Who gets in? University benchmarks for social mobility

While academic attainment plays a fundamental role in access to higher education, even when comparing university student intakes to those who have already met the entry requirements, socio-economic representation still varies significantly across universities in England. 

The Social Mobility Commission’s report Who gets in? University benchmarks for social mobility  evaluates how effectively universities across England support social mobility.

The report analysis ranks universities using three new metrics: 

• Equal access: A hypothetical baseline comparing a university’s actual enrolment profile against the wider socio-economic distribution of all young people in England, where intake perfectly mirrors the national population.
• Social mobility coefficient: A single metric measuring how effectively a university recruits socio-economically disadvantaged students once academic attainment is taken into account, comparing enrolled students directly against the pool of candidates who meet institutional entry requirements.
• Location-adjusted social mobility coefficient: A calculation that applies geographical weighting as well as the social mobility coefficient weighting, measuring the recruitment of qualified potential students living near the institution.

Key findings on university access

• While 71% of universities enrol a student cohort more socio-economically disadvantaged than the pool of applicants that meet their entry requirements, nearly a third (29%) recruit an intake that is more advantaged.
• Universities with higher academic entry requirements show notable gaps where disadvantaged students are under-represented relative to the qualified pool of prospective students.
• London-based institutions often rank highly.  This is partly explained by the higher concentration of qualified disadvantaged students living in London.  However, even when this is taken into consideration, universities in London with lower entry requirements still appear to be successful in recruiting large numbers of disadvantaged students.
• Broadly, the sector remains skewed, with 60% of universities enrolling a disproportionately advantaged population, when comparing to all prospective students rather than those who have met the entry requirements. 

Alun Francis, Chair of the Social Mobility Commission said: 

“This research focusses on a simple question: from the pool of students who meet their entry requirements, do universities recruit equally across all socio-economic backgrounds?  The evidence suggests that many do, but not all.

“Where disparities exist, there may be good explanations, but we would encourage all universities to examine every stage of the student journey, from outreach and applications through to admissions and affordability, and any other relevant factors, to ensure talented students are not missing out because of their background.”

Read the full report, Who gets in? University benchmarks for social mobility.

Download the full report as a PDF, you can also read a summary report. 

Check out the interactive University Benchmarks data explorer tool.