Access practitioners: our role; our identity; our vision. The first national study of higher education Access practice and delivery
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Date
2025
Authors
Brennan, Rebekah
McGovern, Sheila
Leane, Máire
Ó Súilleabháin, Fiachra
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
SOAR Project, Access UCC, University College Cork
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Abstract
Access Practitioners are responsible for building relationships with students and collaborating with other stakeholders, in designing and creating effective Access initiatives (Rainford, 2023; Folan O’Connor, 2024). The National Access Plan (NAP), A Strategic Action Plan for Equity of Access, Participation and Success in Higher Education, 2022 to 2028 states that Access is “a shared responsibility of government, the higher education system, the education sector and the community (p.20)” Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) have responsibility to implement the aims of the NAP and this work is primarily done by Access Practitioners. Broadly, their work is to ensure that students who are socioeconomically disadvantaged2, students with disabilities, or members of the Traveller community or Roma community are supported to succeed in Higher Education (HE), whatever that success looks like for them. The work of Access Practitioners enhances social mobility, enriches campus diversity, fosters a more inclusive learning environment (Harvey, 2015) and includes, pre-entry outreach work, student support, interventions, administrative duties, event planning and research (Rainford, 2012). While the literature on Access Delivery or widening participation is substantive, there is little documented on the role of the Access Practitioner. Rainford (2019; 2021) has included these professionals as research participants in the UK but the Irish literature is largely silent in providing a space for the voice of the Access Practitioner to be heard and their work remains undocumented and unresearched. The increasing diversity of Irish society (Rooney and Swan, 2021) means that Access Practitioners are continuously adapting and developing practice and service delivery initiatives tailored to an increasingly diverse cohort of students with complex needs. Fluctuations and shortfalls in funding allocated to Access programmes and support services, create further challenges for Access Practitioners in carrying out their role (Solomonides et al. 2019). This report spotlights the perspectives of Access Practitioners currently working in the Irish Higher Education Sector, providing critical insights into how their roles have evolved, the challenges they experience in delivering the objectives of the NAP (2022), the resources they need to enable their work, and their vision for the future of Access Delivery and for Access Practitioners in the context of an increasingly diverse society.
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Keywords
Access Practitioners , National study of higher education Access practice and delivery
Citation
Brennan, R., McGovern, S., Leane, M. and Ó Súilleabháin, F. (2025) Access practitioners: our role; our identity; our vision. The first national study of higher education Access practice and delivery. Cork: SOAR Project, Access UCC, University College Cork.
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© 2025, the Authors.