The debate on widening participation in higher education

Improving social justice and student success in higher education will be the focus of a free lecture on 14^th April, which also marks Edge Hill University's 125^th anniversary celebrations.

Widening Participation: Where have we come from, where we are now and where we are going to, celebrates Professor Liz Thomas' professorial appointment as she delivers her first official inaugural lecture to an audience of colleagues, students and partners in the local community.

Professor Liz Thomas is renowned internationally for her research on widening participation and student success and has been across the globe to deliver her findings. She has also written a number of books and publications on the subject, including the Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning Journal.

Liz is director of the Widening Participation Research Centre at the University and is also Senior Advisor for Widening Participation (WP) at the Higher Education Academy and Lead Advisor for Action on Access, the national WP co-ordination team, based at Edge Hill University.

Her lecture will chart a 12-year personal journey of research into this area looking at national institutional approaches to improving social justice and student success in higher education and relating them to the development of national policies and practices. She will cover outreach and access, experiences of working class students in higher education, inclusive learning and teaching, and mainstreaming WP to improve equity and student success.

Talking about her work, Liz said: "I have a strong commitment to institutional transformation and in supporting diverse students to access and succeed in higher education. I think this should be embedded in the heart of all that we do to ensure that the door to education is open to those who are disadvantaged or hard to reach in order to widen participation as much as possible. Therefore, I'm hoping that the research I have carried out will give some thought-provoking advice on where we are going in this area of work.

"I would urge institutional managers and anyone with responsibility for widening participation, equality, diversity and student retention and success to come along to find out how we can help more learners find their path into and through higher education and beyond, and to improve the student learning experience."

To book your place at this free lecture, please email corporateevents@edgehill.ac.uk. Welcome drinks and canapés will be served from 6pm, the lecture will commence at 7pm and further light refreshments will be available afterwards.

There are still places left on the Widening Participation Research Centre's 3^rd annual conference on the 14^th and 15^th April. This international conference organised by Edge Hill is taking place in Liverpool and aims to bring together researchers, practitioners, institutional staff and managers and policy makers from the UK and beyond to learn from each other about mainstreaming equity, opportunity and success in higher education.

The conference will include a key note address by Professor John Storan presenting further details of the analysis of institutional Widening Participation Strategic Assessments; a virtual key note address by Professor Kerri-Lee Krause (Griffith University Australia) about taking a strategic approach to improving the first year experience; and a presentation by Dr Helen May about implementing institutional change to embed inclusive policy and practice.  The second day will host an international symposium looking at institutional approaches from the UK, Australia, Croatia and Norway to mainstreaming equity, opportunity and success across the student lifecycle.

For details about prices and booking places please visit the website www.edgehill.ac.uk/wpresearch/WPConferences.