ABSTRACT
Over the past 40 years, the profile of students in British higher education has undergone gradual change which has, nevertheless, resulted in radical effects. Between 1988 and 1993 a major expansion of provision led to increased participation from many students, who either would not have considered or would not previously been perceived as eligible for study at this level. By the mid-1990s, these changes were characterised by the implementation of new legislative and economic frameworks, new academic infrastructures (modularity, unitisation and credit accumulation) and higher expectations for flexibility (access, seamless progression and the promotion of technology supported learning). At the same time the higher education sector witnessed the growth of new disciplines, the decline of traditional disciplines and an increase in interdisciplinary study. In the UK the Higher Education in the Learning Society report of the National Committee of Enquiry into Higher Education (Dearing 1997) made further, farreaching recommendations to enable higher education ‘to meet the needs of the United Kingdom over the next 20 years’. Paragraph 29 of the Summary Report highlighted the need to increase participation of those groups ‘under-represented in higher education, notably those from socio-economic groups III to V, people with disabilities and specific ethnic minority groups’.
