Meeting the 2020-21 Higher Education Admissions challenge – how can we cope with Covid-19?

NEON Summit

The impact of Covid-19 on higher education (HE) admissions in 2019-20 is clear but the impact of the pandemic will continue to be felt in 2020-21 as students applying to HE have already experienced significant disruptions to their studies, with further disruption a distinct possibility.

This online event will review the 2019-20 HE admissions experience and look at what can be learnt in order to shape how higher education institutions (HEIs) best support those applying for entry in 2021. It will also examine the case for more fundamental reform of the admissions process into the 2020s.

Specific issues covered will include:

• What data on 2019-20 entry has shown in terms of HE admissions for different groups and pointers it offers for 2020-21
• Impact of clearing and clearing plus on HE entry
• Issues that school/college leaders see students applying in 2020-21 will face and implications for HEIs
• How different HEIs addressed 2019-20 and are planning for 2020-21
• What reform of the HE admission system could look like and the case for it.

This NEON summit will bring together key organisations from across educational sectors together to examine what kind of admissions system we need that can best support students. Given the present social distancing arrangements the event will be delivered online to enable the maximum participation from across sectors. Consistent with NEON’s commitment to the supporting our members and all those working for equity and access in HE, the cost of the event has been kept as low as possible.

Keynote speakers include:

• Sander Kristel, Chief Operations Officer, UCAS
• Hilary Jones, Senior Officer, Compliance and Student Protection, Office for Students
• Jenny Sherrard, National Head of Equality and Participation, University and College Union
• Eddie Playfair, Senior Policy Manager, Association of Colleges
• Katherine Lloyd-Clark, Assistant Director (Student Access, Recruitment & Admissions), University of Exeter
• Tom Richmond, Founder and Director, EDSK
• Vicky Speirs, Uni Connect Project Coordinator, East Sussex College Group
• Claire Ungley, Aspirations and OxNet North East Coordinator, Southmoor Academy
• Rob Evans, Head of Admissions, University of Sussex
• Dr Graeme Atherton, Director, NEON
• Sir Les Ebdon, Chair of NEON

For the agenda, please click here.

It is crucial that we capture early in the 2020-21 admissions cycle what has been learnt from 2019-20 and put in place the support that students who have been severely affected by the ‘learning loss’ of Covid-19 need. I hope that you or your organisation can be represented at this important event.

Who should attend?

• Directors of undergraduate admissions and admission teams
• Heads of Widening Participation and widening participation teams
• Further Education College Higher Education leads and staff
• Sixth Form College and schools Higher Education leads and staff
• Uni-Connect partnership directors and staff
• Third sector organisations and charities working on access to higher education and social mobility
• Policy professionals working on education, higher education and social mobility

Places are strictly limited and are offered on a first come first served basis.

Price:
Please note that this is an online event.
Membership organisation rate: £99
Non-member organisation rate: £159

If you are unsure if your organisations is a NEON member, please click here.