Students whose parents did not go to university should have free tuition in their first year to boost participation and retention for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, says a report on how to bridge educational divides in the UK after Brexit.

Such a policy would signal ¡°the importance of overcoming this barrier to educational attainment¡± and form part of a package of measures that would enable universities to help bridge social, economic and regional divides in the country.

The proposal is put forward in a report from the Higher Education Policy Institute, co-authored by Lord Kerslake, chair of governors at Sheffield Hallam University and former head of the Civil Service.

According to Making Universities Matter: How Higher Education Can Help to Heal a Divided Britain ¨C co-written with Sir Chris Husbands, vice-chancellor of Sheffield Hallam, and Natalie Day, the university¡¯s head of policy and strategy ¨C ¡°there is a serious danger that universities continue to be out of step¡± with the political direction of the country in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union.

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As a result, policies need to be found that involve them in solutions that ¡°reach out to parts of the country who have felt left-behind by education and economic opportunities¡±, the report says.

Recommendations in the report, which was published on 27?February, target three key areas, including better ¡°partnerships¡± with institutions such as further education colleges and improved ¡°progression¡± in higher education for disadvantaged groups.

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On progression, the report says some ground had been made in the past few years, but ¡°recent work has made it clear that there is a long road ahead to eliminate inequalities in higher education¡±.

In particular, issues around widening participation had been ¡°disproportionately focused on outreach and access, with too little emphasis on how to retain and ensure success and progression for students once they are at university¡±.

The report suggests that making the first year of a degree free for any student whose parents did not go to university would tackle a ¡°major influence on educational progression¡±.

¡°Once in study, the onus would rightly then be on universities and colleges to nurture, challenge and inspire these students,¡± it?adds.

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Another recommendation of the report related to widening participation is for the government to put ?25?million a?year into the national outreach programme in England, now known as Uni Connect, a figure that should then be matched by compulsory contributions from universities.

Elsewhere, the paper calls for the establishment of a National Skills Council for England that would involve leaders from further and higher education in driving ¡°collaboration and encourage locally focused partnerships to address skills shortages and educational disadvantage¡±.

There is also a recommendation for universities to help create a ¡°civic index¡± to help institutions ¡°measure and monitor their engagement activity with their local area¡±.

Lord Kerslake, who has been leading the UK2070 Commission on regional inequality, said involvement in the ¡°fundamental¡± reshaping of the UK¡¯s economic and social model was universities¡¯ ¡°civic responsibility, and it needs to become core to our institutional values¡±.

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simon.baker@timeshighereducation.com