Supporting low income and first-generation students: Innovation in Practice
This Global Community brings together brings together practitioners, researchers, policymakers and advocates focused on improving access to higher education for students from low-income backgrounds and those who are the first in their families to enter higher education.
The community focuses on practical innovation, exploring how creative approaches, partnerships and evidence-informed practice can reduce barriers, support informed choice and strengthen pathways into and through higher education across diverse global contexts.
Participation offers opportunities to exchange ideas, strengthen practice and contribute to more equitable access to higher education worldwide.
Connecting innovation in practice across borders
Low-income and first-generation students remain under-represented in higher education worldwide, with access shaped by financial constraints, information gaps and structural inequalities. While these challenges are experienced differently across countries, many underlying barriers are shared. By connecting innovation in practice across borders, this community:
- Enables learning from diverse access models and interventions
- Supports the development of more inclusive and effective pathways
- Helps bridge the gap between evidence, policy and delivery
- Contributes to stronger global efforts to widen participation in higher education
What the community focuses on
The community explores key questions including:
- What barriers low-income and first-generation students face at different points in the access journey
- Innovative outreach, recruitment and widening participation practices
- Financial, informational and cultural support models that make a difference
- Transitions from school, community and vocational pathways into higher education
- How innovation can be scaled, sustained and adapted across contexts
Global Communities: Register Interest
"*" indicates required fields