New Access & Participation Plan Approved

The Office for Students (OfS) recently approved The Open University’s new Access & Participation Plan (APP), laying the groundwork to identify gaps in the quality of the student experience for students from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds and set clear goals and strategies to address them.

The new APP, developed with involvement from current students, commits The Open University to achieving ambitious targets to address: the under-representation of Black students; and inequitable outcomes for Black students, students with mental health difficulties, and students from the most deprived areas of the UK, including progression to highly skilled employment and further study.

Natalie Baker, President of the OU Students Association, said “widening participation sits at the heart of the OU mission, and this plan has a clear focus to address the warding gaps we currently have and looks towards more equitable student outcomes.

“It was also good to see some clear direction on how initiatives will be piloted and evaluated before wider implementation to ensure that the work is both tackling issues identified and using resources effectively. “While there is a clear focus on specific cohorts, the intersectional nature of this work in conjunction with other institutional EDI initiatives make it likely that the positive impact will be felt by many more OU students."