Senate

Subject: Widening Participation Strategy

Origin: Unconfirmed Minutes of the Meeting of Learning and Teaching Committee on 8 November 2007

The Committee considered a revised and refocused widening participation strategy and supporting documentation, as endorsed by the Student Recruitment Team. It was noted that it sat alongside the University’s Access Agreement with OFFA in which the University had set out various undertakings and objectives in this area.

There was an increasing emphasis on effectiveness and value for money in use of widening participation funding. HEFCE had issued new targeting guidelines and there might be tighter constraints on use of funds received in future. The University Widening Participation Office would be seeking more systematic feedback to help evaluate its work and working with Aimhigher East Midlands on data collection and tracking systems.

It was noted that the University was performing very close to its benchmarks and Access Agreement milestones for socio-economic groups, but it was behind its milestone for mature student intake.

Attention was drawn to the new and developing themes for 2007/08 linked to student recruitment, including gifted and talented, sport, and looked-after children. In the latter area, Loughborough had been granted a quality mark by the Frank Buttle Trust; it was able to offer students scholarships and bursaries from funds made available by the University Development Trust.

It was RESOLVED to ENDORSE the strategy and forward it to Senate. It was suggested that the Student Recruitment Team give further consideration to ways of publicising more widely within the University the wide range of activities undertaken by the Widening Participation Office.

Author – Robert Bowyer

Date – November 2007