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Press release from QAA

QAA celebrates two decades of giving access to higher education

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is marking 20 years of giving access to higher education and a route to successful careers through the Access to HE qualification. Access to HE brings together further and higher education to create a robust and valued entry qualification.

Current and former Access students will be sharing their experiences of how their lives have been changed as a result of the opportunities opened up to them by Access to HE at the annual conference taking place this Thursday (17 June) in London.

Anthony McClaran, QAA’s Chief Executive, says: ‘Access to HE makes a demonstrable contribution to widening participation in higher education, with students much more likely to come from disadvantaged groups. It makes local progression to higher education a reality for many, and it supports student mobility, with many students progressing to a wide range of professions.’

Yvonne Brissett, a broadcast journalist at BBC Birmingham currently working on the TV programme Midlands Today, is one of many individuals who left school with few or no qualifications who took an Access course to pursue her dream career.

'I left school at 16 years old with the dream of becoming a journalist, but with limited information as to how to achieve this. The Access course created so many opportunities for me and it definitely improved, enhanced and enriched my life - professionally and personally’, she says.

Nicola Dandridge. Chief Executive of Universities UK, says: ‘Access to HE has made a significant contribution to widening participation and helped transform people's lives. Access courses are an excellent example of how innovation in provision can open new opportunities for people to come into higher education.’

Ends

Notes to Editor

  1. For further information, interview and photograph requests, please contact Katie Sharrock, Public Relations Officer, on 01452 557074 or k.sharrock@qaa.ac.uk
  2. The press are invited to attend the conference, which includes a student panel of current and former Access to HE students. If you are interested in attending, please contact Katie Sharrock.
  3. The following case studies will be on the panel and available for interview before, during, and after the conference on request:
  4. The conference is contributing to the sector-wide ‘Universities Week’ campaign, led by Universities UK, taking placefrom 14-20 June 2010, which aims to increase public awareness of the wide and varied role of the UK’s universities. The Access to HE conference is taking place on the ‘University changed my life’ campaign theme day.
    Further information about this campaign is available at: www.universitiesweek.org.uk
  5. QAA regulates the national recognition of Access to HE courses and is responsible for assuring the quality of recognised courses and the adequacy of standards of student achievement on these courses. Further information is available at: www.accesstohe.ac.uk
  6. QAA safeguards the public interest in the quality and standards of UK higher education. We check how UK universities and colleges maintain their academic standards and quality. We review and report on how they meet their responsibilities, identify good practice and make recommendations for improvement. We publish guidelines to help UK universities and colleges develop effective systems to ensure students have the best learning experience. Further information is available at: www.qaa.ac.uk

 

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