Our Record On Access and Student Success. Student Success
3.1 The collegiate University provides unusually individualised and intensive support to its students. Regular supervisions involve very small groups and all undergraduates have a Director of Studies, typically in their own College, who closely manages their academic progress, as well as a personal 13 See letter to the Right Hon Xxxxxxx Xxxx MP, xxx.xxx.xxx.xx.xx/xxxxx/xxx/xxx_xxxxxx_xx_xxx_xxxxxxx_xxxx.xxx 14 “Predictive Effectiveness of Metrics In Admissions”, Partington, Apr 2011, xxxx://xxx.xxx.xxx.xx.xx/admissions- research/alevels-degree-potential 15 “University Admissions and the Prediction of Degree Performance: an Analysis in the Light of Changes to the English Schools’ Examination System”, X.Xxxxxxxx et al., Higher Education Quarterly, Jan 2015. xxxx://xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxx.xxx/doi/10.1111/hequ.12067/pdf 16 For further information see xxx.xxxxx.xxx.xx.xx/xxxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxx 17 Output Area Classifications, see xxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx 18 Participation Of Local Areas, xxx.xxxxx.xx.xx/xxxxxxxx/xx/XXXXX/ 19 Taken from the DfE National Pupil Database, xxx.xxx.xx/xxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxxxxx 20 xxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxx.xxx.xx.xx/xxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxxx Tutor in their College to advise and support them on pastoral issues. College-based support is complemented by lectures, seminars, and practical classes, organised by Faculties and Departments, which are increasingly specialised in the later years of the course. Students benefit from high-quality College accommodation which is available to all undergraduates for at least three years of each course, and also from extensive medical, disability and counselling support. All of this contributes to an unusually high academic attainment and very low drop-out rate.
3.2 Our ability to identify students likely to succeed and the quality of the educational experience offered is demonstrated by the proportion of students (c. 80%)21 gaining at least Upper Second Class Honours. Feedback from students recorded in the National Student Survey is consistently high (currently four percentage points higher than the sector average, at 90%).22
3.3 We have one of the highest continuation rates of any UK higher education institution (currently 98.0% compared to 90.9% for the sector).23 This is in part a product of high contact hours, the pastoral care provided by our Colleges and the student support facilities provided, but is also assisted by the extensive financial ...
Our Record On Access and Student Success. Student Success
3.1 The collegiate University provides unusually individualised and intensive support to its students. Regular supervisions involve very small groups and all undergraduates have a Director of Studies, typically in their own College, who closely manages their academic progress, as well as a personal Tutor in their College to advise and support them on pastoral issues. College-based support is complemented by lectures, seminars, and practical classes, organised by Faculties and Departments, which are increasingly specialised in the later years of the course. Students benefit from high-quality College accommodation which is available to all undergraduates for at least three years of each course, and also from extensive medical, disability and counselling support. All of this contributes to unusually high academic attainment and a very low drop-out rate.
3.2 Our ability to identify students likely to succeed and the quality of the educational experience offered to them is demonstrated by the proportion of finalists (c.91.1%)23 gaining at least Upper Second Class Honours. Feedback from students recorded in the National Student Survey is consistently high (currently four percentage points higher than the sector average, at 90%).24
3.3 We have one of the highest continuation rates of any UK higher education institution (currently 98.5% compared to 91.4% for the sector).25 This is in part a product of high contact hours and very small contact groups, the pastoral care provided by our Colleges and the student support facilities available, but is also assisted by the extensive financial support that we offer to our students (see section 6). Our research to date shows little significant variation between social groups in terms of their likelihood of completion, but we will continue to monitor this as our access activities contribute to a wider diversity of intake.
3.4 Our graduates are more likely to be in work or further study (or both) six months after graduation than is the case nationally, are more likely to be in graduate-level jobs (currently 89.1% compared to 70.5% for the sector), and have amongst the highest starting salaries in the UK (currently £27,895 compared to £21,500 for first degree graduates nationwide).26 Our research shows that Cambridge graduates from low-income households are as successful in the employment market as their higher- income peers.27 There is no differential in starting salaries for Cambridge graduates by school type...
