In this episode of the Access Podcast, I discuss the impact of the cost of living crisis on university students with Myles Hanlon, former Policy Adviser at UUK and now Senior Policy Analyst at AdvanceHE.

UCAS is currently seeking feedback on its proposal to reform the Personal Statement. The proposal is to reform the free-text personal statement into a series of questions. The rationale is that the current format benefits students with higher level of support and family experience of higher education. A survey of applicants also found that 83% of students find the process stressful.  

In the 12th episode of the Access Podcast, I speak to Tom Fryer, lead author of the HEPI Debate Paper Reforming the UCAS personal statement: Making the case for a series of short questions about UCAS proposals and his research ion this area. 

Julian Crockford believes that this could be a pivotal moment when we all get our theory heads on, unpack our interventions and gain an even deeper understanding about how they work. Julian is very positive about the role of intervention strategies in further developing our understanding about practice and the young people we work with. If we have enough time, we could ask more nuance questions about how we make a difference. Alternatively, we may only be able to do what we can to meet the deadlines.

In episode 10 of the Access Podcast, we discuss the Office for Students Consultation on regulating equality of Opportunity on English HE with Wendy Fowle and Gino Graziano, both convenors of the FACE APP Special Interest group. Our conversation followed the consultation’s questions and includes reflections on the views of the range of HEIs that are part of the SIG. We think you will find it both instructive and confirming. But, as always, do let us know your comments.

In this episode, we speak to Diane Reay about the Opportunity for All White paper, which was released in March 2022. Since then, much has changed. We have had two new Prime Ministers and several Education Secretaries. The future of the White Paper is yet unknown, but this was a good opportunity to discuss academisation and the impact of educational funding. It was also great to talk about the importance of processes, critical thinking and diversity in education with Diane. Could this be one of the areas that University-Schools partnerships could have the biggest impact? Her passion and plain speaking are second to none. If you haven’t read Miseducation, then now is the time.

In Episode 8 of the Access Podcast, I have a conversation with NUS outgoing President for Higher Education, Hillary Gyebi-Ababio. Hillary studied Social Policy at the University of Bristol, where she later served as the Bristol Student Union Undergraduate Education Officer.

02:08 – Highlights at NUS

04:36 – Student Success Activities

08:36 – The Digital Space: Invisibly Inclusive

17:08 – Managing Status Inequality in Academia

18:52 – You Can’t Shake Off a Background

22:28 – Ibz Mo’s Suggestion

28:30 – Culturally Competent Language

34:01 – Student Led Initiatives – Overcoming Barriers

47:38 – Appreciation

In Episode 7 of the Access Podcast, we discuss student and staff mental health with Prof Ross Renton, the Principal of ARU Peterborough Principal of ARU Peterborough and former Senior Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of Worcester where he championed a strategic approach to mental health care. During our conversion, Ross suggests a number of useful initiatives and strategies that universities can adopt to maximise support for its community and address some of the challenges experienced in institutions. Ross also recommends Sharon Mallon and Jo Smith book Preventing and Responding to Student Suicide.

The Office for Students has asked universities to do more to raise attainment at schools and to reduce the awarding gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students. In this episode of the Access Podcast, we discuss what this means with John Blake, Director of the Office for Students. Though not conclusive, the interview provides significant insight into the OfS' expectations for access work. What is still missing are the details but judge for yourself and don't forget to leave us your comments or tag us on Twitter @theaccesspod

In our fifth episode we speak to Dr Omar Khan, Directors of the Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education, or TASO as it is more commonly known. TASo is an independent charity TASO is committed to the generation, synthesis and dissemination of high-quality evidence about effective practice in widening participation and student outcomes. Among other things, I asked Dr Khan about the potential impact of minimum entry requirements on evaluating pre-entry activities by whether or not it leads to progression to HE. We also discussed the Office for Students new emphasis on outreach activities that support increased attainment, the fact that we have done this before and that perhaps we need a new set of evaluation criteria if we are to truly capture the impact of those interventions.

Please consider letting us know your views by answering the poll on Spotify and/or writing to us on [email protected].

We would also like to know if you have any questions for John Blacke, Director of the Office for Students, with whom we will be speaking very shortly.

In 2019, The UPP Foundation launched the Civic University Commission to examine the economic, social, environmental, and cultural role universities play in the towns and cities they are a part of. While it found many examples of civic activity it also concluded that there was a need for a more strategic approach, if universities were to fulfil their role as “anchor institutions” and their civic responsibilities in line with the needs of their local area.

The Civic University Network was then set up to promote and share good practice, with a focus on supporting universities to produce a Civic University Agreement in partnership with local governments and other institutions based in the communities they serve.

For access and participation professionals, the connections between our work and the civic university movement became more centre stage when John Blake, the new Director of the Office for Students, highlighted universities civic responsibility to support raised attainment among underrepresented groups.

In this episode we speak to Greg Burke, Director of Place and Civic Engagement at Sheffield Hallam University about some of the challenges in developing a Civic University Agreement, the tensions between a focus on place and universities’ global outlook, the different environments universities operate in, John Blake’s statement and peer review as a model for independent evaluation.

We hope you will find it informative.

We would love to receive your feedback at [email protected] or on Spotify and/or Apple Podcasts.

Best wishes,

Renata Albuquerque - presenter

Simon Tullett - editor