12th December 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
A new report released by the Higher Education Policy Institute has said that the UK’s top universities are as exclusive as ever, and are not trying hard enough to attract students from poorer backgrounds. The report authors said that too many poor students end up at “less prestigious” higher education institutions, despite many of them having excellent A’level results. The report referred to research which shows that the proportion of poor students attending the most prestigious universities in the country had not changed significantly in over 15 years, and in some cases had actually fallen. The policy institute concluded that the UK has a highly stratified and hierarchical university system, which was preventing students from poorer backgrounds from having the same chances as their wealthier counterparts.
Director of the Higher Education Policy Institute Bahram Bekhradnia said that poorer students were systematically disadvantaged, as performance in school is closely linked to socio-economic background, and top universities only accept students with excellent results. He commented that the Russell group is as socially exclusive as ever, and is not taking the steps necessary to address the balance. He referred to US universities which take a far more active role in social engineering and ensure that opportunities are provided for students from poorer backgrounds. He criticised UK institutions for avoiding measures which could be viewed as social engineering. Currently, top universities consider what they refer to as ‘contextual information’ regarding poorer students’ backgrounds, but the policy institute has said that they need to go much further.
The Russell Group has disputed the findings, and argues that their access efforts to widen access have been a priority. They pointed out that institutions charging the full tuition fee of £9000 must have an access plan approved by the office of fair access. These plans must include details on how the universities will recruit students from poorer backgrounds, and the support they will receive whilst at university. The Russell group spends millions on access programmes each year, but maintain that students must have the right qualifications in order to succeed.