The scope of this review covers the Widening Access (WA) strategies submitted to the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) by each of the ten Higher Education (HE) institutions based in Wales the one submitted by a UK-based institution with a regional centre located in Wales and those put forward by the three Reaching Wider Partnerships (RWPs).
The WA strategies cover the period 2011/12 to 2013/14 and followed on from previous strategies submitted for the period 2006/7 to 2008/9 and extended for a further two years. The RWPs had previously submitted short-term proposals for funding and this was the first time they had been asked to submit strategies. The review was undertaken for HEFCW by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) using two independent associates.
The review welcomed the strong commitment to widening access demonstrated in the strategies by the HE sector in Wales. The Welsh Government and HEFCW have continued to regard WA as a priority and the strategies showed that the institutions and Partnerships were enhancing their approaches to contribute to a regional framework to further this agenda. There were seven examples of excellent practice which were effective and innovative contributing to high quality WA work in Wales. In some areas such as Partnerships and work with looked-after young people Wales is ahead of the other nations in the UK and is leading the way with these developments. These examples of excellent practice were complemented by numerous examples of good practice which were demonstrated by many institutions and partnerships. The good or excellent practices were not universally employed however and those HEIs and RWPs which are not currently using these approaches are advised to consider whether they have the potential to improve their WA work.
