Kent has received national approval for plans to increase spending on its work with local schools.
The Office of Fair Access (OFFA) has announced approval of Kent’s Access Agreement for 2015-16, which sets out the University’s plans for increased funding to reach a total of £1.9 million for outreach activity with local schools, colleges and communities.
Kent’s Access Agreement – one of 172 announced for universities and colleges wishing to charge tuition fees for higher education courses in 2015-16 – also shows the University plans to make a £1.5 million investment in 2015 in new measures to support the academic success of its existing students. This is in addition to maintaining its existing level of bursary support for new students of nearly £5 million.
Kent’s outreach programme is one of the most effective and established in the sector. In partnership with the local community, 40 partner schools and local FE colleges, it delivers activities for more than 13,000 participants a year. The programme is delivered by the University’s Partnership Development Office alongside the majority of its academic schools, and also involves students and staff.
The University was awarded a £3 million pound grant in May 2014 to help improve higher education’s ability to measure the impact of outreach measures. Since 2004 Kent has collaborated with universities across the South East to develop a new service known as Higher Education Access Tracker Service (HEAT). The grant will enable the University to act as a catalyst for the roll out of HEAT to higher education institutions nationally.
For more information please contact Jennifer Wyatt, Head of the Partnership Development Office.