Rethinking what it means 'to go to university'

Widening access and improving social mobility require us to rethink what it means 'to go to university'

Yesterday [n.b. 02/07/206], Northumbria University hosted a panel event in Westminster with Minister for Skills Jacqui Smith. The discussion highlighted a truth that is becoming harder to ignore: widening access to higher education cannot be achieved simply by encouraging more young people in education cold spots to follow the traditional route into a three-year residential degree.

In places like the North East, the barriers to participation are deep and structural. Progression to higher education remains far below London levels, school attainment is weaker, transport costs are higher, and financial pressures are reshaping the student experience. At Northumbria, 41 per cent of students now commute from home. In rural communities such as Berwick or other remote parts of Northumberland, the cost of public transport can make commuting just as difficult as moving away. Opportunity is constrained not just by aspiration, but by geography, confidence, cost and the structure of the system itself.

The panel rightly stressed that Government is now trying to address some of this, through early intervention, improved childcare and family support, the return of maintenance grants from 2028, and the Lifelong Learning Entitlement from 2027. But the bigger challenge is cultural and institutional. If we are serious about breaking the link between background and future success, we need to rethink what we mean by “going to university”.

First, it means recognising that higher education is not just Level 6. Levels 4 and 5 matter too, especially in places where learners may want to stay local, study flexibly, build confidence and progress in stages. The missing middle is not a side issue, as evidenced in our most recent report. It may be one of the most important ways of widening access in parts of the country where the standard model does not fit people’s lives.

Second, it means “sandwiching” education and skills with employment. The strongest contributions from the panel came where universities and employers were seen not as separate worlds, but as partners in building opportunity. Northumbria’s guarantee of credit-bearing experiential learning or pro bono work for every undergraduate is one example. Accenture’s emphasis on paid placements, outreach and alternative recruitment pipelines is another. The point is clear: social mobility does not come from education alone, but from education connected to real networks, real work, and real progression.

Third, it means seeing university as a through-life experience, not a one-off transition for 18-year-olds. The classic full-time undergraduate model will remain important, but it cannot be the only route if higher education is to support the workforce demands of the 21st century. Universities need to do much more to attract working adults, career changers, and local residents into modular provision, flexible timetabling, apprenticeships, and bite-sized higher learning that meets labour market demand.

Finally, the panel exposed the flaws in how we measure success. If universities are judged mainly on raw graduate salaries, institutions serving lower-wage regional economies will always be disadvantaged. Those metrics reward inherited social capital more than educational value. A fairer account of outcomes would look at access to highly skilled work, progression, civic contribution and the wider social and economic benefits universities create in their places.

The Northumbria discussion pointed towards a more useful model of widening participation: one rooted in place, connected to employers, open to adults as well as school leavers, and willing to value multiple forms of higher learning. In education cold spots, that may be the only route to genuine social mobility. The challenge for Prime Minister in waiting, Andy Burnham, is to build a system that reflects it.

The panel discussion was chaired by Katie Perrior, Founder and Chair of iNHouse Communications with contributions from The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Malvern, Minister for Skills, Professor Andy Long, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Northumbria University, Dani Payne, Head of Education and Social Mobility at the Social Market Foundation, and Verity Wilson, Design & Functional Architecture Lead at Accenture.