Aston Uni ranked second in social mobility index
Aston University has been ranked second in the country for making a significant contribution to social mobility in a new report published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI).
The paper, Designing an English Social Mobility Index (HEPI Debate Paper 27), proposes a ranking of universities ' impact on social mobility and offers a methodology for comparing the contribution of individual English higher education providers to social mobility.
The Index challenges the often-made assumption that only particular kinds of universities make a substantial impact on social mobility.
It highlights that, in the context of their individual missions, all types of institution - from research intensives to modern technical universities - can, and do, make a substantial contribution to social mobility.
It explains that the current focus on judging universities by the salaries of their graduates fails to take into account individuals ' personal circumstances and how far they have travelled.
The paper recommends that universities use the Index to reflect on their own contributions to social mobility and that the measure should be promoted as an antidote to the detrimental pressure of other league tables.
It also calls for the Government to consider the outputs of this new measure when setting policy, including consideration of investing in those institutions which demonstrate high returns in their approach to social mobility.
In the report, Professor David Phoenix, vice-chancellor of London South Bank University (LSBU), calls on universities in England to use the SMI to reflect on how, in the context of their own institutional missions, they can have the most impact on the social mobility of their graduates. He calls on the Government to invest in institutions that have high returns in their approach to social mobility.
Professor Alec Cameron, vice-chancellor and chief executive of Aston University, said: “Aston is a university that transforms the lives of many of its students and propels them into exciting careers. We don 't talk about social mobility or treat it as an add-on - we make it happen. It is absolutely central to the way we work.
“The employability of our graduates and their life and career success are of huge importance to us. It is a reason why so many students come to Aston University.
“We are strongly committed to ensuring that our undergraduate students take part in work placement opportunities.
“It is not just about improving access to higher education for our student demographic - we firmly believe that it is 'getting on ' not just 'getting in ' that matters. It is therefore important to us that students access degree programmes that provide them with a positive future. ”