We have made a submission to the Scottish Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People’s Committee on their inquiry into widening access. As a main ask from our ‘40 Faces‘ campaign in 2024, we welcome this inquiry as we approach the 2030 target.

Within our submission, we highlight the progress that has been made in widening access and achieving the 2030 goal of 20% of those from the most deprived areas making up 20% of entrants to university by 2030. However, we outline that there are some signs that progress is plateauing and therefore, the timing of this inquiry is significant and important.

We also look at other areas such as;

• data
• looking beyond the 2030 targets
• different perspectives
• role of student finance

You can read our full submission here.

Claire McPherson, Director Universities Scotland said:

“Universities have been very successful at moving the dial on widening access to date and have worked together with a shared sense of purpose to achieve the interim targets ahead of schedule. A record number of students from SIMD20 secured a place at university in 2024, the highest since 2015, and early indications from UCAS also shows an increase in SIMD20 applicants for this year. Whilst it is important to celebrate those achievements, we are increasingly concerned over the number of challenges that students from SIMD20 neighbourhoods face, most notably a stubbornly high attainment gap, alongside the longterm impact of lost learning following the pandemic and cost of living pressures, and how these can inhibit their opportunities for further study.

“SIMD20 is the main metric universities have been measured by in relation to the CoWA targets since 2016, however the pool of applicants within this metric has remained static. Universities also use a range of other contextual markers in their admissions process, to help students secure a place on their desired course, and we think consideration should be given to using these alongside SIMD20 to ensure students from a range of disadvantaged backgrounds can access higher education. Without a change of approach, or a significant reduction in the attainment gap, it is becoming increasingly likely the next interim target in 2026 will be missed. The responsibility to widen access doesn’t just sit with universities. We need to see a holistic approach across all levels of education as well as consistent investment in the sector from the Scottish Government now and in the years to 2030 and beyond.”