The UCAS Fair Access Programme

Contextual information and data can be used by universities and colleges to assess an applicant’s achievement and potential in light of their educational and socio-economic background. The aim is to form a more complete picture of an individual applicant’s characteristics. 

To support contextualised admissions, we currently offer two contextual data services for providers: 

1. UCAS' contextual data service 
2. Modernised contextualised data service

View good practice for contextualised admissions  
 

In addition to standard personal details and qualifications information in the UCAS application, UCAS also gives applicants the opportunity to share additional information about their circumstances, including whether they: 

• are care experienced 
• are living with a disability or mental health condition 
• are estranged from their parents 
• have caring responsibilities 
• have parenting responsibilities 
• are a refugee, an asylum seeker or have limited leave to remain 
• are from a UK Armed Forces family (Service child) 
• have served in the UK Armed Forces 
• are (or have been) eligible for free school meals 

This data is self-declared and unverified. We ask these questions to allow applicants to provide greater contextual information to providers and identify those who may require additional support. 

View provider good practice briefings for WP questions 

The multiple equality measure (MEM) is UCAS' principal measure of equality.

It brings together information on several equality dimensions for which large differences in the probability of progression into higher education exist, including: sex, ethnic group, where people live (using the POLAR3 and IMD classifications), secondary education school type, and income background (as measured by whether a person was in receipt of free school meals (FSM), a means-tested benefit while at school). 

Full details about the MEM

Formerly known as STROBE, the UCAS Outreach Evaluator provides robust statistical evidence on the impacts of outreach and engagement activities for higher education providers and charitable organisations. 

This tool provides organisations with anonymised information on a cohort of individuals who’ve interacted with a particular programme or intervention to evidence the number achieving a specific outcome. This also allows performance to be benchmarked against the national average, an appropriate control group, and, for universities, your competition.   

More about the UCAS Outreach Evaluator

UCAS’ Outreach Connection Service is due to launch for the 2024 application cycle. 

Raising awareness of the full range of outreach and support available, this new service will help schools and students from disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds navigate and connect to the opportunities offered by HE providers and third-sector organisations.

Not only will this significantly enhance our understanding of how students engage with such opportunities and their subsequent progression, it will also inform sector-wide evaluation and impact measurement. The service creates a ‘single source of truth’ about the trusted outreach opportunities available to all UCAS-registered centres in the UK. We will begin by working closely with a range of partners to act as early adopters

It will catalogue and promote outreach and engagement activities across the UK, presenting opportunities based upon a range of personal characteristics and postcode areas. Initially, this new tool will be made available to schools and colleges, acting as a low burden route to access outreach opportunities and identify cold spots of intervention.

Outreach providers will be supported to help students progress onto the best route for them, and ultimately offer the sector a new way to understand how students engage with outreach activities, and shed light on what works. 

We will be providing more information about this service in due course. 

If you are an outreach provider, please register your interest in the service here. You only need to submit one form for your organisation.

UCAS aims to be fully inclusive of the broad range of applicants who use our products and services, and the applicant experience is important to us. To continue providing support for all applicants we have a range of information available to help guide those with individual needs, developed in partnership with a range of expert organisations.  

Explore our content for disadvantaged and under-represented groups

Contextual admissions

Universities recognise additional challenges some students face, and can make adjustments through ‘contextual admissions’.

More about contextual admissions

Our toolkits for teachers and advisers offer practical advice and resources for each step of the journey to higher education. Developed in collaboration with expert organisations, there is a dedicated toolkit to help advisers support students with individual and specific needs, as well as a range of resources to support the application journey more broadly.  

Adviser toolkit: Supporting students with individual needs 

Access the full range of toolkits for supporting applications 

To help universities and colleges with their admissions processes, UCAS provides a range of supportive resources offering good practice guidance and other materials. This includes good practice briefings to support under-represented and disadvantaged groups, and admissions processes more generally.  

Good practice briefings to support under-represented and disadvantaged groups 

Access the full range of good practice resources

UCAS’ responses to sector consultations aim to represent the best interests of our customer groups, and align with the core principles and values we outline in our corporate strategy, Discover your future – including widening access and participation. 

Read UCAS’ consultation responses 

We have a range of digital training options, all of which you can complete at a time to suit you.​ Our professional development platform gives you access to a series of free short digital training courses, you'll find learning opportunities relevant to your engagement with UCAS.

Explore courses for you