Student Progression. LCC’s strategy in regard to student progression is to offer appropriate support and guidance throughout various stages of the student lifecycle. We will continue to promote progression from FE to HE through: • Open days for both internal FE students and local schools • Applicant days • Taster sessions for internal students • A progression module for L3 students which develops the students’ academic writing skills and forms a link between the HE & FE courses • Online summer school for progression to HE We will continue to promote progression throughout the student lifecycle by: • Pastoral support for students • Academic support • Counselling & welfare support • Financial support Our Careers services will support students as they near the end of their course with advice on careers, higher level courses and applications.
Student Progression. The University Employability Strategy will continue to ensure that employability is embedded into our curriculum. All academic departments produce Employability Plans, with departmental Employability Leads working with central Careers Consultants to ensure we proactively support students in developing employability skills throughout the student journey. Careers Consultants will also be working with departmental Employability Leads on a range of new initiatives to help students develop their employability skills, engage with employers and other external organisations and create more volunteering and placement opportunities. XxXXX – an on-line Skills and Personal Reflective Activity tool has been created to help students develop a better understanding of their own skills and abilities, identify areas for development, and assemble personalised evidence related to their acquisition of Personal, Employability and Digital Skills. This is particularly useful in flagging up students who have been disadvantaged or had fewer opportunities to access employability learning and experiences. Academic departments have enthusiastically embraced this and currently 9 bespoke versions have been developed. Personal development in terms of confidence building, and developing essential employability skills, is at the heart of our employability strategy. A continuing objective is to increase the number of academic societies allowing students the opportunity to take greater ownership over their learning experience by moulding their extracurricular activity. As well as increasing engagement levels we are committed to working with our society groups in order to recognise their skills and to ensure that the skills gained in this area are transferable and articulated well in order to enhance students’ employability. As well as the direct, tangible benefits which will come from this to individual participants, these activities will play a major role in building the community and providing opportunities for engagement. They thus support both student retention and success as well as progression. Ensuring equality of opportunity for all students is a fundamental part of our ethos and we recognise that for many, apparent ‘opportunities’ are inaccessible due to financial constraints. In 2017, we therefore introduced of ‘The Student Opportunity Fund’, specifically designed to fund extracurricular activities. This funds study enhancement activity for all students at Departmental level to ens...
Student Progression. National research has highlighted that graduates from WP backgrounds are at a disadvantage in terms of accessing certain professions. The University’s Careers Service has undertaken additional local research using the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) data, which has shown that University of Manchester graduates from low income households are less likely to be in graduate level work or study six months after graduation than non-WP graduates. This data, along with qualitative data collected through annual focus groups with current WP students, has informed the development of our WP Employability Strategy, which sets out the services and opportunities we offer to WP students in order to both improve their employability outcomes and also ensure the gap in outcomes narrows. The Careers Service supports the University’s WP mission from pre-entry, through undergraduate studies and beyond. Pre-entry support includes targeting WP students through University Open Day and Visit Day talks on the benefits of Higher Education, supporting colleagues in the delivery of bespoke WP events and championing social mobility issues with graduate recruiters. Initiatives for current WP undergraduate students include enhanced support for MAP undergraduates, Care Leavers and Mature Students in conjunction with the analysis of attendance data from across the Careers Service to identify areas of need for bespoke WP focused Faculty, School and Programme level activities. Alongside work with students, the Careers Service initiated and now leads the North West WP Careers Consultants forum to allow HEIs to share good practice in this area and is also undertaking activity alongside other university colleagues in a legacy project following the HEFCE PSS pilot which will research students’ aspirations and perceived barriers for entering PGT study and will also identify bespoke PGT on-course support needs for WP students. Careers service staff have spoken at related conferences for example those run by the National Educational Opportunities Network (NEON) and the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) to spread good practice in this area. They regularly liaise with the Bridge Group36, informing them of initiatives aimed at supporting WP students and the resulting impact in progression. The Careers Service additionally supports disabled students through a range of tailored activities, including regular sessions on disclosure, disability friendly employers...
Student Progression. The University continues to perform well against benchmark measures for progression. Our performance is pleasing given the location of the University, in the North West of England, where the majority of our students come from disadvantaged backgrounds, including 40% from NS-SEC 4-71; and in excess of 20% from some of the most disadvantaged wards in the country2. Although we consider we have a particular strength in supporting such individuals to maximise their potential, both through their attainment at University and in the labour market, they are often inherently disadvantaged in the labour market due to their lack of mobility. Most ‘choose’ to seek local employment with, on average, 80% of our graduates remaining in the North West after graduation3. This is partly because of social and family ties but often also because they lack the financial support to move away from home. Relocation to London and the South East in particular, is financially prohibitive for most. This is relevant as Southern/Eastern regions4 have consistently higher employment rates than Northern/Western regions, with the latter typically trailing by approximately 7%5. Whilst we will seek to at least sustain our position in relation to progression to employment/further study, we recognise that we have further work to do in some areas in relation to graduate level employment measures, despite the excellent progress made in recent years. 1 HESA PIs: young FT UG entrants averaged over the last 3 years 2 HESA PIs: young FT UG entrants 2014-15 from low participation neighbourhoods (LPNs)
Student Progression. The University is committed to enhancing progression opportunities for students from underrepresented groups. Our analysis of Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) data shows that students from low-income backgrounds are less likely to be in a positive graduate destination six months after graduation. Having identified this gap, we have developed a WP Employability Framework which aims to improve the employability outcomes of low-income students through the delivery of targeted interventions including support to ensure equality of access to work experience placements.
Student Progression. The University of Manchester has conducted research into the impact of a student’s background on their likelihood to be in a positive graduate destination six months after graduation in order to inform its employability strategy for WP students. An initial analysis of a three-year Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) dataset (08/09-10/11) found that: graduates from low-income households (<£25k per annum) were significantly less likely to be in a positive destination 6 months after graduation, compared with those graduates from higher income households; graduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds were significantly less likely to be in a positive destination at six months from graduation than those from higher socio-economic backgrounds. Based on our institutional research and national evidence, the University has developed and will implement a WP employability framework. As with all students, WP students will be able to access employability support throughout their student life cycle, starting from pre-entry, induction and first year activities through to graduation. The WP employability framework will also recognise that there is a gap in the positive graduate destinations of low-income students and that this gap is more pronounced in certain academic disciplines. Through this framework the University will: provide WP students with outstanding employability support throughout the student life cycle, starting from pre-entry engagement and continuing throughout their academic studies to graduation and employment or further study; increase WP students’ uptake of work experience, such as placements and internships, volunteering and co-curricular opportunities; and help to improve their global awareness; identify and collaborate with employers and alumni committed to improving social mobility on a range of employability initiatives; conduct ongoing research to understand the impact of a student’s background on their likelihood to be in a positive graduate destination six months after graduation and the differences in employability between WP and non-WP students. We will also keep up-to-date on national research and benchmark with other institutions; develop an evaluation strategy that assesses all activities for effectiveness, informs the development of new programmes and identifies measures of success for this cohort.
Student Progression. Full-Time students who successfully completed their course in work, training or further study 3-6 months after qualifying.
Student Progression. Our Careers services will support students as they near the end of their course with advice on careers, higher level courses and applications.
Student Progression. The University is committed to enhancing progression opportunities for students from under-represented groups. Our analysis of Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) data shows that students from low-income backgrounds are less likely to be in a positive graduate destination six months after graduation. Having identified this gap, we have developed a WP Employability Framework which aims to improve the employability outcomes of low-income students through the delivery of targeted interventions including support to ensure equality of access to work experience placements. 3 Outcomes of Access Agreement Monitoring for 2014-15 xxxxx://xxx.xxxx.xxx.xx/publications/monitoring/ In a five-year period between 2010/11 and 2014/15, the percentage of graduates from low income households in either graduate level work or study increased by 12.1%. Taking a five-year average, the gap between WP and non-WP students has decreased from 4.4% (baseline data) to 3.1% (five-year average 2010 – 2015).
Student Progression
