A NEW campaign aims to champion widening access programmes in higher education institutions as the deadline for the Scottish Government’s fair access targets looms.
The 40 Faces campaign, run by Universities Scotland, follows the stories of students who have found their way to higher education via non-traditional routes to highlight diversity in Scottish higher education.
The campaign promotes four key themes: start young on self-belief, join things up, no wrong path and money matters as factors that are important to highlighting fair access in higher education.
Amongst the 40 faces is Graham Cochrane, who is studying Environmental Management at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) after 20 years of working.
He said: “Adjusting from almost 20 years of full-time work into full-time education was a daunting prospect.
“I toyed with the idea for years, but I lacked the self-esteem that I could apply and commit myself to studies.
“I’ve worked in various roles since leaving high school and it has been in more recent years that my love for the outdoors made me rethink my career and what I would like to focus on in the future.
“That is to help conserve outdoor spaces and the environment for future generations.”
This comes as the Scottish Government has six years left to achieve its 2030 fair access targets.
In 2016 the government began a collaboration with Scottish universities and colleges to set the goal that students from the 20% most deprived areas should represent 20% of entrants to higher education.
Despite hitting milestone targets up to 2021, the goal has faced obstacles recently including the pandemic and the cost-of-living-crisis
It also comes in the face of polling by Universities Scotland and Censuswide revealing that less than 40% of polled Scots graduates believed diverse routes into university are important.
The 40 Faces in the campaign reflect underrepresented students including students from the most deprived 20% of postcodes who are central to the Scottish Government’s fair access targets.
It also includes mature learners, those who have progressed to university through a college route and those who have gone to university after years in the workforce.
The campaign will also seek to highlight initiatives run by universities and colleges in Scotland such as the SRUC’s Change Your Path Bursary.
The bursary provides up to £10,00 to help mature students fit study to help with the costs of leaving work or fitting study in with their lives.
Mr Cochrane added: “I think entry requirements should be based around showing personal interest, engagement, passion and dedication for a subject rather than just academia.
“Having worked in some of the most disadvantaged areas of Scotland, I think targeted outreach and a presence of universities or colleges in these areas is necessary for people to feel like further education is accessible to someone like them.”
The Change Your Path Bursary is open for applicants until August 31.
