ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces a series of univariate indicators which enable better understanding of what we mean by access to Higher Education; how distributions may manifest and be appropriately measured. This analysis aims to unravel some of the social and spatial complexities which surround access issues in Higher Education by using geo-demographic classification as a multidimensional organising framework through which aggregate behavioural choices can be measured. The chapter presents an exploratory data analysis predominantly using index scores and has shown how access to Higher Education is both spatially and socially heterogeneous. The distance that accepted applicants travel to start their degrees has been shown to be stratified spatially by both course and institution. Institutions with high entry qualifications were shown to attract students from a broader area. When average tariff scores were examined by neighbourhood Types, higher attainment was recorded in students from more affluent neighbourhoods, thus having fewer restrictions on travel, both socially and economically.
