An angled view of the UWL campus building in Ealing
An angled view of the UWL campus building in Ealing

First global network for equity in higher education access and success launched

First global network for equity in higher education access and success launched

The National Education Opportunities Network (NEON), which is hosted by the University of West London, has launched the first global network focused on may addressing inequity in higher education.  

Launched during the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference in Barcelona, the World Access to Higher Education Network (WAHEN) will bring together universities, policymakers, NGOs and foundations to work together in order to make higher education participation and attainment more equitable. 

WAHEN will build on the World Access to Higher Education Day, the global day of action on equity which has reached over 1000 organisations in 110 countries. WAHEN will enable its members to collaborate with colleagues across the world, to access high-quality courses around access and success and to participate in WAHEN’s Global Equitable Access and Success Awards, due to take place later this year. 

Professor Graeme Atherton, Director of NEON and Head of the Centre for Inequality and Levelling Up at UWL, said:

The pandemic has presented higher education with real challenges and has demonstrated there is a real danger that recent progress in equitable access and success in higher education could spiral backwards. It is now more important than ever that organisations work together across borders, connecting universities, organisations and policymakers together to avoid any losses to the gains that have been made over recent years."

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