University students from underrepresented backgrounds highlight importance of the access agenda and the need to achieve 2030 access goals

The extraordinary stories of students from the University of the West of Scotland who entered higher education from a non-traditional route is being highlighted in a new national campaign by Universities Scotland.

Current student, Wayne Willoughby, is now in his second year studying a BA (Hons) Degree in Integrated Health and Social Care at the University’s Paisley campus.

Wayne was raised in an unstable home and spent time in local authority care, foster care, and a home for teenage boys during his childhood. He was introduced to drugs at age 11 and continued using until eight years ago at the age of 40.

Wayne has worked in social care since he was 15 and moved to Scotland, from England in 2018. He didn’t have a good experience at school and decided to expand his experience, firstly through college, before articulating onto the UWS BA (Hons) Integrated Health and Social Care programme.

Fellow Paisley campus alumnus Jamie Kinlochan also features in the campaign. Graduating with a BA (Hons) in Politics and Social Policy in 2013, Jamie’s work with charity Who Cares? Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic led to him being awarded the British Empire Medal for services to vulnerable people in Scotland. He recently completed an MSc in Counselling and Psychotherapy and now works as a counsellor in Paisley, 15 minutes from the UWS campus, delivering mental health support to people from communities that have been socially and economically marginalised.

Graduate and academic, Dr Mia Burleigh, left high school at 16 with no qualifications.

In 2014, by then a single mother of two young children, Mia completed an HND in Applied Sport and Exercise Science at Ayrshire College as a mature student and was offered a place for direct entry to the third year of the BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science programme at UWS. In doing so, Mia became the first person in her family to attend university.

Mia’s academic grades in third year earned her the University Court Medal for the highest achieving student on the degree programme and she was awarded summer studentships by the Carnegie Trust and the Physiological Society.

Mia achieved a first-class honours degree in the summer of 2016 and immediately commenced a PhD studentship. The research she carried out paved the way for new therapeutic developments in oral and cardiovascular health.

After completing her PhD, Mia accepted an academic post at UWS’ Lanarkshire campus where she continues to make significant contributions to teaching, research, enterprise, and public outreach activities.

The Universities Scotland “40 Faces” campaign aims to champion the diversity and success of widening access programmes from universities and higher education institutions from across Scotland.

“40 Faces” launches with only six years left for Scotland to reach the fair access targets, originally set by the Commission for Fair Access in 2016 and supported by the Scottish Government and by universities themselves. Universities have made major strides towards the 20% target, hitting interim milestones in 2021 and introducing the most progressive admissions policies in the UK, in support of this goal.

However, with six years remaining to reach the targets in 2030 progress has plateaued in the face of mounting challenges including the legacy of lost-learning in schools during the pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis, and the persistent attainment gap in schools.

The success of students like Wayne, Jamie and Mia is testament to the extraordinary role university can play for those who face significant barriers to accessing higher education. The stories behind each of the “40 Faces” serves as a reminder of the importance of this agenda and a rallying call to all stakeholders involved to refocus on working together for its achievement.

As Scotland's leading university for widening access, with 44.8% of their undergraduate students being the first in their family to attend university, UWS firmly believes that education should be available to all. UWS is a place where ability, not background, matters. The University firmly believes that education should be available for all, regardless of background or circumstance. UWS champions and empowers individuals from diverse and non-traditional backgrounds to access higher education through various initiatives such as their Foundation Academy, strong articulation links with college students and their Student Success Model.

New polling, commissioned by Universities Scotland from Censuswide as part of the campaign, gives an insight into graduate attitudes towards widening access. When asked what factors are most important to widening access, over 600 graduates aged 24-40 who went to university in Scotland identified the following priorities:

• 38% said diverse routes into university are important.
• 34% said that connections between schools, colleges and universities are key.
• 28% said increasing the amount of non-repayable grants and bursaries available to students during studies is important.
• 25% said investing more money in the education and wider support needs of each access student during their studies is important.
• 25% said improving attainment in schools is important to the access agenda.

The polling data is a strong fit with the themes emerging from the lived experience as shared by the 40 Faces featured in the campaign. Four themes emerged most strongly, as key to making further progress. They are:

• Start young on self-belief. Schools and universities must continue to cultivate a strong and inclusive sense of belonging amongst underrepresented communities.
• Join things up. Achievement of the 2030 goals will only be possible with a holistic approach that sees progress at school, college and university level, including significant progress in the poverty-related attainment gap in schools.
• No wrong path. Multiple routes into university need to be available to suit diverse needs and offer second chances and equal access to chances later in life.
• Money matters. From the perspective of student finance, which focused more on non-repayable grants and bursaries, and the funding available to universities to support access initiatives and investment on a per student basis.

The “40 Faces” in the campaign reflect the diversity of underrepresented students including: students from the most deprived 20% of postcodes; those from low-participation schools; students with care experience and/or estranged from their families. It also includes mature learners, those who have progressed to university through a college route and those who have gone to university after years in the workforce.

She continued,

“Our universities are committed to widening access; however they cannot achieve this alone.  With our 40 Faces campaign, Universities Scotland want to galvanise the sector and Scottish Government towards the 2030 widening access target, through sharing the lived experience of students and graduates.

“Universities across Scotland continue to advocate for students from underrepresented communities, even in the face of the erosion of public investment in Scottish domiciled places at university.  Universities offer students opportunities to achieve their dreams of securing a higher education and the skills and career opportunities that follow, while also strengthening their self-belief, building confidence, and offering a life-changing experience which cannot be found elsewhere.”