Widening participation is a key government strategy in which students are taken in from
social groups or communities that have not traditionally entered higher education. Whilst
most institutes will welcome a new source of students, they recognise that these students
are likely to have different learning skills/expectations and research suggests they are
likely to need additional support if they are to succeed. As a key government target is to
improve retention rates, there has to be a commitment to ensuring good student
progression. The main aim for the programme is to have 50% of 1…