How can universities compensate for socio-economic inequalities?
A guest post by Josie Fraser, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Open University
In a Fairness Foundation poll of UK adults, Unequal Kingdom, it was clear that many people are worried about educational inequality (68% of those polled). Educational outcomes are very unequal in the UK, with disadvantaged children 18 months behind their peers by the time they take their GCSEs (Education Policy Institute, 2023), and while 49% of non-disadvantaged school pupils go to university, only 29% of school pupils who have experienced deprivation (such as poverty or poor housing) go on to higher education (DfE, 2023).
Wanting to make sure that as many people as possible get access to quality higher education has been at the heart of the Open University's mission since it was founded in 1969. The Open University delivers a very high quality of higher education (we hold a Teaching Excellence Framework "Gold" Award, and the OU has trained more CEOs and MDs than any other UK university), while also, uniquely, having no entry requirements.?
The Open University supports people from any background, no matter their school success (or failure) and no matter when that was, with the chance to give Higher Education a try, across a wide range of subjects and with a lot of flexibility.
We believe that education must be open to everyone, in order for people from all backgrounds to fulfil their potential. Higher education may not be what every individual wants, but for those who do want access to a high-quality university education, their opportunity shouldn't be prevented by early disadvantage, which not only affects grades achieved in school for entry, but also affects ambition and aspiration and understanding of the options available.
Many universities work hard to consider those from disadvantaged backgrounds, but it's not easy to level the playing field where so much of the 'ranking' of a university depends on how elitist it is, i.e. how tough it is to get into! The OU is unique in the UK in having an open entry policy, and we have worked hard to build supportive teaching, that assumes very little about prior educational attainment or experience, but moves students to degree-level knowledge and thinking, in a structured way.
Of course, there are very real societal and economic benefits of having a highly skilled, educated workforce, in a world where jobs are changing, quicker than ever. Our economy is changing, with 60% of the workforce today in occupations that didn't exist in 1940; and there are estimates that 50% of people in the US and Europe will need to change skills in the next 5-10 years. The work of the future is, potentially, to build better jobs in an age of assistance from intelligent machines. Universities must be part of the driving force behind that transition (we should not be relying on big technology companies alone) and in this future, the three-year, on-campus residential model isn't the best (or at least not the only) model for higher education - people will need access to high quality higher education across their lifetimes, as their personal needs (and employer skills needs) change. Everyone should have access to skills-building education that suits them, at their point of need.
At the OU, our students have always been diverse in terms of age (our median student age is currently 27, which hides that our youngest ever graduate was 13 and our oldest ever graduate was 94). Most OU students are studying part-time, to facilitate working while studying; and for those who choose to take our part-time programmes at a higher intensity, they often flex during their time with us (to slow down or speed up their study, as their life circumstances change).
It is unlikely that everyone with the ability and talent that our society needs will be in a position to take multiple three-year 'campus-based' degrees (with their caring, parenting, health needs, responsibilities, bills), as jobs change and opportunities arise - so a flexible, comprehensive curriculum that challenges people to develop new, graduate skills, while continuing to work, is more important than ever. For the sake of a fairer society, to have degree-level learning available to all, no matter their previous educational attainment, no matter their personal circumstances, when it’s needed, is more relevant than ever too.
Universities can compensate for socio-economic inequalities in several ways: by pursuing more ambitious ‘fair access’ arrangements, such as differential entry requirements for those young people who have had school-age disadvantage (“contextual offers”), and removing entry requirements for mature learners. Universities must continue to raise ambition and awareness of the reasons to take up higher education, through outreach that brings the community into the university. To ensure that people in the workplace of all ages can re-skill and grow their opportunity, universities need to develop a wider range of higher education courses – such as short courses or “microcredentials” – allowing people to develop graduate skills, flexibly, around work and home life.
Central government and regulator expectations have influenced universities and ensured widening access to higher education. Government can do more to encourage those students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds – for example, reinstating maintenance grants for the poorest students (supporting those who do want a residential model), and introducing maintenance loans for those who want to study part-time at a distance (currently available in Wales, but in England only for campus-based full-time students).
Funders, regulators and governments across the four UK nations could incentivise the tertiary sector (colleges and universities) to adopt consistent approaches to credit transfer that would allow for the ‘stackability’ of short courses – allowing those who learn over time, with courses appropriate to their needs or their employer’s needs, to gain their degree. A more consistent credit transfer approach would require effort and a lot of coordination, but offering short, skills-focused courses that enhance employability and are designed with industry would be an interesting approach to ensuring more people have chance to maximise their potential through employer sponsorship, for example, while not losing their chance to gain a degree.
An effective relationship between universities and business is important, but universities cannot achieve effective promotion of options alone. When central government promotes a range of approaches to skills learning across the college and university sectors (e.g by incentivising the development of short courses), and promotes a range of courses to employers and potential students (such as microcredentials in Ireland), this can change the landscape, providing a range of routes to enable everyone to maximise their potential.
This guest post is written by Josie Fraser, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Open University.
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