Access and Participation Plan
Access and Participation Plan
Introduction
Plymouth Marjon University is committed to making higher education accessible to everyone and supporting all our students to succeed. Our Access and Participation Plan (APP) explains how we are working to:
- Widen access to university for underrepresented students
- Support students while they study
- Help students progress successfully after graduation
Access and Participation Plan 2025-26 to 2028-2029
Who the Plan Supports
Our APP focuses on supporting students who may face barriers to higher education, including:
- Students from low-income households or underrepresented areas
- Care-experienced or estranged students
- Disabled students
- Students from ethnic minority backgrounds underrepresented in higher education
- Mature, part-time, or commuter students
Ultimately, our commitment is to all students who need additional support to access, succeed, and progress.
Access: Helping Students Get to University
At Plymouth Marjon University, we aim to make higher education genuinely accessible to students from all backgrounds, especially those who may not traditionally see university as an option. Our approach focuses on building aspiration, raising awareness, and creating clear pathways into study for social equity.
What we do to support access:
- Raise attainment and close entry gaps for underrepresented groups
We deliver evidence-informed, curriculum-aligned attainment-raising activity across the educational lifecycle. This includes structured programmes such as Children’s University (KS2), Future Me (KS3), Marjon Endeavour (KS4) and subject-specific interventions at post-16, designed to improve academic outcomes, metacognitive skills and progression into higher education.
- Provide targeted information, advice and guidance (IAG) to support informed choice
We deliver sustained and targeted IAG to learners, parents, carers, teachers and advisers to improve knowledge of higher education pathways, funding and graduate outcomes. Activity includes a Year 12 Summer School to support transition, tailored IAG for care-experienced learners through Devon Virtual Schools and engagement with communities underrepresented in higher education.
- Strengthen the role of key influencers and trusted messengers
We work with teachers, advisers, students and alumni to ensure learners receive accurate and relatable guidance about higher education. This includes a Teacher Alumni Network, delivering Ambassadors into Schools activity, and providing CPD through an annual HE Advisers’ Conference.
- Support progression through flexible and inclusive entry routes
We widen access by promoting and expanding non-traditional pathways into higher education, including apprenticeships, part-time and flexible study, foundation years and contextual offers.
- Align access activity with local and regional skills needs
Through strategic partnerships with employers, FE providers and regional skills bodies, we develop pathways that support progression into higher-level study and employment. This includes subject-specific outreach through our role as a BASES Outreach Hub and collaborative work with skills partners to ensure access activity supports both social mobility and regional economic need.
Success: Supporting Students During Study
We offer support to help students thrive at university in terms of their studies, wellbeing and sense of belonging. We focus on providing each student with guidance and support to succeed at university.
What we do to support success:
- Academic support to support progression and close attainment gaps through academic skills programme (AIM), Studiosity, study skills support and peer-assisted learning.
- Wellbeing and pastoral services including counselling, wellbeing advice and guidance, student welfare support, academic advice, such as navigating university processes and specific support to care leavers and estranged students.
- Disability and inclusion advice and guidance including dyslexia screening, help with disabled student allowance applications, study needs assessments, reasonable adjustments and liaison and advocacy for all disabled students.
Progression: Helping Students Succeed After Graduation
We aim to ensure all students can progress successfully and secure employment in their chosen careers.
What we do to support progression:
- A curriculum framework that includes graduate attributes at its core, recognising the importance of curricular, co-and-extra-curricular activities to build a foundation for student success.
- Personalised, focused and accessible careers, employability and enterprise information, advice and guidance through appointments, drop-ins and digital resources.
- Development of graduate attributes through experience building activities – placements, volunteering, part-time work and international opportunities.
- Continued support for alumni after graduation, indefinitely. Ongoing support with early careers choices, career development and progression.
- Use data to recognise differences in graduate outcomes for students who face barriers to higher education and where necessary, provide targeted initiatives to support success.
Targets and Commitments
Our APP includes ambitious targets to reduce gaps in:
- Access to university
- Student continuation and retention
- Attainment and degree outcomes
- Progression to employment or further study
We monitor our progress regularly and use evidence and student feedback to improve our interventions. Each academic year, we select a number of new initiatives listed in our Access and Participation Plan to launch as targeted projects and track their progress via the institutional Access and Participation Steering Group, which meets three times annually.
Governance and Oversight
Our APP is overseen by the Director of External Engagement and the Director of Student Success Services jointly, and reports to the University’s Senate and Board of Governors twice per year. We work closely with students, staff, and external partners to ensure delivery is effective and aligned with our equality, diversity, and inclusion commitments.
Partnerships and Collaboration
We work in sustained partnership with schools, colleges, community organisations, employers and higher education providers to deliver targeted outreach, attainment-raising and progression activity aligned to our Access and Participation priorities. These collaborations support underrepresented groups at key transition points and help create clear, joined-up pathways into higher education, contributing to improved progression and participation outcomes.
Schedule of Fees and Financial Support
We publish our tuition fees and financial support alongside our APP to ensure full transparency.
