HIGHER education establishments are being asked to ring-fence degree places for college students to help open up fresh opportunities for a university education to thousands of the Scotland's most disadvantaged in the post-Covid economy.

The measure is revealed in a new report released today in a college and university collaboration setting out a series of recommendations to create more opportunities for students to progress seamlessly between a Higher National (HN) qualification into a university degree.

Produced by the National Articulation Forum, a joint initiative by Colleges Scotland and Universities Scotland, the report calls for an acceleration of action to develop an easier progress from college into university, to help more students avoid repeating levels of study across different qualifications by recognising their credit for previous learning.

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Higher education establishments are being asked to give a guarantee of places for college students on undergraduate and graduate apprenticeship degrees to give students "more certainty" about advanced entry into university from colleges.

'Articulation' has for many years marked the progression of students from college to university with academic credit for their college work and is seen as an important way to improve social mobility through education.

The opportunity to study for a degree upon completion of an HN qualification is seen as a vital way to ensure learners have various routes and pathways into university.

But the forum wants to scale things up and make 'articulation' more accessible in every college and university so that it is more attractive to a larger group of students.

The report’s recommendations are seen as taking on greater significance in the context of the recovery following the coronavirus pandemic and its "disproportionate impact" on young people and those who are already disadvantaged.

The forum say they have not included timescales for change "as the expectation" is for colleges, universities, the Scottish Government and other organisations "to progress them as a matter of importance".

One of its more radical recommendations involves ring-fencing places for college students and says the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council, the official body responsible for funding teaching and learning provision, should consider how it might support this and its other recommendations through financial support.

"Universities should consider ring-fencing some places on undergraduate and Graduate Apprenticeship degrees to give articulating students more certainty about their prospects for advanced entry into university from partner colleges and from the range of work-based learning programmes," the report says.

"This might be in the form of a guaranteed place to an applicant who is articulating from a partner college," the forum says. "It is recognised that this is challenging for universities when set in a context of a capped number of places.

"The Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council should carefully consider how this is supported."

Universities Scotland has said it is now "considering the report and its recommendations".

Lydia Rohmer, joint convener of the National Articulation Forum and principal of West Highland College UHI, added: “Colleges and universities have been working in partnership for many years to provide opportunities and pathways to enable students to make the transition from college to university. The work of the Forum has been invaluable in helping to provide focus on ways that colleges and universities can enhance that provision and provide more opportunities for students to progress towards their chosen careers.

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“Articulation routes provide a valuable pathway from college into university for many students, some of whom will have already overcome significant barriers; therefore, it is important that the routes are flexible, seamless, and provide equality of opportunity.

"The recommendations encourage even closer working relationships between colleges and universities – and indeed collective leadership across the wider Scottish education system – to deliver fair, equitable and sustainable pathways into university, and reducing any unnecessary repetition of the learner journey.”

In January figures showed that 15.9 per cent of the intake in Scottish higher education came from the most deprived 20 per cent of the population, amounting to 5,210 students.

The Scottish government had previously set a target of increasing the figure to 16 per cent by 2021.

But the the Scottish Government-established Commission on Widening Access (COWA) which inspired the latest report, has its own target to widen that access and ensure that students from the 20% most deprived backgrounds should represent 20% of entrants to higher education.

The report also calls for the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council to support the development of a national 'articulation' map in an app for students which would show all options in one place. This should follow on from the pilot of a regional app which launched in the south east of Scotland in July 2020.

The new Web App allows students and school leavers to look up further and higher education pathways in one place and comes as it was felt that the advertising, promotion and understanding of learning options are often complex and difficult for pupils, students and advisers to find and navigate.

The Pathways Web App aims to make it clear that it is possible to move from college to university with full credit awarded for prior learning.

It allows school leavers and students to look up their college and university options in one single place without contacting numerous institutions.

Commenting on the report, Professor Nigel Seaton, joint convener of the National Articulation Forum and principal of Abertay University added: “Over four thousand students a year are already using full-credit articulation as a way into university, building on their college qualifications in a way that fits in with their own aspirations.

"The Forum wants to increase the opportunities available to students to articulate from college to university, and our report makes a series of recommendations that we believe will achieve this.

“There has been a positive shift over the last couple of years, with more colleges and universities making articulation routes available. We need to accelerate that progress. Whilst the pandemic has brought much uncertainty, I can only see a greater role for articulation in Scotland’s post-pandemic future.”

The forum also recommends that the Scottish Government, in partnership with SDS [Skills Development Scotland] Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG) staff and colleges and universities, should coordinate and fund a public-facing Scotland-wide campaign to raise awareness of 'articulation' as an available and desirable route into university and promote this to pupils and students of all backgrounds.

Research for the forum's findings involved telephone and face-to-face interviews with access and admissions staff working in Scottish colleges and universities.

Additionally, around 90 students took part in 13 focus groups held across Scotland.

Karen Watt, chief executive of the Scottish Funding Council said: “Flexible routes into and through degree courses play a vital part in creating a fairer and more accessible higher education system in Scotland. I very much welcome the report and its consideration of how more progress can be made in this area.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Every child growing up in Scotland, regardless of their background, should have an equal chance of attending university and participating in higher education.

“We continue to invest £51 million each year to support 7,000 places for access students and additional places for students progressing from college to university.

“The Commissioner for Fair Access has said Scotland can justly claim to be the pace-setter among the nations of the United Kingdom in opening up opportunities for higher education to all groups in the community.

“Articulation from college to university is a key route into degree level study for many learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. Through our work on the Learner Journey we continue to work with colleges and universities to improve the opportunities for college students to articulate into all our universities.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Every child growing up in Scotland, regardless of their background, should have an equal chance of attending university and participating in higher education.

“We continue to invest £51 million each year to support 7,000 places for access students and additional places for students progressing from college to university.

“The Commissioner for Fair Access has said Scotland can justly claim to be the pace-setter among the nations of the United Kingdom in opening up opportunities for higher education to all groups in the community.

“Articulation from college to university is a key route into degree level study for many learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. Through our work on the Learner Journey we continue to work with colleges and universities to improve the opportunities for college students to articulate into all our universities.”