There's been a torrent of abuse over the new proposals to ask university applicants questions about their parental background on their Ucas forms. But I have found myself uncharacteristically defensive of Ucas, the DfES, and UUK, writes Gemma Tumelty, president of the National Union of Students.
Nearly all commentators - many of whom claim to be advocates of widening participation - are crying foul over what seems an obviously reasoned attempt to better understand potential barriers for applicants. And I have been shocked at the apparent distrust of our universities: they are not normally derided for being social engineers.
There is some quite disgusting snobbery and false panic here, and knees should not have jerked so readily. The idea that the tide will turn against abler, more privileged candidates is completely mistaken - universities will continue to want to net the brightest candidates. And so they should.
The new questions will simply allow universities to assess whether there might be circumstances that haven't allowed students to excel in what can be a pretty gruelling admissions process.
We applaud this. The NUS has long campaigned for a more holistic approach when assessing students. Looking simply at students' attainment, and not their potential, means some very talented and able people slip though the net.
If a student can reap the benefit of parental advice and guidance on applications, or is even lucky enough to have family stability, he or she could quite reasonably be judged to have something equating to privilege - and this can sometimes affect who comes out looking like a better prospect.
Judging students' potential is, admittedly, a hard task. But does anyone believe that elite universities in particular would be as unrepresentative if they didn't rely so heavily on current attainment and an applicant's well-practiced air of confidence?
Some universities might decide that these students are a better bet. While we don't suggest universities should only wager on disadvantaged candidates, they should understand that some students, if let through their doors, can be up against the odds and win.
