The StudentsWidening Participation

Forgot?

Claire JonesCentre for Lifelong Learning

Continuing Education and Community Engagement

“Elite universities 'fail to recruit poorest students’ ”(published 4 June 2012)

• Share what Continuing Education is doing

• Describe some partnership initiatives

• Explore Continuing Education’s WP potential

• Reflections and questions

‘Then I would have a reality check, of course I wouldn’t enrol. How could I. These kinds of courses weren’t meant for me…..’

‘I had left school at 16 with a few GCSEs … I hadn’t studied for over 20 years. I was too old. So how could I return to learning? What if I made a fool of myself? What if I couldn’t do it?’

‘At first I didn’t feel confident enough to complete assignments, but with the gentle encouragement of the lecturers I decided to put my knowledge to the test.’

‘Soon I found I was study 2 modules a week, one in Liverpool and one at Formby, Ormskirk or Southport. I suddnely found that I had obtained 120 credits and wanted to take things further’

Continuing Education: Reflections and Questions:

•Non-school focused widening participation as well as community engagement•Non-threatening first step to a degree programme•Sometimes a substitute for a higher education denied earlier in life•Real benefits to individuals, their families and communities.•Mature, life-experienced people from a non-privileged background a great recruitment pool