Remaking the elite university: An experiment in widening participation in the UK

Abstract

This article analyses and critiques the discourse around widening participation in elite universities in the UK. One response, from both university administrators and academics, has been to see this as an 'intractable' problem which can at best be ameliorated through outreach or marginal work in admissions policy. Another has been to reject the institution of the university completely, and seek to set up alternative models of autonomous higher education. The article presents a different analysis in which the university is still seen as central and participation is seen as an aspect of pedagogy rather than as an administrative process. This is illustrated through a description of how a Foundation Year in Arts and Humanities was conceived, designed and implemented at the University of Bristol. This model is used to consider the problems, risks and successes in challenging received notions of how (and whether) widening participation can be achieved and whether it can reach those who are currently most excluded from elite universities such as those without qualifications. The article suggests how academics can utilise their expertise to solve key challenges faced by universities and reclaim autonomy in central aspects of university administration. At the same time, it demonstrates how change to the current model of student recruitment can also bring welcome-and transformative-change to the nature of elite higher education institutions in the UK and elsewhere.

Negotiating a Sense of Fit in Elite Higher Education: Exploring the Identity Work of “Widening Participation” Students

“…As purveyors of 'high standards' and merit-based entry procedures (Warikoo & Fuhr, 2014), highly selective universities in the UK have been criticised for taking a deficit approach to nontraditional students (Thompson, 2019) and for explaining their absence as due to their inability to meet the high entry grade requirements, their poor choice of A-level subjects and/or a general lack of ambition and aspiration (Archer, 2007;McLellan, 2016). Many selective institutions mobilise a rhetoric of diversity in their widening participation efforts.…”

“…The twenty English Russell Group universities responded to increased government pressure to widen access by committing £265 million to widening participation activities in the 2019/20 academic year (Russell Group, 2019). However, elite universities have been criticized for adopting a 'deficit approach' in their discourse around diversity and inclusion and hence towards students recruited through such schemes (Archer, 2007;Thompson, 2019), and viewing them as lacking the required academic skills and attributes (Archer, 2007;Gibson et al, 2016;McLellan, Pettigrew & Sperlinger, 2016). Research has shown that some WP students who enter elite institutions feel 'out of place' in academic, social and recreational spaces (Reay, Crozier & Clayton, 2009).…”

Widening higher education participation in rural communities in England: An anchor institution model

“…Our analysis of the interview data resulted in identification of some core elements of an anchor institution model needed to effectively widen participation in higher education, which are now briefly summarised to show how central student perspectives are to the model. The "anchor institution" approach rests on an understanding of widening participation as pedagogy rather than process (McLellan et al 2016). This includes the design of teaching, course structures and support mechanisms to accommodate students' needs and dispositions.…”

Selection and recruitment of pre-registration occupational therapy students in the United Kingdom: Exploring entry criteria across education providers

“…These educational reforms challenged selection and recruitment processes that had historically seen low income families, males and mature married females excluded from OT; reinforcing the image it was for White, middle-class females (Yates, 1996). Despite a long and clear history of debate, calls for improvement and UK governmental plans to improve access and attainment gaps, certain student groups across socioeconomics, geography, disability and ethnicity, continue to be underrepresented in HE (McLellan et al, 2016; Office for Students, 2019). Similarly, over several decades, the OT community has called for action, to diversify student and workforce populations that mirror the profession’s increasingly diverse service user populations (Atwal, 2021; Colaianni et al, 2022; Ford et al, 2021; Taylor, 2007).…”