Untitled (1920 × 500px) (1920 × 750px) (1925 × 750px) (6)

CAVA Information Packs

We have a variety of packs available for download. These packs will give Universities a better understanding of what it is like to work with CAVA. Please use the drop down menu on the right hand side to download any relevant packs.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at admin@cava.ac.uk.

Membership Information

Click the image to download the pack.

Click the image to download the pack.

Click the image to download the pack.

Join our membership

At CAVA, we are driven by our values and passion for Access to Higher Education Diplomas. We are the only Access Validating Agency (AVA) that is solely focused on Access to HE Diplomas. We have a small friendly staff team dedicated to Access to HE: you can pick up the phone and know that whoever answers will be able to help. 

We are a non-profit membership organisation: each of our providers joins us as a member and has an equal voice in the direction of the organisation. Together, we work to enable social mobility through lifelong learning. 

Benefits of joining our CAVA membership

By joining CAVA, you will become part of our community of members across England. All of our members have a voice on our CAVA Council of Members.

If you are a higher education institution, becoming a CAVA member will enable you to:

  • Contribute to the development of high-quality Access to HE Diplomas tailored to local needs
  • Create a new pathway to progress well-prepared students into your courses
  • Meet your widening participation targets by supporting mature students
  • Develop your staff skills through external moderation and validation training
  • Access CAVA’s annual staff development conference
  • Access CAVA’s training sessions to build staff skills 
  • Build your network and partnerships with local further education providers
  • Be involved in CAVA annual special projects, which are selected and agreed on by members.

All of the above is included in our annual membership fee – which is reviewed and set by our members annually. 

How to join us

If you share our values and passion for social mobility through lifelong learning, we would love to hear from you.

  1. Initial conversation to establish your institution’s strategic and widening participation aims.
  2. Meeting to discuss how CAVA operates, how Access to HE Diplomas could support your institution’s aims, and how you could get involved with CAVA’s work.
  3. You may wish to speak with some of our existing members to find out more about how CAVA works from a higher education institution’s perspective.
  4. Apply in writing to join CAVA as a member.  
  5. Formal approval of application by our senior governing body, the CAVA Board.

Please contact our Chief Executive, Emily Ross, to start the conversation. You can email her on e.ross@cava.ac.uk or call her on 01223 302148. We look forward to welcoming you to the CAVA membership.

Member stories

University of East Anglia

A real benefit of working with CAVA is having input on Access to HE course development, through the external moderation and validation process. It is also useful for our staff development, as they are trained in quality assurance processes.

University of Suffolk

It is good to be a member of CAVA as it allows us to connect with local further education providers working with mature students. We are also able to input on the organisation’s strategy and special members’ projects.