Admission impossible?

As the furore over the government's attack on Oxford elitism rumbles on, THES reporters gauge reactions and ask what universities can do to improve access

The furore surrounding Laura Spence is a brazen attempt to blame universities for the government's failure to encourage students from poorer backgrounds, opposition politicians said this week.

Theresa May, shadow education secretary, said: "The government is trying to divert attention from its failure in higher education. Universities are facing difficulties following a reduction in the unit of resource, and students are facing difficulties following the abolition of the maintenance grant and the introduction of tuition fees.

"The government is trying to set up the universities as fall guys. Universities have been making every effort to encourage students from poorer backgrounds to apply," she said.

Evan Harris, higher education spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said:

"Here's a government that, at a stroke, abolished maintenance grants and introduced tuition fees, saying that it wants to widen access. It is the height of hypocrisy."

Dr Harris warned that the uproar surrounding chancellor Gordon Brown's outburst could be a calculated attempt to deny public sympathy to universities in preparation for a poor settlement in the comprehensive spending review to be announced next month.

Mr Brown had said it was "an absolute scandal" that Tyneside state school pupil Miss Spence was denied a place at Oxford and was therefore going to Harvard University.

Deputy prime minister John Prescott pledged: "Where there are barriers to learning and opportunity our job is to take them down."

A fortnight ago, education department permanent secretary Sir Michael Bichard dismissed claims that higher education is underfunded. Alternatively, the government could be "softening up" the public for the introduction of top-up tuition fees, Dr Harris said. He added: "I suspect the government is provoking the Russell Group (of elite universities). Differential fees would be great news for the Treasury but disastrous for widening access."

Universities must be allowed to choose the best applicants for particular courses without outside interference, according to Baroness Warwick, chief executive of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals. "These are tough decisions to make for many institutions, especially where popular subjects are concerned, but the process is fair," she said.

The CVCP has been awarded over Pounds 200,000 by the Department for Education and Employment's innovations fund to commission research into admissions decision-making in universities, and is also commissioning follow-up research on widening participation in the sector.

Baroness Warwick said: "Universities are tackling the hard issue of how to get more working-class youngsters into higher education. It is an issue for the whole education system, not just universities. We already work with schools and colleges to ensure young people from all backgrounds with the potential are encouraged to aspire to university and to achieve the qualifications needed."

But the Association of Colleges said this week that more needed to be done to ensure college students as well as state school pupils have a fair chance of finding a place, particularly in Russell Group universities.

John Brennan, AoC's head of FE development, said: "There is no doubt that Oxbridge takes very few FE-sector applicants - much fewer than it takes even from state schools. We would definitely argue that the admissions system needs to be opened up and less skewed towards particular types of provider. There needs to be a recognition that A-level grades are not always the most significant factor in terms of talent and potential. The independent school candidate may look better on paper, but it is not always the case."

Mr Prescott said this week that much of the chancellor's promised Pounds 28 billion for public-sector spending over the next four years would be aimed at creating "opportunity for all". The focus would be on "breaking down the employment, economic, educational and social barriers to opportunity that still exist in Britain today with improved cash allocations, based on agreed targets and securing better results".

He said it should not be a surprise that the government wanted to get more state school pupils into top universities, because it was "immoral" to write off people because of their background or circumstances. He added that "nobody should be surprised if the spending review widens opportunity in our universities".

Responding to Mr Prescott's comments, Baroness Warwick said there needed to be assurances that the promises of extra funding were "not simply a gesture". The litmus test would be whether the government reversed cuts in funding per student.

"The key to improving access is across-the-board investment and raising the aspirations and attainment of our young people in schools. There is a danger that the current furore is obscuring the real progress universities are making on access, as well as the funding realities they face." Baroness Warwick said she would be saying "in no uncertain terms" to the select committee inquiry on higher education, which is to investigate university admissions policies, that a quota system to ensure a fair proportion of state school pupils gain entry "would not be helpful".

But education secretary David Blunkett told The BBC's Today programme that he was not in favour of a quota system. But he said there were still ten universities and colleges that took less than 5 per cent of applicants from the most disadvantaged backgrounds - most were medical schools.

Roderick Floud, vice-chancellor of London Guildhall University and chairman of the CVCP's English Council, said many institutions like his own had already made substantial progress on opening up access to people from a wide range of backgrounds. At London Guildhall, 88 per cent of full-time entrants are from state schools, 36 per cent from the social classes non-skilled manual, semi-skilled and unskilled, and about half are ethnic minorities.

He said: "There is much to be said for a coordinated and targeted approach to widening participation, backed by extra funding. But it would not be helpful for the government to be involved in the whole of the admissions process.

"There is nothing wrong with encouraging universities to do more to widen participation and we could all find areas where we can improve. But matching students to the right courses is a detailed and complicated process, which should be left to the institutions," Mr Floud said.

* THE REACTIONS

"I am against talent-spotters picking out the odd middle-class student from a state school and getting them into Magdalen College (Oxford). It would be a pity if this debate boiled down to middle-class students attending two different types of school."

Maggie Woodrow, head of the European Access Network at the University of Westminster "If the government really wants to improve access to education, then they should listen to the independent Cubie inquiry: rule out top-up fees and introduce maintenance grants. We are delighted to see the government address the issue of elitism, but they must recognise that their changes so far have made education more elitist, not less."

Owain James, president of the National Union of Students "While we have yet to make a decision on whether to include student access in our inquiry, my meetings in recent weeks with numerous higher education experts has convinced me that this would be a valuable avenue to exploreI I am concerned that we look at the facts; what is really going on and what it says about our education system."

Barry Sheerman, chair of the education select committee "The reason there is so much competition to get into Oxford is because it is so over-resourced and providing more money for Oxford to attract more applicants is not the answer. That money would be better spent on preventing drop-outs from other universities."

Tom Wilson, head ofuniversities at lecturers' union Natfhe "We have said again and again to the university that unless they improved their access statistics, this kind of thing was going to happen. They need to make radical changes and they haven't. The problem is that the debate is not about access to Oxford."

Annaliese Dodds, president of Oxford University Student Union "We have taken great care to look at all aspects of admissions procedures in recent years, and we recognise that not enough state school students apply to Cambridge. We are not complacent about our role in breaking down prejudices and encouraging state school applicants. It is still difficult to change this balance when the independent sector scores more highly at A level."

Sir Alec Broers, vice-chancellor of Cambridge University "We are in the lower echelon in asking for an A and two Bs. If the government wants us to stop recruiting Harold Shipmans they have to allow us to recruit on qualities other than high A levels. We are choosing for a job, not a course. We want people who have some work experience, even taking your local GP out for tea is a good idea. And we like people who understand the political pressures of working in the National Health Service."

Sarah Burnett, chief admissions tutor, Imperial College School of Medicine, London

* THE POLITICIANS

Gordon Brown, chancellor of the exchequer "It is time to end the old Britain where what matters are the privileges you were born into, not the potential you actually have. I say it is now time that these old universities opened their doors to women and to people from all backgrounds."

David Blunkett, secretary of state for education

"I think it is a scandal if a child has to go to Harvard rather than being able to go to Oxford. In our society in the 21st century, youngsters who do well, from whatever background, should have the same opportunity of access to the highest possible quality of education, whoever they are and wherever they are."

Tony Blair's spokesperson

"The prime minister regards it as regrettable if talented youngsters feel they have to go abroad to complete their education. We want talent to be recognised and excellence to be rewarded."

Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat higher education spokesman

"This is the cabinet, almost all of them graduates who received maintenance grants to help them through university, which abolished grants for poorer students and imposed tuition fees. It is a 'drawbridge' mentality of the worst kind."

Theresa May, shadow education secretary

"We are going to see extra money for higher education, but only for widening access. That will be used as a headline - the universities will get more money - when the unit of resource is still falling and the extra money will have strings attached."

GETTING A FOOT IN THE DOOR

OXFORD ENTRY PROCEDURES:

Academic qualifications

* Of the students who took up places in September 1999, 75 per cent achieved three As and 20 per cent two As and a B

* Entry requirements vary depending on the course. There is a certain amount of flexibility

* Pupils wanting to study at Oxford must complete a separate form in addition to their Ucas form and are asked to specify which college they want to apply to.

Medical School

* In medicine, like other subjects, colleges tailor conditional offers to individual circumstances but they are typically two As and a B or three As.

Interview procedures

* More than 80 per cent of applicants to Oxford are invited for interview, based on their GCSE grades, A-level predictions and personal statement. They usually stay two or three days, during which time they have at least one interview at their preferred college. They may be asked to complete one or more written tests.

Public/state mix

* State school pupils made up 56 per cent of the 7,852 applications to Oxford University this year and 53 per cent of those accepted to start at the university this autumn - excluding overseas and mature students

* This is an improvement on the previous year, when 50 per cent of offers made by Oxford were to students from state schools. Five years ago, the figure was 47 per cent.

CAMBRIDGE ENTRY PROCEDURES: Academic qualifications

* Of the students who took up places in September 1999,88 per cent had the equivalent of three As or higher (excluding general studies). But entry requirements vary depending on course and circumstances

* Those wanting to study at Cambridge must complete a separate form in addition to their Ucas form and can specify which college they want to apply to. Cambridge also encourages open applications.

Medical School

* As for other subjects, offers can be tailored to suit individual circumstances, but a typical offer is three As. Ninety-five per cent of applicants are interviewed.

Interview procedures

* More than 90 per cent of applicants to Cambridge are invited to interview based on their GCSE results, A-level predictions and personal statements. All those coming through the Cambridge special access scheme, designed to help those from disadvantaged educational and social backgrounds, are interviewed.

Public/state mix

* State school pupils made up 59 per cent of the 9,238 applications to Cambridge in 1999 and 53 per cent of those accepted to start at the university in the autumn - excluding overseas students. Of the 1998 intake, 50 per cent were from state schools.