Students from poor families who make it to university are less likely to complete their course and those who do typically receive worse degrees and get less prestigious jobs than middle class peers, according to a new report.
Peter Scott, the government’s commissioner for widening access, blamed discrimination against working-class students for the disparity. He compared the barriers faced by them to those experienced by victims of institutional racism or sexism.
So far, the Scottish government has focused on driving up the number of poor students getting places at university, imposing tough targets on the higher education sector to increase intakes. However, Professor Scott has suggested that Nicola Sturgeon should also challenge universities to ensure that students from poor families gain the same benefits from their studies as those who are better off.
His report shows that among those who achieve a 2:1 or better, people from wealthier backgrounds were more likely to find a professional job after graduation, possibly due to differences in social connections that can open up employment opportunities.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, the universities minister, said that there was shocking inequality in higher education with students from deprived backgrounds experiencing inequality at every step of their journey. She hinted that the government was preparing to demand that universities take more radical action in exchange for their public funding.
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Professor Scott, who was appointed a year ago, said: “Do assumptions lecturers make about how ‘good’ students behave reflect their own, perhaps more privileged, experience at a time when access to universities was more restricted? Do courses place too much emphasis on elite knowledge, and traditional models of professional practice?
“Are academic regulations about progression or detailed criteria for degree classifications sufficiently flexible? I am convinced these are questions universities, and to a lesser extent, colleges, should ask themselves.”
Professor Scott’s paper found that people from Scotland’s 20 per cent poorest areas are under-represented on courses such as medicine, engineering or physics.
Retention rates are lower among the poor, potentially because of a lack of moral or financial support. Poor people who complete their studies are then about 15 percentage points more likely to end up with an unremarkable “ordinary” degree, rather than a more prestigious honours award. Under half, or 47 per cent, of all degree awards to those from the poorest areas were a 2:1 or better, compared with 63 per cent among others. The percentage from poverty-hit areas in professional jobs, even when comparing graduates who obtained a 2:1 or better, was lower.
“It is commonplace to recognise the hidden power of gender discrimination. It is also commonplace to talk about institutional racism that is so deeply entrenched it may go unrecognised. But there is a reluctance to accept the same is true of class,” Professor Scott said.
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A spokeswoman for Universities Scotland said: “Targets get the limelight but everyone’s interest in access runs much deeper than just getting students through the door. Of course, that makes the challenge more difficult but also much more worthwhile.”