Widening Participation in HE Thursday, February 26, 2009 - 20:11

NIACE welcomes the Public Accounts Committee report - Widening Participation in higher education - [PDF] - but warns against sidelining mature and part-time students.

Alan Tuckett, Director of NIACE, said:

"The report reminds us that we cannot be complacent in our efforts to widen participation. However, the Committee fails to identify mature and part-time students as key groups needed to narrow the socio-economic gap of the higher education student population."

"The UK's ageing demographics mean that widening participation targets will be more reliant on

The Committee fails to identify mature and part-time students as key groups needed to narrow the socio-economic gap of the higher education student population.

Alan Tuckett, Director, NIACE

older learners going back to education. We will need to consider an equitable funding system for part-timers and outreach strategies targeted at older learners."

"We are encouraged by the Secretary of State's announcement that a more flexible and credit-based system needs to be a priority of the future framework of the system."