Office for Fair Access

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Office for Fair Access

An independent, non-departmental public body (arm’s-length body, quango) which promotes and safeguards fair access to higher education for lower-income and other under-represented groups (after the introduction of higher tuition fees in 2006–07), by facilitating outreach work and financial support.

Access agreements cover full-time undergraduate courses and Postgraduate Certificate in Education and Initial Teacher Training courses for home/EU students at English universities and colleges.

References in periodicals archive ?

Next week will see the announcement of the firstset of agreements between the Government's new university access watchdog - the Office for Fair Access - and individual universities.

EDUCATION MATTERS: Funding key to hit 50 per cent student target, Ministers told

Spending on "outreach" activities such as summer schools and master classes to help pupils improve GCSE and A-level grades rose by 15 per cent last year to pounds 45.7 million, up on pounds 39.6 million in 2009/10, a report by the Office for Fair Access said.

Universities forking out to support less well off students

Teesside University, in Middlesbrough, has lowered its fees following approval by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA).

University reduces fee; Only one in North to make the move

"The Office for Fair Access has yet to agree the measures universities will adopt to widen participation where the proposed fees are above the pounds 6,000 level.

Universities face 'big funding gap'

All universities planning to charge more than pounds 6,000 will have to have their fees approved by the Office for Fair Access (Offa), and sign access agreements showing how they plan to ensure poorer students are not priced out.

Students hit out at plans for pounds 9k fees; Newcastle joins list of universities charging top whack

To charge more than pounds 6,000, universities need approval from the Government's Office for Fair Access.

Charging top fees will secure our future, says John Moores

A study by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) reveals that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are not influenced by the size of a bursary on offer when picking universities.

Poorer students 'using smaller bursaries'

The Ormskirk-based establishment has been ranked in the UK top 10 by The Office For Fair Access on the back of figures which show it gives back 35% of all its tuition fees in the form of bursaries, scholarships and support packages.

District News; West Lancs

Newman is ranked in the top ten of all universities in a survey issued by the Office for Fair Access. The Access Agreement Monitory Report analysed how well higher education institutions had widened participation through support to students from lower income backgrounds from the additional income generated from top-up fees that were introduced in 2006.

Why it pays to be at Newman

The Government has set up a new Office for Fair Access to university to make the admissions systems fairer.