Getting in, getting on and getting a job

What SUs in England need to know about access and participation – and where they have real leverage over their university's plan.

Recording coming soon

Hosted by

Jim Dickinson

Associate Editor (SUs), Wonkhe

Slides coming soon

In this session we get to grips with how access and participation actually works in 2026 – the regulation, the dashboards, the Equality of Opportunity Risk Register and the new four-year plans – and we work out where SUs can make a difference. We look at the shift from John Blake's culture-change agenda to the risk-based reset signalled in the 2026 Post-16 White Paper, why financial support is being cut in real terms, and how to read your own university's plan critically so that students are genuine partners rather than a last-minute signature.

In this session

What we cover

The four OfS objectives – participation, experience, outcomes and value for money, and why access and participation gets direct regulation when markets alone won't widen access.
What a plan actually is – a four-year agreement on how a provider helps underrepresented students get in, get on and get out.
Three policy eras – from Aim Higher to OFFA's fair access to today's data-driven, evidence-led regime, and the recurring "social engineering" press panic.
From Blake to a risk-based reset – culture change over targets, Chris Millward's interim return, and the bridge to the 2026 reforms.
The machinery now – access and participation dashboards, the five-stage student lifecycle, and reading your own provider rather than the sector average.
The Equality of Opportunity Risk Register – twelve sector-wide risks, and the ones that matter most to SUs: academic and personal support, mental health, cost, capacity and progression.
Co-creation versus tokenism – why a single officer signing off on 28 May isn't consultation, and what Kent's Space, Voice, Audience, Influence model offers.
Financial support under pressure – cash support per head down about a quarter in real terms since 2015/16, and a widening Russell Group and post-92 gap.
The whole-provider challenge – why "getting on" means changing how universities teach, assess and support, not just outreach minibuses.
What changes in 2026 – the White Paper's risk-based model, postgraduate access folded in, and how England compares with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.