NEON event at Ruskin College addresses sector equity challenge
Intro
Twenty-eight leaders in the field of equitable access to higher education gathered recently at an event in Ruskin College, to explore the question: ‘Addressing the higher education equity crisis – what needs to be done?’
Main body
The group was brought together by the World Access to Higher Education Network (WAHEN), a part of the independent national charity NEON (National Education Opportunities Network) which is hosted by UWL. WAHEN is involved in widening access to higher education and supporting learners from under-represented backgrounds.
Attendees included Professor Graeme Atherton and Martin Webster of NEON, Gary Shearer from The Saville Foundation, Roberta Malee Bassett from the World Bank, Ninoslav Šćukanec Schmidt from the European Commission and representatives from UC Berkley, Oxford, Edinburgh, Pretoria and Cape Town universities.
Professor Atherton said:
It was fantastic to meet with so many people from around the globe who are committed to making higher education available to everyone. We achieved our goal of developing action plans for global collaborative work to tackle the inequalities that exist in accessing and succeeding within higher education.”
Discussions focused on how to generate greater commitment from universities across the world and understand what effective policy commitment looks like. Participants also identified what strategies have led to progress; explored synergies in member work; generated collective global action on higher education equity and forged new relationships.
Main body
Ruskin College, Oxford has a long tradition of combining life-transforming education with a commitment to social justice and a better world. So, it was fitting to be able to host such a seminal activity in the pursuit of greater equality in higher education.
Dania Matos, Vice-Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion at UC Berkley, said:
We want to give everyone the dignity and respect to be able to access higher education if that’s an empowered choice they want to make. They can bring a wealth of experiences from their diverse communities.”
Sebastien Berger, Director of the Global Student Forum, said:
These three days have given me confidence. It’s been inspiring to see the energy and commitment of people from different institutions and with a range of approaches to higher education to ensuring that equity and inclusion is mainstream.”
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