Get SASSy! A whistlestop tour through the access agreement process

Structure

What we’re covering What is access anyway? How do institutions work on access? Why and how to get involved

What is access anyway? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcgDzbiv6Bc

What is access anyway? A system of fairness? Widening participation recognises that the current education system does not provide fair opportunities and chances What factors impact on this? Class Socio-economic background Race Age Gender etc etc…

What is access anyway? These stats from the Sutton Trust show the scale of the problem for accessing HE. This is the breakdown of private to state education in the UK, with 100 private schools to 3400 state schools

What is access anyway? Yet, 17% of all Russell Group entrance come from these 100 private schools. This clearly points to an inequality in the education system.

How do institutions work on access?

An Education Lifecycle Model Time before HE Application and Admissions Induction and Welcome Retention and Success Could be school, college, in work, combination of these Everything from choosing institution to applying, interview etc From when you are offered a place to until you are ‘in place’ – some unis consider welcome to last an entire year How you thrive and survive at your institution, and how successful you are, including your next steps after UG study This is a common education lifecycle model. The idea of thinking of your education journey as a cycle is one that is used lots to understand the journeys and pathways that students are taking. This is an example of one that institutions regularly use to detail the access process.

How do institutions work on access? Before HE Outreach with local schools Taster sessions, days on campus, students visiting local schools etc Application and Admissions Summer Schools Application workshops Medium term study schemes These often lead to a differential grade offer Contextual admissions process

How do institutions work on access? Induction and Welcome Welcome events Study skills support Retention and Success Bursaries Study programmes

Institutional Process Most institutions work on access all year round, with at least two forms of institutional meeting Widening Participation Group Consisting of University Access lead, key practitioners and departmental heads – meet 3-4 times a year Senior Management Group Providing widening participation oversight – meet 2-3 times a year Map out your institution’s process and ensure you have union representation

Key Dates This process repeats annually December 14 – Returns to HEFCE on student funding, including access related measures such as the Student Opportunity fund and the Widening Participation Strategic Statements. January 15 – Monitoring return for 13/14 Access Agreement to OFFA; 16/17 Access Agreement guidance released April 15 – Delivery of institutional Access Agreement 16/17 to OFFA

Key Dates The key area of work for students’ unions is engaging with their institutional Access Agreement. This should be your first area of priority when developing access work with your institution. This process takes place between January – April of each academic year. Access Agreements rarely change radically - begin by reading last year’s.

What are Access Agreements? A document which sets out how an institution intends to safeguard and promote fair access to HE Compulsory for any institution charging over £6000 for HE courses Approved and monitored by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) Produced in cycles – ie 2015/16 agreement delivered May 2014 Home/EU UG students studying 25%-FT Postgraduate teaching but NO other PGs

Who is an “access student”? Primarily, “access students” come from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and areas of low HE participation. As a result, class is the major area of widening participation work. Students are identified through family income and the use of POLAR (Participation of Local Areas) data. This is a dataset designed by HEFCE that places young people into one of 5 quintiles (1 low to 5 high) based on how many people in their neighbourhood go on to university.

Who is an “access student”? Other identified areas that OFFA and therefore institutions include in their access agreements include: students from some ethnic groups or sub-groups students who have been in care disabled students

Access Agreements for 15/16 The strategic landscape: The whole student lifecycle: access, transition, retention, academic success, progression to employment, including progression to postgraduate study Inclusion of equality and diversity Evidence based approach Specific focus on part time and mature students Incentives for collaboration Consultation with students’ unions

Access Agreements for 15/16 Q: Find your institution’s latest access agreement here: http://www.offa.org.uk/access-agreements/ Look through it – is there any mention of the students’ union? If so, what does it say?

Why and how to get involved

Why be involved? Institutions are expressly expected by OFFA, in their access guidance, to engage with their students’ union. You are also invited by OFFA to write an accompanying response to your institution’s access agreement. Some institutions have included this response within their access agreement, whereas other’s have sent it directly to OFFA. This is a key opportunity to comment either in favour or especially if you haven’t been consulted.

Why be involved? Areas students’ unions have focussed on include: Securing equitable bursary provision, including shaping the bursary package and getting better financial provision for students Bringing in funding to the union for staff and student-led projects Winning specific provision within access agreements for other disadvantaged students, inc. black students and care leavers

What are unions doing? Outreach Outreach programs in local schools, colleges and community Targeted interventions; working in partnership with institution Providing activities at summer schools Several unions receive funding to deliver this activity

What are Unions already doing? Fair Admissions UCAS support Next step mentoring through admission process Most union activity here tacked into post-16 work rather than discrete

What are Unions already doing? Retention and Student Success Unions aren’t doing much but *neither are institutions* Some examples include peer to peer mentoring and access to democracy work Opportunities for unions to develop evidence- based programs here Union work is likely to be highly effective in these areas but our impacts aren’t well understood

Access Agreements for 15/16 Bursary provision is under threat “We have encouraged institutions to move some spend from bursaries and scholarships to infrastructure and activity to support access and student success” The evidence points towards bursaries as an ineffective model of improving retention and success. OFFA are currently carrying out research on this but it is likely that bursaries will be challenged.

Opportunities for unions Evidence-based access in action Examine your practice and start to think about it in terms of widening participation Identify strengths or gaps in your engagement Develop a strategy to tackle it Speak to your institution about funding this work out of their access funding Examine its impact

Opportunities for unions Q: Thinking of your union, what area of work might your union be best suited to developing? (ie Outreach, Retention and Success)

Opportunities for unions Q: Thinking of this area, what one area of work might you identify as being important in building student community, that you haven’t previously identified as being related to access and widening participation? (Think: Advice? Societies? Elections? Specific student projects? Liberation?)

For more info: Sarah Kerton, Policy Consultant sarah.kerton@nus.org.uk