UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER ACCESS AGREEMENT (2013-14 to 2014-15)
1.0 INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT
1.1 The University of Ulster operates across four campuses in Northern Ireland (Belfast, Coleraine, Jordanstown and Magee) with a student community in 2012/13 of some 20,348 undergraduates, 4,358 taught postgraduates and 633 research students.
1.2 The University has a longstanding record of widening access to and participation in higher education. It has consistently been successful not only in attracting students from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds but also in the provision of a supportive and flexible learning environment.
1.3 As a sector-leader in this area the University’s Corporate Plan (2012-16) highlights the importance of making its programmes accessible to all who have the capacity to benefit from them regardless of personal background or social circumstance.
1.4 The University’s Widening Access and Participation Strategy supports sector-leading levels of access, participation and achievement. Key indicators of achievement in this regard are:
· 46.5% participation by Northern Ireland domiciled students from lower socio-economic backgrounds;
· 91.6% retention for first entrants (2010-11);
· 1,650 student users of Disability Services annually;
· 88.1% graduate employment (HESA 2010/11);
· 88% student satisfaction (National Student Survey 2012-13).
1.5 Access to higher education has expanded significantly in the past decade with an increasingly diverse range of missions and policies expressed by its institutions and legislative authorities respectively. In Northern Ireland, the capping of full time undergraduate student numbers coupled with the introduction of variable and lower fees for Northern Ireland domiciled students studying in Northern Ireland, underpins the importance of the Access Agreement and its explicit commitments to address barriers to higher education for non-traditional and low participation sections of society.
2.0 MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE
2.1 The Widening Access and Participation Strategy of the University[1] aligns with the ‘Access to Success’ integrated regional strategy of the Department for Employment and Learning for Northern Ireland (DELNI).[2] Accordingly the University’s Strategy has three themes of reference:
· Outreach;
· Flexible Solutions;
· Participation and Support.
Ulster developments in each thematic area are underpinned and effectively targeted through the purposeful use of accurate data.
2.3 The University’s Access Agreement will be the responsibility of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Educational Partnerships and International Affairs.
2.4 Progress against targets will be reported to Senate through the Widening Access and Participation Sub-Committee and the Educational Partnerships and International Affairs Committee.
2.5 Access, Digital and Distributed Learning, the directorate home of the Centre for Widening Access & Participation will provide annual monitoring, reporting and financial oversight of the Access Agreement.
2.6 The Centre for Widening Access & Participation will support faculties and departments in the formulation of high quality widening access and participation initiatives that are aligned to the academic context of each faculty.
2.7 The University will make use of its Appeals procedures to deal with complaints regarding allocations of the Access Agreement Fund.
3.0 COMMUNICATION
3.1 Ulster provides prospective students and the wider community with key information relating to programmes of study and the various forms of support. The main channels of this information are:
· the University website and prospectus[3]
· the Access Agreement
· online guidance on financial support, eligibility and the application process
· institution-wide calls to students eligible for support
· direct communications to extant recipients
· information distributed via schools, at campus open days and in materials sent to UCAS applicants.
4.0 TUITION FEES
4.1 For the academic year 2013-14 a full-time undergraduate tuition fee of £3,575 will apply for Northern Ireland domiciled students. The corresponding fee for a placement or intercalary year will be £1,780.
4.2 The tuition fee for students from England, Scotland and Wales will be a maximum of £6,000.
4.3 For the year 2014-15 the fees will be published prior to the start of the academic year.
4.4 Eligible students from Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales can finance their fees through a fee loan. Further information and the application process can be obtained directly from the Student Loan Company.[4]
5.0 SUPPORTING ACCESS AND PARTICIPATION
5.1 The University of Ulster will allocate and maintain 20-25% of the additional tuition fee income received in 2013-14 and 2014-15 to support access to and participation in higher education by all those with the ability to benefit.
5.2 In accordance with Access to Success the University will distribute expenditure across financial support and outreach[5] to: a) achieve maximum impact for those most in need; and b) strike an appropriate balance between widening access generally and realising participation and achievement with the University of Ulster.
5.3 Consistent with DELNI’s Access to Success[6] and Ulster’s Widening Access and Participation Strategy,[7] funds will be targeted to those individuals most in need while the wider support and outreach will embrace the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education in Northern Ireland as well as the transition from higher education through to employment.
5.4 Funds will be distributed, inter alia, in accordance with the University’s Equality Policy and beneficiaries are expected to observe the University Students’ Charter.
5.5 The University will monitor and review the implementation and operation of the Access Agreement. The University may, accordingly, alter the Agreement in response to government policy and in consultation with DELNI.
5.6 To engage, encourage and support those students most in need this Access Agreement identifies the following range of targeted funds, support and outreach:
§ Funding to eligible Ulster students in the form of Access Bursaries, the Widening Access and Participation Fund
§ An extensive programme of pre-entry outreach to schools, colleges and communities across Northern Ireland funded through the Access Project Fund
§ On-campus support for transition to the University and subsequent achievement, including retention, attainment and employment.
§ A flexible range of access pathways to higher education distributed across Northern Ireland.
5.7 Details of these strands of support are provided in the appropriate sections below.
6.0 FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO STUDENTS
6.1 For 2013-14 the University will allocate £3.02M of the additional fee income it receives to provide direct financial support to eligible students enrolled on courses at the University. This direct financial support will take the form of bursaries, endowments and support funds. The allocation for 2014-15 will be published by July 2014.
6.2 The profile of the financial support may vary depending on eligibility and demand.
6.3 These funds are additional to any government-sponsored support that students may receive; repayment is not required.
7.0 ACCESS BURSARIES
7.1 The bursary scheme provides targeted financial support for students from the lowest income backgrounds, as determined by residual household income.
7.2 For students entering in 2013-14, Ulster will provide access bursaries of £360 to students with a household income less than £19,204. This is in addition to means-tested maintenance grants of up to £3,475 provided by the Education and Library Boards (ELBs). The rates for 2014-15 will be published in advance of that academic session.
7.3 Eligibility to receive a bursary will be based on information on residual income provided by the Student Loans Company. Recipients must accordingly be enrolled students of the University of Ulster who are also:
§ domiciled in Northern Ireland or the EU (excepting Great Britain);
§ enrolled on a full-time[8] undergraduate degree or PGCE course (with the exception of students on Social Work courses in receipt of an additional government bursary);
and
· normally have applied for support by 31 May in the relevant academic year.
7.4 The bursary scheme for entrants to the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic sessions will support students across the duration of their studies.
7.5 For students entering prior 2013-14, the terms and conditions of their extant bursary will be sustained for the duration of their studies.
8.0 WIDENING ACCESS and PARTICIPATION FUND
8.1 Over-and-above the Access Bursary scheme, Ulster will commit £200,000 p.a. during 2013-14 and 2014-15 to a Widening Access and Participation (WAP) Fund, The fund will cover financial assistance to WAP students to help with additional disbursements linked to engaging with their academic programme, with a particular focus on transitioning to employment or experiencing cultures, environments and countries other than that of their domicile and NS-SEC classification.
8.2 The WAP Fund will accordingly cover, inter alia, WAP Work Placements, WAP Employability Internships and WAP Overseas Placements.
8.3 The eligibility criteria for the WAP Participation Fund will be published annually and will involve the use of objective widening participation and attainment criteria.
8.4 Calls for application will be announced at appropriate stages of the academic year.
9.0 HARDSHIP FUND
9.1 Ulster recognises that students from a widening access background need additional support to ensure successful progression. Accordingly, and in addition to the Access Bursary and the Widening Access and Participation Fund, the University will distribute Hardship Funds.
9.2 For the year 2013-14 the funds will total £42,000[9]. These funds are additional to the £1.3M Student Support Fund (2013-14) that Ulster administers on the basis of criteria defined by DEL.
9.3 The University also provides support for students from a background of care. The support package offered includes a care-leaver bursary of £1,000 per annum, access to year-round accommodation and assistance with the HE application process.
9.4 The University will publish revised funding rates for 2014-15 prior to the commencement of that academic year.
10.0 PRE-ENTRY OUTREACH and ACCESS PROJECT FUND
10.1 An Access Agreement Fund of £3.7M will be allocated for 2013-14. This will cover projects, fee waivers and delivery.
10.2 Of the Access Agreement Fund, an Access Project Fund of £1.8M will be allocated to targeted outreach[10] activities, with the aim of building on the success of Ulster in attracting and supporting a diverse student population. This will be administered through the University’s Access, Digital and Distributed Learning Directorate and overseen by the Widening Access and Participation Sub-Committee.
10.3 The focus for outreach activities during the period covered by the Access Project Fund includes a combination of funded projects addressing targeted and prioritised needs/audiences and the scoping and development of new initiatives designed to support the implementation of Access to Success and the University's Widening Access and Participation Strategy (2012-16).
10.4 The University’s Widening Access and Participation Strategy recognises the importance of embedding the core principles of widening access and participation across the institution. Accordingly, Faculties and Departments are encouraged to submit proposals for project funding to support subject-specific, innovative and sustainable outreach initiatives.
10.5 The Widening Access and Participation Sub-Committee will consider project proposals and make recommendations for funding support, as appropriate. Projects will be assessed on the basis of: contribution to the University’s Widening Access and Participation targets for 2013-14 and 2014-15; quantifiable deliverables; sustainability; and return for investment.
UNIWIDE FUNDED PROJECTS 2013-14 and 2014-15
10.6 Step Up to Science is Ulster’s long-standing and hugely successful flagship programme which aims to raise academic aspiration, expectation and attainment. The programme provides new learning opportunities for talented young people living in areas of social and economic deprivation in partnership with schools, local industry, hospitals and government agencies.
10.7 Tutoring in Schools (TiS) places Ulster students in primary, post primary or special needs schools; providing student volunteers to work alongside teachers and pupils on a variety of school-based projects. The programme establishes strong partnerships between Ulster and schools[11] across the region. TiS also allows Ulster Student Tutors to become positive role models and ambassadors for school pupils, raising aspirations of young people and encouraging them to consider progression to Higher Education.
10.8 Fostering Aspiration supports a wide range of projects and activities that look to raise the educational aspiration of care-experienced young people and encourage and support them on a path toward Higher Education including: summer schemes, a care-leaver bursary, year-round accommodation in halls as well as guidance and support from a dedicated advisor. These activities underpin the Frank Buttle UK Quality Mark which has been award University of Ulster since 2009. This is objective evidence that Ulster goes to great length to help young people with a background of care. Within
10.9 Ulster Sports Outreach is a major project contribution from the Sports Academy at Ulster. This consists of cross-community outreach encompassing pupils from primary and post-primary sectors. For 2013-14 and 2014-15 this programme of activities will have an enhanced focus on widening access to schools.
10.10 Ulster Sports Scholars recognises the effectiveness of sport as a means of reaching out to young people living in areas of high deprivation and low participation. For 2013-14 Ulster will commit £120,000 to international scholarships in conjunction with Ulster Sports Outreach[12] and Sport and Health Interventions in Education. The University will publish revised commitment rates for 2014/15 prior to the commencement of that academic year.
10.11 Widening Access & Participation Community Engagement Programme supports University community outreach and attainment (learning development) initiatives that support adult returners, work-based leaners, and those with a range of disability.[13] In addition, community outreach will address subject-linked gender imbalance and educational disengagement of priority low-participation strata of society (e.g. young protestant males).
11.0 ACCESS PATHWAYS TO HIGHER EDUCATION AND FEE WAIVERS
11.1 Ulster’s flexible learning frameworks support accessibility by enabling participants to achieve academic credit in a way that suits their individual circumstances. Credit can be accumulated to achieve full University awards; such as the Certificate of Personal and Professional Development and the Postgraduate Certificate of Professional Development.
11.2 Accordingly, the University will commit £260,000 in fee waivers and additional, dedicated part-time tutors to encourage and support flexible, accredited learning.
11.3 Furthermore, for 2013-14 and 2014-15, the University commits to convert any underspend with respect to Access Agreement commitments into additional fee waivers/dedicated tutors for accredited learning over-and-above the level stated above.
11.4 Ulster will continue to provide a pathway to Higher Education though its flagship Step Up to Science programme, which aims to raise academic aspirations, expectations and attainment. Attainment being underpinned by a highly structured programme of learning aligned to the schools curriculum and entry tariff discounts of up to 60 points for those participants that successfully complete the assessed Summer School. The University will also explore expanded opportunities to raise attainment amongst target groups.