Student retention and success. 4.3.1 Significant support for student retention is funded through the current widening participation allocation, and we do not plan for a major investment from the additional access funding during its first year of operation. However, the University has evidence that students from lowest income households benefit from direct financial support for their major project at Level 6 which is addressed in a package of financial support for this group, as described at paragraph 4.3.4 below.
Student retention and success. The College already has good retention rates, monitored and reported through Access Agreement targets. These are achieved through a strong system of personalised pastoral support for all students provided by heads/deputy heads of programmes and heads of faculty and through coordination of this support with Student Services. This has recently been extended to include a new tutorial support system and a specific role for the Counsellor in supporting retention. Great efforts are taken to ensure that those students who do leave the College, for example because they realise that a career as a musician is not for them, nevertheless stay within HE. Despite the fact that it works against XXXX XXx, the RCM coaches students who are not likely to succeed as musicians, to help them transfer to other HEIs. We have also established systems to support disabled students - an area where we can provide highly personalised support, not least through personal learning agreements.
Student retention and success. UCS has been steadily improving its retention rates over the past four years, but acknowledges there are still improvements to be made. UCS is committed to increasing student retention and success and it is proposed that a proportion of the additional fee income will be allocated to specific measures designed to improve retention and success rates. UCS will invest approximately £179,000 in retention, success and disability related activities. One important aspect of improving retention is looking at how prepared students are, which links directly with outreach activity and also with the provision of pre-course study. UCS intends to develop pre-entry programmes of study that can be accessed on a part-time basis for students who are not yet ready for HE but would be ready after participating in such a programme. High quality teaching is a key feature of providing a high quality student experience. A number of enhancement initiatives are already embedded in our learning and teaching practices. However, additionally UCS will also develop a Teaching Fellow Award where high quality teaching is recognised. Students will be involved in both nomination and judging. The Teaching Fellows will then be used to drive forward innovation in Teaching and Learning. Increased infrastructure demands may arise from the work of Teaching Fellows which will need to be supported. There will be a need for investment in particular learning technologies and developing a 24/7 learning environment to support the more flexible learning style of many students. A good tutorial system is essential to enable lecturers to spot problems and deal with them early. UCS already has an excellent tutorial policy however, as with many initiatives, the students who really need the help are often the ones who fail to access it. At UCS we have not always been as successful as we would like at tracking tutorial uptake and chasing non- attendees so will be putting in place administrative support to stop at-risk students slipping through the net. Although we have a general understanding of why students leave before they have achieved their award, we need to ensure we have better statistical data to evidence and help improve our withdrawal rates. UCS will resource a system for closely monitoring student withdrawals including exit interviews carried out by a member of staff who is not on the course team and a mechanism whereby all issues have to be followed up and signed off. UCS is committed to improving t...
Student retention and success. Participation with success is a key priority and in recognising that the University College is below benchmark in student retention a focus of the Widening Participation Strategy, WPSA, and the Access Agreement is to provide further support to improve student continuation and success. Transition into higher education and post-entry support is essential to improve both retention and success rates and the revised WP strategy targets these areas through a range of specific activities which will be of benefit not just to widening participation students but to all students. Activities include:
Student retention and success. Effective transition into higher education and post-entry support is essential to improve both retention and success rates, particularly for students from under-represented groups. For 2018/19, we will continue to prioritise these targets through a range of specific activities which will be of benefit not just to widening participation students, but to all students. Extra provision may also have to be made to support students who currently receive help through the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) for provision that was previously supported by local authorities and goes beyond reasonable adjustments made. We employ a whole University approach which encompasses Wellbeing, Student Services, Academics, Registry and the Chaplaincy. Activities include:
Student retention and success. The overall rate on completion at York is consistently high for the sector, despite our diversity, with over 90% of York’s undergraduates completing degree programmes. We consider it very important to continue to focus on maintaining this level of successful outcome and we propose to invest between 6 and 7% of our additional expenditure in activities to further support the retention and success of our students from non-traditional backgrounds. This includes skills development for prospective students on a number of our WP programmes, work with students in the transition period, for example through the development of web-based preparation materials and support for students through their studies at the University. Retention and success for students from poorer sections of the community is also supported by financial support which is covered below in Section 6. Activities focused on retention and success also make a significant contribution to students’ employability as does the University’s Employability Strategy. This strategy aims to provide students with the best possible curricular and co-curricular support in developing their employability and to develop graduates who are characterised by their entrepreneurial talents and their ability to realise their full potential as leaders and role models in organisations and society.
Student retention and success. The assessment of student retention in Table 2.2 (Appendix 1) showed that the University was similar to sector average for most HESA retention benchmarks, and was significantly better for some categories of mature entrants. However, there was a marked difference between young first degree entrants from low participation neighbourhoods and those from other neighbourhoods and retention rates for entrants on other undergraduate programmes and those on first degree programmes. The HESA projected learning outcomes for full-time students starting first degree courses were also poorer than we would wish. The University’s performance in employment indicators, especially leavers obtaining first degrees and the DLHE indicator for graduate respondents in graduate level employment is another aspect of student success that we are working to improve. We plan to invest a proportion of additional Access Agreement funding from 20102/13 to increase our efforts to support students through their studies and on into graduate-level employment, which will be strategically managed through a new Student Experience Advisory Group.
Student retention and success. King’s College London Student Experience Group has remit for student skills, retention and employability, and to oversee retention, completion and employment outcomes. Xxxx’x will adopt an inclusive approach using mainstream procedures and practices to meet the entitlements, interests and aspirations of all students in order to maximise their success at our university. This will be complemented by additional practices and interventions for particular student groups, such as those from a widening participation background or equality groups. Activities below are grouped into four areas: understanding our students, inclusivity, support and wellbeing, and increasing opportunities. Understanding our students Behavioural insights improving widening participation student experience King’s College London Widening Participation Department, King’s Policy Institute and the Behavioural Insights Team have delivered a two-year collaborative project examining whether behavioural insights can be used to improve the outcomes of non-traditional students in a university context. This is the first time behavioural insights have been applied in a UK university context. Building on the learning from the first year of the pilot project, in 2016-17 the project has expanded to include seven ambitious randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Five of these have sought to increase student engagement with key services such as study abroad and online study skills modules by sending students behaviourally inspired text messages. These messages test both whether receiving a text will increase the likelihood a student will engage with the service mentioned, and also whether the type of message received will produce differential outcomes in behaviour. The target services were selected based both on our own and external research into beneficial and barrier behaviours during the student lifecycle. The use of randomised controlled trials gives us a robust measure of the effectiveness of the trials. Analysis will show whether widening participation and non-widening participation students have differential engagement generally, and whether the messages have different impact on their behaviour. In addition, two further RCTs are testing whether targeted interventions can increase students’ sense of belonging at King’s. The aim is to test the efficiency of wrap- around support models in improving the retention and attainment of widening participation students. A key outcome measure for these trials wi...
Student retention and success. The overall rate on completion at York is consistently high for the sector, with over 90% of York’s undergraduates completing degree programmes, whilst we maintain a diverse student population. This reflects the commitment of the students we attract and the strong support provided through our Colleges and student supervision structure, as well as the specialist study skills and support services we offer. We consider it very important to continue to focus on maintaining this level of successful outcome and we will continue to invest between 3% and 4% of our additional expenditure in activities to further support the retention and success of our students from non-traditional backgrounds. This includes skills development for prospective students on a number of our WP programmes, work with students in the transition period, for example through the development of web-based preparation materials as well as the support offered to students once they commence their studies at the University. Retention and success for students from poorer sections of the community is also supported by financial support which is covered below in Section 6. Activities focused on retention and success also make a significant contribution to students’ employability as does the University’s Employability Strategy. We plan to provide particular support for employability among WP groups with an additional spend of £100,000 on employability measures from 2013/4. This strategy aims to provide students with the best possible curricular and co-curricular support in developing their employability, facilitates access to internships and helps to develop graduates who are characterised by their entrepreneurial talents and their ability to realise their full potential as leaders and role models in organisations and society. Training for staff in a wide variety of student-facing roles continues to be an important priority, with new academic staff involved in our Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice programme, an annual programme for those in College welfare teams and more widely for those with supervisory or other pastoral responsibilities.
Student retention and success. Student retention and success has been a significant area of focus for the College in recent years. Internal data is generated for in-year student retention based on HESA criteria. The internal figure for overall full time HE in-year retention in 2013-14 was 92%. This is above the equivalent overall HESA projected outcome benchmark of 90% for England institutions in 2012-13 (2013-14 figures not yet available). In-year retention for all students including part time was 90%. The College produces internal figures for overall in-year higher education student success from student retention and achievement data. The table below indicates internal data on higher education student success for 2013-14 according to different priority groups. Priority Group Student Success Rate Expected end year 2013-14 Total - All HE Programmes 84% Gender Female 87% Male 81% Ethnicity All Other Ethnic Groups 78% White 84% Unknown 86% Learning Difficulty or Disability LLDD = Yes 77% LLDD = No 83% LLDD Unknown 85% Key points: • Female student outperform male students by 6%. • The gap in success for students from different ethnicities is 6% but the low number of students from other ethnic groups makes further analysis of this impractical. • The gap in success for students who have a learning difficulty or disability is also 6% and the College will continue to prioritise this area in the retention and success measures outlined below. The success of student retention and success initiatives is evidenced in the 2014 National Student Survey (NSS) and in the 2014 QAA HE Review Report for the College. In the 2014 NSS student satisfaction for questions relating to Academic Support was 87%. This is above the national upper quartile of 84%. The 2014 QAA HE Review Report for the College identified good practice in 'the comprehensive support for learners in their transition to higher education' and in 'the wide-ranging support mechanisms targeted to meet individual needs that enable students to develop their academic, personal and professional potential' The College places a strong focus on the development of student employability and enterprise skills. The outcome of the 2014 NSS optional question ‘As a result of my course, I believe that I have improved my career prospects’ was 93% satisfaction. The 2012-13 cohort DLHE survey for destinations of higher education students reported Positive Outcomes (the proportion that had secured employment or further study) for Myerscough graduates were 97%. D...
