The use of access thresholds to widen participation at Scottish universities

Abstract

The Scottish Government has set ambitious targets for widening access to full-time undergraduate degree programmes. Meeting these targets will be a real challenge, not least because young people from socioeconomically disadvantaged contexts continue to lag substantially behind their more advantaged peers when it comes to achievement at Higher level. Following the recommendations of the Commission on Widening Access, the Scottish Government has mandated Scottish universities to set separate entry requirements for contextually disadvantaged applicants, known as ‘access thresholds’. In this article, we draw on the findings of a research project commissioned by the Scottish Funding Council to develop an empirical evidence base for the use of access thresholds to widen participation in higher education. We show that access thresholds are mathematically necessary if wider access is to be achieved, and we present evidence demonstrating that applicants admitted with Higher grades lower than the market rate have a high probability of success at degree level. We welcome the widespread use of access thresholds but highlight the scope to be much bolder than is currently the case. We also show that the use of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) to identify contextually disadvantaged learners runs a high risk of failure to reach the intended beneficiaries. We argue strongly in favour of the use of administratively verified individual level measures of contextual disadvantage instead, specifically receipt of free school meals and low household income.

Reconceptualising fair access to highly academically selective universities

“…There is, however, a stronger association between grades on entry and rates of achieving a first or upper second class degree (sometimes referred to as a 'good degree'), with rates of 75% for students at higher-tariff providers who entered with AAB at A-level falling to 46% for those who entered with BCC. Similar patterns have been observed regarding the relationship between Scottish higher grades on entry and degree outcomes at Scottish universities, with evidence of a stronger relationship between grades on entry and final degree classification for degrees in science as compared to arts subjects (Boliver et al, 2020). While these patterns indicate that students entering universities with lower grades may be less well prepared for university study, on average, it also reflects the lack of support available to such students to enable them to bridge gaps in subject knowledge and academic skills (Boliver & Powell, 2021).…”

“…However, A-level grades on entry to university have been found to be a more modest predictor of completing a degree than is often supposed, with a degree completion rate for students attending higher-tariff providers of 88% among those who entered with AAB at Alevel compared to an only slightly lower rate of 80% among those who entered with BCC ; see also Boliver et al, 2020). There is, however, a stronger association between grades on entry and rates of achieving a first or upper second class degree (sometimes referred to as a 'good degree'), with rates of 75% for students at higher-tariff providers who entered with AAB at A-level falling to 46% for those who entered with BCC.…”

Widening Participation in Scotland 1997–2021: A semi‐systematic literature review and avenues for further research

“…The basis of fair admissions and the translation of equality into the practice of offer-making continues to concern researchers such as Knox (2005), Croxford and Raffe (2011), Croxford et al (2014), Cameron et al (2018), Boliver et al (2015) and Boliver et al (2015Boliver et al ( , 2020Boliver et al ( , 2022. The issue of the most appropriate indicators to identify disadvantaged students and thus use for contextualised admissions remains a persistent problem (Boliver, 2017;Croxford et al, 2014;Niven et al, 2013).…”

“…Despite some excellent empirical work in this area (Boliver, 2015;Boliver et al, 2015Boliver et al, , 2020Boliver et al, , 2022Cameron et al, 2018;Croxford et al, 2014 andRaffe, 2011), the concept and practice of making contextualised admissions is under researched. While studies have discussed the problems inherent in identifying and measuring features of WP identification, the category itself is not homogenous, with wide ranging degrees of severity and intersecting characteristics.…”