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Overview

The project aimed to capture lived realities from students with a range of characteristics and related these to degree outcomes, adopting the adage 'nothing about us, without us'. 

This project has largely informed the APP, working collaboratively with students to design the research framework to ensure the right questions were asked, and appropriate solutions were put forward in the proposed interventions. 

What is the APP?

The APP is a government document that is sent to the Office for Students (OfS) by all Higher Education (HE) providers. It is a ‘plan’, written by the university’s governing body that sets out the different ways that a university is going to improve the equality of opportunity for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The APP considers access in three parts: admission to the university, the success for students during their studies and the students' progress to employment following university.   

The APP functions as a binding document for the university that commits the institution to the plan for the following four years. Once it has been approved by the OfS, the APP allows a university to charge its course fees for teaching students. In this way, by committing to improving access, a university is allowed to set its own teaching fees.   

In order to set their fees, a university must have an Access and Participation Plan.   

The 2025-2029 APP identifies key risk groups, such as those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, disabled students, and black students, to outline effective strategies for intervention for improved student outcomes, access, and student experience. 

What is the Students' Union role in the APP?

Universities should involve students and listen to them when they put together their APP. Usually, universities do this by using the Students' Union (SU) to connect with diverse groups of students. SU's can work with the university by collaborating with them shape the groups that the APP targets and the initiatives that the university is planning to endorse to promote equality of opportunity for these students.   

Secondly, a SU can also write a separate commentary from university’s submission. In the commentary, the SU comments on:

  • • How effectively students have been engaged with the University’s APP  

  • • How confident are students that they will be involved in the delivery and evaluation of the APP  

  • • Has the university identified the greatest risks to equality of opportunity   

  • • The credibility of the initiatives that have been outlined by the university improve access across admissions, on course success and progression from university.  

Oxford SU provided this student APP submission to help the university create their 2025-2029 APP.

Outcomes:

Following the SU-led student APP submission, our Sabbatical Officers have been briefed on the key risks identified, particularly those affecting students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, disabled students, and Black students. Going forward, they will continue to represent the student body by supporting the University's APP for 2025–2029 by ensuring that its implementation remains accountable to student needs.

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