The article “Most privileged outnumber least advantaged 2:1 at most UK HEIs” (News, 25 January) did not give a complete picture of recruitment at post-92 institutions, including mine at the University of Bedfordshire.
While recruitment of 18-year-olds is down, our mission and purpose is and has always been to widen access to higher education, focusing on disadvantaged students who do not consider higher education to be part of their future.
Through apprenticeships, foundation years, study hubs and multiple entry points, we have expanded routes into higher education and have created the conditions where non-traditional learners are persuaded to give higher education a go. That means that we are currently forecasting a 7.5 per cent growth in our undergraduate student population, and if we include study centres that figure increases to +13.55 per cent.
Bill Rammell
Vice-chancellor
University of Bedfordshire
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