ACCESS TO PLACES
STUDENT FINANCE
How much more likely a low-income student is to become socially mobile if they attend university.
The number of state school students ‘missing’ from the 30 most selective universities each year.
The number of high-attaining disadvantaged pupils that have their grades under-predicted each year.
How can we change this?
Our research has uncovered practical, evidence-based solutions to improve access to higher education opportunities.
Contextual admissions
Contextual admissions
Contextual admissions – where the social background of a university applicant is taken into account in the admissions process – is a crucial tool in significantly widening access to higher education. Contextual admissions recognise that the playing field is not level at the point of entry to university, and we should look at the untapped potential of candidates as well as their prior achievement.
All universities – including the most selective – should make better and more ambitious use of contextual admissions (including reduced grade offers) when deciding which students to make offers to. They should be more transparent in communicating how contextual data is used and publicise the criteria for contextual admissions clearly on their websites.
It is also important that the government and the Office for Students redouble efforts on access, including encouraging a clear and consistent approach to contextual offers.
25 YEARS OF UNIVERSITY ACCESS (2023)
Regulating Access
Regulating Access
The government should re-double efforts on access, including a review of fair access to explore a sector-wide approach. This should focus on socio-economic disadvantage, with stronger regulatory expectations, a clear and consistent approach to contextual offers, and regulatory work widened beyond ungraduated study to also include postgraduate level.
Effectiveness of outreach
Effectiveness of outreach
Collectively, universities spend hundreds of millions of pounds each year on activities to support access and success for underrepresented groups. However, there is insufficient robust evidence on what works best. Gaps in research and evaluation mean we often don’t know the actual impact of these activities. Universities should allocate at least 10% of their outreach budgets to rigorous evaluation and robust research trials, following the model of the Education Endowment Foundation, to identify effective strategies for widening participation.
Postgraduate study
Postgraduate study
The funding system at postgraduate level in England should be reformed, to remove financial barriers to postgraduate study. Universities should also extend their widening access work to postgraduate level, especially at high-status institutions. The application process for postgraduate courses should be clear and easy to navigate, with information about courses easy to find and the application process simplified where possible.
of students’ essential living costs are higher than the maximum maintenance loan for living away from home outside of London.
of poorer students could graduate with £60,100 of debt, 38% higher than the £43,600 for those from wealthier families.
working class students have skipped meals to save money.
How can we change this?
Our research has uncovered practical, evidence-based solutions to remove the financial barriers to higher education.
Increasing maintenance
Increasing maintenance
The crisis in student finance also imperils both access and student success, with maintenance support levels failing to match the cost of living for students and eligibility criteria freezing out tens of thousands of students per year.
The Sutton Trust has proposed a system increasing overall maximum maintenance levels from under £10,000 to £11,400, matching the essential costs that students actually face. It would also restore maintenance grants to those from low income households, equivalent to the system pre-2016, while also extending eligibility significantly by unfreezing the household income thresholds, which has locked out tens of thousands of students per year from higher levels of support.
REINTRODUCING MAINTENANCE GRANTS
REINTRODUCING MAINTENANCE GRANTS
It is unfair that students from the poorest households continue to graduate with the highest amounts of debt as a result of taking the highest maintenance loans. To tackle this, the reintroduction of maintenance grants, along with a more progressive repayment model, would mean that the debt gap is reduced at no extra cost to the taxpayer.
This can be achieved by reforming the repayment system, including a progressive re-introduction of interest rates, and a system of stepped repayments, where those on higher incomes pay back more.
Lifelong learning
Lifelong learning
Part-time study is an important vehicle for social mobility, offering an opportunity for those whose work or family responsibilities make full-time study impractical. It also provides a ‘second chance’ for mature students who may not have followed the traditional route in school. There must be a focus on ensuring that all learners have the right information, advice and guidance to make appropriate choices at various stages of their lives and maintenance support should be available across all courses, at equivalent levels, to ensure that the lifelong education achieves the aims of re-balancing academic and technical routes and is accessible for disadvantaged young people and mature learners who may have existing financial commitments.
The Lifelong Loan Entitlement has huge potential to be transformative to educational opportunities and to provide genuine choice to learners across different qualifications and modes of study. However, implementation is key and there are a number of important issues that the government must consider carefully to ensure that all learners, and particularly the most disadvantaged, are able to benefit from this system, as well as ensuring the system is funded adequately to deliver on its promise.
SUTTON TRUST RESPONSE TO THE GOVERNMENT’S CONSULTATION ON THE LIFELONG LOAN ENTITLEMENT
Private schools were almost twice as likely to still be teaching A Level content as state schools during lockdown.
The proportion of undergraduate students whose jobs have been affected due to the crisis.
Two thirds of students heading to university this year are worried about losing face to face teaching.
How can we change this?
University Access
University Access
We have seen how disruptive the pandemic has been on the university application process. But next year’s applicants are likely to be even more severely impacted than those applying in 2020.
This year’s university applicants have missed a considerable amount of learning, with many still missing further time in school while self-isolating. Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds have been the most affected by this time away from the classroom, and regardless of the final form this year’s assessments take, the playing field is likely to be far from level.
The government should keep the impact on disadvantaged young people front and centre when making plans for assessments this year. For universities, contextual admissions – which allows them to take into account the unequal effects of the pandemic on young people from different socio-economic backgrounds – will be more important than ever.
A LEVEL RESULTS AND UNIVERSITY ACCESS (2021)
Financial support
Financial support
The economic impacts of the pandemic are being felt across society, including by university students. Many will be struggling to find part time jobs they need to support their studies, while others will have parents less able to provide them with funding now their own economic circumstances have changed. Despite these challenges, England has so far not provided any kind of additional financial support to low income students, which Sutton Trust research has found makes it a global outlier among richer nations. The government should urgently put in place additional financial support for these students.
UNIVERSITY ACCESS, STUDENT SUCCESS AND COVID-19 IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT (2020)
Digital divide
Digital divide
With blended learning now the norm in UK universities, access to the internet and a suitable device is vital for students. Sutton Trust research has found that while the vast majority of students have access to these resources, small but significant numbers of young people do not: 5% of students reported they did not have sufficient access to the internet and 6% said they did not have sole access to a laptop, computer or tablet to work on.
Universities and government should ensure all current university students are able to access learning during the pandemic.
Sutton Trust UK Summer Schools give students the chance to experience what university life is really like by attending a week-long residential with one of 13 leading UK universities.
