Widening Participation in Higher Education and People with Disabilities

Illustrates the way in which, within the current debate about widening the participation rates of under‐represented groups in higher education, the situation of people with disabilities has tended to be overlooked by commenting in detail on three recent policy documents. Also interprets these to suggest how their recommendations might offer improved opportunities to this disadvantaged group: finance is identified as a major obstacle whether funding individual students and funding the institutions where they study. Discusses the current methods of providing money, outlining the shortcomings of the allowances made to students and indicating the costs to an institution of developing quality provision using the case study of a polytechnic. Suggests how widening the participation of people with disabilities might be accomplished.