likely to go to university than their parents and grandparents were, but this expansion in higher education has not benefited all parts of society,” said Chris Millward, director for fair access and participation at the OfS.
“Despite gradual progress in improving access for people from underrepresented and disadvantaged groups, equality gaps have remained stubbornly large. ‘Slow and steady’ progress is simply too slow when people’s livelihoods and opportunities are at stake.”
He said there had been “a real step change” in the commitment to work towards equality and set targets for access. “This puts us on the right track for the generational change we have set as our ambition,” he added.
If universities meet their new targets, it would also reduce the gap in drop-out rates, which sees students from disadvantaged areas more likely to leave their course than those from the most advantaged backgrounds, almost halve the gap between the proportion of white and black students receiving the highest degree classifications, and all but eliminate the gap between the proportion of disabled and non-disabled students who are awarded the top classifications.
But the OfS report also highlighted areas where progress has been slow in tackling the underrepresentation of groups including mature students, students who were taken into care as children, and students from the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
There was also a need for more work to tackle geographical disparities. Students from North East and South West England are much less likely to go into higher education than their peers in London, for example, while students from rural areas and coastal towns are also underrepresented.
James Turner, chief executive of the Sutton Trust, a charity that aims to tackle educational disadvantage, welcomed the focus on widening access to higher education, and on drop-out rates and degree outcomes, but said significant problems remained.
“There are still significant regional disparities in who gets into the most selective universities. More must be done to tackle these geographical divides, so it is great to see universities setting out ambitious plans to halve the gap between the poorest and wealthiest areas within five years,” he said.
“The focus now must be on implementation and on ensuring that these targets are met and real progress is made on a decades-old problem.”
