Description
The Final Report of this programme is now published. You can download the report and summary from the Related Documents section below.
The programme was launched in April 2007 and was open to all higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK.
The programme aims to facilitate the development and embedding of inclusive policies and practices to enhance widening participation and disability equality to improve the learning experience of students from under represented groups.
Programme Description
The programme is longitudinal and is taking place over a 14 month period. It offers a framework to enable HEIs to develop an aspect of widening participation and/or disability equality (with relevant partners where appropriate). Bringing teams of staff together from within HEIs it will work alongside others also working on similar themes.
Inclusion
By bringing together widening participation and disability equality under the term ‘inclusion', it recognises the complementary and overlapping nature of these two key agendas in higher education. Its focus on ‘embedding' recognises the desirability of moving towards a whole institution approach to widening participation and disability equality, particularly in light of recent equality legislation, research and policy developments.
Proposals
The Academy invited proposals from institutions in which they described and planned, in outline, a change project to take forward during the programme. Ten institutions were selected to take part.
The programme involved a dissemination event in September 2008 which was open to non-participating institutions.
Key Principles of the Programme
- The development and embedding of a change towards addressing widening participation and/or disability equality, to be identified by the institution.
- Working in teams to include a senior manager, operational manager, member of staff with teaching and learning responsibilities, a widening participation/disability equality practitioner, student or member of staff from a partner organisation (as appropriate)
- Working alongside other institutions with similar interests to share experiences, challenges and solutions.
- Working with change consultants and relevant organisations to explore the implications of meaningful change in the context of diversity and equality
- Using relevant research evidence, tools and resources to examine ways to enhance the involvement of stakeholders
- Consider the principles of equity legislation within the embedding process
