Why volunteering matters: Education is an equaliser

As students ourselves, we have all chosen to study at university for a variety of reasons, expecting greater social or professional opportunities to follow. Education is an equaliser that opens many doors, and universities are supposed to be a welcoming and accepting place. 

The fact that the majority of refugees and people seeking asylum are obstructed from accessing education because of financial or bureaucratic reasons is deeply unfair. Neither can asylum seekers choose to work instead of attending education as a result of the employment ban. STAR’s Equal Access campaign attempts to reduce the barriers that restrict educational rights for these communities. The campaign also recognises that students from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds may continue to face barriers during their studies. Therefore, the university space has to be made as inclusive as possible. Working with our university’s Widening Participation team, we attempt to point out the aspects of university life that might currently be inaccessible. By seeing issues from a student perspective, we contribute to the staff working group by providing additional insights, for example, we recommended access to gym spaces or technology such as laptops. 

Promoting Equal Access at Glasgow

When we started promoting Equal Access at Glasgow, the university had signed the “15 by 30” pledge before the Global Refugee Forum in 2019, which aims to reach the goal of 15% of refugees in education by 2030. Nevertheless, we recognised a lack of awareness among staff and students regarding the measures that were already in place. For example, scholarships existed but were not widely known or promoted, resulting in some of them not even being used.  Consequently, STAR Glasgow organised an information event, together with the university’s Widening Participation team, to explain the access routes to higher education to refugee and asylum-seeking communities in Glasgow. The evening was highly successful and allowed community members to point out remaining barriers within the system. For instance, Glasgow University gives students who do not meet the standard entry criteria the opportunity to access an undergraduate degree by enrolling in two short courses. However, the total cost for attending the two necessary subjects is £580, which is unaffordable for people seeking asylum. We are proud to say that due to the efforts of Glasgow STAR’s campaigning, from 2021/22 asylum seekers were offered fee waivers to attend the courses, allowing several students to gain access to an undergraduate degree this year. STAR also supported Glasgow’s University of Sanctuary bid, which has now been handed in. 

Advice for promoting Equal Access at your university

• Establish whether your university has signed the “15 by 30” pledge and whether they are considering becoming a University of Sanctuary.
• Identify particular access routes to higher education and their potential barriers at your university.
• Think about elements of campus life that could be made more inclusive and accessible, e.g. gym memberships or access to library computers.
• Hold an information event or open day about access routes to your university.
• Involve people with lived experience in the process, e.g. by asking members of the community about the barriers they are facing.
• Find people within the university staff that are willing to work closely with you and form relationships with your Widening Participation team.
• Institutionalise and formalise your commitment to Equal Access through a committee role, e.g. ‘Equal Access Officer’, to allow for handovers.

Julia Amorim is a third year International Relations student at the University of Glasgow. She is currently ‘Equal Access Officer’ at STAR Glasgow.