Part-time research project approval

Part-time students are a highly diverse group with a significant role in widening participation; the vast majority are mature students (92% in 2011-12), 44% are the first in their family to enter higher education and 29% are from low income groups (Callender 2011). The recent sharp decline in part-time study (down by 61% since 2010-11 (HEFCE 2017)) therefore has potentially serious implications for the fair access to higher education of underrepresented and disadvantaged groups. The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) wish to place a contract for a principal investigator (PI) to undertake a small scale mixed methods research project to investigate current part-time provision in higher education in England. Please refer to the ITT for detailed description of scope of works.