Pathways and partnerships: Widening access to higher education

Abstract

In response to a Scottish Office call for a briefing paper on widening access to higher education the authors conducted a 'snapshot' study of the field including not only desk-based research but a questionnaire survey and interviews with approximately 70 practitioners in the field of access across the UK. The survey asked the opinions of practitioners on the areas of their greatest concern in the field of widening access to include marginal socioeconomic groups. This article gives an account of the concerns expressed in this survey and finds that the primary concerns fall under six headings: pre-entry guidance, qualifications frameworks and transfers, structural barriers and flexibility, attitudinal barriers, student finance and institutional finance. Solutions were also sought in relation to policy and practice in Scotland and included suggestions for more emphasis on partnerships, better communication between institutions and the community, and a shared system of financial support for institutions and for students alike. © 2000, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.