Summary of 2025/26 to 2028/29 access and participation plan

What is an access and participation plan?

An access and participation plan sets out provisions that will be meaningful and effective in promoting equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups, as determined by the Office for Students.

View the full access and participation plan for University of Gloucestershire

Key points

Our vision is to enable transformation, supporting students to gain skills, knowledge, insight and confidence to transform their lives for the better. As such, we recognise the critical importance of supporting students from underrepresented groups and are committed to implementing a strategic approach to ensure we contribute to the elimination of gaps in access and student success at the University and nationally.

Student demographics on full-time undergraduate programmes at UoG

Approx 8% of young, UK  applicants  to full-time undergraduate programmes at UoG over (2017/18 – 2021/22) were from minority ethnic groups (excluding white minorities). This is lower than the average compared to other universities but is slightly higher than the overall ethnic diversity of the Southwest region.

The University has made, and continues to make, efforts to recruit more students from minority ethnic groups through outreach and access.

See pages 1 – 18 of the access and participation plan for more information.

Fees we charge

The University will charge the maximum fee of £9,250 in 2024/25 for all our undergraduate courses. Subject to review following parliamentary changes to maximum student tuition fee charges announced in November 2024.

UoG provides information for students on multiple platforms and throughout their application process and then on to study and graduation. This includes:

• Information on fees and financial support published on our website. This information is clearly accessible to students, e.g. via menu navigation or the search bar. This is reviewed each year working with student representatives to monitor and assess any additional costs associated with the study of their course.
• Printed collateral with our offer packs sent out to students once they have received their offer to study letters.
• Presentations and information sessions at outreach activities, open days and applicant days.
• Induction information prior to arrival at the University, both in print and on-line.

See pages 30 – 34 of the access and participation plan for more information.

Financial help available

We offer financial support to eligible students. These schemes are kept under constant review and may change from time to time as they are amended to reflect our developing understanding of their impact and success. The schemes currently on offer are as follows.

• Welcome to Gloucestershire Award
• Care Leavers Scholarship
• Financial Assistance Fund
• Travel Assistance Funding for schools and colleges

The most up-to-date financial support available to UoG students can be viewed on our fees and funding page.

See pages 21 – 22 of the access and participation plan for more information.

Information for students

We are proud to support our students throughout their journey ensuring they achieve their full potential  whilst studying at UoG.

• Prospective students receive information on fees and financial support at in-person events, such as our open days, through our website, and direct communications.
• Applicants receive detailed information through visits to the University and direct communications.
• Current students receive information about fees and the financial support available through our student portal, MyGlos, as well as direct communications.

See pages 11 – 14 of the access and participation plan for more information.

What we are aiming to achieve

Our strategic aim for access and participation is to reduce and remove barriers. We challenge perceptions and provide support to all students. We aim to ensure we are fostering, enabling and promoting equality of opportunity.

Our analysis of the data confirmed a clear primary focus for this access and participation plan.

Students from minority ethnic backgrounds, particularly where these students are from households

with one or more indicators of socio-economic disadvantage, are less likely to continue with their

studies. They are also less likely to finish their program of study and to obtain a good first degree compared with other students. The indications of risk for these students are substantial and persistent and our plan sets out how we will address this.

More broadly, indications of risk to equality of opportunity at UoG are:

• Indication of Risk 1: Students from the most deprived local areas in England are consistently underrepresented at UoG.
• Indication of Risk 2: Students from all minority ethnic backgrounds are less likely than white students to continue with their studies or to obtain a good first degree. This risk is particularly high where there are indicators of socio-economic disadvantage, for example where minority ethnic students are from households in deprived areas or areas under-represented in higher education, or the students have been eligible for receipt of free school meals.
• Indication of Risk 3: Students from deprived local areas or who have been in receipt of free school meals are less likely than other students to complete an award.
• Indication of Risk 4: Students with cognitive or learning difficulties are less likely to obtain a good degree classification than students without any declared disabilities.

See pages 1 – 3 of the access and participation plan for more information.

What we are doing to address key risks to equality of opportunity (ROE)

The access and participation plan document outlines, the planned activity UoG have committed to delivering to support the achievement of the objectives and targets detailed. Pages 5 – 10 outlines how the Student Recruitment and Outreach team will contribute to the access element of the plan, aiming to address risks 1,2 and 3. Pages 11 – 14 addresses how UoG will deliver its participation objectives. Pages 15 – 15 outlines how we will deliver our progression targets.

See pages 5 – 15 of the access and participation plan for more information.

How students can get involved

The University is committed to capturing and listening to the student voice .The Students’ union participated in the formulation of this plan and have seat on the Access and Participation committee which is tasked to monitor and ensure the University is delivering against its objectives.

See pages 18 – 19 of the access and participation plan for more information.

Evaluation – how we will measure what we have achieved

We recognise that evaluation is an ongoing process. This supports us to understand how our activity is being delivered, what impact it is having, and how it is being influenced by internal or external factors.

By holding regular meetings through our Access and Participation Committee, (a group which brings together managers from across UoG who are responsible for delivering on the aims of the APP) the University will take responsibility for the evaluation and monitoring of the plan. This committee normally meets four times a year to analyse, measure impact and track progress against the outlined objectives. Led by the Chief Operating Officer and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Student experience, members come from professional departments, academic staff from our Schools, and representatives of the Students’ Union. The committee reports directly to the University Executive Committee.

The University is implementing robust analysis and reporting to support decision making and measure impact of the activities undertaken. To benchmark the University effectively will be utilising different means of assessing success. These measures include:

• HEAT data tracking annual reports. (We are using a national database system called the Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT) to keep a record of the young people who have taken part in outreach activities we have delivered.)
• Internal surveys of our enquirers, applicants and offer holders.
• Survey outcomes – such as the National Student Survey
• Progression outcomes – Graduate Outcomes and Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO)
• Office for Students (OfS) data sources and statistically analyses when made available

See pages 19 – 21 of the access and participation plan for more information.

Contact details for further information

Please contact Matthew Andrews, Chief Operating Officer and Pro Vice Chancellor [email protected]  for more information.

Main reception and general enquiries: +44 (0)1242 714700​​
Our registered office is: The Park, Cheltenham, UK. GL50 2RH
Student Recruitment and Outreach Team: [email protected]
UoG Students Union: [email protected]