The 'See the World -- Winchester' programme was funded by the UK Turing scheme in 2021-2022 and aimed to broaden the horizons of historically marginalised students who may not otherwise have had access to extracurricular opportunities such as international travel. The purpose of this article is twofold. Firstly, the authors reflect on the…

This paper explores how fairness was conceptualised by those responsible for admission to highly selective undergraduate courses at 17 universities in England. Fairness was conceptualised principally with reference to the traditional "meritocratic equality of opportunity" paradigm, which holds that university places should go to the most…

Professionalising outreach and evaluation work would enhance the quality and rigour of provision, benefit widening participation students and achieve regulatory requirements (Bowes et al. [2019]. "The National Collaborative Outreach Programme End of Phase 1 report for the national formative and impact evaluations." Office for Students;…

This article explores the findings from my professional doctorate that focused on professional services staff in a university in the North West of England and their perceptions of identity. With little literature surrounding the identity of professional services staff, this paper asks if professional services staff relationships with academic…

The COVID-19 pandemic forced HE Providers (HEPs) to radically transition traditional teaching and assessment to 100% remote delivery. UK Governments' policies widening HE participation have yielded a significant minority of disabled students (15%). This study investigated English HEPs (n = 133) transition advice to academics regarding these…

Higher Education Institutions in England are an integral part of the government's social mobility strategy. Contextualisation of undergraduate admissions decisions has emerged as a key tool towards progressing social mobility objectives. The present paper builds on our previous 2013 research by describing findings from 15 qualitative interviews…

This paper reports on the findings of an ESRC funded project that contributes to the evidence base underpinning contextualised approaches to undergraduate admissions in England. We show that the bolder use of reduced entry requirements for disadvantaged learners is necessary if ambitious new widening access targets set by the Office for Students…

The attainment gap in Higher Education outcomes between under-represented ethnic minority groups and the white student body is a problem at a variety of institutions around the UK, requiring immediate and sustained interventions and actions. The issue will not be solved by specific interventions and changes in practice but instead will require a…

Higher education in England has expanded in most years since the Second World War, moving from an elite system to a mass one where half of school leavers now progress to university. A lasting funding settlement, however, has proved elusive as the generosity of the post-war decades became unviable as the sector expanded. Eventually this led to the…

This thought piece attempts to explore the link between graduate employment and students' social capital within the context of UK higher education. It addresses the importance of social capital and the problems faced by graduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds when applying to graduate roles. It takes a practical approach by looking at…

The vagaries of market forces are presenting a financially challenging environment for the higher education sector in England. Intense competition is leaving those overly dependent on tuition fee income in an exposed position. Despite a strong narrative for the need to diversify funding in the available higher education literature, empirical…

A growing body of literature is encouraging academics to slow down their academic work as a way of managing the acceleration of university life. Little attention, however, has been paid to the important differences in temporalities among different sorts of higher education institutions, and the effect this is likely to have upon the sense of…

This paper summarises a new method of grouping postgraduate taught (PGT) courses introduced at Oxford Brookes University as a part of a Portfolio Review. Instead of classifying courses by subject, the new cluster approach uses statistical methods to group the courses based on factors including flexibility of study options, level of specialisation,…

In this research informed perspective, I discuss some of the barriers students face during progression to higher education. A crucial role can be played by higher education institutions (HEIs) and other public bodies. I discuss some of the measures taken and critically evaluate these to show how these can be improved. In the absence of a…

The impact of widening participation policy and how it is enacted institutionally is a central concern to Higher Education. It is not simply about the admission of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, but also ensuring that these students complete their courses successfully. This work therefore goes far beyond those departments tasked with…