Scotland's Universities and Care Experienced Students

That the Parliament understands that what it sees as the progressive approach taken by Scotland’s 19 higher education institutions in committing to a care experience guarantee, has been hailed by a new report, What is the Experience of Students from a Care Background in Education?, which was published by Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) on 30 November 2022, and highlights what it sees as the positive impact this guarantee has had on students with care experience; notes that, according to the report, the proportion of care experienced applicants has more than tripled over the last five years; understands that, since 2019, Scotland’s universities have operated a system of minimum entry requirements in their admissions processes for applicants who apply from socio-economically disadvantaged areas; further understands that Scotland’s universities also commit to offering an undergraduate place to any care experienced applicant who meets the minimum entry requirements; believes that Scotland’s universities are leading the way across the UK in their commitment to widening access to university to underrepresented students, including students with experience of care, and understands that Scotland’s universities have achieved this by reaching the interim targets for access set by the Scottish Government’s Commission for Widening Access in its report, A Blueprint for Fairness: Final Report of the Commission on Widening Access, which was published on 14 March 2016, with 16% of entrants coming from Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD20) backgrounds in 2021.