How contextual admissions improves access to higher education

Universities have made great strides over the last couple of decades in widening access to higher education. However, stubborn gaps in progression rates by socioeconomic status and other characteristics show that there remains a lot of work to be done to create a truly equitable and representative education system.

Universities are already working hard to address these challenges. One tool widely used by universities to address inequitable progression to higher education is contextual admissions. This is the overall term for the practice of universities considering an applicant’s individual circumstances and background to better understand their potential to succeed in higher education. This intervention is already widely used across the sector with proven success in widening participation, allowing more students to both access and succeed in higher education.  

However, universities often use contextual admissions in different ways. This makes it confusing for applicants and those advising them to understand what support they might be entitled to when navigating the admissions system. This ultimately means that not all of those who could benefit from contextual admissions are currently able to do so. 

To address this issue, Universities UK partnered with UCAS and The Sutton Trust to lead a joint project. The aim was clear: to develop a more transparent and consistent approach to contextual admissions in England so that more applicants are able to access higher education. 

Over the past year, it has been my pleasure to chair the expert advisory group established to support this project. In that time, we have brought experts and practitioners together from across the sector, working collaboratively to develop a clearer joint understanding of best practice in contextual admissions. I have been struck by the expertise, vision and genuine passion shared by everyone involved in this project, who all share a desire to see positive change for the future students of our universities. 

The guidance we have developed to inform institutional approaches to contextual admissions is based on the latest evidence and evaluation of what works in current practice. It is designed to help universities to deliver contextual admissions in a way that best supports widening access as well as student success on course, covering the student journey from discovery and decision-making pre-application to transition on course. It includes recommendations on how to identify eligible applicants, how to deliver impactful interventions, communicating with applicants, and transition support to ensure success for all admitted students. The guidance is clear that this is not just about getting students in, but also making sure that they can get on at university and beyond too.   

Over time, we hope this work will support the adoption of clearer, evidence-led approaches to contextual admissions across the sector in England. This will make the admissions system easier to understand and access for applicants from all backgrounds. Ultimately, this will also strengthen broader efforts of universities to support students to both get into university and thrive whilst they are there.

This work comes at a critical time with universities and the widening participation agenda facing many challenges. The statistics show that significant gaps remain in progression to higher education between different groups, whilst the sector faces numerous challenges including financial sustainability, and more people are challenging the value of going to university at all.  

This should be a concern not just for those looking to go to university, but for society more generally. We know that higher education is a powerful engine of social mobility, with graduates not only benefiting from higher earnings across their lifetimes but also better health outcomes and contributing to higher levels of community cohesion. It’s not just the individual who benefits from attending university, as projections show that supporting a resilient economy into the future will require even higher levels of graduate skills. However, with a high proportion of the UK’s young people currently not in education, employment or training (NEET), the country is facing a worrying mismatch between future skills needs and current routes for young people to access high-skilled work. 

In recognition of this, the government has set an ambitious target for two-thirds of young people to participate in higher-level learning by 2040. To achieve this, we collectively need to do more across the education system, working in partnership between schools, colleges, and universities, to support our young people into meaningful post-school destinations, including university.  

This work represents a practical example of such collaborative working to achieve a clear shared aim, and I look forward to watching its impact unfold.