About OFFA Our role To promote and safeguard

About OFFA Our role: To promote and safeguard fair access to higher education for lower income and other under-represented groups following the introduction of higher tuition fees

Estimated access agreement expenditure including Government NSP allocation 2011 -12 to 2016 -17: HEIs and FECs

Changes in the 2014 -15 guidance • Increased focus on evidence and evaluation • Demonstrating a strategic approach • Greater challenge around outcomes • Growth in outreach • Stronger collaboration • Equality and diversity • Student voice • Changes to NSP

Increased focus on evidence and evaluation • As a sector, we need to identify what impact access agreement expenditure is having • Ensure that all activities are monitored and evaluated • Demonstrate that access plans are based on evidence • Use evidence collected from past activities to inform and improve access plans.

Greater challenge, greater support • Greater support –Dissemination of good practice –Research and Analysis • Greater Challenge –Demonstrating progress and impact –Interested in the collective benefit of widening access across the sector

A strategic approach to access agreements

Growth in outreach • Long term as well as short term activities – Key stage 2, 3 and 4 • Sustained, coordinated activities rather than one-off interventions • Support for mature learners • Effective monitoring and evaluation ©University of Nottingham ©Newcastle University ©Oxford Brookes University

Student Success What about Student Success?

Stronger Collaboration • • • Grow and strengthen collaboration where possible Collaborative evaluation and targets Take collaborative efforts into account when monitoring

Changes to NSP • Funding allocation has changed to focus on institutions with a higher proportion of students from low income backgrounds • Institutional match will be set at the level previously planned for 2014 -15 • Part-time students are eligible for all elements of the NSP menu including maintenance

National strategy for access and student success OFFA’s role, working with HEFCE, will be to: “develop a shared strategy for promoting access and maximising the impact of the investment made by the Government, the Council and institutions” Letter to OFFA and HEFCE from Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, and David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, May 2012