Our approach to widening participation

At Lancaster University we are strongly committed to supporting social mobility and Widening Participation (WP).

The University was founded on the principles of excellence in teaching and research and of supporting our local community and widening access. We believe in the importance of creating a culture of inclusivity and in the importance of providing all students with the opportunity to succeed in higher education and beyond regardless of their background or individual barriers.

The University offers a programme of WP interventions at every stage of the student journey to support and empower both our current students and the students of tomorrow to aim higher and to fulfil their potential. Lancaster’s range of scholarships and bursaries for students from a WP background provides vital targeted additional financial support for these students during their studies.

Transparency information for Undergraduate applicants and students – Office for Students requirements

The University is required to publish the following ‘transparency information’ as a condition of its registration with the Office for Students (OfS). The relevant condition reads:

• F1. The provider must provide to the OfS, and publish, in the manner and form specified by the OfS, the transparency information set out in section 9 of HERA.

The transparency data relate to our ambitions to enhance participation from underrepresented groups and you can read more about the detail of our targets and ambitions in this area in our OfS approved . For a user-friendly overview of our work to encourage underrepresented groups to continue to study here at Lancaster, please visit our .

For the 2021 transparency data we are required to publish a more limited dataset due to the continued disruption caused by coronavirus. Therefore the information in the PDF linked to below shows:

• The number of students who attained a particular degree or other academic award, or a particular level of such an award, on completion of their course with us.

It also shows these numbers by reference to:

• The gender of the individuals to which they relate
• Their ethnicity
• Their socioeconomic background.

Sector information and further background

The OfS has indicated it intends to review its approach to the transparency information for the longer-term. You can read more about the OfS’ requirements in relation to the transparency return in the documents entitled Regulatory advice 8: Guidance for providers about condition of registration F1: transparency information.

The data

In order to fulfil this requirement of its OfS registration, the University uses this web page to make available the Transparency Tables 2021 in full.