Five things we learned from the higher education entry figures

Disadvantaged students are closing the gap…

In 2006, universities gained the power to charge £3,000 a year fees. With this power came fears that disadvantaged students would be priced out of university, amplified when universities gained the power to charge £9,000 a year fees in 2012. Yet there are now more disadvantaged students than ever before in England – disadvantaged young people are 65 per cent more likely to go to university or college than in 2006. And they are increasingly going to the best universities, too, even if not yet in huge numbers. In 2006 the most advantaged fifth of students were 8.5 times more likely to go to a higher tariff university than the least advantaged. That figure has now been reduced to 6.3 times. It is a largely unacknowledged success story.

…but universities could do far more

The number of disadvantaged students at university would surely be considerably higher if universities were better at analysing what actually worked, rather than blithely throwing money at the problem. In 2015/16 English universities will spend a total of £720m on access schemes. Too few will bother to ensure this goes to where it is most needed. In spite of the availability of bursaries, the real issue is getting disadvantaged students to apply to the best universities.

“Bursaries can be valuable in enabling students to stay in university once they’ve applied,” says Sir Peter Lampl of the Sutton Trust, which has just issued a new report urging universities to research what works in access spending. “Getting them to apply in the first place is the biggest battle, which is why we support seeking to frontload more spending at an earlier age.”

Read the full article here.