Identifying merit and potential beyond grades: opportunities and challenges in using contextual data in undergraduate admissions at nine highly selective English universities

ABSTRACT

Highly selective higher education institutions (HEIs) are simultaneously mandated to enable access for populations which have traditionally been excluded (‘equality’), and to ensure that admitted students have the potential to succeed in higher education (‘excellence’). This article uses original empirical case study data from 2018, from nine highly selective English HEIs, to explore current uses of contextual data in undergraduate admissions. The results show that all participating HEIs thought holistically about their applicants. In particular, HEIs considered the context in which applicants had achieved their grades, and aimed to identify academic potential not captured by those grades. However, ideological and theoretical disagreements, as well as practical barriers, hamper a more widespread and consistent application of contextual data in English undergraduate admissions. The article therefore identifies further practical steps for HEIs and other stakeholders that would enable a more valid, evidence-based and coherent position on contextual data use across the HE sector. Overall, advancing more consistency in how contextual data are used might enable greater certainty among applicants, and those advising them, regarding how applications for admissions are likely to be judged. Ultimately, contextual admission policies have the potential to increase diversity among the admitted students at selective HEIs.

KEYWORDS:

• Contextual admission
• social class
• social mobility
• inequality
• widening participation
• access

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Fair Education Alliance in funding the research and the involvement of staff members at the nine case study institutions who kindly contributed to the research. Louise Higham undertook additional research with sector stakeholders as part of the wider review of contextual admissions not reported elsewhere (Mountford-Zimdars et al., 2019).

Disclosure statement

There are no potential conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fair Education Alliance.

Notes on contributors

Anna Mountford-Zimdars

Anna Mountford-Zimdars is Professor and Director of the Centre for Social Mobility at the University of Exeter. Anna’s main research is in the areas of student access, progress, and success in higher education. She has widely published on access to higher education and student experiences and is author of the book ‘Meritocracy and the University’ comparing selective admissions in the US and England (Bloomsbury).

Joanne Moore

Joanne Moore is a Research Fellow of the Centre for Social Mobility at the University of Exeter. She has formerly held roles as an educational researcher at the University of Manchester and Open University. She has a detailed understanding of widening participation policy and practice, including co-authoring a guide to data sources for widening participation practitioners. She is currently working on a collaborative project to support evaluation of the impact of outreach.