Minister Harris launches the new National Access Plan to drive equality of access to higher education

Posted: 31 August, 2022

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD has today launched the fourth National Access Plan – a Strategic Action Plan for Equity of Access, Participation and Success in Higher Education.

The National Access Plan, which will cover the period from 2022- 2028, is a national priority and a key commitment in the Programme for Government.

An additional €35 million will be provided by the Department to deliver the targets.

The plan names three specific priority groups:

• Students who are socio-economically disadvantaged
• Students who are members of Irish Traveller and Roma communities
• Students with disabilities including intellectual disabilities.

Under the first cohort, an additional focus will be on

·       Students who have experienced homelessness;

·       Students who are survivors of domestic violence;

·       Students who have experience of the care system;

·       Students who are carers;

·       Students who have experience of the criminal justice system.

For the other two cohorts, the Department will set ambitious targets to increase participation in higher education including a four-fold increase in access for new entrants from the Traveller community.

Speaking today, Minister Harris said: “This new National Access Plan is the most ambitious plan for access to Higher Education. The statistics don’t lie. It is clear those from disadvantaged areas have a lesser chance of accessing higher education than those from more affluent areas.

“There are a number of new groups who we have never put a focus on before including those in the care system and those with intellectually disabilities. Today, that changes.

“We want a truly inclusive third level system where neither your background nor experience has a bearing on your ability to attend or succeed in higher education.

“This plan will measure access but it has, for the first time ever, put a very specific emphasis on participation and successful conclusion of higher education. It sets goals across the whole of institution, education & Government in five key student centred areas including flexibility of learning and sustainability.

“Every year, we will hold ourselves to account on the targets we set.”

The ambitions of the new strategic action plan are that the higher education student body entering, participating in and completing higher education, at all levels and across all programmes reflects the diversity and social mix of Ireland’s population.

Minister Harris added: “This will be supported by significant Government investment too with an additional €35 million ring-fenced for the plan.”

HEA CEO Dr Alan Wall said: “This is an ambitious and challenging new National Access Plan and it is essential that we all work together in the delivery of objectives and targets.

“Our country can only flourish both socially and economically if we tap into the creativity, skills and talents of our diverse population.  This Plan is about making this happen by removing barriers and providing the required supports.”

The highlights of the National Access Plan, as well as the full plan, can be read here.

ENDS

Notes to the Editor

Consultation

The HEA published a Consultation paper and launched a public call for submissions in April 2021. The response to the consultation process was high and 122 submissions were received from a wide range of stakeholders. The HEA & DFHERIS also held one to one consultations with stakeholders including Government Departments and Agencies.

Ambitions of the plan

That the higher education student body entering into, participating in and completing higher education at all levels reflects the diversity and social mix of Ireland’s population

And

That our higher education institutions are inclusive, universally designed environments which support and foster student success and outcomes, equity and diversity, and are responsive to the needs of students and wider communities.

Priority Groups

In this new National Access Plan, we have identified a number of priority-groups who continue to be underrepresented in higher education and which need additional focus and support. These are:

• Students who are socio-economically disadvantaged
• Students who are members of Irish Traveller and Roma communities
• Students with disabilities including intellectual disabilities.

Students who are socio-economically disadvantaged

We recognise that students experiencing socio-economic disadvantage may come from various backgrounds, including for example:

Ø  Students who have experienced homelessness;

Ø  Students who are survivors of domestic violence;

Ø  Students who have experience of the care system;

Ø  Students who are carers;

Ø  Students who have experience of the criminal justice system.

To date, we have never measured data on these new groups. The plan proposes a new Access data plan to help develop the evidence base for inclusive access, participation and success to inform future policy and planning.  Also within the socio-economic priority group we will also continue to prioritise:

• Students from low-income families and/or who are long term social welfare dependent;
• Students from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas (including students attending DEIS schools)
• Students who are mature and have never previously accessed higher education
• Student who are mature and who previously attended higher education but did not complete a course
• Students who are lone parents or teen parents.
• Students who are migrants or refugees or who have experience of the international protection process, or students from ethnic minorities.

Goals

This plan is about students. Everything is directed at delivering positive and inclusive outcomes for all students at every stage of their higher education journey.

The five student-centred goals and their major objectives are as follows:

Inclusivity

• support students from priority groups to access higher education and have an inclusive experience with a successful outcome;
• whole-of-institution approach to student success and universal design;
• engage priority group students in decision-making;
• improve opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities;
• a more diverse population across all programmes and levels of study;
• support students through universal and targeted funding programmes, and
• more diverse teacher workforce.

Flexibility

• supporting students to study on a flexible basis including part-time and blended learning;
• identifying connectivity supports for remote learning;
• exploring new routes for priority groups to access programmes; and
• improving the use of Recognition of Prior Learning.

Clarity

• providing clear consistent information on financial and other supports;
• ensuring greater coordination of pre-entry and mentoring work across HEIs;
• developing student-friendly processes and aligning existing access structures.

Coherence

• developing partnerships widely across education, business and the community;
• engaging the whole of the education sector and
• strengthening collaboration across government departments and agencies.

Sustainability

• developing a sustainably funded higher education system that will support the objectives of this Plan;
• developing initiatives involving HE and community partnerships;
• expanding funding to address both the cost of going to college and flexibility, such as part-time study, for socioeconomically disadvantaged students from within priority groups.

And all goals are underpinned by the 6^th goal to use an evidence-driven approach.

Targets

National targets for the new National Access Plan are as follows:-

Monitoring outcomes

In addition to the targets outlined above, we will be monitoring success based on nine performance indicators in four key areas.

1. Flexibility within higher education: participation by part-time and flexible learners, and progression from further education to higher education.
2. Diversity across programmes and levels:  postgraduate study among selected priority groups and student diversity across selected fields of study
3. Access and participation for priority groups: students with a disability, students attending DEIS schools and students who are lone parents.
4. Student success and engagement: progression and completion among selected priority groups and graduate outcomes among selected priority groups.

Overall responsibility for overseeing delivery of the National Access Plan will reside with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

A progress review will take place in 2025. This will assess progress against the goals, objectives and targets and consider how these may need refining or developing in view of new government strategies or initiatives and improved data.

Measures announced to support the NAP.

This is a seven-year plan with an additional dedicated investment of €35 million over the course of the plan. This year, we have confirmed we will:

·       Set aside €12 million (€3 million over 4 years) for a new PATH 4 stream to strengthen Universal Design for students in higher education, including those with autism, and to enhance opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities in higher education.

·       Provide an additional 50 Bursaries of €5,000 each under the 1916 Bursary Fund. This bursary targets the most socio-economically disadvantaged students from National Access Plan priority groups.

·       Those who are 1916 Bursary holders may now retain their bursary if they wish to progress to Graduate Entry Medicine. In time, we will also consider an extension of a student’s bursary to other specific courses to help support students entering other professions.

·       An additional €700,000 will be provided to enhance HEIs capacity for regional engagement with priority groups and create linkages between new DEIS post-primary schools and higher education institutions. This is also aimed at ensuring there are links with schools and to enhance a focus on Further Education to Higher Education transitions particularly for mature students.

·       We are in early discussions to consider the appointment of a PATH co-ordinator (for a three-year pilot basis) in the FET sector to support FE – HE transitions for priority groups with a particular focus on students from the Traveller and Roma communities.

·       We will establish PATH 5, a three-year pilot of €450,000 per year, to support access, participation and success for students from the Traveller and Roma communities.

National Access Plan (2022-2028)