Student diversity: socioeconomic background

Regional access disparities ‘challenge the assumption that low participation is inevitable’

Just half of white working-class pupils say they’re likely to attend university, compared with 82 per cent of their middle-class peers

Reforms to expand places and improve inclusivity will be hampered by ‘bureaucratic control’ and postgraduate ‘blind spot’, critics warn

Elite universities continue to see slow progress on widening participation measures, with proportion of disadvantaged students down compared with start of decade

Charity says access agenda has stalled, as less than one in five disadvantaged white British pupils progress into university

Widening access cannot begin at 18. Most factors that affect attainment are in place before students start school, say Amanda Broderick and Christian Guy

Research-intensive universities also pledge to remove barriers to medical careers as part of bid to support strained NHS 

Still unclear whether Scotland will meet fair access goals set for this year, as country prepares to adopt institution-level approach

We haven’t always got it right, but we should not apologise for trying to build a better society, no matter how powerful our detractors, says Keith Burnett

Inclusion worker challenges institutions whose scholarship programmes are not open to all after missing out on place on master’s

‘No change’ in widening participation policy, says Trinity Hall, after plans to target students from Eton and Winchester leak

Low value of support on offer not enough to move the dial on university access, critics fear

Universities urged to collaborate on areas such as the language they use in admissions to ensure accessibility for non-traditional students

No one has come up with a better way of convincing the Treasury to bring back maintenance grants, skills minister tells social mobility event

Link between higher education and higher earnings weakens across many OECD countries, showing need to strengthen alternative options

Inequality between male and female participation rates prevails in most parts of the globe, with 88 countries in worse situation compared with a decade ago

More support needed for disadvantaged students during medical studies to compensate for lack of ‘insider knowledge’, researchers say

A ‘disconnect’ between aspirational rhetoric and the realities of ‘live’ admissions risks undermining Australia’s inclusion goals

With a nod to community needs, and a nod to the political winds, Canberra puts accessibility before ‘institutional ego’