This is a joint seminar with UALL

This series presents a series of interlinked seminars  aimed at grounding and contextualising discussions of widening participation in considerations of the local and micro practices of widening participation (WP) by focusing on two cities (Sheffield and London) and on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which face different challenges in relation to WP and to the idea of the ‘local’. The seminars will use WP/access-related research to draw attention to how WP practices at a local level shape and influence choice-making, access, progression and success and how, in turn, these inform issues of in/justice and in/equality.

The series is jointly delivered by the Society for Research into Higher Education and the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning. The sessions will bring researchers and other academics together with practitioners from HE, FE, schools and local authorities departments to explore, amongst other areas:

1.            how ‘local’ is conceptualised and researched and how this shapes thinking and practice

2.            how connections are made across cities and regions and the strategies adopted to try and connect the local with the national

3.            the micro practices of WP and how these shape and are shaped by macro (national) and the meso (institutional) policies and practice

4.            what lessons can be learned for researching WP across cities or regions

Speakers:

Professor Chris Taylor, Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD), Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

The geography of widening access to higher education

Access to higher education (HE) has become a controversial area of policy, as successive UK administrations have sought to balance increasing student fees with ensuring that HE is open to individuals from as wide a range of social backgrounds as possible. Universities are encouraged to undertake activities to ensure fair access, from outreach activities to contextualised admissions. However, it is less clear how to measure fair access, given that participation is largely determined by prior educational qualifications – which are themselves dependent on systemic inequalities in the education system. Using a unique dataset of three cohorts of school-leavers in Wales we have been able to distinguish between various young people’s characteristics that are associated with participation (and non-participation) in HE. Crucially we demonstrate that there are numerous geographical phenomenon associated with participation. The implications of this are significant since it highlights the tension with national policies for widening access with the local strategies and interventions of individual universities.

Chris Taylor is a Professor in the School of Social Science at Cardiff University and a research director in the Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD). He has been researching higher education participation for nearly fifteen years, and was recently awarded ESRC funding to use administrative data in the analysis of widening access to higher education in Wales.

Sinead Gallagher, Senior Project Manager, Department for Education and Skills, Welsh Government

The Seren Network: a case study for partnership working

 The Seren Network is a Welsh Government initiative to support high achieving sixth formers fulfil their academic potential and progress to leading universities. This programme was the primary recommendation of Lord Paul Murphy in his report to Government as Oxbridge Ambassador for Wales which reported an achievement and progression gap between Wales and the rest of the UK. The Seren Network brings a range of local and national partners together to deliver support for high achievers through coordinated and cooperative efforts. This session will explore the strengths and challenges of a partnership approach, and discuss how best to encourage and embed cultural changes in the long term.

Sinead Gallagher is a Senior Project Manager in the Department for Education and Skills within the Welsh Government. She leads on the development and implementation of the Seren Network; a national network of regional partnership hubs to support high achieving students. Prior to this, Sinead worked with the Oxbridge Ambassador for Wales in researching the issue of support for Welsh high achievers, culminating in an evidence-based report of issues and recommendations published in 2014. Before joining Welsh Government, Sinead was Head of Access at the University of Oxford, with responsibility for widening access policy and programme delivery.

Professor Colin Trotman, Department of Adult Continuing Education, Swansea University

Widening Access for Adults – the Community-based Part-time degree in Humanities, History and English

The Department of Adult Continuing Education (DACE) is a widening access and community focused department.  It offers a wide range of part-time courses from short taster accredited modules to the Community-based Part-time BA (Honours) Degree (PTD) in Humanities, History and English.  The wide geographical spread of course locations across the south west Wales region and in particular those offered in Communities First areas reflects DACE’s commitment to widen access to Higher Education (HE) through adult education and provide new learning opportunities.  The department also provides an advice, guidance and support service to enable students to make the right subject choice and achieve their full potential.  DACE programmes - the Accredited Programme and the PTD – are designed with the aim of widening access to the maximum number of students in the community and on campus, offer as wide a range of subject choice as possible and reach out to learners in disadvantaged and isolated communities. The PTD, established in 1990, DACE’s flagship programme, is a six year part-time programme delivered in 12 community venues across south West Wales and at two University campus venues.  The PTD widens access to HE and targets adults who have not had the opportunity of studying at HE level previously and who, because of work commitments or caring responsibilities, cannot study on a full-time basis.  There are currently 195 students enrolled on the Part-time Degree and the programme has seen over 564 adult students graduate. DACE provides a supportive student-centred environment by working closely with tutors and community venue partners to ensure that the diverse needs of students are met.  ‘Pathways’ activities underpin PTD recruitment, retention and progression, so that students can exercise informed choice and achieve their full potential.   In practical terms, this means providing extensive study skills and IT support, educational guidance and employability workshops, information events and taster courses, help with funding issues, support for students with disabilities and flexibility in timetabling. The Part-time BA (Honours) Degree in Humanities, History and English and its associated progression programmes are models of good practice with clearly visible successful outcomes.  The operational structure and the type of academic, study skills, pastoral and financial support inherent to these programmes are transferrable and would be most appropriate for the ‘promotion of best practice’.

Professor Colin Trotman is Head of Department in the Department of Adult Continuing Education, Swansea University.  As an adult student he studied for both his first and second degree in Sociology. He pioneered Wales’ first community based access to higher education programme and initiated the Department’s educational guidance work.  During his career, his main activities have been in the area of providing access routes and new learning opportunities for previously excluded groups.  He has wide experience of working with disadvantaged adult students. Professor Trotman has in-depth experience of widening access as both a practitioner and researcher.  He is head of a very successful Department of Adult Continuing Education and has provided strategic leadership to meet the widening access objectives of both the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG).  His Department works very effectively across the South West Wales spatial plan region to deliver an integrated programme of delivery which caters for under-represented social groups (in Higher Education), ethnic minorities, disabled students and students with ‘other’ educational needs.  He plays a central role in Swansea University’s widening access activities and through collaboration/networking is to the fore in the majority of widening access initiatives in South West Wales.  He has personally driven the Department’s ‘part-time degree community-based programme’ to a point whereby in February 2016, it is delivered in twelve community venues and two campus venues across the south west Wales region and has in excess of 195 students.

Vanessa Thomas graduated from Swansea Metropolitan University with a Business Studies degree.  In 2007, she joined the Department of Adult Continuing Education (DACE) as a Community Development Worker for the ESF funded Community Progression Widening Access Project.  In 2008, Vanessa was appointed as the Development Worker for the Part-time Humanities Degree.  She works actively to promote all DACE programmes to engage adult students, who are new to Higher Education, in Community First areas throughout Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire.

Sara Jones and Dr Nick Jones, Continuing & Professional Education, Cardiff University

Part-time Pathways to a Degree at Cardiff University

The Pathways to a Degree project aims to widen access to Cardiff University degrees for adults from groups who might not normally consider university as an option, including students from socially and economically deprived backgrounds, and those disadvantaged by physical disabilities and mental health conditions. This type of provision offers Academic Schools within the institution the opportunity to fulfil their widening access commitments and has the huge potential of empowering students, offering those who were prevented by a whole range of barriers from studying at university as teenagers the chance to do so a little later in life. There are currently nine pathways in operation, each of which consists of 60 credits at CQFW Level 4. This presentation will provide an overview of the project and will look in detail at enrolment, assessment and progression data, and will offer reflections on the real-world reality of working with adult learners on a social policy module on the Pathway to Social Sciences.

Sara Jones is due to submit her PhD on the development and implementation of the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification this year. Her first degree was in Psychology, before going on to complete a PGCE and MSc in Social Science Research Methods at Cardiff University. She has worked as a Pathways tutor in Continuing and Professional Education in Cardiff University for four years and has been the Pathways Co-ordinator for one year. As Pathways Co-ordinator she is responsible for supporting the management and delivery of the nine Pathways to a Degree schemes.

Dr Nick Jones is a Senior Lecturer at Continuing and Professional Education, Cardiff University. He co-ordinates the Humanities programme and the Pathway to English Language, Literature and Philosophy. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and holds a Postgraduate Certificate in University Teaching and Learning. Running in parallel with his research activities, he has a professional interest in all areas of adult education at HE level, especially exploring different approaches to assessment, improving feedback to students, quality assurance processes and technology-enhanced education.