Events & Information

Widening Participation for Postgraduates:
Research, Policy and Practice

27 October 2010, 10.30-16.00
KD 2.13, University of East London, Docklands Campus

Widening Participation for Postgraduates: Research, Policy and Practice – was the title and theme of a one-day conference held at the University of East London. Jointly organised by Continuum and UEL’s Graduate School with support from Teaching Learning & Assessment, the event provided an opportunity for academics, researchers, policy makers and practitioners to reflect on this topic which is under researched and consequently under developed in terms of both policy and practice.

Policy was the focus of the morning session, chaired by Tony Hudson, with expert presentations from Chris Hale (UUK) and Liz Thomas (Action on Access, HEA, & WPRC, Edge Hill University).

Chris provided a useful policy summary, drawing on a number of reviews including: Roberts (2002), which has been influential in encouraging HEIs to review their provision of research degree programmes; Smith (2010) which noted the lack of robust evidence on whether the cost of postgraduate study and the paucity of student support prevent those who would otherwise have pursued postgraduate study from doing so; and the more recent review by Browne (2010) which disappointingly (but not surprisingly) had little of any consequence to say about postgraduates.

Following on from Chris Hale, the lack of evidence was one of the themes Liz Thomas picked up in her interactive presentation, which encouraged delegates to think about three key questions:

• What is the ‘business case’ for national and institutional policy on widening participation to postgraduate study?
• What are the pressing research questions you would like to see answered?
• What could or should institutions be doing to widen participation to postgraduate study?

Having highlighted the policy vacuum in this area, Liz also noted that, based on a recent analysis of the Widening Participation Strategic Assessments (WPSAs), only 18 institutions (14%) make specific reference to widening participation for postgraduates.

Chaired by Alan White, the afternoon session opened with Paul Wakeling (University of York) who gave an engaging overview of the research – and gaps in the research on widening participation for postgraduates – why it matters and what needs to be done. This was followed by Fiona Cobb’s (UEL) presentation on recent research into postgraduate student activity at UEL - focusing on how institutional research into factors affecting completion of Postgraduate research students, and similar projects can be used to identify student groups in need of additional support, and to guide institutional widening participation policy and practices. 

A number of delegates expressed an interest in continuing the dialogue after the conference and we are currently exploring the best mechanism, probably JISC mail, to facilitate rapid and user friendly communication. In the meantime copies of the presentations can be downloaded by clicking the links below:

Chris Hale - Postgraduate research students: National picture

Liz Thomas - Widening Participation for Postgraduates: Research, Policy and Practice

Paul Wakeling - Access to postgraduate study: A review of research findings

Fiona Cobb - Access to Postgraduate Research Programmes: Utilising Current Research

Please click here to download the conference flyer.

Speakers' Biographies

• Professor Liz Thomas is the Higher Education Institutions adviser for Action on Access and regional contact for the North East. Liz is currently Director and Chair of the Widening Participation Research Centre at Edge Hill University and Senior Adviser for Widening Participation at the Higher Education Academy. (More)
• Chris Hale is Deputy Director of Policy at Universities UK (UUK). UUK’s aim is to be the essential voice of all UK universities by promoting and supporting their work. Chris has been at UUK for 8 years and prior to that worked at the General Medical Council (GMC) on regulation of the medical profession. (More)
• Dr. Paul Wakeling is a lecturer at the University of York, teaching the history and sociology of education and educational research methods. His research specialism is the sociology of (higher) education, specifically inequalities in access to postgraduate study in the UK aand he recently completed a synthesis of research on widening participation from undergraduate to postgraduate research degrees which will be published shortly by NCCPE and ESRC. (More)
• Fiona Cobb is a Research Fellow in the Graduate School at UEL. She is currently working on a project investigating factors affecting completion and retention of Postgraduate Research Students of the institution.  A key consideration stemming from this research is how completion projects can shape Widening Participation Policy for Postgraduates. (More)

Chairs' Biographies

• Mr Tony Hudson is a social scientist by training and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He is an experienced manager in the not for profit sector where he was General Secretary of a learned and professional society. As a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Westminster he taught on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes specialising in research methods.  He initially joined UEL to work on the New Beginnings 2 programme – a fast track access course – and was subsequently appointed as Research Manager at Continuum. (More)
• Dr Alan White is the Director of the Graduate School at the University of East London.  He is also a member of the Executive Committee for the UKCGE and a QAA institutional auditor. He has written about his experiences as a working class student in higher education and is currently leading a research project in the Graduate School investigating the factors that affect a postgraduate research student’s propensity to complete their studies in good time. (More)

Further Information

For further enquiries please contact Janet Riddle on j.riddle@uel.ac.uk

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