Colleges are critical to widening participation in higher education, Scotland’s new commissioner for fair access to higher education has said.
Speaking to TESS, Professor Sir Peter Scott said: “I think colleges are just as important as universities.”
Articulation, the process where students move to university from college with credit for their prior learning, was one of the main factors that could encourage wider access, he stressed. “One of the reasons there they have a higher access rate [for those from deprived backgrounds] in Scotland than in England is because of colleges.
“They are really important in Scotland. Many of the courses they do are in a sense free standing, employers value them, but from many, there is progression. So it is about making that as easy as possible.”
TESS previously reported the mixed picture on articulation routes in Scotland, with only four out of 17 universities able to give specific examples of partnerships they were developing with colleges (‘Break down barriers for FE students going to university’, 13 May 2016). And figures published earlier this monthshowed a 0.4 per cent decrease in university entrants from the most deprived backgrounds.
The appointment of a commissioner was one of the central recommendations of the government’s Commission on Widening Access, which published its final report last year. Sir Peter, professor of higher education studies at University College London and previously vice-chancellor of Kingston University, was appointed to the role last December.
According to the commission’s report, in 2013-14, some 43 per cent of learners from the most deprived quintile of communities progressing from college to university entered in the first year with no credit for their qualifications.
‘Quite worrying’ figures
When it came to allowing students into university with full credit for their prior learning at college, the “burden of proof” should not be on the student, Sir Peter said.
“You should assume that someone has that Higher National,” he added. The figures showing the proportion of students being given full credit were “quite worrying”, he said.
He added: “Colleges and universities should minimise the obstacles. If someone is repeating a year unnecessarily, that is costing the state and the government money and is taking up a place for someone else.”
Sir Peter said his interest in the post came from a commitment to widening access and participation. “If you have the opportunity to help make a difference, however small, then you should do it.”
His previous roles and his childhood near the Scottish border meant he had always had an interest in Scotland’s education system, he said. “I am pretty familiar with the system. I am also attracted by the fact universities don’t charge tuition fees. So tuition fees are not the problem. My view is that not having fees is a good starting point. This is a deep-rooted problem.
Widening access debate
Sir Peter said that it was important to discuss contextualised admission. “Someone who has pretty good grades from a school in a deprived area is at least as good as someone who has much better grades from a school that sends a high proportion to university.”
“There is also a debate about what widening access is,” he said, explaining some might think it was unfair to let a student with worse grades into university over a student from a less deprived background with better grades.
”But looking at the figures in Scotland, it is clear that those from deprived backgrounds have a reduced chance, and that cannot be right.”
In his role as commissioner, he would have no regulatory powers, he stressed, but would be providing an annual report. “And I can be critical about anyone in that. That is important,” he said. He could also identify areas for further research, he said, adding he would also be encouraging the development of a more coherent framework for widening access.
“At the moment, universities do a lot of good work with individual colleges and schools. It is like lots of little cottage industries,” he said. “Maybe this is more transferrable.” Much of his time was currently spent visiting universities and colleges, he said. “I don’t underestimate the challenge. There is no lack of good will on the part of colleges and universities. We are moving in the right direction, but it is not going to be easy.”
