And we support diversity of institutional mission. But it has nonetheless been put to us that differences in the outcomes of selection and admissions by institutions may create a two-tier system in which, because of perceptions in the labour market of the relative status of institutions, 'applicants progress from privileged pasts to privileged futures or from less privileged pasts to less secure and lower status futures' . We wish to see participation widened and the differentials between groups reduced significantly over the coming years. Consequently, we have sought to identify the reasons for the differences and the extent to which solutions lie within the influence of higher education. Where they can be addressed by higher education, we have considered to what extent the solution lies in collective initiatives or action.
Many institutions already take their responsibilities seriously.
Government policy should now ensure that higher education is an active partner in the developing strategy to raise achievement and increase participation, at national, regional and local level. The previous chapter argued that employer and individual demand for higher education will increase and that participation should increase to reflect this demand. Recent history does suggest that, as overall numbers in higher education expand, so participation widens. We believe that this will be true too over the next twenty years. This is most likely to occur in institutions which can demonstrate a commitment to widening participation in the recent past, and have a robust strategy for doing so in the future.