Monitoring and evaluation arrangements. We will continue to monitor the above targets on an annual basis, as part of the re- submission of the Access Agreement. Evaluation of our core and collaborative outreach, using quantitative and qualitative methods, will be conducted both internally and potentially as a combined research project with our HEI partners. Recognising that successful widening participation at Bath will require new approaches and a sustained strategic overview, the University will continue to support the WP Research Group, established in 2012, to explore, evaluate and monitor local strategies, work with partners where this can help to develop our expertise (e.g. Bristol’s Widening Participation Research Cluster15) and undertake funded research in widening access to increase our capacity in this area. 15 xxx.xxxxxxx.xx.xx/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/xxx/xxxx-xxxxxx/xxxx/ Our outreach evaluation plan has four main elements: collection of learner data to monitor engagement of our target groups; evaluation of activities to assess their immediate effectiveness; tracking students taking part in sustained activities to assess longer term impact; and small scale qualitative projects with learners in key year groups to provide in- depth understanding of the barriers and to inform future outreach activities. The Widening Participation Research Group coordinates a number of participatory action research projects designed to explore and address areas representing significant barriers to widening participation, fair access and student success. In order to better assess the long term impact of our outreach activity and the success of our collaborative activities such as the Universities Outreach Partnership we have subscribed to the Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT) service. Measures of effectiveness in relation to supporting the retention and achievement of students from non-traditional backgrounds will continue to include completion rates, academic achievement, participation in extra-curricular activities and development, progression to graduate-level employment and/or postgraduate study, and whether they would recommend this institution to other students from non-traditional backgrounds. A mix of quantitative and qualitative measures are being developed, monitored and reviewed throughout the individual student's experience, so that individual adjustments can be made, as well as broader lessons learned. This will include specific investigations such as: the evaluation of activities to enhance ind...
Monitoring and evaluation arrangements. 7.1 Annually, the University reports to the Office for Fair Access, OFFA, in its Annual Monitoring Report. This includes all expenditure from additional fee income on financial support for lower income students and other under- represented groups and reports progress against objectives and milestones. We look forward to the development of the national evaluation framework to inform our evaluation of access and student success activities effectively.
Monitoring and evaluation arrangements. The Deputy Principal and the Xxxx of Higher Education and Curriculum Innovation are responsible for the delivery and monitoring of this Access Agreement. Monitoring and evaluation of progress against the targets related to our outreach activities will be measured using internal data streams and external data sources via UCAS and HESA, and reported through the Higher Education Strategy Group and Senior Management Team, and ultimately to the College Governors.14 As part of our existing management processes, data will be attributed to each and every activity covered by this agreement and will be collected through two routes: feedback from participants in specific events and student consultation. Both sets of data will be collated throughout the year and reported through the College’s management structure to ensure that evaluation is embedded in the College’s strategies. This will ensure that evidence will continue to be used to shape future policy decisions and that the activities can be evaluated for their effectiveness in supporting disadvantaged and underrepresented groups, and if it is found there are any gaps in performance of these demographics, particularly in they do not align with the remainder of the cohort, measures can be, and will be taken to address any differences. Evaluation of progress against the targets will feed into the College’s Equality and Diversity Annual Report and action planning to help prioritise the most effective activities and initiatives. The action plans, will include, but not be limited to, increased oversight, re-allocation of resources such as staff (both teaching and support personnel) and facilities, and the determination of more effective metrics which will allow the earlier identification of any attainment gaps. 14 As noted earlier: HE Strategy Group and College governance includes student representation 14 Outreach activities At the time of producing this Access Agreement, the College is committed to collecting data about, monitoring, evaluating and continuing with all of the following outreach activities. Outreach Activity Aim(s) Target Group(s ) Outputs/Results Measure(s) of Success/Failure/Impact. Liaison work with local schools To raise aspirations and understanding of HE in school-age students to support the raising of attainment levels to maximise opportunities for progression. Teenage students in schools, sixth forms and other colleges within Solihull College’s catchment area, targeting in particular the aspira...
Monitoring and evaluation arrangements. 7.1 The University will continue its policy of making admissions statistics publicly available, through the University of Cambridge Reporter and its web-site. Those statistics include data on the number of applications and acceptances by school type, region, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic classification.
Monitoring and evaluation arrangements. This section details how the measures set out in the Agreement (including collaborative work) are monitored and evaluated. Statistical measures will be monitored on an annual basis by the Planning Office as part of the analysis of the HESA return and HESA Performance Indicators. Collaborative targets will be monitored via the Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT). Canterbury Xxxxxx Church University is a founding member of the collaborative Higher Education Access Tracker Service (HEAT) that assists members in the targeting, monitoring and evaluation of both their individual and their collaborative Fair Access activities. It allows member universities to demonstrate outreach participation in relation to success at key transition point, collectively explore best practice in combining qualitative and quantitative research on outreach and in the future, perhaps, facilitate the development of collaborative targets. Membership of the HEAT service assists Canterbury Xxxxxx Church University in fully understanding patterns of participation in outreach and the effectiveness of different types and combinations of outreach, something which is made possible by the collaborative nature of the service. Individual members use the HEAT database to record outreach activity and can see where individuals have engaged in activities with more than one HEAT university. Collectively this allows the central HEAT service to analyse the timing and combinations of activities that show most impact on enrolment in HE. It can take some time for data about young participants in outreach to mature to the point of understanding their patterns of enrolment in HE as well as their retention and success rates. In the meantime, the HEAT service has developed a model of matching a number of different administrative datasets to the HEAT database which will afford the University a better understanding of the relationship between outreach and key educational outcomes at both pre and post 16, before any enrolment takes place. The collective size and diversity of the database will mean this relationship can be explored against multiple participant characteristics, contributing to the University and the sector's understanding of outcomes for different underrepresented groups and recognising that widening participation students are not a homogenous group. Where HEAT data has matured it allows the University to understand the relationship between outreach participation and HE access, success (retenti...
Monitoring and evaluation arrangements. The Pro Director (Learning and Teaching) is the senior manager with ultimate responsibility for access and widening participation. SOAS’ commitment to access is further supported by faculties and departments through the planning, implementation and monitoring of various measures, particularly in relation to retention, progression and collaboration. Performance in widening participation and access are monitored by the Academic Development Committee chaired by the Pro-Director (Learning and Teaching) and are also considered by the External Relations Committee (chaired by the Registrar and Secretary) and the Student Experience Committee (chaired by the Xxxx (Languages and Cultures) and, at the highest level, discussed at Academic Board and Governing Body. All areas of SOAS have a responsibility to support widening participation and fair access. The core SOAS Widening Participation Team is based in the Academic Development Directorate (ADD). The team works extensively with the Student Recruitment and Admissions Office, Faculty Offices (Languages and Culture, Law and Social Sciences, and Arts and Humanities), Registry and Student Services and the Students’ Union on issues of access, admissions’ criteria, student support and retention. The implementation of this access agreement will be supported by all these areas. The body responsible for the delivery of the Access Agreement is the OFFA Steering Group comprised of; Pro- Director (Learning and Teaching), Registrar and Secretary, Xxxx of Law and Social Sciences, Director of Finance and Planning, Director of Academic Development and Head of Widening Participation. This group reports to the Director of SOAS. An action plan will be developed, in collaboration with the Students Union, to support the implementation of the Access Agreement and this will be monitored by the Steering Group. The Director of Academic Development will be responsible for delivering the action plan reporting to the Pro Director (Learning and Teaching). A Working Group comprises of key staff working on areas relating to access, student success and finance will provide advice and feedback on the progress of implementation.
Monitoring and evaluation arrangements. 3.1 Progression, Achievement and Employability are monitored routinely in relation to the KPIs identified at University level. The strategic objectives set at Faculty and subject level are monitored annually as part of the planning cycle. The performance of the academic portfolio is monitored in parallel with the performance of students. Internal statistics are benchmarked with Unistats data at course level. Outreach activities are informed by analysis of applicant and student data by feeder institution and borough, drawing on data provided through the DfE, HESA, the Student Loans Company, the GLA, and London Boroughs. From 2015/16 greater focus will be given to recording the impact of Access and Student Success initiatives.
Monitoring and evaluation arrangements. 3.1 Progression, Achievement and Employability are monitored routinely in relation to the KPIs identified at University level. The strategic objectives set at Faculty and subject level are monitored annually as part of the planning cycle. The performance of the academic portfolio is monitored in parallel with the performance of students. Internal statistics are benchmarked with Unistats data at course level. Outreach activities are informed by analysis of applicant and student data by feeder institution and borough, drawing on data provided through the DfE, HESA, the Student Loans Company, the GLA, and London Boroughs. From 2015/16 greater focus has been given to recording the impact of Access and Student Success initiatives for independent review by the Student Engagement Task Group as well as Faculty Executive Groups. Financial support provision is evaluated by the Scholarships Committee which is chaired by a member of the Court of Governors, reporting to the Executive Board. This includes funding awards made by the Xxxxxxx Xxxx Trust, applications for which are coordinated through the Executive Board to ensure a clear strategic alignment with the University’s targets and objectives.
Monitoring and evaluation arrangements. 5.1 The measures set out in this Agreement and the progress against targets and milestones will be monitored by the Student Experience Committee on behalf of Academic Board. It will use the targets set out in paragraph 4 above and will be assessed using the four levels of evaluation set out in HEFCE Circular Letter 24/10: basic monitoring; assessment of targeting; measurement of outcomes; and assessment of value for money.
Monitoring and evaluation arrangements. 93. The University is employing the services of its Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) to undertake evaluation and monitoring. The Centre, which works with schools nationally, has access to very large quantities of relevant background data against which to evaluate the University’s access measures. The University is also collaborating in a research project to evaluate the retention benefits of bursaries.
