Student access scheme backed

Education Correspondent

Tuesday 4 September 2012

EDUCATION Secretary Michael Russell has urged universities across Scotland to adopt a new scheme to widen access.

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Andrew Denholm Education Correspondent

The call came after The Herald revealed research that showed students from working class backgrounds let into universities with lower grades performed just as well as middle-class peers.

Students who entered Glasgow University through its Top-Up initiative had higher progression rates into second year than students from state schools in more affluent areas.

It had been argued universities were dumbing down if they admitted students with lower grades, but all students must pass the same required standards in first year to progress.The Scottish Government has expressed concern over the lack of progress some universities are making in widening access.Mr Russell said: "I have met students from this programme and it is immensely impressive. They are students, in many circumstances, who would not have gone to university. "It is a good example for others and if universities are not thinking in these ways already then they need to be."Robin Parker, president of NUS Scotland, also welcomed the results.He said: "Work like Glasgow's University's Top-Up scheme can get great results, levelling the playing field, and making sure that people get a place at university based on their potential, not on their background."Gordon Watson, president of the UCU Scotland lecturers union, added: "We call on the Scottish Government to protect universities and staff who admit pupils based on mitigating factors when drafting future legislation on widening access."Under the initiative, pupils from schools in deprived areas across the west of Scotland join a nine-week access scheme to familiarise them with higher education and assess potential.Those who pass are admitted to courses even if they drop a grade in two of their subjects for entry to arts, social sciences, sciences and engineering degrees. Candidates who apply to law, business, education or nursing are allowed to drop a grade in one.

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Student access scheme backed

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