Million Plus

Professor John Raftery, Vice-Chancellor at London Metropolitan University writes for the Times Higher Education on social mobility and widening access.

Recent Ucas statistics have revealed the country’s class system is still hard at work and as active as ever in more than half of our universities. Figures analysed by Times Higher Education showed that, at 70 universities, students from the most advantaged areas were still twice as likely to gain a place as peers who lived in disadvantaged areas. At 10 universities, the ratio was higher than 9:1.​ Despite many years of widening participation efforts by higher education colleagues, it appears that where you live and where your family comes from still determines your access to a university education. To Professor Raftery, these figures demonstrate an elitism that continues to run through higher education in the UK.

The full article is here.