Various research studies have analysed the diffusion of managerial discourses and practices in higher education institutions in Europe. However, similar trends in new policies of widening participation developed by these same institutions have not yet been the object of comprehensive comparative studies. Drawing on data collected through interviews and observations of students, tutors, professors and educational managers in an on-going research project conducted within the Know and pol project, this presentation will explore how higher education elite institutions in France and the UK adapt an expert knowledge imported from the private sector to deal with a sensitive political issue. The focus will be on how “sociologically enriched” managerial discourses shape the definition of social inequalities, the selection of targets and positive discrimination and outreach practices (Boltanski and Chiapello (1999).  A special attention will be given to the use of management techniques in the assessment of the “potential” and “adaptability” of disadvantaged students (Sennett 2006, van Zanten, 2009).