***UPDATE**** A recording of the webinar can now be viewed by clicking on the video below:
On Wednesday 30 September 2020, HEPI is hosting a webinar on access and participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. With Chris Millward, the Director of Fair Access and Participation, providing some opening remarks, the webinar will also include a panel discussion with speakers to include Lee Elliot Major, Professor of Social Mobility at the University of Exeter; Professor Andrea Nolan, Principal and Vice-Chancellor at Edinburgh Napier University; and Dr Liz Marr, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Students) at the Open University.
COVID-19 is having a radical impact on the way universities operate. Attention has had to be diverted from regular activities to focus on responding to the crisis. Meanwhile, the Minister for Universities at Westminster recently argued ‘social mobility isn’t about getting more people into university’. The cancellation of school exams has led to unprecedented changes to the system for accessing higher education, with last minute policy interventions to improve the fairness of the system.
It is not just the immediate impact. People applying to enter higher education next year will have missed significant amounts of teaching this year and a second wave of the pandemic could disrupt their learning further. It is clear that the knock-on impact of COVID-19 could affect the academic performance of young people in the long-term.
Will the pandemic disrupt institutions trying to implement their Access and Participation Plans? What are the barriers to accessing HE during the pandemic? Will ‘blended learning’ exacerbate existing inequalities? How should universities respond and help to address these inequalities? How should we measure success in widening participation – access, retention and / or graduate outcomes?
To register for this webinar, please click on the following link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Zv22DM49R0OHxjMZDk2b_A
Please note that places are assigned on a first come, first served basis. The session will be recorded and made available via the HEPI website for those who are unable to attend.