This is the monthly e-Bulletin from FACE (the Forum for Access and Continuing Education) [1], offered to practitioners, policy-makers, researchers and others with an interest in access, widening participation and lifelong learning. In this month's issue PASCAL Director and FACE Executive Member Michael Osborne provides an update on the highly impactful work he and others are doing on Learning Cities [2].

NEWS | SECTOR NEWS | EVENTS | CALL FOR PAPERS

A major event, a major report and a new face at FACE!

This month we are very excited to promote what has fast become one of the premier widening participation events in UK higher education: the joint Universities UK and Action on Access Student Success Summit [3]. Read below on why you should attend from Andrew Rawson (Director of Action on Access and FACE Executive Member).

We also have a fantastic op-ed blog [4] by FACE Executive Member Robin Webber-Jones on the recent EHRC report and its implications on our sector. Additionally, our own FACE Executive Member Michael Osborne, provides an update on the highly impactful work he and others are doing on Learning Cities [2].

Lastly, it's with a tinge of sadness that I announce this is my last e-bulletin as FACE's Webmaster. It's been a great few years at the digital helm but time to take on new challenges--not to worry I will stick around on the FACE Executive! I am very excited to reveal that the very talented Jessica Benson-Egglenton [5] is taking over from me. Jess has spent her career working in higher education, with a focus on widening participation evaluation and research, and has recently taken up a PhD studentship at Sheffield Hallam University. FACE is in very good hands!

As usual, we've done our best to collate interesting sector news and key sector events for you so you can prioritise what to attend in the coming months.

Do get in touch at [email protected] [6] if you'd like to contribute a blog post to a future e-bulletin.

Happy reading,

Stephane and the FACE team

Student Success Summit: Joining the dots

The 9th annual Access to HE and Student Success Summit - Joining the Dots - organised by Action on Access together with Universities UK, will take place on 13th November in London.

Be there or miss out on a chance to take part in this year's rounded and informed view of widening participation issues across the student journey, together with opportunities for delegate contribution to the summit and for networking with delegates from a wide range of institutions and roles.

Three respected and experienced keynote speakers: Chris Millward, Director Fair Access and Participation, OfS; Helen Thorne, MBE, Director of External Relations at UCAS; Stephen Isherwood, Chief Executive of the Institute of Employers.

Choices of workshop: parallel sessions on the support and advice to widening participation students by advisers in Sixth Forms, the work of professional academic advisers, and the work of Student Unions. What advice and support goes on inside institutions, by your colleagues outside the formal WP roles?

Additionally sessions on care leavers, beyond-institutional and collaborative work, embedding accessibility and compliance in online and digital content.

And a discussion facilitated by John Storan with experts on the wider and economic benefits of widening participation and improved student success and employability, i.e. examining the cost-effectiveness of WP interventions.

I hope to see you there.

Andrew Rawson, Director Action on Access

13 November 2019 | Central London | Register now! [3]

EHRC Report: a wake up call

By Robin Webber-Jones

The recent Equality and Human Right’s Commission (EHRC) Report into harassment in higher education presents some serious challenges that the sector has to tackle. The EHRC have evidently worked well with the sector (including through UUK) in compiling the report. The sector acknowledges incidents are likely to be under reported, partly because of lack of confidence in complaints processes and reporting is less likely where staff and student populations come from less diverse backgrounds.

In many ways the Report has been described as a ‘wake-up call’...

Read the whole blog [4]

Inclusive learning cities

By Michael Osbourne, University of Glasgow

I write in the week following the 4th UNESCO Learning Cities conference in Medellin, Colombia to which my colleagues and I have made some contributions as evident in this recent posting [7] on the website of the PASCAL Observatory.

However, despite UNESCO’s Learning Cities agenda, which argues for the mobilisation of resources to promote education across all sectors and environments, there is little evaluative research on learning city engagement which is both naturalistic and rigorous (see Lido, Reid and Osborne 2019).

Read the whole blog [2]

News from the sector

Adult learners drop to 20 year low [8](TES)

Carers need more visibility in higher education [9] (Wonkhe)

Students who have unconditional offers more likely to quit [10](Guardian)

Upcoming events

100 years of radical Adult Education in Scotland: Building hope for the future | 16 November 2019 | Glasgow, Scotland More details [11] [12]

Care-Experienced Learners in HE: Facilitating Completion of Degree Programmes | 20 November 2019 | Central London More details [12]

What if... education policy was shaped by a commitment to social justice? | 5 December 2019 | Central London More details [13]

Why Evaluate 2: From Evidence to Action | 2-3 December 2019 | Sheffield More details [14]

Lifelong Learning: Preparing For Our Future World | 11 December 2019 | Waterford (Ireland) More details [15]

NCOP: What’s next? | 29 January 2020 | Birmingham More details [16]

Know about any events addressing access to HE, continuing education or lifelong learning? Email: [email protected] [6]

Calls for contributions

Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning Journal | Deadline: ongoing More details [17]

UALL Annual Conference 2020 | Deadline: 16 December 2019 | More details [18] [19]

Know about any calls for papers, abstracts, presentations, workshops, posters? Email: [email protected] [6]

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FACE e-Bulletin | November 2019