Read: Raising Standards, Creating Opportunities - acknowledging universities’ contribution to social mobility
Universities play a crucial role in their local areas, outside their primary function of providing degree-level education for their students. The best, purpose-led universities also improve standards in schools and drive economic growth in their communities.
The campaign I’ve recently launched with our Purpose Universities Coalition - Raising standards, creating opportunities – aims to highlight their work as anchor institutions, fulfilling those dual roles with their economic and social impact. Wherever you stand on the political spectrum, raising education standards and creating more opportunities are key priorities. It’s always been clear to me, especially during my time as Education Secretary, that higher education is integral to delivering these two key policy objectives. Members of the Coalition – universities such as Loughborough, Chester and Northampton – are already working hard to identify those furthest away from a level playing field and to ensure that they have access to the sort of opportunities that will make a difference to their lives.
The Government’s recent announcement that it will site 12 investment zones around university hubs is testament to the part they can play in the regeneration of some of our left behind communities and the strength of their partnerships with business and local government.
So the campaign will highlight the work that universities like York St John, Stirling and Cardiff Metropolitan are undertaking in schools, not just in the sixth form but in primary and pre-GCSE years, to reach out to young people who do not know anyone who has been to university and who have little idea of what life there is like. They can advise them on what they need to do to get there, what student life can offer them once they’re there and the range of opportunities that open up as a result of getting a degree. Crucially, many of their outreach teams are from similar backgrounds and will have been on the same journey. If young people can see and hear people like them, they are more likely to believe that it’s a journey they can also make.
The second focus of the campaign will be on the vital work that Purpose Coalition universities like Northumbria and Solent are doing to drive economic growth in their local areas. Having worked downstream to encourage young people to consider studying STEM subjects, they are able to connect local businesses up with graduates who have the skills that employers need for the new green and high tech jobs which will be essential for our labour market and which attract crucial investment into regions across the country. Their world-class research departments contribute to groundbreaking projects, especially in science and technology, and are helping to find solutions to some of the world’s most fundamental problems. The universities themselves are huge local employers, recruiting staff at every level. They also offer a wealth of business opportunities for big and small companies in their supply chains.
As part of the campaign, we’ll also be working with our student ambassadors from across the Coalition, from universities including Bolton, Staffordshire and Southampton, to shape our new recruitment platform that puts purpose and social mobility at its heart. The platform we have created together, FindMyPurpose, will match students to organisations whose values align with theirs. By selecting the Purpose Goals that matter most to them – Goal 5 Open recruitment or Goal 8 Good health and wellbeing for example - they can quickly identify the employers whose priorities are the same.
In the months ahead, we’ll be producing a ‘Best in Class’ report which will highlight those Coalition universities that are going the extra mile in delivering opportunity to their communities and beyond. The campaign will also feature a series of events for current and future policymakers demonstrating how Purpose Universities Coalition members are raising standards and driving economic growth in the areas they serve, as well as highlighting specific key policy objectives.
Over the last few years, we have partnered with many universities to assess how effectively they are driving social mobility, and developed plans to help them go even further. I’ve seen first-hand the hugely positive impact that universities like Derby, Worcester, Newcastle and Greenwich have made in their local regions in terms of improving school standards and driving economic growth. They promote aspiration so that young people from every background can make positive, well-informed choices that will help their life chances. The partnerships they have forged with local stakeholders and their understanding of the communities in which they operate means that they can successfully engage to extend opportunity where it is needed most. That approach is key to levelling up, particularly in our most disadvantaged areas, and they will play an integral part in boosting the country’s growth and productivity.
More information about the campaign can be found at raisingstandardsextendingopportunity.org
