Widening Participation

Who are we?

Senior Widening Participation Officer

Mairi Taggart (Schools)

E mail: M.Taggart@napier.ac.uk

Tel: 0131 455 2996 

Community Engagement Officer

Lydia Kerr

E mail: L.Kerr@napier.ac.uk

Tel: 01312713292

Data & Impact Officer 

Ronny Newman

E mail: R.Newman@napier.ac.uk

Tel: 0131 455 3517

WP Officer – vacant

WP Graduate Intern - vacant

What do we do?

Edinburgh Napier University regularly exceeds its benchmark on widening access measures, and its student profile attests to the large numbers of students who can be regarded as coming from under-represented backgrounds.  The Widening Access team works closely with the University’s Schools and external partners to promote the success of under-represented groups who may have experienced barriers to entering higher education for social, cultural or economic reasons by:

• Delivering initiatives to increase educational attainment, raise aspirations and provide information on the range of entry routes to higher education
• Enabling students to negotiate a smooth transition into and through the University 
• Specific initiatives and resources for students from under-represented groups include:
• Get Ready for University (http://getready.napier.ac.uk/): an open access, online pre-entry, transition focused resource
• Signposts to Success: one-day academic skills workshops designed for college-entrants into the Business School, Communication Advertising & PR, Nursing, Social Sciences and Sport & Exercise Science
• Getting Started: Week 1 welcome workshops tailored for articulating students
• We work in partnership with the providers of the SHEP schools programmes; LEAPS. LIFT-OFF, FOCUS West and ASPIRENorth, in addition to delivering our own outreach activities to provide information, increase attainment and raise aspirations to school pupils in the Edinburgh, Lothians, Fife and Borders areas.  These initiatives are focussed on pupils and schools with low progression rates to university or a high percentage of pupils from SIMD20.
• The Progress through Learning Midlothian project, jointly delivered with Midlothian Council, which provides support and guidance to adult learners within Midlothian who want to return to or advance their learning, apply to college, or prepare for university
• We work closely with our partner colleges, SWAP East and the University’s Schools to provide pre and post-transitional support to students in colleges studying on access, associate degree and other articulating programmes
• We are proud to hold the institution’s corporate parenting responsibilities for our care experienced students, and also those students who may have a caring role in their family, providing confidential support and advice from pre-application, transitional, post entry and ongoing stages
• We provide pre-application and transitional support for students with refugee status
• We work closely with the University’s Schools, colleges, schools and external partners to address gender imbalance in key subject areas

Where are we based?

Sighthi

ll 6B29

How to contact us

For general enquiries Email us at wideningaccess@napier.ac.uk​ Or call us on 0131 455 2300​