By Sheila Mckenzie
The London School Of Economics has rejected criticism from the Office for Students (OfS) that its university is amongst those that allow the widest access gap between the richest and poorest students.
The OFS today criticised several UK universities including Imperial College London, Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, University College London and the London School Of Economics( LSE) for having the widest “access gap” between wealthier and poorer students. The OfS, which acts as the regulator and competition authority for the higher education sector in England call for the gap to be halved in five years.
The LSE has rejected the condemnation that included its renowned institution, insisting that it actively recruits exceptional students from all parts of society. The OFS says the number of poorer students in England’s most selective universities not changed much, despite the increase in the total student base.
The report from the Office Of Students calls for the leading schools such as Imperial College and the London School Of Economics (LSE) to provide another 6,000 spots for disadvantaged students within the next 5 years. The OfS can levy fines for universities who do not comply with its policies. Mike Buchanan, who heads the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference, said that
“Care is needed in starting actively to discriminate against individual young people on the basis of the class they were born into” and argued for selective universities to increase availability for private school graduates. Buchanan declared that the 6,000 spots suggested by the OfS should be made up by limiting the number of international students at selective universities stating, “universities should not to increase international student numbers if it denied places to UK students”.
LSE responded to the Beaver’s request for comment in regards to their policy to comply with the OfS report:
“LSE is committed to recruiting exceptional students from all parts of society. As part of this commitment, the School continues to commit significant funds on access, bursaries and outreach, with the aim of attracting and supporting a wide range of qualified students from under-represented backgrounds at LSE, as well enabling students to access higher education more generally through our widening participation outreach programme.
Details can be found in the School’s Access and Participation Plan. LSE has been recognised by the Independent think tank, REFORM, for our progress on increasing admissions for students from the lowest participation neighbourhoods based on the POLAR3 dataset,” the world class university said.
“to gain a more complete picture of the educational and individual context of an applicant. This allows our admissions selectors to assess achievement and potential whilst recognising the challenges an applicant may have faced in their educational or individual circumstances.”
LSE also rejected Buchanan’s argument that international students are displacing domestic students since LSE recruitment quotas are set before the application season so that a balanced number of domestic and international students may study at the school.
The Office for students told The Eye Of Media.Com:
”The London School Of Economics are fifth in the country with the highest access gap and they have written a plan they have agreed with us . They have agreed to meet new targets. Over the last 20 years, there has been incremental progress in the efforts made for change, but this is a much bigger target they have set and one the biggest ambitious steps so far.
The LSE and a number of the other Universities are working with some schools to raise the standards of their students, but must also understand that grades are not the only reflection of a student’s potential at University. There are other factors they need to consider like talking to individuals and understanding the circumstances behind lower grades at A levels”.