Uni Connect

See the latest guidance for partnerships:

Uni Connect brings together 29 partnerships of universities, colleges and other local partners to offer activities, advice and information on the benefits and realities of going to university or college.

The programme was set up in 2017 and supports our strategic goal that students’ access to higher education is not limited by their background, location or characteristics.

So far over 1.3 million young people from underrepresented groups have engaged with the Uni Connect programme. In 2021-22 the partnerships continued to work with 2,593 schools and colleges.

Find a local Uni Connect partnership

Programme aims

Uni Connect aims to:

Contribute to reducing the gap in higher education participation between the most and least represented groups.
Equip young and adult learners from underrepresented groups to make an informed choice about their options in relation to the full range of routes into and through higher education and to minimise the barriers they may face when choosing the option that will unlock their potential, including barriers relating to academic attainment.
Support a strategic local infrastructure of universities, colleges and other partners that can cut through competitive barriers, offer an efficient and low-burden route for schools and colleges to engage with higher education outreach, enable schools to engage with attainment raising activity, and address outreach ‘cold spots’ for underrepresented groups.
Contribute to a stronger evidence base around ‘what works’ in higher education outreach and strengthen evaluation practice across the sector.

Contact us

For more information about Uni Connect, email [email protected].

Last updated 19 October 2023 + show all updates

19 October 2023: Updated to include published 2021-22 data.
08 September 2022: Section refresh
26 May 2022: Added link to file with details of funding allocations.
26 March 2021: Updated to reflect response to Uni Connect consultation and future approach
10 December 2020: Link added to details about the consultation on a new approach to Uni Connect
26 March 2020: Added coronavirus (COVID-19) update for partnerships
29 January 2020: NCOP renamed to Uni Connect

Help us improve your experience

Describe your experience of using this website

What were you doing on the website? * Is there anything you liked or disliked? *

Uni Connect

Share this page:

Thank you for your feedback