Our WP Strategy

Strategy 2030 is the key internal driver at the University of Edinburgh and is particularly relevant for WP in terms of the following values:

• Our teaching and research is relevant to society and we are diverse, inclusive and accessible to all.
• We sustain a deep allegiance and commitment to the interests of the city and region in which we are based, alongside our national and international efforts, ensuring relevance to all.
• We are a place of transformation and of self-improvement, driven to achieve benefit for individuals, communities, societies and our world.

And for the vision of where we want to be in 2030:

• We will be leading Scotland’s commitment to widening participation.
• We will be a destination of choice, based on our clear “Edinburgh Offer”. All of our staff and students will develop here, whether they are from Leith, Lisbon, Lahore or Lilongwe.

Other university strategies the WP agenda intersects with and / or collaborates on:  

Corporate Parenting

Stand Alone Pledge

Community Engagement  

Social and Civic Responsibility Plan

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Edinburgh Race Equality Network

Equality Diversity Monitoring and Research Committee (EDMARC)

GenderED

Scotland

The University of Edinburgh works with the Scottish Funding Council to develop a three year Outcome Agreement (refreshed annually) which is our public statement, and includes our commitment to widening access as well as other areas such as employability and research.

Outcome Agreements 

In 2014-15, The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government set out the ambition that a child born at that time in one of Scotland’s most deprived communities should, by the time she or he left school, have the same chance of going to university as a child born in one of the country’s least deprived areas. To realise the First Minister's ambition of equality of access to higher education in Scotland, Scottish Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are to increase the proportion of students from the most deprived communities in Scotland; based on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). For the purpose of Scottish Government targets, students from the most deprived backgrounds (lowest 20%) are defined as those from SIMD20 and equality of access should be seen in both the college and the university sector. The main target is that by 2030, students from the 20% most deprived backgrounds should represent 20% of entrants to higher education as a whole.

Additionally, the Commission on Widening Access (COWA) was established to advise Ministers on how this ambition could be met.  The final COWA report in 2017 included 34 recommendations for the WP sector 'Blueprint for Fairness'

A Blueprint for Fairness

Rest of the UK

Widening participation is a key governmental priority across all the four nations.  The Alan Milburn report of 2012 was a seminal piece of research for the WP in HE discussion. We follow closely the work of England’s Office for Students (previously HEFCE and OFFA), Wales’ HEFCW, and Northern Ireland’s Department for Employment and Learning to inform our strategic focus and understanding across the UK. The University uses ACORN as a geographical proxy for deprivation which measures on smaller population sizes than the SIMD tool and is used for applicants from across the UK.

Acorn consumer classification (CACI)

Emerging priorities in WP

We are pleased to see that areas long been of interest to our WP team, are becoming sector prioritie, across the WP landscape. We will continue to inform our strategy by championing these areas, amplifying lived experience in our practice, building new initiatives and opportunities, and advocating policy and student support in collaboration with our colleagues in these emerging areas, which include:

• BAME students
• Care Experienced students
• Young Carers
• Postgraduate Study for WP Students
• Access for disabled Students

The University of Edinburgh’s WP Strategy is the starting point in a process of developing a campus of belonging; a University where we do not simply focus on representation or under-representation, but more importantly upon a sense of community and being in the right place.

Our current strategy not only strengthens our efforts to widen access to our institution even further, but also ensures that those students are supported in their transition, their academic journey, and their progression onto a career or further study of their choice. We are doing this through four mutually supportive strands of the strategy (outlined below): We will also incorporate into each of these student lifecycle stages a consideration for students with protected characteristics, in particular where these intersect with socio-economic disadvantage.

The WP Strategy was launched in 2018 with Deputy First Minister John Swinney MSP – outlining a three-year plan to further improve access into higher education.

News article: 'Strategy builds on diversity milestone'

Pages dedicated to our current strategy with staff guides for each strand can be found on our WP guides

WP Guides for staff

Widening Participation Strategy Summary (1.17 MB - PDF)

Widening Participation Strategy Guiding Principles (1.67 MB - PDF)

Four Strands of the WP Strategy

Strand 1 - Aspiration and early engagement 

To widen access we need to play our part in supporting and growing an applicant pool of disadvantaged students who are suitably qualified for access to university level study. We know this long-term work is a critical aspect of building upon our reputation as a University that cares about widening access and its local communities. Being more targeted and strategic in our approach to working with schools and community groups will allow us to ensure our outreach is of optimum value and impact.

Strand 2 - Support to get in    

We know it is not enough to raise aspirations if we do no honour this at the qualifications, admissions and financial support stage. We need to establish a clear and transparent route into the University for learners undertaking a range of qualifications in a range of settings. Our messages should be clear and understandable for all students with the potential to succeed at the University and it should encourage those from under-represented groups to see us as an obvious and attractive choice.

Strand 3 - Support to succeed             

We know that initial barriers to education can continue for students after they enter university and may affect their student experience, degree outcomes, future careers and earning potential. WP initiatives are being embedded across the University to address these discrepancies and enhance the learner journey for students from a disadvantaged or under-represented background from transition, to study and beyond.

Strand 4 - Support to progress

All University of Edinburgh undergraduates, regardless of background, should be supported and enabled to develop the capability, confidence and opportunity to progress in their chosen career or to further study on graduation. Helping students build confidence, think tactically and to take full advantage of opportunities, including developing their social capital, is a key aim for this strand of activity.

The WP strategy is still relevant and the principles and strands will remain a core aspect of any future work, but as we move into the final year of its implementation we will be reviewing and evaluating its impact and thinking how any future approaches can take us closer to the aims of strategy 2030 as well as other different priorities that have arisen due to COVID-19. Working with the reformed WP strategy group we will be reshaping what our institutional priorities should be over the next 6-12 months.

Since the launch of the strategy in 2018 we have:

Admissions

• Met the Commission for Widening Access targets of 10% of our intake to come from the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland 3 years ahead of schedule. Our students from SIMD20 areas represent 11.4% of this year’s UG intake (19/20 cycle).
• Seen a marginal growth and maintenance of those students who have applied and accepted offers from disadvantaged backgrounds (flagged within our contextual admissions process) in the 2020 recruitment cycle.
• Confirmed recent changes to the current admissions cycle:
  • Care experience definition has been altered to bring it in line with sector-wide agreed definition
  • Refugee and asylum seeking applicants to be more formally flagged as Plus Flag
  • Low progression schools – new categorization based on a combination of factors including FSM, SIMD20 and low progression to HE
• Trialled university-wide SIMD20 conversion pilots which have now become common practice

Schools

• Launched a pilot secondary school partnership programme, YourEd, to support more school students from low attaining or low-progression (to HE) schools into the University of Edinburgh. This continues into its third year with an emerging YourEd+ programme.
• Launched a new Medicine Summer School online this year (2020).

• Been a founding partner in the Hub for SUCCESS– a service supporting care experienced students to access education. 

Pathways and Transitions

• Established a new part-time Access route into the University of Edinburgh (to arts, humanities and social sciences degrees) and over the next few years we will be developing foundation and access routes into the University for further academic disciplines.

• Worked with COL to enhance and deliver the online Moving On programme.
• Built new college partnerships and access routes (Articulation to Edinburgh College) including new SWAP college routes to Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.

WP Student Experience and Support

• ​​​​Launched the new Access Edinburgh Scholarships which now includes care experienced and estranged students who will receive £5000 per year during their studies.
• Launched a new Scholarship for disadvantaged Black students with the Cowrie Scholarship Foundation. The University will cover tuition fees for at least three students over ten years. The Foundation will provide the students with additional funding to help with their living costs.
• Launched the Edinburgh Cares staff mentoring programme for care experienced & estranged students
• The Students Association expanding its mentoring offer to provide mentoring for new BAME students at the University as well as postgraduate mentoring (PGR to PGT/PGR to UG)
• The Insights programme for on course WP flagged students has grown to allow over 100 students per year to be placed with alumni for work shadowing opportunities
• The Sports and Societies Participation Grant will enter into its 3rd year providing additional funds to support participation in sports and student for our current students from widening participation backgrounds

Supporting Staff

• Created the WP Guides and  WP SharePoint to support staff to engage, upskill and collaborate in this area
• Supported WP-themed Principal’s Teaching Award Scheme grants, awarded in 2019-2020 for staff
• Supported 2 new WP champions  posts in the Colleges
  • a Dean of Systematic Inclusion & EDI in CSE
  • an Associate Dean of WP in CAHSS (and built a very active WP Champion staff network within CAHSS)

We are in the development phase for a number of other related initiatives:

Ground-breaking education centres in Craigmillar and Govan. ​​​​​The Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh have been working together on a ground-breaking new collaboration with education charity IntoUniversity to address the needs of some of the poorest young people in Scotland. Two local education centres have launched in 2020 in the heart of Glasgow (Govan) and Edinburgh’s (Craigmillar) most disadvantaged communities and will work alongside local schools, universities and third sector organisations to provide students with the academic support, pastoral care, one-to-one mentoring and practical advice needed to foster aspiration and ambition.

Learn more about this collaboration

Tutoring for School Pupils (COVID-19 Recovery). We are launching an attainment support pilot (TutorED) in Edinburgh and the South East (Fife, Midlothian, Borders) in partnership with Moray House School of Education and South East Improvement Collaborative (SEIC) providing much needed employment for our current students whilst supporting the attainment gap for WP pupils who have been particularly affected by COVID-19.

Guidance on WP Student Data. In-house collaborative work on enhancing the use, guidance and accessibility of student data for staff to improve understanding, analysis and evidence based activity.

Staff Resources around Schools Outreach. Building guidance and resources for colleagues who undertake (schools) outreach work including safeguarding and practical guides

Contextual Admissions Commitment. Continue to provide contextualized admissions for those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds including care-experienced and provide alternative entry requirements for mature applicants. We will be reviewing the evidence base for how we assess contextual admissions over the next year to ensure it is fit for purpose and principle rather than process-driven.

BAME. It is really critical that we seek to better understand the levels of underrepresentation as well as issues around offer making/acceptance rates by specific groups of BAME students. Equality and Diversity is rightly so receiving more attention and priority within the University at present and going forward and will become a more prominent aspect of future recruitment and widening participation strategies. We expect to recruit an undergraduate population that reflects the diversity of socio-economic and ethnic characteristics of the Scottish (and UK) population (SIMD/Acorn/school-type, Gender & Ethnicity as the key dimensions).

WP at Postgraduate level. We still have a long way to go around WP students accessing postgraduate study but we are working on developments with our PG colleagues (and wider) looking at requirements, funding and support.

To ensure the strategy is implemented, this plan is being overseen by a group of colleagues drawn from across the University. The group’s purpose is:

• to oversee the University Widening Participation Strategy and provide a forum for facilitating its ongoing development
• to discuss and promote WP and social mobility at the University of Edinburgh and beyond
• facilitate a strategic and coordinated approach to widening participation across the University of Edinburgh
• facilitate dialogue and connections between research, policy, and practice in connection to WP at the University of Edinburgh and take an evidenced based approach to setting the future direction

You can find out more about the WP Strategy Group including its members by visiting the SharePoint.

WP Strategy Group Sharepoint

To find out how you can get involved contact Laura Cattell, Head of Widening Participation.

Laura Cattell

Head of Widening Participation / Deputy Director of Student Recruitment and Admissions

• Student Recruitment and Admissions

Contact details

• Work: +44 (0)131 650 4383
• Email: laura.cattell@ed.ac.uk