From widening participation to facilitating access to learning: reconceptualising the right to HE in response to the rise of the commuter student

Successful initiatives to widen participation in HE have increased the number of commuter students, across the UK HE sector. However, our systems and processes continue to be shaped around traditional, residential students. Consequently, commuter students have a poorer experience, lower engagement and poorer outcomes. Building a strong evidence base at the institutional level, to develop effective strategies and interventions, is challenging. This paper reports research into this data gap, considering the efficacy of both existing and purposefully-collected data in increasing our understanding of the profile and needs of commuter students and in developing strategies and interventions to meet these needs.