Access and participation glossary

Access

Activity to support underrepresented groups to access higher education. This may include:

• sustained and progressive programmes of targeted outreach with schools, colleges and job centres
• broader collaborative activities with employers, third sector organisations and other education providers.

Activities may include summer schools, peer mentoring schemes or progression agreements.

Access is the first stage in the whole student lifecycle.

Activities

Work to improve access, success and progression as opposed to financial support given to students.

For example, mentoring is an activity, but a scholarship is not.

Apprenticeships (including higher and degree apprenticeships)

Apprenticeships combine study with on-the-job experience working for an employer.

Degree apprenticeships are apprenticeships which include a degree for an undergraduate (level 6) or masters’ (level 7) qualification.

There are also apprenticeships at level 6 and 7 which do not lead to a degree upon completion.

Attainment gaps

Attainment in higher education is part of the success stage of the student lifecycle and considers the academic outcomes achieved by students.

There are identified gaps in degree outcomes for underrepresented groups when compared with their peers. We refer to this difference as the attainment gap.

The Office for Students has set ambitions for itself and the sector to eliminate the unexplained gap in degree outcomes (1sts or 2:1s) between white students and black students by 2024-25, and to eliminate the absolute gap (the gap caused by both structural and unexplained factors) by 2030-31.

BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic groups)

The term BAME refers to black, Asian and minority ethnic groups.

There are significant equality gaps between different ethnic groups in terms of access, success and progression in higher education. The extent of these gaps vary depending on ethnic group and stage of the student lifecycle.

Find out more about support for BAME students.

Basic fee cap

The level of tuition fee up to which an access and participation plan is not required. This is set by the government and varies according to year of entry.

There are different basic fee levels for full-time, part-time and accelerated courses, and for sandwich course, years abroad and Erasmus years.

Care leavers and looked-after children

In England most young people remain in care until age 18, although young people can leave care from the age of 16.

If the young person has been in care for a minimum of 13 weeks, some of which was after age 16, they are entitled to continuing support from their local authority until age 25. This includes support from a Personal Adviser until they are 25.

The legal definition of care leavers does not capture all adults with experience of care and who may need support as they enter higher education later in on in life. Therefore, providers can include all those who have experienced care at any stage of their lives when developing activities to support this group. This is particularly important as many care leavers return to education as mature students.

Find out more about support for care leavers.

Carers

The Carers Trust defines young adult carers as ‘young people aged 14-25 who care, unpaid, for a friend or family member who could not cope without their support’.

There is no national data on the number of carers in higher education as not all disclose their caring responsibilities and their carer status can change.

Find out more about support for carers.

Collaborative activity

Collaboration between higher education providers and other organisations to provide activities that support access and participation.

Collaboration can be delivered in many ways, for example with other providers, employers, schools and third sector organisations.

Contextual admissions

Contextual admissions refers to providers using information and data to assess an applicant’s prior attainment and potential, and making them an offer in the context of their individual circumstances.

Continuing students

Students in their second, or later, years of study.

Continuous improvement

The Office for Students’ expectation that providers will:

• regularly review activities and prioritise investment accordingly
• develop their understanding of local and national data
• deliver activities that are demonstrably effective, strategically focused and evidence-led.

Through this, providers will aim to reduce gaps in access, success and progression for underrepresented groups and improve practice year on year.

Disability

Under the Equality Act 2010, a person has a disability 'if they have a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'.

Find out more about support for disabled students.

ELQ students

ELQ (equivalent or lower qualification) students are students who already hold a higher education qualification and are studying a course that leads to a qualification equivalent to or lower than one they already hold.

These students are not usually covered by fee regulations.

For information about ELQ exceptions, see UK statutory instruments 2008 No. 1640; 2011 No. 1986, and 2014 No. 2765.

Employability

Employability in the context of progression of graduates refers to the skills and competencies that a student gains as they progress throughout their higher education programme to ultimately enhance their chances of finding meaningful and sustained employment.

Entrant/year of entry

When we refer to entrants, or year of entry, we mean the academic year in which students started their courses, including those who deferred entry.

For example, students who deferred entry from 2019-20 to 2020-21 would be classed as 2020-21 entrants. From 2021-22 onwards these students would be classified as continuing students.

The definition of an academic year is covered in the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 (UK statutory instrument 2011 No. 1986) within regulation 2.

Estranged students

In higher education, the term ‘estranged’ applies to students who are aged 18 to 24 and have no communicative relationship with either of their parents. In addition, these students often lack the support of their wider family.

Students may be estranged before entering higher education but can also be at risk of becoming estranged during their studies.

Find out more about support for estranged students.

Ethnicity

There are significant equality gaps between different ethnic groups in terms of access, success and progression in higher education. The extent of these gaps vary depending on ethnic group and stage of the student lifecycle.

Fee information document

An Excel document that providers must submit with their access and participation plan that captures student numbers and fee information.

Financial support

Support given by higher education providers to their students typically in the form of:

• bursaries and scholarships (financial awards paid to students)
• fee waivers (a discount on the tuition fee charged)
• hardship funds
• 'in-kind' support.

Flexible learning

Approaches to provision that encourage potential learners to access higher education.

HEIDI

Higher Education Information Database for Institutions. A web-based management information service run by the Higher Education Statistics Agency that provides quantitative data about equality and diversity in higher education.

Find out more about Heidi Plus.

Higher fee cap

The maximum regulated fee that can be charged under an access and participation plan. This is set by the government and varies according to year of entry.

There are different fee caps for full-time, part-time and accelerated courses, and for sandwich courses, years abroad and Erasmus years.

Approved (fee cap) providers must not charge fees more than the higher fee cap.

Higher fee income

Any income from fees above the basic fee threshold.

For example, if a provider charges £9,250 for a full-time course in a year when the basic threshold is £6,165, the higher fee income per student would be £3,085 (£9,250 – £6,165 = £3,085).

Information, advice and guidance

Information, advice and guidance provided by higher education providers plays an important role in students’ choices from pre-entry to higher education, throughout their studies and through to progression into employment or further study.

Intersections of characteristics

The intersection of two or more indicators of underrepresentation (for example, white British males from low socioeconomic backgrounds) to enable a broader understanding of a provider’s student population. This is used to identify barriers to equality of opportunity.

Low higher education participation, household income and socio-economic status

Young people from the least represented areas of the country are 31 percentage points less likely to go on to higher education than those who grow up in a more advantaged neighbourhood.

To understand and measure progress in this area, we look at participation rates of underrepresented groups based on the participation of local areas (POLAR) classification, which groups areas across the UK based on the proportion of the 18-30 year-old population that participates in higher education.

An individual or household’s social and economic position can be represented through indicators such as income, education and occupation, and how this position compares to others.

Mature learners

Mature students are typically defined as those aged 21 or over when they enter higher education.

Mature learners are more likely than their younger counterparts to have characteristics associated with underrepresentation in higher education.

Multiple Equality Measure (MEM)

Developed by UCAS, the multiple equality measure (MEM) is UCAS’s principal measure of equality. It combines the effects of different dimensions of equality (area, income background, school sector, sex, and ethnic group) into a single measure.

The MEM further demonstrates the importance of considering multiple dimensions of disadvantage when looking at socioeconomic status.

Non-continuation gaps

Continuation is part of the success stage of the student lifecycle and refers to a students’ continuation from one year of study to the next.

It is often used when considering the rate of non-continuation between the first and second year of study. There are particular gaps in non-continuation for underrepresented groups when compared to their peers.

The Office for Students has set targets for itself and the sector to eliminate the unexplained non-continuation gap between the most and least represented groups by 2024-25, and to eliminate the absolute gap (the gap caused by both structural and unexplained factors) by 2030-31.

Outreach

Activity by higher education providers that supports people from underrepresented groups to access higher education.

Examples include summer schools, peer mentoring schemes, homework clubs for pupils who may not have anywhere to study at home, or providers forming and sustaining links with employers and communities.

Part-time students (fee-regulated)

Those studying at an intensity of at least 25 per cent of a full-time course, starting on or after 1 September 2012, excluding those studying on a course that leads to a qualification equivalent to or lower than one they already hold.

See also regulated fees.

PI

Performance indicator. For example, those published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

POLAR

POLAR (participation of local areas) is a classification of small areas across the UK according to the participation of young people in higher education.

There have been several iterations of POLAR, which are referred to as POLAR1, POLAR2, POLAR3 and POLAR4.

Postgraduate study

Study at Level 7 or above.

Progression

Activity to support students to progress from higher education into employment or further study.

Protected characteristics

The personal characteristics against which it is unlawful to discriminate.

The characteristics are:

• age
• disability
• gender reassignment
• marriage and civil partnership
• pregnancy and maternity
• race
• religion and belief
• sex
• sexual orientation.

Regulated fees

The government sets the fee limits universities and colleges can charge through the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. These limits may change from year to year.

Information about which categories of students and courses are covered by regulated fees is set out in regulations made under the Higher Education and Research Act. The current regulations are The Higher Education (Fee Limit Condition) (England) Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/1189).

See the current fee limits.

RPI-X

RPI-X is a measure of inflation equivalent to the all items Retail Price Index (RPI) excluding mortgage interest payments.

This is the index that the Secretary of State for Education must have regard to when considering any increase in the basic or higher amounts (i.e. the maximum fee caps).

Where higher education providers with access and participation plans are permitted to apply annual increases to fees, we suggest they calculate these increases using the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast for RPI-X.

Steady state predictions

In order to make meaningful comparisons between different access and participation plans, we look at providers’ predicted spending for a notional future year called ‘steady state’.

Steady state figures indicate what the provider might expect to spend if all student cohorts (that is, first, second, third and fourth year students) were under the same fees and financial support package. This assumes their predictions on income, spend and student numbers remain the same.

Most undergraduate courses are three or four years long so, for example, for 2020-21 access and participation plans, steady state refers to 2023-24.

Structural gaps

Factors that contribute to the non-continuation and attainment gaps are structural, such as entry qualification, subject of study, age of students.

Success

Part of the whole student lifecycle which focuses on addressing the barriers that prevent underrepresented students from continuing and therefore succeeding in higher education.

Target

An objective set by a higher education provider in its access and participation plan, which it will track over a five-year period.

Target groups

Target groups relate to which underrepresented groups providers will target in their access and participation work.

Providers should consider:

• sub groups as distinct from the aggregate group
• groups that face intersections of disadvantage.

Targets and investment plan

An Excel document that providers submit with their access and participation plan in which they record their targets and milestones, and their investment in access and participation.

Underrepresented groups

Groups of students who share the following particular characteristics where data shows gaps in equality of opportunity in relation to access, success or progression:

• students from areas of low higher education participation, low household income or low socioeconomic status
• some black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students
• mature students
• disabled students
• care leavers.

National data indicates that there are additional groups of students with particular equality gaps and support needs that can be addressed in an access and participation plan. These are also included in our definition of underrepresented groups:

• carers
• people estranged from their families
• people from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities
• refugees
• children from military families.

Unexplained gaps

Some of the factors that contribute to the non-continuation and attainment gaps are structural, such as entry qualification, subject of study or age of students. However, once such structural factors are taken into account, there remain significant unexplained differences which are referred to as unexplained gaps.

Whole-provider approach

A holistic approach that:

• sees the adoption of the whole student lifecycle
• is embedded at all levels of a provider
• engages all areas of the provider’s work and senior management
• includes the breadth and diversity of the student population.

Whole student lifecycle

The stages of an individual’s journey as they consider, apply for, participate in and move on from higher education.

The three stages of the student lifecycle are:

• access
• success
• progression.

See regulatory advice 6: how to prepare your access and participation plan for further information on the whole student lifecycle.