Helping form a more complete picture of an applicant’s individual characteristics.
Contextual information and data can be used by universities and colleges to assess an applicant’s achievements and potential in light of their educational and socio-economic background. This is called contextualised admissions, and the aim is to form a more complete picture of the characteristics of an individual applicant.
The use of contextual information and data in university and college admissions is now widespread, but the way it’s used and the benefits to applicants can vary enormously. To give you an insight into how it’s used and what support is available, we asked four higher education providers how contextualised admissions works in practice.
How does the process of identifying eligible applicants work?
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Doug Jennings, Deputy Director of Home Recruitment and Conversion, University of Bristol
‘Applicants who are eligible for a contextual offer are flagged in our student records management system automatically, using information taken from their UCAS form (school code, postcode, and time spent in care), or flagged on our system by a member of the widening participation team, if they have taken part in an outreach programme. If they are made an offer, it is automatically at the contextual level and a bespoke set of communications are triggered.’
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Kirsty Knock, Admissions Manager, University of West of Scotland (UWS)
‘At the University of West of Scotland (UWS), approximately 30% of applicants come from a widening access background. We do not have a separate contextualised admissions policy or procedure – we review each application on an individual basis. The admissions team consider all parts of the UCAS application, but an offer is based on the academic entry criteria of each applicant.’
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Jennifer Geary, Head of Admissions, Goldsmiths, University of London
‘Some universities are looking at how they can develop their student recruitment systems to enable a more streamlined approach to contextual admissions. Factors such as low participation neighbourhoods and school performance are harder to identify during the regular admissions process. But, we are able to highlight applicants from local areas, disabled students, and care leavers who are all given special consideration and may be offered additional support, although decisions are not made on this basis alone. We also have a number of progression agreements in place, aimed at our target groups, and these have things such as guaranteed interviews or guaranteed lower offers to Goldsmiths on completion.’
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Kim Eccleston, Head of Admissions, Warwick University
‘We consider a range of factors at Warwick University, such as an applicant's school performance, typical rates of progression to higher education in their home area, and whether the applicant has spent time in care. Successful applicants identified through this process are made an offer one or two grades below the standard university offer (to a minimum of BBB grade). Potential applicants are able to check their eligibility on our website.’
Why is contextualised admissions so important?
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Doug Jennings, Deputy Director of Home Recruitment and Conversion, University of Bristol
‘The University of Bristol recognises that the potential of applicants has always been fundamental to their mission to recruit the most able students from the most diverse backgrounds, and has invested significantly in outreach, student support, and progression initiatives.
We believe contextual admissions provide a very clear and transparent pathway to applicants from different backgrounds, and are a fair and legitimate mechanism to use to widen participation.’
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Kirsty Knock, Admissions Manager, University of West of Scotland (UWS)
‘The University of West of Scotland (UWS) prides itself on its diverse student population, and has widened its approach to contextualised admissions. For many applicants, the progression to university can be extremely daunting, especially when they may be the first family member to go into higher education – they may have been in care, or they may not have the financial means to go to university.
Should academic entry determine whether someone will be successful at university? I don’t believe it should. We take into consideration a range of factors to ensure we are an inclusive organisation, leading the way across Scotland in widening participation.’
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Jennifer Geary, Head of Admissions, Goldsmiths, University of London
‘Operating contextualised admissions contributes both to our ethos of nurturing a diverse student body, and to meeting the targets we have identified and committed to in our Access Agreement.
We believe that using contextual information is an integral part of ensuring we operate a fair admissions service for all our applicants. Admitting students in a more nuanced way allows a greater cross-section of society to reach their potential, and makes an important contribution to the Goldsmiths community.’
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Kim Eccleston, Head of Admissions, Warwick University
‘Ensuring Warwick is an accessible, welcoming place for students from all backgrounds and cultures is hugely important to us, and we are continually seeking out ways to help people overcome barriers to participation.
One of our eight values – set out in our university strategy – demonstrates our commitment to widening participation, and the significance placed on this important work.’
What support is available for students beyond enrolment?
Evidence shows that students from disadvantaged backgrounds do at least as well – and sometimes even better – in degree attainment, than comparable groups of more advantaged students.
With additional services available to relevant students – from help with finance, to study skills and accommodation – many universities provide support throughout the applicant experience. It is so important that students are aware of all the support they’re entitled to.
Realising Opportunities (RO) is one example of a national programme giving eligible students support during their post-16 studies.
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Doug Jennings, Deputy Director of Home Recruitment and Conversion, University of Bristol
‘The Access to Bristol programme provides local students with an unprecedented opportunity to experience life at Bristol University. Our activities are wide ranging, from working with students from primary school age, to those who may have left the classroom decades ago, and much of our outreach work is targeted at those who are eligible for a contextual offer.
We also have an accommodation bursary, which uses Participation of Local Areas (POLAR) data as one of its criteria.’
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Kirsty Knock, Admissions Manager, University of West of Scotland
‘Applicants are provided with specific text in their offer information about bursaries, additional support if they are a care leaver, disability support, etc.
We have a diverse student population, so always endeavour to provide our services on a case-by-case basis, considering each student's unique circumstances, and how to best meet their individual needs.’
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Jennifer Geary, Head of Admissions, Goldsmiths, University of London
‘We provide a number of support services for students from underrepresented groups, which include fee waivers for students from the local London boroughs, bursaries to cover travel costs for students from low income backgrounds, and scholarships for disabled students, mature students, care leavers, and applicants coming from Access to HE programmes.
There are well-established channels for students to access support while they are on their programmes, and a process for assessing and supporting specific needs.’
Goldsmiths also has a portfolio of funding options based on contextual data.
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Kim Eccleston, Head of Admissions, Warwick University
‘Using the information available to us through the application process allows us to contact applicants and students with information about our specific services available to them at Warwick.’
Warwick University runs a wide range of events and activities for young people aged between nine and 19, targeted at state school educated students, students who would be the first in their family to attend university, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and students who come from neighbourhoods where there is low progression to higher education.
As a teacher or adviser, it’s important to be aware of this practice, so you can give the best advice to your students. Contextualised admissions may encourage aspirational applications to higher education, and can help explain why a student has received a certain offer. It seeks to identify applicants with the greatest potential to succeed on the course. It is also commonly used to inform support provision at other stages of the application process, and once a student has enrolled.
For more information about how a university or college might undertake contextualised admissions, please consult their individual policy, or contact them directly.
