Denham: Transparency will improve admissions

Accountability and transparency in the admissions process are the keys to widening participation in higher education, innovation, universities and skills secretary John Denham said today.

His comments at the Higher Education Funding Council for England conference came as he called for universities to examine ways to reform their admissions processes.

Mr Denham said he wanted to move on from the traditional media debates on the issue. He says these can be divided between those critical of universities making allowances for underprivileged students and those taking too many private school pupils.

This argument, he believes, is "corrosive of public confidence" and contributes to the view that children will lose out whatever their background.

"The answer lies, surely, as it so often does in openness, transparency and accountability," he said.

"It lies in each university having a published admissions policy; in each university being able to show that it has measures in hand to equip all those involved in admissions to implement the policy accurately and fairly; and in each university being able to assure itself that this is being done."