Access to Higher Education Development Project
DfES Response to the Final Report
Introduction
Section 6.13 of the White Paper: The Future of Higher Education reinforced the importance of Access Courses as a valuable entry route to HE for mature learners. It stated that we would ask the QAA, which regulates the national recognition of Access courses, to come forward with proposals to modernise the criteria for Access Courses to make them sufficiently flexible and attractive to meet the needs of adult learners.
The QAA took forward this remit by carrying out a development project funded by the DfES. The QAA submitted its report to the Department in March 2004, making a number of recommendations. The recommendations are reproduced below together with the Department’s view on each.
The Department is grateful for the work the QAA has done in preparing the project report. The report represents a positive step in developing the current Access Course programme. We are also grateful for the Agency’s continued work on managing the Recognition Scheme for Access courses.
Recommendations
Recommendation 1: There should be a national strategy to support the development of Access to HE provision, based on government regions, which recognises the particular contribution to widening participation made by Access to HE and its relationship to other widening participation initiatives.
We agree that there is a need for a more strategic approach to the role and development of Access Courses, and for a clearer understanding of how Access to HE relates to other widening participation initiatives and routes into higher education. We will take this work forward within the Joint Progression Strategy - a shared undertaking between the Department, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Learning and Skills Council, concerned with advancing progression into HE. As part of this work we will wish to consider: the current provision of Access courses; the nature, markets, and extent of other provision preparing learners for HE; how the different types of provision achieve learner outcomes and progression to HE; and the current relationship between supply and demand, as well as addressing the regional issues raised by QAA.
We will also encourage institutional partnerships under the new initiative of Lifelong Learning Networks to consider actively the role that Access courses currently play in vocational progression to HE, and whether and how this might be developed further.
Recommendation 2: There should be a national promotional campaign to increase awareness of Access to HE programmes amongst the adult population in general; to attract, in particular, more students from disadvantaged groups; and to improve the profile of Access in both FE and HE sectors.
We are sympathetic to the thinking behind this recommendation. However, we consider that there are a number of issues raised in the Report that need to be addressed and resolved before a major national promotional campaign can be considered. These include the strategic positioning of Access courses (see Recommendation 1); and the work on promoting consistency of standards (see Recommendation 5).
However, we can and will look for opportunities to use existing promotional vehicles, such as Aimhigher, to deliver key messages about the Access route and the opportunities it provides.
Recommendation 3 : Funding arrangements should ensure security of funding for Access programmes at an appropriate level to support the needs of the provision; provide incentives for the development of new programmes to meet identified needs; encourage the development of innovative models with more flexible methods and structures for delivery to attract new target groups; and provide financial support for students following Access programmes.
We agree that there are important, and complex, issues concerning funding for providers, Authorised Validating Agencies (AVAs) and learners. On funding for providers, we are working with the LSC to ensure that local LSCs are made aware of the importance of Access course provision and the need to maintain current levels of funding. Over the next year we will also monitor closely the financial viability of AVAs, to determine the extent of any funding problem. Learner support issues will be considered as part of the wider review of funding for adult learners in FE, which will commence with a consultation by the LSC in July 2004.
Whilst we recognise the need to protect current funding levels for Access courses, pending the outcome of the work on the positioning of Access courses (see Recommendation 1) it would be premature to take further action, to promote the development of additional provision.
Recommendation 4: There should be a broader range of programmes, which makes Access provision available in a wider range of venues and through more flexible modes of delivery to a wider target group. The QAA Recognition Scheme for Access to HE should promote the role of
AVAs in the development of innovative Access provision, and should encourage fuller use of the current potential for flexibility in provision.
In principle, we support this recommendation and ask QAA, through its licensing arrangements with AVAs, to take forward further work to promote innovation and more flexible modes of delivery. However, the potential to develop a broader range of Access programmes will need to be considered in light of the national strategy to support the development of Access courses, which will be taken forward under recommendation 1.
Recommendation 5 : The standards required to achieve the Access qualification should be clear, common and consistently applied; should be able to accommodate diversity of programmes; and should recognise student achievement within a common national framework.
The Department strongly welcomes action which will lead to greater clarity and consistent application of the standards for Access qualifications, whilst maintaining local flexibility and responsiveness. The Department endorses this recommendation and asks QAA to take forward their planned work in this area.
Recommendation 6 : The method of description of achievement on Access programmes should be standardised, so that equivalence is demonstrable and transparent. There should be common criteria and mechanisms to allow partial achievement to be acknowledged and transferred; and to ensure that differential individual achievement, in terms of both volume and level, can be recognised.
In principle, the Department welcomes this move to more consistency and transparency in recording and communicating learner outcomes, enabling a better understanding of the achievements of Access students within Higher Education Institutions. We ask QAA to take this work forward, and in doing so, to explore a range of options for differentiating learner achievement, to consult relevant stakeholders on the way forward, and to be mindful of the need to maintain - within a more coherent and consistent framework - appropriate levels of local flexibility in responding to learner needs. We encourage the QAA to continue to work closely with the LSC in developing Access to HE courses that are consistent with principles for credit within the newly developing Framework for Achievement.
Recommendation 7 : There should be a body or forum with the designated remit for the continuing enhancement and development of Access as national provision leading to a nationally recognised qualification.
We understand the view that there should be a focus for quality enhancement, and we are currently considering how best to provide this within the broader arrangements for quality improvement in the FE sector.
July 2004