OFFA Access agreements 2017-18

06 September 2016

Director General of the Russell Group, Dr Wendy Piatt said:

“Russell Group universities are committed to ensuring their doors are wide open to talented and able students from all backgrounds. Young people from the most disadvantaged areas in 2015 were around 40 per cent more likely to enter a leading university than four years ago and more than a third of our students receive a bursary or scholarship.

“But we are far from complacent and the 20 Russell Group universities in England alone have committed £254 million from additional fees income to scholarships, fee waivers, bursaries and outreach activities in 2017/18 – an increase of £11 million on the previous year.

“This spending is aimed at the most disadvantaged students and includes working with teachers and pupils. For example, this year Russell Group universities hosted conferences for teachers at schools in disadvantaged areas or with low rates of progression to higher education. These materials will soon be available to a wider audience via an online resource providing information, advice and guidance for teachers to help students progress to leading universities.  Furthermore our universities will continue to use funds raised from other sources to provide important scholarships and bursaries not counted by OFFA.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. Next year Russell Group universities will be spending an average of 31.0 % of their additional fee income on widening participation measures - more than the 24% average across all other higher education institutions.
   
   
2. Department for Education destination data published in January showed that the number of students eligible for free school meals going to Russell Group universities has increased every year since 2010. In 2013, almost 12% of the students (1820) eligible for free school meals who went into higher education went to a Russell Group university, up from 7.5% (910) in 2010.
   
   
3. The numbers of Black, Asian and Mixed race students entering Russell Group universities have all increased since 2010:

• Numbers of Black students accepted by RG universities have gone up by 62%, from 1,690 in 2010 to 2,740 in 2015.
• Asian students accepted at RG universities have increased by 28%, from 7,285 in 2010 to 9350 in 2015.
• Numbers of ‘Mixed’ ethnicity students accepted at RG universities have gone up by 43% in the same timeframe, from 2,760 to 3,940.
  
  

4. The Russell Group report, Opening Doors, Understanding and overcoming the barriers to university access, and accompanying films examine the root causes of under-representation of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and give examples of what Russell Group universities are doing to help tackle the problem.
   
   
5. The 'Progression to Russell Group universities' conferences were held at the University of Cambridge on Monday 18th April and at the University of Liverpool on Tuesday 26th April. Building on the success of the conferences, materials and presentations have been developed into an online resource. Advancing Access, will be launched shortly.