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Welcome to issue 120!
First of all, Happy New Year from all of us at FACE towers!
Second of all, welcome to our first issue of the new year. We bring you two contributions about recent reports. The first is from FACE Chair, Prof John Storan, on the 'Higher Education Journey of Young London Residents' report. The second is from Samuel Dent (University of Sheffield) and highlights findings from the recently released report on credit transfer, 'Should i stay or should I go?'.
We bring you just one call-to-action: abstracts for poster presentations are being accepted for the national workshop on non-traditional learners in HE, joint hosted by the University of Liverpool, Queen's University Belfast, Open University and FACE.
Two excellent reports have just been released: 1. The yearly Higher Education Journey of Young London Residents and 2. The latest OFFA briefing on 'Raising attainment in schools and colleges to widen participation'.
Interested in the papers that were presented at FACE 2017? Then head over to our website where you can download presenters' slides and catch up on some fantastic WP content!
Interested in attending key sector events in this early new year period? Check out our curated list below. FACE is very excited to support a one-day workshop on developing practical solutions to the challenges non-traditional learners face in HE. See details in this issue and book your place ASAP!
Do consider purchasing our most recent FACE publication, which is packed with fantastic papers from our 2016 annual conference. It represents excellent value for money on what is a wide range of research on widening participation, access, student success and lifelong learning.
As usual, we bring you a round-up of media news and voices from the sector--including the recent Toby Young firestorm and a review of 2017 from HEPI.
If you would like to contribute a short piece of writing (300-600 words) to a future newsletter then please contact Stéphane at [email protected]. Topics can include updates on research, programmes, opinion pieces, policy analysis, conference recaps, recently published articles and much more. Our reach is currently to over 600 individuals.
Enjoy! |
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| London schools and colleges are driving social mobility |
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By Prof John Storan, FACE Chair and University of East London
For the first time the number of London students in higher education whose parents did not go to university, 28,357, has overtaken those whose parents did go to university, 27,633 – research commissioned by London Councils can reveal.
In its fifth year, the Higher Education Journey of Young London Residents report, produced by London Councils, Newham Council and the University of East London, focuses on the impact of higher education on social mobility.
The report maps the course young London residents aged 18-24 take after they complete formal education, and this year it shows that young Londoners progressing to university are from a wider range of socio-economic backgrounds – 40 per cent of entrants are from some of the most deprived postcodes in England.
There has also been a 14 per cent increase in participation among BAME students on average since last year’s figures. However the gender gap among university entrants in 2015/16 has continued to grow; with 45.8 per cent male and 54.1 per cent female in London. In 2014/15, 46.7 per cent of university entrants were male and 53.3 per cent female.
Higher education participation in London rose to its highest ever level in 2015/16, surpassing the previous peak in 2009/10, which was before the introduction of the first tuition fees increase. This pattern of increased participation is also reflected at borough level across the capital.
The Higher Education Journey of Young London Residents report was commissioned by London Councils and conducted by Professor John Storan and Gary Tindell BSc, MBPsS from University of East London; and Sheila Weeden MBA MEd from London Borough of Newham
Click here to download the report
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| Should I stay or Should I go? Students perspectives on Credit |
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By Samuel Dent, University of Sheffield
A report released by Sheffield University examines student perceptions about mobility and credit transfer and calls for the Office for Students to approach its new duty on this issue using a student-focused perspective, with the view that higher education providers could better facilitate transfers when the need arises.
According to the study, students see mobility as a student welfare matter; if a student realises they may need to change not only a course but an institution – often due to personal circumstances – current support offered by universities across the sector is limited.
Student feedback claimed that better mobility can help a student move to a university more suited to their changed needs, rather than ‘dropping-out’ of HE altogether. Currently students fear transferring to another university will be difficult, will devalue their degree and make them look unreliable, with lecturers equally expressing concerns about the intellectual integrity of a degree ‘broken’ across locations.
The report makes several recommendations to better help students in need, and had the support of FACE Chair Professor John Storan, who said:
This report is a very welcome addition to the debate about student mobility and credit transfer. Providing valuable insights into student perspectives the report identifies seven key recommendations. These are aimed at HE providers, Government, stakeholder groups as well as the Office for Students which has a duty to monitor the provision of arrangements for student transfer. A timely report indeed."
The full report can be read here: https://goo.gl/Z1X26k, and questions about the report can be made to the lead Author Samuel Dent: [email protected], @SRDent89
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| Workshop Call for Papers: Succeeding with non-traditional learners in HE |
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The University of Liverpool, Queen’s University Belfast, and the Open University, with the support of the FACE, invite you to attend this one-day event, which will both identify the challenges facing learners from non-traditional backgrounds and present practical solutions to enable success in higher education (HE).
Students coming to HE through alternative routes to A levels (via BTEC or Access routes) and those who have been out of education for some time, often need transitional support to enable them to fully engage with the different learning environment of university. This one day workshop seeks to explore the challenges that such approaches present and what practical solutions institutions are adopting to address them. The event will contribute to the development of institutional Access Agreements and the development of Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) metrics.
The cost is £99 and there is a 10% reduction for staff working at universities which are FACE members.
Booking now open!
Further information and registration details
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| FACE 2017 paper presentations now online! |
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We are pleased to announce that many of the paper presentations from this year's FACE conference in Glasgow are now online.
If you presented at FACE 2017 and haven't already sent your presentation but would like it to go on our website, please email it to Stephane.
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| FACE publication: new year, same great book! |
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Why not treat you and your colleagues to the latest FACE publication?
FACE’s latest publication: Widening Participation in the Context of Economic and Social Change, draws on a selection of papers presented at the 23rd FACE annual conference hosted at Queen’s University Belfast. Whilst the contributions reflect the themes of the conference they also highlight something of the diversity of FACE’s membership which brings together practitioners, policy makers, researchers and academics working in a variety of contexts and settings not just throughout the UK but also from other educational systems around the world.
The common theme, which links the chapters in this publication, is that the research and projects reported on seek to make change happen, whether at programme, institutional or system level. The publication provides an opportunity to disseminate this work to a wider audience beyond the conference.
FACE is a vibrant community of practice which encourages practitioners and early-career researchers to publish their work. Recognising the challenges of academic writing and publishing, authors are supported through the process by a team of experienced editors and referees who provide detailed and constructive feedback on draft submissions. Peer to peer scholarship is therefore very much at the heart of the FACE publication experience.
 
Launching our new publication was Glasgow School of Art (GSA) student Caitlin Callaghan. Caitline is a fantastic young artist who designed the cover. She benefited from GSA's access programme and will be studying Sculpture in the upcoming academic year.
To learn from the challenges and successes of others order your copy of the FACE publication by clicking here to download an order form or head to our website and fill out the online form.
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| Call for Papers and Call to Actions |
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Know of any call for papers for conferences/journals or call to actions for consultations/research bids in the fields of widening participation, access, lifelong learning or related fields?
Let us know! [email protected]
Succeeding with non-traditional learners in HE | Deadline: 1st February 2018
Submissions for poster presentations are welomed in the form of 250 word abstracts.
Particularly welcome are presentations of interventions that have been appropriately evaluated and would serve as practical models of good practice for improving the success of non-traditional learners.
Submit abstracts to [email protected]
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Below is a list of events around the UK within the access, lifelong learning and widening participation fields.
If you'd like your event to be listed, get in touch :) |
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Next steps for raising educational attainment and improving social mobility in England | January 18 2018, Central London
This Westminster Education Forum examines next steps in the policy drive to raise educational attainment and improve social mobility in England. It will be an opportunity to discuss latest findings from the Social Mobility Commission’s annual State of the Nation report, recent Government funding commitments and recent publications.
Further details click here
How can we meaningfully listen to students’ voices to shape policy and practice? | January 25 2018, Bristol
This seminar will address the complex and contentious idea of the “student voice” for widening participation.
Through a series of research presentations and group discussion we will explore what the student voice could come to mean, the political and ethical issues it brings up and learn practical tips in order to address, if and how, those working in widening participation policy and practice can meaningfully shape their work by listening the voices of students.
This seminar is part of a partnership series between OFFA and the SRHE that seeks further provocative discussion, promote learning and build networks between researchers, practitioners and policy actors.
Further details click here
Preparing Students for HE & Supporting Them Through the Transition | January 31 2018, Central London
Join Westminster Briefing on 31 January to discuss how best to prepare students for higher education and what more can be done to support them through the transition. We will examine actions leading institutions are already taking and discuss good practice examples that can be adapted to your own institution.
Further details click here
Evidence-led practice: invitation to KCLxBIT results event & panel discussion | January 31 2018, Central London
This event marks the end of KCLxBIT, a two-year collaborative project between King’s College London and the Behavioural Insights Team. Over the past two years this work has explored whether behavioural insights can be used to improve the outcomes of non-traditional students in higher education. This is the first time behavioural insights have been applied in a UK university context.
Results from seven randomised control trials, as well as the 6 point pulse survey carried out over the past year. A panel discussion will follow on the future of evidence-led practice in full student lifecycle approaches, with contributions from behavioural insights professionals & senior HE sector representatives including David Halpern (Behavioural Insights Team), Emran Mian (Department for Education), Nick Hillman (HEPI) and Professor Nicola Phillips (King’s College London).
Further details click here
Disabled students - funding, inclusivity and access | February 6 2018, Central London
Join Westminster HE Forum on 6 February to discuss the latest thinking on tackling barriers to greater participation and success for disabled students, as well as the long term impact of changes to funding policy.
Further details click here
HEFCE National Conference on Learning Gain | February 7 2018, Birmingham, UK
HEFCE’s third National Conference on Learning Gain is expected to include:
- Updates on the HEFCE’s learning gain programme and related activity
- A discussion on learning gain in international HE
- Panel sessions on measuring learning gain and ethics
- A series of breakout sessions focused on the following themes:
1. Big data and learning gain
2. Learning gain and employability
3. Engaging students in learning gain activity
4. Learning gain and learning and teaching enhancement
Further details click here
Whatever happened to our vision of a learning society: The Learning Age 20 years on | February 16 2018, University of Wolverhampton
Building on the work of Kennedy, Tomlinson and Dearing, David Blunkett’s Preface to The Learning Age was the high water mark of lifelong learning policy in England. Twenty years after its publication, this conference reviews the initiatives that flowed from it and asks what prospects now for lifelong learning.
Further details click here
The priorities for facilitating student success through effective curriculum design - embedding employability, inclusivity and measuring learning gain | February 27 2018, Central London
This Westminster Higher Education Forum seminar examines latest thinking on delivering curriculum design that can facilitate the aims of inclusivity, graduate employability and significant learning gain.
It takes place as higher education providers prepare for changes to the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) assessment due to be rolled out in 2019, that will look at ensuring teaching excellence and student outcomes are intertwined as well as placing a greater emphasis on learning gain, employability and student feedback.
Further details click here
Embedding a Whole Institution Approach to Widening Participation | February 28 2018, Central London
Universities spend a lot of time, money & effort on attempts to widen participation. However, to reach this outcome, they need to make sure they develop a cross organisation response. Recognising the need for research & evidence in this area, a recently concluded OFFA project “sought to improve understanding of what a successful ‘whole institution approach’ to widening participation looks like.”
Join Westminster Briefing on 28 February for an up to date brief on embedding a whole institution approach to widening participation. We will consider what a whole institution approach actually looks like, examine current examples and discuss the best ways to evaluate different WP programmes.
Further details click here
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| Reports, news and voices from the sector |
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Recent Reports
Higher Education Journey of Young London Residents | London Councils, University of East London, London Borough of Newham
In its fifth year, the Higher Education Journey of Young London Residents report, produced by London Councils, Newham Council and the University of East London, focuses on the impact of higher education on social mobility.
The report maps the course young London residents aged 18-24 take after they complete formal education, and this year it shows that young Londoners progressing to university are from a wider range of socio-economic backgrounds – 40 per cent of entrants are from some of the most deprived postcodes in England.
Read the full report here
Raising attainment in schools and colleges to widen participation | Office for Fair Access
This briefing aims to stimulate thinking and discussion about how universities and colleges can improve higher education access and participation by helping to raise attainment in schools. We hope it will support and encourage evidence-led approaches tailored to institutions’ own contexts and circumstances.
It gives an overview of why higher education providers with access agreements should support the attainment of school pupils from disadvantaged and under-represented backgrounds. It also highlights the work currently being done through access agreements, gives effective practice examples and includes questions for institutions to consider when developing their work.
Read the full report here
News digest & voices from the sector
Some wider HE sector insights:
Department for Education defend Toby Young appointment (Guardian)
The Tories are out of step with modern life – and Toby Young shows it
(Guardian)
Free speech works both ways – as Toby Young is finding out
(Guardian)
I once marched against tuition fees. Now I can see their worth (Guardian)
How to lose credibility and alienate students (Wonkhe)
Universities’ shame – unpicking the black attainment gap
(Wonkhe)
Widen thinking as well as participation (Wonkhe)
Growth in degree apprenticeships mustn’t endanger social mobility (Wonkhe)
And finally...why not catch up on a review of a "relentless" 2017 from HEPI!
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This is the monthly e-Bulletin from FACE (the Forum for Access and Continuing Education), offered to practitioners, policy-makers, researchers and others with an interest in access, widening participation and lifelong learning. The e-Bulletin is sent to colleagues in the sector; members and non-members alike. If you would prefer not to receive it, please contact Stephane Farenga and your details will be removed from the circulation list.
If you wish to respond to anything in this e-Bulletin or make a contribution to future issues – particularly news and events - please also contact Stephane Farenga. |
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