Report

Scaling opportunities

This report from UK think tank HEPI calls for sustained and intensive outreach to tackle persistent higher education access gaps.

New HEPI Policy Note calls for sustained and intensive outreach to tackle persistent higher education access gaps. It argues that sustained and intensive outreach programmes are among the most effective tools to widen access to higher education institutions, and calls for earlier, better coordinated and more rigorously evaluated interventions. Scaling Opportunities (HEPI Policy Note 70), by Charlotte Gleed and Charlotte Armstrong, examines the structural inequalities that shape progression to higher education and asks higher education institutions to think about ‘what works, for whom, in what context, and why’ when conducting outreach.

Drawing on analysis from the Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT), Uni Connect and other sector evidence, the report makes the case for moving from late-stage adjustments to long-term, preventative engagement. Despite decades of widening participation work, significant attainment and progression gaps remain. The Policy Note argues that sustained and intensive outreach can shift these outcomes.