What is the history of Access to HE courses?

The first "access" courses were established in the late-1970s. Many of these were set up to encourage entry to teacher training by people with a wider range of backgrounds than the traditional types of students who were attracted to teaching. Over the years, the success of these early courses led to the development of courses in other areas.

In the 1987 White Paper, Higher Education: Meeting the Challenge, the Government identified Access to Higher Education as "the third recognised route to HE", and sought to extend Access to HE provision through a national framework for the recognition of Access to HE courses.

A national framework has been in existence since 1989. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) has been responsible for the national framework in England, Wales and Northern Ireland since 1997.

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