Universities Scotland, which represents principals, said they were all now committed to reviewing admissions systems in a way that adopts so-called “adjusted offers”, one of the key recommendations in the final report of the Commission on Widening Access, chaired by Dame Ruth Silver.
The Commission recommended a separate admissions system for disadvantaged pupils should be running by 2019 and should reflect the minimum academic standards required to complete a degree course successfully.
Only 1,335 school-leavers from the poorest 20 per cent of households went to university in Scotland in 2013/14, against 5,520 from the richest 20 per cent. The government wants the proportion of students from the poorest 20 per cent to rise to 20 per cent by 2030.
Alastair Sim, director of Universities Scotland, said: “Universities are saying they will do more to recognise that some young people haven’t had the same opportunities or support from parents and schools as their peers. Those are the pupils whose grades might be harder won, which shows more commitment to learning and the right attitude once at university. Institutions are now experienced at identifying potential among thousands of applicants as well as proven ability.”
Mr Sim said growing evidence showed students with offers that had been lowered by a grade or two could do just as well at university as their peers, if not better. However, he added that for adjusted offers to work, they had to be made on a case-by-case basis. “It cannot be a well-meaning tick-box exercise”.
Professor Andrea Nolan, convenor of Universities Scotland, added: “It is a political choice how you fund a higher education system and if we are to increase places to hit the 20 per cent target without there being a change in demand and in a fixed cap system, there is only one obvious conclusion which is that some people will be displaced. Demand may change, but that is the reality of where I see we are now.”
In a submission to the Scottish Parliament’s Education Committee, NUS Scotland has called for investment in extra places. It stated: “Investment in places is particularly important in reaching the targets for fair access set by the Commission. Our figures suggest, on the basis of current trends, that these could be missed by decades.”
John Kemp, interim chief executive of the Scottish Funding Council, told Conservative Party education spokeswoman Liz Smith that he “did not deny” expanding the number of poorer students – without an impact on admissions elsewhere – meant more places had to be made available. But he said targets could be met in other ways, such as better links between colleges and universities, with students spreading higher education studies across both sectors.
A Scottish government spokesman said: “The number of funded places available in our universities has increased for 2016/17 by 1,734, enabled by over £1 billion investment from the Scottish government this year. This includes additional places for widening access that are primarily taken up by Scottish domiciled students."