Our commitment to widening access
2021 is an important year for universities' work to widen access
Widening access is key a priority for Scotland’s universities and in recent years the sector has taken significant action to ensure higher education is more open and accessible to learners from all backgrounds.
The sector has now achieved the interim goal set by the Scottish Government that 16 per cent of university entrants should be from Scotland’s most disadvantaged areas by 2021.
Watch a short animation summarising this achievement:
Further reading:
- A Blueprint for Fairness [2016]. Final Report of the Commission on Widening Access.
- Futures Not Backgrounds [2016]. Universities Scotland’s response to A Blueprint for Fairness.
- Working to Widen Access [2017]. 15 actions Scotland’s universities will take to drive progress on widening access.
- Going to university: our guarantee for care-experienced applicants [2019].
- Admissions: how Scottish universities aim to be fair [2019].
- Accelerating Articulation [2020]. Final Report from the National Articulation Forum.
Key Points:
- The Commission on Widening Access (CoWA) resulted in a set of widening access targets for Scotland’s universities.
- Our universities have achieved the interim 2021 target that 16 per cent of undergraduate entrants should be from SIMD20 backgrounds.
- In academic year 2019/20, 16.4 per cent of entrants to university were from SIMD20 backgrounds.
- Scotland’s universities remain committed to achieving the final 2030 target that SIMD20 learners should comprise 20% of university entrants.
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