Fair Access Scheme

At Coventry University, we believe every student should have the opportunity to reach their potential and succeed, regardless of their background.

Grades alone cannot tell us everything about your potential, your story and the challenges that you have faced. Coventry University’s Fair Access Scheme includes a contextualised admissions policy to help identify and support students from a range of backgrounds to gain fair and equal access to higher education.

We also offer additional support including helping you to complete your application form, bespoke visits if you are unable to attend an open day due to personal circumstances, and specialised events.

What is a contextual offer?

We consider a range of factors relating to your personal circumstances that may have impacted your education. If eligible, we make a contextual offer which takes this additional information into account, reducing our standard offer by up to 24 UCAS Tariff Points.

How do I get a contextual offer?

We use data either from your UCAS application form or from additional information that you provide. If you are eligible and are waiting for your results, we will make you a reduced conditional offer. If you already have your results or if you are unsure if you are eligible, email us at fairaccess@coventry.ac.uk.

Information taken from your UCAS application

If you apply via UCAS, are a UK student and have declared any of the criteria below you will automatically be made a contextual offer:

have a disability
are a care leaver
are older than 21 at the start of your course
are a refugee or asylum seeker in the UK
are estranged from your family
have long-term caring responsibilities for someone in your family
have served in the UK armed forces
have a parent or carer who serves, or previously served in the UK armed forces.

We also gather information from UCAS using their Modernised Contextual Data Service; this takes into consideration if your home postcode is in an area where there are less people going to university than the national average as well as other indicators. Find out more information about the data UCAS sends to us.

If you haven’t told us through UCAS, but one or more of these criteria apply to you, please email us at fairaccess@coventry.ac.uk to let us know.

Providing additional information to us

We also consider the criteria below that is not included on the UCAS application form. We ask you to provide this to us directly. Email us at fairaccess@coventry.ac.uk to let us know if:

You have experienced other circumstances that have led to a significant disruption in your education. This could include experiencing bereavement, family illness, or being the victim of a crime.
You are the child of an imprisoned person.
You have engaged with a Coventry University Widening Participation programme, such as Future Grads.

If any of these apply to you, please get in touch to enable us to take your circumstances into consideration when assessing your application. You can contact us by email. Please include your UCAS or application ID number within your email.

Additional support

Fair access events: We run events throughout the year for our fair access students to given you the support for a successful start to university. View our fair access events.

Application support: We offer eligible applicants support throughout your application journey including personal statement guidance and help understanding student finance.

Bespoke visits: We may be able to offer you a bespoke visit if you meet the eligibility criteria and are unable to attend an open day due to your personal circumstances. For example, if you have caring responsibilities that mean you cannot attend an open day on a Saturday. Dates available for visits are limited and will be allocated to applicants based on need.

For further information about application support and bespoke visits please email fairaccess@coventry.ac.uk