Widening participation

The University of Northampton is committed to opening up opportunities for learners from diverse backgrounds to study at the university, as part of its commitment to the role of higher education enabling lifelong learning and  as a mechanism for supporting social mobility. 

The University is keen to attract the widest diversity of learners from all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds to study for Foundation, Undergraduate and Postgraduate degrees at the university campuses, at our partner Further Education colleges or through work-based or distance learning.

Widening Participation is the name given to the variety of work happening at the institutional and School/Department levels to open up learning opportunities for non-traditional learners, e.g. mature students, students from low participation neighbourhoods, students from families with no experience of Higher Education, students with disabilities and Black and Minority Ethnic students.

Widening participation is about both student access and support throughout the student cycle.

Widening access refers to outreach activities which recruit new learners to the university, e.g. the work of Aimhigher (www.aimhigher.ac.uk), the Schools and Liaison team in Marketing and External Relations and Open Days run by Academic Schools.

Widening participation refers to the rest of the student journey - the quality of the student experience whilst studying with the university, degree attainment, retention , student achievement and the employability of all WP groups.

Widening participation work is funded through the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the University is accountable to HEFCE for demonstrating the impact of our WP work.

Time for a new terminology?

Dr John Butcher and Rohini Corfield from The University of Northampton carried out collaborative research with John Rose-Adams from The Open University which suggested that Widening Participation as a term has become tarnished. Read their Opinion article in the Times Higher Education: rethink the route to goal