This week, the Cabinet Secretary for Education Jenny Gilruth, the Commissioner for Fair Access and representatives from across higher education came together at a special event to celebrate Universities Scotland’s “40 Faces” campaign. Universities Scotland’s Senior Public Affairs and Communications Officer Lauren Wards explains why progress towards Scotland’s ambitious widening access target cannot be made without the voices of the 40 Faces and others like them.
University participation in Scotland is currently at its most inclusive. Scotland has the most progressive admissions policies to higher education in the UK. This year’s SQA results day saw the highest intake of SIMD20 students, from the 20% most disadvantaged areas of Scotland, since 2015. These are all fantastic milestones, achieved by universities in pursuit of reaching a target to equalise access to higher education by 2030. They are milestones which the students and graduates featured in our 40 faces campaign gathered to celebrate this week alongside the Cabinet Secretary, universities and key stakeholders.
The purpose of the event was part celebration, part-mobilisation to get to 2030, as there is no complacency in the HE sector about what it will take to travel the remaining distance. The 40 Faces campaign, launched earlier this year, took the opportunity to ask students who have lived experience of going to university from non-traditional backgrounds, what action they feel is required to further catalyse progress.
This week at our 40 Faces event, Rebecca Munro, University of St. Andrews graduate spoke about her experience of reaching university and the challenges she sees now, working as their Admissions’ Education Liaison Officer. When asked about what she felt needed to be done to achieve the 2030 target, Rebecca said, “funding is essential in ensuring the tireless work in widening access continues, as I have seen first-hand how pivotal funding can help me directly but also indirectly through the widening access practitioners who have supported me on my journey”.
The vast majority of funding for universities’ work on widening access comes from the teaching grant, however this has fallen in real terms by about 19% since 2016. Without funding, universities cannot provide opportunities to students, and we know it is those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds who need the most support through their university experience.
More financial support for students, including bursaries and financial advice, was a strong theme our Faces felt would help achieve the 2030 target. Shannon who is studying at the University of Glasgow spoke about turning down academic opportunities she couldn’t afford, and that “better financial support to encourage further academic endeavours would be of a huge benefit to students”. With the cost-of-living crisis ongoing, Carol, an OUiS graduate, noted the additional pressures students are facing creates problems with recruitment and retention, “we need to be responsive to this, creating short term solutions such as discretionary funding and long-term support with regarding to student Maintenance support.” Mia spoke about receiving “critical” financial support from the University of the West of Scotland, which was “so important in helping me succeed”.
Part-time students also said the disparity between them and full-time learners is a barrier to many. Student Megan was only able to continue her studies at Heriot-Watt University if she moved to part-time study, but she tells us this “was a hard decision as part time students don’t get access to any loans or bursaries from SAAS”.
Many of our “Faces” didn’t believe university was for them. To reach the 2030 target Graham, a second-year student at SRUC feels, “ targeted outreach…and a presence of universities or colleges is necessary for people from disadvantaged backgrounds to feel like further education is accessible to someone like them”. Jeffrey, who is studying medicine at the University of Dundee said, “more programmes like [Reach]…will target a much broader range of individuals over the next six years, diminishing the belief that university is a far-fetched idea for those from disadvantaged backgrounds”. Others, like Josh, noted how important articulation through college was for his journey to the University of Abertay.
As with their paths to university, the thoughts of our 40 Faces show there is more than one way to widen access to higher education. Earlier this year the Commissioner for Fair Access’s annual report was called: “Renewing the Alliance”. We think the word “alliance” is absolutely right and we support the need to renew, to dig deep and keep going, and this commitment was unequivocally reaffirmed by the sector and the Cabinet Secretary this week.