'Disappointment' as Scottish universities stall in bid to meet SNP target for poorest students

Number of entrants from Scotland’s most deprived areas fell last year for the first time since commitment made

Progress towards meeting a key target for increasing the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds at Scottish universities is stalling, new figures show.

Data from the Scottish Funding Council has revealed the number of entrants from Scotland’s 20 per cent most deprived areas fell last year for the first time since the commitment to widen access was made in 2016/17, dropping slightly from 5,595 to 5,310.

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The proportion of students from the poorest areas was also down to 16.3 per cent in 2022/23, compared to 16.5 per cent in 2021/22 and 16.7 per cent in 2020/21.

The figures raise fresh doubts about the ability of universities to meet a Scottish Government target of having 20 per cent of students from the most disadvantaged communities by 2030. Universities have previously raised concerns over their ability to meet the 20 per cent target by 2030 due to the ongoing poverty-related attainment gap in schools and the disruption to education during the the pandemic.

For full-time first degree entrants, the data shows three universities are still not meeting the 2021 interim target of 10 per cent - with Aberdeen University on 6.9 per cent, Robert Gordon University at 7.1 per cent and Heriot-Watt on 9.5 per cent.

However, four are already hitting the 2030 overall target of 20 per cent - Abertay, Glasgow Caledonian, Glasgow School of Art and West of Scotland.

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Meanwhile, Edinburgh University was at 13.1 per cent, up from 10.2 per cent in the preceding year, while Glasgow University’s proportion was 15 per cent, and the figure for St Andrews University was 12.9 per cent.

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Professor John McKendrick Scotland’s commissioner for fair access, said: “My disappointment extends beyond numbers.

“I am disappointed for the individuals from Scotland’s most deprived areas whose potential is not being realised, and I am disappointed for those from universities, colleges and schools whose best efforts and sterling work in promoting access to higher education are not reflected in these data.

“Self-evidently, work to widen access to higher education must be strengthened if we are to achieve the ambitious targets of achieving 18 per cent of entrants from Scotland’s 20 per cent most deprived areas by 2026, and 20 per cent by 2030. 

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“All is far from lost, and there is some evidence of progress in the ROWA [report on widening access] report. For example, six of Scotland’s HEIs [higher education institutions] increased the number of entrants from Scotland’s most deprived areas between 2021/22 and 2022/23, and seven increased their share. 

“It also important to acknowledge that – important as they are – the Report on Widening Access presents historical data.

“Much more positively, the latest data from the UCAS, the university admissions service, for the current academic year on acceptances to Scottish HEIs indicate more positive trends over the number and proportion of acceptances of students from Scotland’s most deprived areas.

The UCAS data report that the number and proportion of Scottish-domiciled accepted applicants from Scotland’s 20 per cent most deprived areas increased between 2023 and 2024 from 5,480 to 6,120; that is from 15.8 per cent to 16.5 per cent of all acceptances.

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“Indeed, this represents a new record high in the number and proportion of accepted applicants from Scotland’s most deprived areas, and a record percentage year-on-year increase.”

A spokesperson at Universities Scotland said: “Universities remain steadfastly committed to widening access and have taken every opportunity to build on the great progress already made.

“There are positives in this data set; the number of care experienced entrants to university continues to grow and the data suggest this group of students are supported to achieve very successful outcomes at university.

“Data based on the index of deprivation is shown to fluctuate year to year. This data set is time-lagged to two years behind where we are now and we believe these figures have continued to fluctuate, with the acceptance rate for entry in September 2024 looking more positive in percentage terms.

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“That said, the more significant point that we all need to take on board is that despite the best efforts of universities, it is going to be very challenging to continue to make the scale of progress needed to reach the 2026 and then 2030 access targets. Universities cannot get there alone.

“The connection to school attainment is key, universities need to have the means to invest more on a per student basis than they do now, and we urgently need to take the no cost measure of using a person-centred metric so that efforts at all levels are focused on what matters most.”

A University of Aberdeen spokesperson said: “The University of Aberdeen is committed to increasing student numbers from widening access backgrounds. The Fair Access Commissioner’s 2024 report recognised that we use the widest range of widening access indicators in the sector.

“Our range of assistance, including free accommodation and student bursaries, is designed to support those inclusivity ambitions. However, during a cost-of-living crisis it is not surprising that more disadvantaged students are choosing to live at home in the Central Belt and commute to university.”

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