Aimhigher
Encyclopedia
Widening participation
The widening participation in higher education is a major component of government education policy in the United Kingdom and Europe. It consists of an attempt to increase not only the numbers of young people entering higher education, but also the proportion from so-called "under-represented...
in UK higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
, particularly among students from non-traditional backgrounds, minority groups and disabled persons.
Aimhigher is an initiative by the former Department for Education and Skills (DfES), now the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was a UK government department created on 28 June 2007 to take over some of the functions of the Department of Education and Skills and of the Department of Trade and Industry. In June 2009 it was merged into the newly formed Department for...
(DIUS), working with the Higher Education Funding Council for England
Higher Education Funding Council for England
The Higher Education Funding Council for England is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in the United Kingdom, which has been responsible for the distribution of funding to Universities and Colleges of Higher and Further Education in England since...
(HEFCE).
Aimhigher was created in 2004 through the integration of two earlier initiatives, Partnerships for Progression (P4P) and Excellence Challenge, bringing together a wide range of partners, including universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
s, school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
s, training providers and the Connexions service. On the 25 November 2010, David Willetts, the universities and science minister, said funding for the Aimhigher programme would finish at the end of the academic year 2010/11 (31 July 2011)
Aimhigher operates in England on a national, regional and area basis, including:
- A range of projects at national level
- Nine regions undertaking cross-regional activities (Although this regional structure ended in July 2008)
- 45 areas where most of the planning and delivery takes place
In 2008, the Aimhigher student portal website http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/DG_073697 was merged into the Directgov web resource.