{"id":5820,"date":"2017-07-04T09:16:58","date_gmt":"2017-07-04T08:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=5820"},"modified":"2017-07-04T09:16:58","modified_gmt":"2017-07-04T08:16:58","slug":"university-approach-mature-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/around-ou\/ou-speaks-out\/university-approach-mature-students\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cBe more ambitious!\u201d universities are told in approach to mature students"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new report says effective outreach to potential adult and mature students is vital to widen participation in Higher Education among under-represented groups.<\/em><\/p>\n

University leaders must be more creative and try innovative initiatives to entice adult learners from disadvantaged backgrounds into Higher Education, concludes a report looking at better ways to widen access and participation in this under-represented group.<\/p>\n

It also calls for a requirement from all higher education institutions (HEIs) to commit to a specified and agreed proportion of their overall outreach spend which would improve access to HE for adults.<\/p>\n

One size does not fit all<\/h2>\n

Four universities collaborated on the project which was commissioned by the Office for Fair Access<\/a> (OFFA) to provide case studies of examples of outreach to disadvantaged adult learners across different contexts, for sharing with the rest of the sector. The universities were The Open University (OU) (project lead), University of Bristol, Birkbeck University of London and University of Leeds. The six-month project produced a report: Understanding the impact of outreach on access to Higher Education for disadvantaged adult learners<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The report includes five case studies from the participating universities, all illustrating different working approaches, appealing to adult and part-time students. The report stresses that \u201cone-size does not<\/strong> fit all\u201d, and argues that universities must set ideas in their own context and develop them to suit their own adult learners\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n

Real examples of what succeeds<\/h2>\n
\"Barbican

Universities need to be more ambitious towards mature learners<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

The OU looked at how a Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) access module prepares students for the first year of a STEM degree. The University of Bristol explored community-based outreach, using taster options and targeting groups such as ex-offenders, single parent families and refugees and asylum seekers and providing a Foundation Year in Arts and Humanities programme.<\/p>\n

Access courses were also examined by Birkbeck University of London which looked specifically at the transition of its students from its Higher Educational Introductory Studies (HEIS) programme to the BSc in Social Sciences. The University of Leeds explored the experiences of disadvantaged adult learners who have been supported by their Lifelong Learning Centre and their learning champions into and through the university. Finally OU the illustrated the PEARL (part-time education for adults returning to learn) website, including an \u201cadvise-me\u201d tool for signposting pathways to HE, as well as options in HE and progression through HE.<\/p>\n

These case studies were produced to give the whole sector real examples of the kind of intervention activities and curricula design that succeed with adult learners who require flexible support to engage with HE study.<\/p>\n

A three-step \u201ctoolkit\u201d has also been produced to enable institutions to evaluate their efforts and approach to encourage disadvantaged adult learners.<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s key recommendations to the sector are:<\/p>\n