Improving access and participation in higher education: A case for enhancing evaluation evidence

Fair access and participation have been key elements of national higher education policy in the UK for the last two decades. The aim is to ensure that all young people, regardless of their background, have the opportunity to attend and succeed at college or university.

In 2023, new guidance was introduced by the Office for Students (OfS) to regulate access and participation to higher education in England, along with increased expectations around the quality of evaluation evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of any initiatives. But these expectations were not accompanied by a change to the standards by which the strength of evaluation claims is actually assessed.

This policy brief by Dr Joanne Moore and Annette Hayton explores the types of evidence needed to support effective evaluation of activities designed to widen participation. Working with staff in evaluation and management roles in a cross-section of higher education providers, this qualitative research captures current and emerging practice in evaluation of access and participation activities. It develops a set of recommendations to support evaluation capability-building in higher education. These reflect the complexity of organisational change taking place in the sector to address equity concerns.