AIC/16/14
Agenda item 11
24 May 2016
University Outcome Agreement Guidance for AY 2017-20
• This paper seeks AIC advice and endorsement of the access related elements
of the university Outcome Agreement Guidance. The paper takes into
consideration the accepted recommendation from the Commission on
Widening Access on targeting the 20% most deprived backgrounds.
• The AIC is asked to note that we will update our guidance to include “An
increase in the proportion of Scottish-domiciled undergraduate entrants from
the 20% most deprived postcodes” as an outcome agreement priority. And
that we will include reference to the expectation that students from the 20%
most deprived backgrounds represent at least 10% of full-time first degree
entrants to every individual Scottish university.
• The AIC is also asked to advise on improvements to the equality section of
the OA guidance.
Recommendations
• The AIC is asked for their views on the proposal that in relation to our
widening access places, intake from AY 2017-18 onwards should also be
targeted to the 20% most deprived postcode areas. This would also result in
the removal of the OA priority and measure in relation to the 40% most
deprived postcodes.
• To recommend a new section in the OA guidance to outline universities
commitment towards carers. Please note that this will not be an OA priority.
• The AIC is also asked to consider if there are any equality issues relating to
the above recommendations.
Financial implications
• There are no financial implications in this paper.
University Outcome Agreement Guidance for AY 2017-20
Purpose
1.
The SFC will be working on Outcome Agreement Guidance to cover the next
three years i.e. from the period 2017 to 2020. This guidance will be published
in the summer. This paper seeks AIC advice and endorsement of the access
related elements of the university Outcome Agreement Guidance.
Background
2.
Our outcome agreement approach was introduced in 2012. Since then we have
worked on improving the consistency of these documents and this has been
well-supported by a set of OA measures for both sectors. We have also noticed,
particularly in relation to access, that the OA approach has received a lot of
interest from the Scottish Government and other partners as a key mechanism
to drive forward improvements in outcomes for priority areas and groups.
3.
The access element of the Outcome Agreement Guidance is a significant
proportion of the overall document. The existing 2016-17 guidance can be
found here. Some of the elements of the 2017-20 Outcome Agreement
Guidance has already been approved by the AIC such the ten year articulation
strategy and success markers (Feb 2016 meeting) and the three year national
ambition for care experienced students (May 2015 meeting). These are not
discussed in this paper.
4.
Since the last AIC meeting we have announced the intake targets and controlled
places for medicine for AY 2016-17. This includes an additional 50 places which
must be allocated using widening access criteria. This is defined as SIMD20,
SIMD40, SHEP and AHDP. To prevent displacement, each institutions current
widening access performance will be taken into account in the monitoring of
these places. It is unclear at this stage if the Scottish Government will continue
with these places so they will not feature in the 2017-18 OA Guidance. If they
are continued we will recommend to the Scottish Government that the 2017-18
widening access criteria discussed in this paper is used.
5.
Please note that an update on our progress in relation to the access ambitions
outlined in our Outcome Agreement guidance will be provided as a
presentational element from the SFC executive.
Setting out access as a strategic priority within the outcome agreement
6.
The priorities for access, as outlined in the 2016-17 outcome agreement
guidance are provided below. We are not proposing any changes to the access
elements of this guidance, with the exception of the priority on the 40% most
deprived postcodes which should be brought into line with the accepted
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recommendation on the 20% most deprived postcode areas from the Blueprint
for Fairness.
Outcome Agreement Priorities
1. An increase in the proportion of Scottish-domiciled undergraduate entrants from the 40%
most deprived postcodes.
2. An improvement in the gender balance of the total student population and in particular
subjects where there is a severe imbalance.
3. An increase in the number of college students articulating from college with advanced
standing.
4. A more representative proportion of entrants from different protected characteristic groups.
This could include contextual information, e.g. SAAS, EMA, first in family, care leaver, carer
5. An increase in the number and proportion of undergraduate entrants with care experience.
6. An increase in the retention rate of full-time undergraduate entrants with care experience.
Implementing recommendation 32 of the Blueprint for Fairness
7.
As outlined in an earlier paper on the Commission on Widening Access, the First
Minister has accepted the targets outlined in the report. These are:
Recommendation 32: The Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding
Council should implement the following targets to drive forward the delivery of
equal access in Scotland:
To realise the First Minister’s ambition of equality of access to higher education
in Scotland:
• By 2030, students from the 20% most deprived backgrounds should
represent 20% of entrants to higher education. Equality of access should be
seen in both the college sector and the university sector.
To drive progress toward this goal:
• By 2021, students from the 20% most deprived backgrounds should
represent at least 16% of full-time first degree entrants to Scottish HEIs as a
whole.
• By 2021, students from the 20% most deprived backgrounds should
represent at least 10% of full-time first degree entrants to every individual
Scottish university.
• By 2026, students from the 20% most deprived backgrounds should
represent at least 18% of full-time first degree entrants to Scottish
universities as a whole.
• In 2022, the target of 10% for individual Scottish universities should be
reviewed and a higher level target should be considered for the subsequent
years.
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8.
To enable us to reach the 2021 milestone we will need to outline two new
priorities in the OA guidance. One to target the 20% most deprived postcodes
(this is already an expectation for institutions receiving the Access and
Retention Fund) and one to secure at least 10% of FT first degree entrants at
each university from the 20% most deprived backgrounds.
9.
On the first element of this, our preferred approach is to replace the 40% most
deprived postcodes priority with a 20% most deprived postcodes priority.
However, there is an argument to have both 20% and 40% given that our
current additional places are targeted towards the 40% cohort but we feel that
this would lead to confusion as some institutions might deliver well in the 20 to
40% category or potentially 20% most deprived postcode provision could be
displaced by the 40% target.
10. A possible solution to this would be to use this as an opportunity to amend the
conditions on any new intake of these places from AY 2017-18 onwards to be
targeted towards the 20% most deprived postcodes. This has the advantage of
aligning to and strengthening the possibility of meeting the milestones.
11. However, it is possible that this will increase the possibility of under-delivery by
some institutions and therefore the need for reallocation. We do not see this
as necessarily problematic as long as the map of the places has good coverage
across Scotland particularly in relation to the geographical distribution of the
location of the 20% most deprived postcode areas and across subject areas
with specific focus on high demand subjects. This would be a significant change
to our current policy in relation to these places and would require approval
from our Board. The AIC is therefore asked for their views on the proposal
that in relation to our widening access places, intake from AY 2017-18
onwards should be targeted to the 20% most deprived postcode areas.
12. The second element of the COWA recommendation is likely to be more
problematic for the institutions affected. As outlined in the previous paper, in
2014-15 this affected five institutions. The OA guidance will therefore outline
this expectation and we will work with the OA teams associated with these
institutions to identify progress.
Equalities
13. From reviewing the draft OAs, the SFC executive feel that we are still not
getting the right information back in terms of how institutions are identifying
under-representation and setting outcomes to improve that underrepresentation. We do not need to see the details of how each institution
carries out its legal duties as per the Equality Act nor do we want to be
signposted to an Equality Outcome document but we do want to seek
assurances that under-representation is being identified and addressed. We
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have also received feedback at a recent ECU conference that our guidance is
not clear in terms of what information we want and why. To improve this
position we will review our guidance with a view to making this position clearer.
14. We will also:
• outline that although the focus in the OA guidance is currently for
students only that the direction of travel as per our own Equality
Outcome 2 1 is that this will be developed to include both students and
staff. In the university sector, this will build on the commitments already
made by some institutions towards Athena Swan 2.
• state our ambition to improve our data collections so that it can include
all protected characteristics and ask institutions to do the same and
report on this where possible.
• outline that institutions are expected to undertake an Equality Impact
Assessment of their OAs. It is proposed that this expectation is set out
for the period of the OA ie a three year OA will only need to a EIA once
every three years. As part of this process the SFC will also share their EIA
on the OA guidance.
15. The AIC is asked for their views on improving the equality section of the OA
guidance.
Supporting the work of the Carers Trust
16. The SFC executive has been in discussions with the Carers Trust including a
meeting with a young carer, the Carers Trust and Scottish Government officials
(from the Care, Support and Rights Division). We are also keen to assist the
Carers Trust with their Going Higher campaign. More background information
on student carers is provided in Annex A.
17. We are also aware that the Carers (Scotland) Act 3 was passed by the Parliament
on 4 February 2016 and received Royal Assent on 9th March 2016. Under part
6 of the Act local authorities must establish and maintain, or ensure the
establishment and maintenance of, an information and advice service for
1
Equality Outcome 2 states that the SFC will - Understand the diversity of college and university staff,
management and governing bodies leading to specific Equality Outcomes for improvement by AY 2017-18.
2
ECU’s Athena SWAN Charter was established in 2005 to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing
the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) employment in
higher education and research. In May 2015 the charter was expanded to recognise work undertaken in arts,
humanities, social sciences, business and law (AHSSBL), and in professional and support roles, and for trans
staff and students. The charter now recognises work undertaken to address gender equality more broadly, and
not just barriers to progression that affect women.
3
The Carers (Scotland) Bill is a key piece of new legislation that promises to ‘promote, defend and extend the
rights’ of adult and young carers across Scotland. The Carers (Scotland) Act should become law in 2017.
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relevant carers. Education and training for carers is one of the areas that
should be included within this service. Furthermore, the local authority will
have a duty to prepare an Adult Carer Support Plan or a Young Carers
Statements which outlines the personal outcomes of the carer.
18. The Outcome Agreement guidance includes carers as possible group to
contextualise a widen access approach. We also asked University Outcome
Agreement Managers to discuss with their institutions any work in this area and
consider including it in their OA in 2016-17.
19. An analysis of the drafts shows that Open University has a very detailed
commitment to this group which has been developed over the last two years.
This includes:
• Specific exam arrangements
• Detailed partnership arrangements to support carers
• Specific online resources to support carers and their familes
• Research specialism into the educational needs and support for carers
• Education support for those who work with and care for people with
autism
20.
The OU was also awarded the Carer Positive (Engaged) status from Carers
Scotland and the Scottish Government. In addition to the OU, three other
institutions made reference to carers in their draft OAs (please note that this
could change in the final versions) including a specific mention to the Going
Higher campaign.
21. We are not proposing this becomes an outcome agreement priority at this time
mainly because HESA does not provide information on this group but we do
recommend inserting a small section into the OA guidance seeking contextual
information on each institutions current polices and support to carers 4
(including where possible staff). A draft copy of such guidance for both colleges
and universities is provided in Annex B. We also propose that for universities
only we also encourage all institutions to sign up the Going Higher Campaign
and we make it part of the criteria for the Widening Access and Retention Fund.
At the same time we will work to improve the data available on this group to
enable us to better consider moving this towards a national ambition.
22. The AIC is asked to recommend a new section in the OA guidance on student
carers.
4
The Carers Trust defines a carers as: A carer is anyone who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who
due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot cope without their support.
5
Measuring access as a strategic priority within the outcome agreement
23. Six of the existing sixteen measures relate to access and with the exception of
the SHEP measure they are all priority measures. The existing measures
currently cover articulation; deprivation (40% most deprived); SHEP; protected
characteristic (including care experience) intake; protected characteristic
(including care experience) retention; and retention rates.
24. It is not proposed that we make any changes to the existing measures unless it
is decided to change the criteria for the widening access places from 40% to
20% in which case we would remove the reporting criteria of the 40% most
deprived postcode areas from the measures.
Next steps
25. Taking into account the advice from the AIC, the SFC executive will seek to
finalise and publish the university OA guidance by the summer.
Risk assessment
26. There are no risks associated with this paper at this stage.
Equality and diversity assessment
27. An Equality Impact Assessment has been undertaken of the 2016-17 outcome
agreement and funding allocations. A full copy of this assessment is available
on request.
28. For the university sector, this assessment identified a need to focus on
retention by protected characteristic within our ambitions for the most
deprived communities. It also outlined a significant gap in retention between
those aged under 21 (93%) and those aged 21 or over (87%). In terms of
positive impacts it outlines our ambitions to grow articulation and our approach
to enhancing retention rates through the Access and Retention fund as two
examples which are enhancing our equality ambitions.
29. The assessment concludes that the 2016-17 outcome agreement approach and
funding allocations:
• Contributes to the elimination of discrimination, harassment and
victimisation
• Advances equality of opportunity
• Upholds human right articles
30. We have begun an Equality Impact Assessment for the 2017-18 outcome
agreement and funding allocations and this paper and AIC discussion are part of
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that consultation. The AIC is therefore asked to consider if there are any
equality issues within the recommendations made in this paper.
Financial implications
31. There are no financial considerations to be taken account of in this paper.
Recommendations
32. The AIC is asked to recommend:
• that in relation to our widening access places, intake from AY 2017-18
onwards, these places should be targeted to the 20% most deprived
postcode areas. This would also result in the removal of the OA priority
and measure in relation to the 40% most deprived postcodes.
• a new section on student carers
33. The AIC is also asked to consider if there are any equality issues within the
above recommendation.
34. The AIC is asked to advise on improvements to the equality section of the OA
guidance.
35. The AIC is asked to note that we will update our outcome agreement guidance
to include:
• “An increase in the proportion of Scottish-domiciled undergraduate
entrants from the 20% most deprived postcodes” as an outcome
agreement priority. And that we will include reference to the
expectation that students from the 20% most deprived backgrounds
represent at least 10% of full-time first degree entrants to every
individual Scottish university.
Publication
36. This paper will be published on the Council website.
Further information
37. Contact: Fiona Burns, tel: 0131 313 6517, email: [email protected].
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Annex A: Background information on Scotland’s Carers
1.
There are an estimated 745,000 adult carers and 44,000 young carers in
Scotland. The value of the care they provide is estimated to be around £10.3bn
each year. Caring can have a detrimental effect on the health and wellbeing of a
carer and this can subsequently impact on the person that is being cared for
(Scottish Government, 2015) 5.
2.
The College Development Network state that “student carers often provide
unpaid support to family or friends who could not manage without their help.
They are a hidden group of students who face unique barriers and challenges.
They frequently face elevated financial hardship, decreased well-being and their
support needs are often misunderstood”.
3.
The Carers Trust defines a carer as:
‘A carer is anyone who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who due to
illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot cope without
their support’
Carers Trust Going Higher Campaign
4.
SFC and the Scottish Government are supportive of the work of the Carers Trust
and their Going Higher campaign 6. The Campaign is asking that Universities
make the following three key steps:
• Identify the number of young adult carers attending the university.
• Support all young adult carers throughout their education to ensure they
maintain good mental health, complete their course and achieve the best
grades possible.
• Report on young adult carer progress to showcase universities’ achievements.
5.
SFC would like to go beyond this and request this ambition be mirrored by the
College sector. Recent research presented by the Carers Trust 7 on young adult
and student carers shows that:
• 79% were enjoying college or university but over half (56%) were experiencing
difficulties because of their caring role
5
Scottish Parliament SPIce briefing http://www.parliament.scot/ResearchBriefingsAndFactsheets/S4/SB_1613_Carers_Scotland_Bill-_Stage_3.pdf
6
https://www.carers.org/news/going-higher-campaign-urges-universities-offer-more-support-student-carers
7
SAAS National Conference 17 March 2016
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• Those who reported that they found college or university difficult had
significantly higher caring responsibilities
• 16% were concerned that that might have to drop out of college or university
• 39% rated their physical health as either ‘just ok’ or ‘poor’ and 45% reported
having mental health problems
• 75% of respondents informed college or university staff of their caring role
• 45% said there was no one who recognised them as a carer and helped them.
Of those who did not inform college or university staff, the main reason for
not doing so was because they felt there was “no point”
• 54% felt that they would have got better grades if it was not for their caring
role
• 87% felt that they have not received good careers advice and the advice did
not take into account their caring role
• Of the respondents who had been to college or university, 29% had dropped
out because of their caring role.
6.
Research by the National Union of Students: Learning with Care: Experiences of
student carers in the UK 8 outlines that:
• The majority of student carers are women
• Just under half had felt that their academic performance or attainment had
been negatively affected by their caring responsibilities
• More than half of student carer (56%) had seriously considered leaving their
course, compared to 39% of students without caring responsibilities
Commission on Widening Access
7.
Due to the breadth of work and challenging timescales set for the Commission,
to the regret of the Commission there were a number of areas they identified
that could not be examined in detail. This included the additional barriers faced
by Carers. To ensure this group of learners were not lost sight of in the next
phase of access work in Scotland they recommended:
Recommendation 33: The Commissioner for Fair Access should:
Consider what further work is required to support equal access for other groups
of learners and within specific degree subjects.
8
http://www.nus.org.uk/Global/NEW%20Carers%20research%20report%20WEB.pdf
9
Young Carers Strategy for Scotland 2010-2015 Getting it Right for Young Carers
8.
The Scottish Government’s Young Carers Strategy for Scotland 2010-2015
Getting it Right for Young Carers 9 set out key actions required to support people
who have a carer's responsibility to manage those responsibilities with
confidence and in good health, and to have a full life outside of caring. The
strategy is now complete and is now being taken forward by the Act outlined in
the main paper.
9.
The strategy included the following recommendations in relation to colleges
and universities:
Recommendation 10: Agencies that would not traditionally be associated with
meeting the needs of carers also need to identify and engage with young adult
carers. So, for example, colleges, universities, JobCentre Plus, employers,
leisure services providers, housing and others all need to be alert and sensitive
to the needs and issues confronting this group of hidden carers and which
affect their opportunities for further education and learning, leisure, careers
and paid work – a life outside of their caring role and the chance to access the
same opportunities as their peers.
Recommendation 4: Young Carers projects could have a key role in developing
and delivering short, focused transition preparation programmes for young
carers. This should include the issues most pertinent to them, such as
job/course search skills, grant applications for university, CVs, first aid, cooking,
benefits, relationships, adult social care services etc. Development and delivery
would need to take place with key partners, including Skills Development
Scotland, local colleges, local regeneration agencies etc. There will undoubtedly
be existing good practice which supports young carers or which could be
adapted to specifically meet the needs of young carers. Within the wider skills
and employability context, young carers and young adult carers need to be seen
as a target group for support/intervention.
9
http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/319441/0102105.pdf
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Annex B: Draft guidance on Scotland’s Carers
It is proposed that the guidance will ask colleges and universities to:
• demonstrate their current and future commitment for students and staff
who are carers and the number of individuals if known
• State current policies in place for student carers such as:
o how they currently identify the number of individuals within course
applications and enrolment procedures
o how they identify changes in the numbers of individuals who are
carers
o how they promote a positive declaration environment and
positively support events such as the annual UK Carers week and
the annual UK Young Carers Awareness day
o how they educate others on the role of caring and how to support
carers
o state how they support carers once they have been identified eg a
named staff contact(s) points within their institution and how a
student who becomes a carer is supported
o state how they work in partnership with local authorities to help
them meet their duty under the new Carers (Scotland) Act 2016
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