Regulator calls for action as participation plans published

The Office for Students has warned “highly selective universities” that they must follow through on their promise to improve access.

The warning comes as more than 40 institutions publish their access and participation plans, which detail how they will improve access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The plans are a requirement of registration with the OfS.

Some 41 providers—those with early recruitment deadlines, which are typically institutions with medical schools—published their plans on 9 September. HE revealed in March that the regulator was concerned that some of the plans it had received read more like marketing material than institutional strategies and varied in how “honest” they were about outreach.