ABOUT US

About the Forum for Access and Continuing Education (FACE)

There are persistent barriers obstructing people from disadvantaged backgrounds in accessing higher education and lifelong learning opportunities. This leads to entrenched inequality and exclusion to the detriment of individuals and wider society. It is our mission to face these barriers head on and dismantle them: supporting a socially inclusive framework for lifelong learning, challenging exclusion and championing equal access to higher education. We do this by connecting likeminded people so that they can come together as one to publish research, network, share best practice and effectively lobby those in power to bring about positive change. We were established in 1993 and have an administrative office at Anglia Ruskin University. We are made up of an executive and membership body.

FACE annual conference and other activities

The major set piece in our calendar is our annual conference which takes place every summer over three days. Here practitioners, researchers, third-sector professionals and others come together to network, listen to keynote speakers and collaborate.

A key output of each annual conference is a publication containing key research papers that set the agenda for the following year. For members, this is a valuable opportunity to be published, as well as gaining digital access to all the research we have supported over the years.

In addition to the FACE annual conference and research papers, we also produce:

Blogs sharing best practices
Podcasts with insight into the issues of the day
Special interest groups
A monthly email bulletin

We seek to encourage

Greater participation in our activities from student unions and the third sector

Members hosting their own events under the FACE banner

Lobbying initiatives to proactively spark change

Special interest groups

An international dynamic

FACE is further enhanced by our international connections. We partner with a growing list of overseas organisations including EUCEN (European University Continuation Education Network), the European Commission’s Eurydice, and Include (Swedish National WP network).

This allows for cross attendance at each other’s conferences and access to webinars across Europe, and beyond, to further share ideas and build relationships.

ABOUT US

About the Forum for Access and Continuing Education (FACE)

FACE annual conference and other activities

We seek to encourage

An international dynamic

FACE member Institutions and organisations