22nd July 2015 10:00
By Blue Tutors
Top universities in England are being called on to address gaps in access and participation once and for all, in response to their request for a lift in the cap on fees. The Office of Fair Access has said that the gap between rich and poor at top universities remains stubborn significant, and has asked universities to apply their research expertise to solving the problem. Director of the Office of Fair Access Les Ebdon said that the universities calling for a lift in the cap on fees had the research expertise and resources to address the problem of access in a more meaningful way.
In a speech to the Brilliant Club’s annual conference, Professor Ebdon told university leaders that they must take up research into ways to improve fair access. Whilst top universities have been focussing on the decline of the value of fees in real terms, Offa have said that their focus should be on developing innovative solutions for fair access. They called for creative, evidence-led solutions which focus on individual institutional attributes. At the meeting of the Brilliant Club Ebdon told top universities that it was up to them to find out what strategies were most effective for their own institutions.
The Brilliant Club focuses in widening access to top universities through a number of non-profit schemes. In particular, the group trains doctoral and post-doctoral researchers and places them in non-selective state schools in areas where few students attend university. Researchers taking part in the scheme lead small university classes of students designed to prepare them for applications to top universities. In addition to working with the Brilliant Club, the Office for fair access has begun reaching out to education researchers in several universities with a view to improving understanding about the most effective access schemes.