Huge Grants
FOLLOWING THE RECENT controversy concerning Oxford admissions, half of the government's new grants to help universities attract under-privileged students will go to elite institutions, especially Oxbridge. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has announced that it will give £18m over the next three years to institutions where less than 80% of the student body is taken from state schools.
If Oxford accepts HEFCE's money, it will have to "generally agree to the proposals" of the council to increase the proportion of state school students, says Nicola Dowds, a spokesperson from HEFCE. This would mean producing an action plan for good practice and "clear numerical and organisational targets which are monitored." A university spokesman, however, said that for state-school students, "we absolutely stress that targets and quotas won't be set" because of the university's philosophy that the best applicants should be selected regardless of their background. But this potential conflict between HEFCE and the university could, he said, be overcome if Oxford set targets for widening participation and increasing applications from state school pupils, as opposed to increasing acceptances.
Asked about the best way to increase applications from state school pupils, Rhodri Thomas - OUSU Vice-President for Access and Academic Affairs - emphasised the effectiveness of summer schools at the university and forging links with schools. He said that "at summer school, everyone has a fantastic time and it raises expectations, which is very important." The government proposes to spend £4m a year on summer schools and £7.5m a year on partnerships between higher education institutions, schools and the community.
The new proposals are good news for the Target Schools campaign. This year they are applying for larger budget than the £9000 the university gave last year.
16th Nov 2000