ABSTRACT
The United Kingdom (UK) Quality Code for Higher Education (HE) is comprised of several elements including expectations and core and common practices. In October 2010, the UK Government published the Equality Act which brought together several pieces of discrimination legislation into a single Act. The UK demographic changes over time, and the number of home students aged 18 years applying for university places fluctuates. In the mid-60s the total student population in the UK was about 400,000, rising to nearly 600,000 in the early 70s. This compares with a total student population of around 2,300,000 in 2017/2018 – a massive increase. The Office for Students are, therefore, committed to supporting social mobility through HE, by promoting fair access and participation, and they require all HE providers to set out how they will improve: equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups to access, succeed in and progress from higher education.
