MAKING KNOWLEDGE WORK

AchievingStudentDiversity

Report on widening participationat the University of Bradford 2002 – 2003

ACHIEVING STUDENT DIVERSITY

1. INTRODUCTION

Widening participation in higher education can be defined as

“activities to target the individual groups that higher

education institutions have identified as under-represented

and to ensure their success” (source: HEFCE Guide June

01/36: Strategies for Widening Participation in Higher

Education, a Guide to Good Practice). It is about making sure

that the opportunities that a higher education experience

brings are accessible to all who have the potential to benefit

from them, not just a selected few.

It aims to ensure their success in the chosen programme of study.

There is a plethora of widening participation initiatives and

activities occurring both on and off the University campus. This

document seeks to give a flavour of the progress made during

2002-03 towards an institutional co-ordinated approach to

widening participation at Bradford.

2. THE NATIONAL PICTURE

department for education and skills (dfes)The Government commitment is for more young people from

low socio-economic groups to enter higher education, with a

target of moving towards 50% of 18-30 year-olds entering

higher education by the year 2010.

January 2003 saw the publication of the white paper ‘TheFuture of Higher Education’ which sets out the Government

plans for the sector and gives ‘non-traditional’ students a high

profile. The white paper highlights the need to raise

aspirations. It also states the need to see improved admissions

procedures in universities in order to give access to more non-

traditional students. And, crucially, it is committed to

improving the support for such students in order that they

successfully complete their course of study and develop skills

to improve their future employability.

This was followed in July 2003 with a further white paper,

‘21st-Century Skills: Realising our Potential’. The aim of this

national Skills Strategy is to ensure that ‘employers have the

right skills to support the success of their businesses, and

individuals have the skills they need to be both employable and

personally fulfilled.’ The Government has set a target to reduce

by at least 40% the number of adults in the workforce without

a Level 2 or equivalent qualification by 2010. As a stepping-

stone toward this, there is a target to help 1 million adults in

the workforce to achieve Level 2 between 2003 and 2006.

the higher education funding council (HEFCE) The HEFCE is charged with aiming to deliver the Government’s

plans for higher education. The HEFCE has sought over the

last four years to encourage the sector to widen and increase

participation in higher education.

The HEFCE’s strategic plan requires universities to identify

under-representation according to their subject mix, locality,

current position and retention rates. HEFCE requires

universities to set widening participation strategies which are

then annually monitored as a condition of grant through the

Annual Monitoring Statement.

The year 2002-03 saw the end of the three-year HEFCE-

funded Widening Participation Special Projects and a

transition into Partnerships for Progression, funded by HEFCE

and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Both initiatives have

been about working collaboratively with a range of partners

across the region and sub-region to deliver joint projects

aimed at the capacity building of individuals and groups in

order to ultimately widen participation into higher education.

Further information on national issues can be found on the

Action on Access website at www.actiononaccess.org.*

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the university of bradford is aiming to widenparticipation in higher education by targeting:� low socio-economic groups

� families with no tradition of participation

in higher education

� groups who are currently under-represented

in higher education

* ACTION ON ACCESS

Although not a specific

activity of Bradford, the

University is pleased to

play host to Action on

Access, the national

co-ordination team

appointed by the HEFCE

and the LSC to support

their Widening

Participation (WP)

strategies for England. The

team supports and advises

the Councils in research,

curriculum, and policy

issues, and their role has

now been extended to

support the expanded

plans and partnerships in

the new integrated

Aimhigher programme

(the merging of

Partnerships for

Progression and the

Aimhigher Excellence

Challenge Programme).

Action on Access works

closely with other national

and co-ordinating teams,

for instance, the National

Disability Team and the

Learning and Teaching

Support Network.

ACHIEVING STUDENT DIVERSITY

3. THE LOCAL PICTURE

widening participation strategyThe Widening Participation Strategy for the University of

Bradford is a cross-institutional plan of how the University as a

whole is proposing to contribute to meeting the national

targets and its own Corporate Plan.

Bradford was the lead university in developing the Student Life

Cycle approach to planning widening participation activities.

This approach considers the life of the student/potential

student at various stages of their higher education experience.

The approach has now been formally adopted by the HEFCE,

and institutions are encouraged to base their widening

participation strategies on this model. Our Widening

Participation Strategy sets targets in each of these areas, the

stages of which are identified below.

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� Raising aspirations (from primary school age upwards,

including adults)

� Better preparation/pre-entry support (transition

from school to higher education

� First steps in higher education (including induction

programmes and assessment of key skills

� Moving through the system (supporting students)

� Student success/employability (achievement and

preparation for work)

STUDENT LIFECYCLE MODEL

RaisingAspirations

BetterPreparation

First stepsin HE

MovingThrough

StudentSuccess

ACHIEVING STUDENT DIVERSITY

other plans and strategiesIn preparing this strategy and the year-on targets, other local

strategies and plans have direct influence upon the planning

in this area. For example:

The full widening participation strategy for the

University of Bradford can be found on the web at

www.bradford.ac.uk/admin/planning/

performanceThe University of Bradford is well renowned for its approach to

inclusivity and its celebration of diversity. Not only does the

University perform better than the national position, but it is

continually improving its performance. Data over the period

2000 to 2003 shows that participation from minority ethnic

groups has risen substantially at Bradford, whereas nationally

there has been limited growth (Table 1). Bradford set a target of

30% minority ethnic group participation by 2004 and already

at the end of 2002-03 has surpassed this target, with 44% of

students being of minority ethnic group heritage, reflecting a

significant change in the University’s student population.

Bradford has also been steadily recruiting a greater number of

students from low socio-economic groups over the period 1999-

2002, and consistently performs at almost 10% above the

national average. (Table 2). The target of increasing student

numbers in this group by 1% in 2002-03 has been achieved.

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� University Learning and Teaching Strategy

� University Human Resource Strategy

� West Yorkshire Partnership for Progression Plan (2003)

� Bradford Area Inspection Action Plan (age16-19)

� Bradford Excellence Challenge Plan

ACHIEVING STUDENT DIVERSITY

The University has also made a strategic commitment to

increase the number of mature students on courses, setting

itself a target of 31% mature student participation by 2003-

04. In 2002-03 this figure has already reached 34%.

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ACHIEVING STUDENT DIVERSITY

It is interesting to note that over the past three years there has

been a substantial increase in the number of students living

locally to the University of Bradford, with 58% of students in

2002-03 residing in West Yorkshire (Table 4).

4. THE BRADFORD ACADEMY

The Bradford Academy was established in 2002. It is the co-

ordinating arm of widening participation and recruitment activity

for all young people across the institution and is becoming firmly

embedded within the University. All Schools of the University are

represented in the Academy and report on their widening

participation and recruitment activity and progress. The Academy

brings all this work cohesively together and is developing as an

arena for sharing information and expertise.

As the Bradford Academy develops it will monitor and

evaluate the success of its activities, ensuring that an inclusive

and comprehensive programme is developed which seeks to

encourage progression into higher education.

the bradford university compact scheme The Compact Scheme is one component of The Bradford

Academy. A Compact Officer was appointed in March to develop

the scheme, with a launch date planned for September 03.

The Compact Scheme will provide sixth-form students, either at

school or college, with a programme of activities held at the

University. This will include support for their current programmes

of study, the opportunity to sample future degree options and

help with their university applications. The scheme will also help

those sixth-form students who would like to progress onto The

University of Bradford by giving them the opportunity to complete

additional work, via an assessed summer school, to obtain thirty

points towards their Bradford UCAS tariff points offer. The final

assessment will coincide with the release of A-Level results.

By the end of July 03, 50% of Bradford secondary schools had

already demonstrated commitment to the scheme. Students

will be provided with a booklet outlining a ‘menu’ of activities

from which they can select according to their individual needs

and interests.

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ACHIEVING STUDENT DIVERSITY

All University Schools are contributing to a very exciting

programme which includes master classes, taster days, revision

classes, skills practice. All Compact students will receive their

own student card allowing them ‘read-only’ access to the

library, and opportunities to use the computer centre and

sports centre.

junior universityThe Junior University was first developed as a homework club

at the University in 1996 and aimed to tackle the spiral of

educational disadvantage experienced by minority ethnic

communities living in Bradford. As the project has grown, it is

now open to all communities aged 13-19.

The Junior University has continued to flourish in this academic

year with an increased programme of activity both on and off

campus. It is highly regarded in its ability to attract young

people to the University from low participating groups,

predominantly minority ethnic students, and boys. This last year

two hundred young people enrolled for GCSE and A/S level

revision classes, surpassing the target of one hundred and fifty.

Eighty individual students enrolled throughout the year on

Saturday mornings taking advantage of extra tuition in ICT,

maths and science. Plans for development in 2003-04 include

adding a humanities strand to the provision and, after an

initial pilot this year, offering workshops on compiling a

curriculum vitae.

summer schoolsHigher Education Summer School (HESS)This year, this non-residential summer school, attracted one

hundred and fifty Year 11 youngsters from twenty-eight different

schools. The schools were mainly in Leeds and Bradford, but

some were outside the area, one even travelling daily from

Sheffield. Bradford runs one of the largest summer schools in

the country and consistently recruits to target each year.

The trademark of this summer school is the impartial

programme which introduces participants to all Schools of the

University. The programme is a careful balance between

academic input, ideas for careers, and enjoyment.

School of Engineering, Design and TechnologyIn July 2003 The School of Engineering, Design and

Technology organised three residential summer schools.

The first one was the WISE course (Women into Science &

Engineering). This attracted students from schools

predominantly in the North, North East and North West of

England. The course is aimed at encouraging more young

women to consider science and engineering as a serious career

option. Participants gained hands-on experience in several

areas of engineering and science, took part in an industrial

visit and met professional women engineers and

engineering/science students.

The other two summer schools were funded and organised in

conjunction with the LSC AimHigher programme, and the

FE2HE summer schools. A total of sixty Year 12 students took

part in both courses. This year following the summer school,

six FE2HE participants have applied to study on degree

programmes at Bradford this year.

intergenerational learningDads and Lads and ‘Maa Beti’ (Mothers and Daughters)These were the first intergenerational aspiration-raising and

learning events held at the University. Both half-day events

were aimed at attracting adults and young people from schools

in the Bradford district to learn and discover HE together.

Participants took part in campus tours and practical ‘hands-on’

workshops. There was also opportunity for the parents to ask

questions about finance. There are plans to develop further

this area of work, which focuses on families learning together.

Higher Education Aspiration Raising West Yorkshire(HEAR WY)The University of Bradford has been active during the year in

contributing to the collaborative aspiration-raising activity

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ACHIEVING STUDENT DIVERSITY

branded as HEAR WY. The partnership comprises six West

Yorkshire higher education institutions, which aims to give

added value to individual institutional activity. During the year

a comprehensive directory of schemes and activities aimed at

young people has been compiled with contributions from all

institutions. The principles of sharing best practice, knowledge,

expertise and sharing resources, whilst working towards

common objectives, underpin the partnership and Bradford

fully supports the scheme and will continue with its

contribution.

In its first year, this pro-active group has set up a number of

projects. One example was in April 2003 when over one

hundred Year 7 pupils from nine schools across West Yorkshire

got a taste of university life in an event entitled ‘Passport to

University’ which took place at Trinity and All Saints, Leeds.

The children had to complete a range of activities, which

resulted in them obtaining their ‘passport’, complete with

stamps and a ‘graduation’ photo.

HEAR WY has also taken an active role in the Bradford Going-

On Primary Project which aims to encourage Year 6 children to

think about going in to higher education. The group

developed an ACE (Aiming for a College Education) Day which

each of the West Yorkshire HEIs took it in turn to deliver at the

Bradford Trident primary schools in June 2003. The

institutions were aided by fifteen student mentors from the

University of Bradford who proved to be excellent role models.

MentoringThe University has recognised the nationally held view of the

power of the mentoring relationship. Over the years many

different mentoring schemes have been developed across the

University aiming to encourage participation or raise

attainment, some short term and others over a much longer

period. Mentors work with children of primary school age to

the most mature adult learners both on campus and in

community settings.

A new post has been created to co-ordinate and embrace

these cross-campus schemes and ensure that all mentors are

fully equipped for the role they aim to fulfil.

All mentors will undergo a rigorous training scheme, and will

have the opportunity to receive higher education credits for this.

Excellence FellowshipThe University has been allocated £60,000 to take part in this

DfES-funded two-year pilot scheme. The aim of the Fellowship

is to provide opportunity for teachers in schools and further

education colleges, in Excellence in Cities or Education Action

Zones to spend time working and studying in a higher

education institution. It is expected that teachers/lecturers

will be able to examine ways to raise the aspirations of school

pupils and further education students, and increase their

understanding of the benefits of higher education. The scheme

also aims to forge closer working links across the sectors.

The University has four fellows who are undertaking action

research projects from school and one further education

college. Their projects include:

� a study of transition needs of students from further

education into higher education

� the impact of Aimhigher: Excellence Challenge activities in

the choices made by school pupils

� development of a sixth-form science curriculum

� investigation of the progression routes for GNVQ and AVCE

students into higher education

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ACHIEVING STUDENT DIVERSITY

5. FOUNDATION YEAR IN CLINICAL SCIENCES/

MEDICINE – BSc (HONS) CLINICAL SCIENCES

2002-03 saw the first intake of students onto the above

programmes of study that have been designed to encourage

students from a wide range of backgrounds to enter medical

and healthcare education. Clinical Sciences at Bradford is the

result of a joint initiative with the Medical School at the

University of Leeds and one of the aims of the course is to

produce graduates who are better prepared to understand,

reflect and meet the needs of our socially and culturally

diverse local community.

In 2002-03 over 50% of students on both the Foundation

Year and Year 1 came from the West Yorkshire region. The

students come from a wide range of social and ethnic

backgrounds. Our mature students have a diverse range of

experiences ranging from careers in nursing and paramedic

work, to sales management and accounting, to community

work. Over 95% of our students come from state schools and

colleges.

Achievement through 2002-03 included the production of an

outreach strategy and implementation plan, and Compact

arrangements developed with nine schools. New targets are to

develop Compacts with twenty schools.

6. UNIVERSITY IN THE COMMUNITY

community-based learningThe branding of ‘University in the Community’ is now becoming

well known both internally and externally. University in the

Community is an initiative for adults aiming to raise awareness

of, and aspirations to, a higher level of study. The University

seeks to work in partnership with community and voluntary

groups and other providers of education and training to offer a

negotiated curriculum with pathways to higher education.

The number of partnership working arrangements agreed with

local centres has increased over the year. Learners have been

targeted in areas of low socio-economic standing in the wider

district of Bradford.

More than three hundred adults took part in negotiated

community-based learning in 2002-03, comfortably exceeding

the target of one hundred and ninety participants for the year.

This programme comprised both taster programmes and

accredited programmes mainly delivered in community centres.

University in the Community is always seeking to reduce, and

hopefully remove, the barriers to participation in learning for

adults. Examples of specific projects demonstrating this are:

� ‘Working in the Inner City’This project targeted fifty minority ethnic students of South

Asian heritage enabling them to be successful in the Level 1

Certificate in Inner City Studies. European Social Fund

support gave the students a large amount of support both in

terms of removing financial barriers to learning and additional

study skills.

� ‘Parents into University’This course brought minority ethnic parents into the

University to improve their own skills in English and ICT in

order to give them more confidence in supporting their own

children’s education.

� ‘Reaching Higher’This is a current project which aims to raise the educational

aspirations of those who are homeless or who have

experienced homelessness. The project has been received

enthusiastically by the hostels and organisations catering for

the needs of this target group. This is ‘grass roots’ aspiration

raising with those suffering multiple disadvantage, including

those recovering from drug and alcohol dependency.

community daysThe concept of ‘Community Days’, as an activity of the

‘University in the Community’, has also been developed during

2003. Based on the model of an ACE Day, a programme can

be negotiated with a community group which will bring them

on campus for the day. Groups may experience a mini lecture

of their choice, learn more about student life, ask questions,

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ACHIEVING STUDENT DIVERSITY

have lunch and find out more about what is on offer for

adults. Six ‘Community Days’ were held during this first year

with fifty-seven participants.

Participation in a Community Day has proved to be an

invaluable step in encouraging the learner to progress and to

see that higher education accommodates all types of people,

all learning at a variety of paces.

guidance serviceThe Guidance Service has renewed its accredited status with

the Guidance Accreditation Board (GAB) and is working

towards the new Matrix quality assurance standards. As an

accredited provider the University service is a full member of

the Bradford and District Information, Advice and Guidance

Service for adults (IAG), which is marketed throughout the

district. The University also contributes to the higher education

collaborative project, ‘Into Universities’.

In partnership with Careers Bradford, (on behalf of all the

partners in the Bradford Strategic Co-ordinating Group) in

support of the Bradford Higher Education Progression Strategy,

a new certificate has been developed entitled ‘Certificate of

Continuing Studies in Guidance and Learner Support’. It is

aimed at all those who work in schools and colleges, or

provide work-based learning, who may be called upon to offer

informal guidance and support to their learners and yet have

no formal guidance qualifications.

The collaborative guidance project ‘Into Universities’ is aware

of a gap in the knowledge of higher education opportunities

of some community-based workers who offer information and

advice. By offering training to such workers by a higher

education provider, facts and information about higher

education can be cascaded down to the centres/schools.

7. STUDENT SUCCESS

student success projectsA major area of development has been the launch of ‘Student

Success Projects’, an initiative aimed at enabling individual

University Schools to devise projects which would address

sustainable ways of enhancing student success in an

individual’s course of study as part of a retention strategy.

Innovative approaches include:

� Social Sciences and Humanities has employed two doctoral

students to provide ongoing academic and study skills to

20 first-year students, including regular group workshops

and individual support.

� Peace Studies is appointing a Student Support Assistant to

work with targeted, under-achieving students.

� Languages and European Studies is offering a student

support scheme for new entrants in basic grammatical skills.

� The School of Management has recruited a Learning

Support Officer to develop dedicated support sessions in

areas such as group work, presentations and essay writing.

� Archaeological Sciences is providing academic and study

skills for first-year students. They are developing a

computer-based package to support the teaching of

numerical and statistical methods. They are also to provide

group workshops and individual support sessions for

statistics and numeracy skills.

� Physiotherapy has put in place an academic bridging unit to

offer study skill sessions to year-one students, and a clinical

bridging unit to prepare year-two students for their first

clinical placements.

� Informatics is organising a series of workshops entitled

‘Writing for Professional Purposes’ to help students develop

their writing skills.

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ACHIEVING STUDENT DIVERSITY

� Life Sciences is appointing a post to analyse admission

characteristics and identify learners who may be likely to

under-perform. Both open and targeted support will be

offered to learners. A detailed analysis of the underlying

factors relating to progression will be produced.

The work will be continued and expanded during 2003-04

and amended as lessons are learnt. The University is crucially

committed to student success and in the light of the changing

nature of the University student population there is a policy

objective to support student success.

The University, although performing well in completion rates,

is far from complacent with its retention rate and it has now

agreed that the new retention allocation for 2003-04 will be

distributed to Schools on both a strategic and a formulaic

basis dependent on the prior educational attainment level of

new students. This is because there is significant evidence to

demonstrate that additional investment in the early years of

the student experience has major impact on retention,

progression and achievement.

student success strategyThe University has established a Student Success Task Group,

which will develop an overreaching Student Success Policy

Framework to be approved in the autumn of 2003 in order

that School plans developed in February 2004 take account of

the resource implications. It is envisaged that the University

Student Success Policy Framework will recognise the diversity

within the institution and seek to develop School Plans that

are consistent with the framework.

progress filesAn audit of key skills has been completed during the year and

a report produced. A three-step method has been established:

mapping skills to the curriculum, identifying assessment

opportunities and then planning the opportunity to evidence

this. During the forthcoming year an institutional framework

for developing progress files will be agreed. The emphasis will

be on students being able to evidence transferable skills.

career management and employabilityCareer Choice ModulesFour courses in the University now run Career Development

modules as core modules, and others offer them as electives,

recruiting a growing number of students. The University has

recognised such a need for preparing students for future

employment that a further module has been developed at

Level 2 which aims to develop self-employment and enterprise

skills.

Impact ProjectImpact is a positive action project, which supports the

employability of minority ethnic students through a

programme of suitably tailored, enhanced guidance and career

development learning opportunities.

The model has been so successful that a new contract has

been secured with Yorkshire Forward until March 2005. The

project has been extended in partnership with two South

Yorkshire Universities and we now have a project team of three

Impact Officers plus a Project Assistant. Targets set by

Yorkshire Forward for the first year of the new funding have

been exceeded.

8. STAFF DEVELOPMENT

excellence plus seminarsSignificant progress has also been made with linking activity

to other university strategies, in particular the Learning and

Teaching Strategy. A mini-conference was held in June,

organised by the ‘Excellence Plus’ initiative of the Learning

and Teaching Strategy which addressed all aspects of the

widening participation agenda, and was well attended from

staff across the University. The ‘Excellence Plus’ seminar

programme for 2003-04 will include an increased number of

topics around national and local widening participation issues,

and will continue the process of dissemination and embedding

best practice.

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9. WORK-BASED LEARNING

foundation degreesFoundation Degrees were introduced by the Government in

2001. They are vocationally orientated degrees, characterised

by employer involvement in the design and delivery. A key

aspect is flexible delivery and the option for students to

progress to either a named Honours degree or further

professional qualifications. Entry onto a Foundation Degree is

equally flexible with no pre-defined entry requirements,

enabling potential students the opportunity to prove their

abilities without necessarily having the traditional higher

education entry qualifications.

Over the year 2002-03, the Foundation Degree in Health and

Social Care, in collaboration with Bradford College, recruited

twenty-five students. The University is developing a new suite

of Foundation Degrees over the coming year, including

Foundation Degrees in Community Justice, Education and

Training Policy, Community Regeneration and Development,

Training and Development, and Engineering Technology.

‘working by degrees’The University is hosting a Learning Partnership project,

‘Working by Degrees’ that is seeking to increase the numbers

of people entering HE from work-based learning routes. For

many people, work-based learning or a vocational education

route helps to raise their aspirations. The role of the project is

to identify these individuals and provide a way for them to

access HE. The project will work with work-based learning

providers and HEIs to establish agreed local progression routes

to ensure sustainable progression from work-based learning.

10. NEXT STEPS

The University is pleased with its progress in achieving

widening participation targets during 2002 -03 and is already

making significant strides towards targets in the new academic

year. Current work in the field is expanding rapidly across the

whole institution as new projects and ideas are developed. The

University is responding proactively to the changing nature of

the student body, where there is still much work to be done,

but it is embracing the challenge.

Produced by Marketing and Corporate Communications, University of Bradford

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THE UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD – CONFRONTING INEQUALITY: CELEBRATING DIVERSITY

The University has a comprehensive policy on equal opportunities, and is committed to

promoting and supporting it across all aspects of University activity.

FURTHER INFORMATIONFor further information on any of the activities described, please contact:

Nadira MirzaHead of Access and Widening Participation TeamTel: 01274 235364Email: n.s.mirza@bradford.ac.uk

Anne WestonWidening Participation Development OfficerTel: 01274 233211Email: a.c.weston@bradford.ac.uk

[ ]