Commission calls for evidence on widening access to higher education

The Commission on Widening Access, set up by the Scottish Government to tackle the barriers to accessing higher education, has issued its call for evidence.

Given the expert group of 12 Commissioners, it is a privilege to Chair the Commission on Widening Access. It is an admirable ambition that fits perfectly with Scotland’s great tradition of tackling unfairness: it is an honourable task.

As someone who has spent the majority of my career in England, I have been struck by the professional commitment and good practice on access that already exists in Scotland. This is a nation that knows how to do it and it is this good work that has laid the strong foundations which will enable us to not only widen participation but also to deepen it. We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge we face. This is a complex problem and making substantial progress will require us to do more and to go further.

This Commission cannot succeed alone. It is critical to its success that we harness and become well-informed by the available evidence and expertise. With that in mind I encourage everyone with an interest to respond to this call, and beyond that to share it across your professional and personal networks, including to those with direct experience of barriers to access.

This call for evidence is aimed at the helping us get off to the best start; it will not be the sole opportunity to engage with the Commission. We will be visible and pro-active and this call should therefore be viewed as the beginning of a wider programme of engagement.

There is a tremendous opportunity here. We have the commitment, the expertise and the political backing to make a real difference for people in our most deprived communities at this time of growth in opportunities. They must not face exclusion from these and there is a shared determination that they won’t.