The current system is entrenching a “fundamental unfairness” that favours young people from wealthier families, the interim report by the Commission on Widening Access states.
“It is sometimes suggested admitting students from deprived backgrounds with lower grades could have a detrimental impact on the principle of academic excellence,” it states.
“We understand Scotland’s universities have first-class reputations that are founded on academic excellence and we wish to see this continue and grow.
“However, there is increasingly strong evidence that, with the right support, bright students from deprived backgrounds can enhance, rather than jeopardise, academic excellence.”
So-called contextual admissions, which take into account non-academic credentials including social background, already feature in some Scottish universities. The commission, chaired by Dame Ruth Silver, was formed by first minister Nicola Sturgeon last November amid concern about the rate of progress.
In 2013/14, only 1,335 school-leavers from the poorest 20 per cent of homes went to university in Scotland, against 5,520 from the richest 20 per cent. At St Andrews, Edinburgh and Aberdeen universities, for example, one in about 20 undergraduates comes from the poorest communities.
The commission is due to present its final report with recommendations to ministers early next year.
It said researchers at St Andrews University had found some students were able to overcome an attainment gap of up to four grades “without any detrimental impact on academic standards”.
All universities should therefore consider developing a “robust” contextual admissions policy with this kind of much higher margin of tariff adjustment – combined with strong support – rather than the one or two grades of leeway sometimes granted today.
Education secretary Angela Constance said more advances were necessary to build on recent improvement.
“That is why we have asked the commission to take forward this important work, alongside our focused efforts to deliver sustained improvements through early learning and in-school attainment.”
A spokeswoman for Universities Scotland said applications based on potential as well as grades were already considered.
“Contextual admissions can help with this and it is one of many tools, but definitely not a silver bullet, that universities can use to help widen access.”
Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said: “The best way to widen access to university is to narrow the attainment gap in schools and ensure that many more pupils meet the required entry standards for our higher education institutions. That is what the SNP government has singularly failed to do.”