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Equitable admissions for underrepresented groups

This guidance was prompted by a number of queries from admissions departments around the legal requirements to ensure equality in admissions following the implementation of the Equality Act 2010, and correspondence from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to the Office for Fair Access which outlined the importance of considering access for underrepresented groups including students from less advantaged backgrounds, disabled students, students from some minority ethnic groups and care leavers.

Working with SPA (Supporting Professionalism in Admissions) and a number of higher education institutions with examples of good practice, ECU has produced recommendations and guidance to show how admissions can be made more equitable at every stage from pre-application to transition. Reflective questions and case studies will help to guide institutions through every step.

Areas covered include:

  • Making the case for equality in admissions
    • Including equality law and the benefits of an equitable admissions procedure
    • Pre-application and application
      • Widening participation and access
      • Course entry requirements
      • Centralised and devolved processes
      • Providing advice to applicants
  • Post-application and transition
    • Additional information and assessment methods
    • Supporting applicants during transition
  • Disability disclosure in admissions
  • International applicants
  • Using equality monitoring data in admissions
Equitable admissions for underrepresented groups PDF version
01/12/2012
Equitable admissions for underrepresented groups PDF version View Document
Equitable admissions for underrepresented groups WORD version
01/12/2012
Equitable admissions for underrepresented groups WORD version View Document

The materials published on this page were originally created by the Equality Challenge Unit.