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Purpose – This case study outlines, and critically reflects upon, Aston University's 10 year journey towards mainstreaming widening participation. It begins in 1999 when the institution had no Widening Participation Strategy or infrastructure, working towards the current position of a strategic and institution-wide focus on student diversity and inclusion. Critical reflection on this journey details key enabling factors, challenges faced and suggestions for practice.

Methodology/approach – The case study outlines the underlying principles of Aston's approach to widening participation. Key principles include a full student life cycle and evidence-based practice approach, inclusive practice for all, and staff development. These principles are illustrated through examples of practice such as the Student Peer Mentoring Programme, the Learning Development Centre and the Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice.

Findings – Practice has been informed through seeking to better understand the changing needs of an increasingly diverse student profile. Diversity goes beyond the student groups targeted through widening participation programmes.

Practical implications – The case study reflects on challenges and enabling factors for the management of change, and suggests practice which may be transferable to other HE institutions.

Originality/value of paper – Aston has adopted a full student-life cycle from outreach work with primary schools, through to pre-entry and transition support, learner development, and on to graduation and employment. This is in contrast to the more predominant focus within the HE sector, upon the early stages of the student life cycle. Aston University has also embedded widening participation within strategies for learning and teaching, and for employability.

Purpose – This chapter answers the question ‘what does a transformed institution look like’ by presenting a framework for institutional transformation to mainstream diversity. It exemplifies the framework by assessing how well English higher education institutions (HEIs) are doing with respect to mainstreaming. Relevant examples of change from the case studies are identified.

Methodology/approach – Reports from two institutional change programmes in the United Kingdom and the European Universities Charter on Lifelong Learning are synthesised to create a framework for change to mainstream diversity. The framework is used to assess the progress of English HEIs. This analysis is based on data from a thematic review of the Widening Participation Strategic Assessments (WPSAs) prepared by each of the 129 English HEIs. Each WPSA was coded up. Query reports were read and re-read to identify common approaches and themes.

Findings – The 12 item framework for mainstreaming diversity demonstrates that institutions need to attend to both infrastructure (policies, processes and procedures) and the institutional culture (the understandings and implementation of a strategy). The analysis suggests that English HEIs are making good progress towards this challenging agenda of change.

Research limitations – The WPSAs are a subjective account of WP, and claims have not been checked. Furthermore, WPSAs were written at a specific time and so only provide a snap-shot of institutional approaches to diversity.

Practical implications – This chapter assists institutions to think about, plan and evaluate institutional transformation.

Social implications – This approach puts diversity at the centre of HEIs.

Originality/value – The chapter provides an original framework to assist institutions to assess their progress with regard to institutional transformation to engage a diverse student body.

Purpose – This case study identifies, from a personal perspective, the essential conditions for institutional transformation that will ensure the effective mainstreaming of widening participation (WP).

Methodology/approach – This case study is a personal commentary reflecting on 10 years working as both a WP practitioner and an academic member of staff at Leeds Metropolitan University. The case study also draws on empirical research into WP policy and practice undertaken at the university between 2008 and 2009.

Findings – Research undertaken as part of the Action on Access programme ‘Mainstreaming and Sustaining Widening Participation in Institutions’ and as part of an institutional Quality Enhancement Audit found that whilst there were many examples of excellent WP practice, many staff were no longer sure what WP meant within the institution. In addition, whilst members of the management team felt that the institution still had a strong commitment to WP, other staff were less convinced. The research also highlighted that the relative incoherence in terms of WP definitions and practice meant that people were drawing solely on their own local and personal values and were blaming others when these peoples' practice was contradictory to their own.

Practical implications – The case study outlines the conditions needed to effectively mainstream and sustain WP, including establishing a ‘golden thread’ of WP that runs through all key policy and strategy documents across the university.

Social implications – Whilst the principles of mainstreaming WP are sound, strategies need to be put in place to ensure that actual practice is not in danger of privileging some students at the expense of others.

Purpose – The case study described here showcases the way in which the University of South Australia (UniSA), an institution with a long history of being at the forefront of educational opportunity for all and with equity principles embedded in its founding legislation, has responded to the mainstreaming of widening participation and engagement. It does so by focussing particularly on the Foundation Studies access education programme, the cornerstone of the University's widening participation strategy for adults (although in Australia the vast majority of university entrants are aged 18 years and above and, therefore, by definition, categorised as adults).

Approach – We provide an overview of the development and structure of the Foundation Studies programme, the national and institutional contexts in which it operates, and key characteristic of students who undertake the programme. We also report on participation and success rates and briefly describe how successful access education students gain admission to undergraduate study.

Social implications – UniSA's approach to equity and widening participation provides an effective means of redress for people who have experienced educational disadvantage. It does so not merely by providing access but by also actively preparing them for future academic success. That success in turn builds social capital – serving a wider and increasingly pertinent imperative in today's global market economy.

Value of chapter – The case study described presents what has proven to be a viable and effective model, one which suggests strongly that socio-economic and educational disadvantage can be overcome and that ‘second chance’ does not imply ‘second rate’.

In this chapter we present a case study about a bottom-up approach in creating the strategy and action plan for the mainstream implementation of blended learning in one Faculty at a higher education institution in Croatia, and the implications this has on the access and retention of students from equity groups. In previous research the target groups were identified, and the next step was to investigate the specific needs of those groups of students, focusing on creating an effective learning environment. Taking an evidence-informed approach, institutional experts, management and staff developed a strategic framework, covering ICT support, the E-learning system and curriculum development to meet the specific needs of these students. One of the very important goals of mainstreaming widening participation at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics (FOI) is to create an effective learning environment for all students. E-learning is recognized as an important tool in making learning and education more accessible to all students at the FOI. The FOI's Strategy for E-learning contributes to this objective and since FOI is one of the leading faculties in the implementation of E-learning at the University of Zagreb, FOI's approach to E-learning is exemplary within the institution, and it has been taken into account when University of Zageb Strategy was being developed and implemented.

This chapter describes an undergraduate peer-to-peer mentoring program, UniMentor, at a regional Australian university, which aims to support students in equity groups. Key benefits identified are: enhanced retention rates; improved academic performance; and strengthened social networks. While the focus is on commencing students (mentees), significant positive outcomes for third-year mentors are also apparent. Internal and external challenges that may influence access to mentoring among students include shifting institutional support and roles and curriculum change. Enablers include training, clarity of purpose, strong support networks, and fostering student sense of ownership. The effect of disciplinary culture on uptake and effectiveness of mentoring is also important. Overall, the program compares well against published frameworks of successful student mentoring. Nevertheless, critical questions remain regarding the effectiveness of general versus targeted mentoring programs for students in equity groups.

Purpose – To offer an account of widening participation practice at the University of Bedfordshire as a case study of how higher education can approach ‘access’ and embed practice across the institution. The paper explores the contribution of widening participation policy and practice to the development of the University.

Approach – The paper considers the part played by widening participation policy and practice in the development of the University from the organisations out of which it has grown; it provides a brief overview of some of the ways in which the University pursues and fulfils its widening participation objectives; and it offers some reflection on the prospects for widening participation in the context of new arrangements for funding students and higher education institutions.

Findings – The paper provides some outline evidence for the success of its practice and for its mainstreaming across the organisation and offers some reflection on areas where further work is required to develop the University's strategies and processes.

Originality/value of the chapter – The paper provides an account of a UK university with a particularly strong commitment to widening participation, which it has sustained throughout a period of growing reputation and increasing pressure to adopt a more ‘traditionally’ selective approach to recruitment and participation. Widening participation remains a core value within the university and continues to be one of its defining characteristics.