Common use of Retention and Student Success Clause in Contracts

Retention and Student Success. The following indicators of the University’s absolute and relative performance in non-continuation of students following year of entry are taken from the UK Performance Indicators of HE produced by HESA. Year of entry 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 Young Young full-time first Xxxxxxx – no longer in HE 9.6 6.4 9.5 9.4 9.8 Benchmark 7.6 6.7 6.8 7.1 7.2 degree non- continuation (following % continue or qualify at previous year of entry) Xxxxxxx 88.3 92.3 88.3 88.7 88.2 (Table 3a) % adjusted sector continue or qualify 90.4 91.3 90.8 90.5 90.2 From low participation neighbourhoods (Table 3b) (POLAR3) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 11.1 9.6 11.0 14.1 12.0 Benchmark 8.9 8.5 8.0 8.8 9.1 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx 86.2 89.3 84.2 83.4 85.7 % adjusted sector continue or qualify 89.2 89.6 89.8 89.0 88.6 From other neighbourhoods (Table 3b) (POLAR3) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 9.3 5.8 9.2 8.4 9.3 Benchmark 7.0 6.2 6.4 6.7 6.7 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx 88.8 92.9 89.0 89.8 88.8 % adjusted sector continue or qualify 90.8 91.7 91.1 90.9 90.7 Mature Mature full-time first Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 9.7 9.0 11.1 10.2 10.8 Benchmark 11.3 10.2 10.8 10.3 10.3 degree non- continuation (following % continue or qualify at previous year of entry) Xxxxxxx 89.6 90.3 87.5 87.6 86.4 (Table 3a) % adjusted sector continue or qualify 87.3 88.4 87.6 88.1 88.0 With no previous HE qualification (Table 3c) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 12.0 9.6 12.4 9.2 11.00 Benchmark 11.8 10.4 11.0 10.5 10.7 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx 86.9 89.3 86.0 88.5 86.0 % adjusted sector continue or qualify 86.6 88.0 87.2 87.7 87.4 With previous HE qualification (Table 3c) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 4.7 7.5 6.8 13.5 10.5 Benchmark 10.0 9.4 10.0 9.5 9.3 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx 95.3 92.5 92.4 84.6 87.8 % adjusted sector continue or qualify 89.0 89.6 89.1 89.5 89.6 For young undergraduates entering the University, there has been an improvement of 2.1% in the non-continuation figure for students from low participation neighbourhoods, and the difference in proportion between these students continuing or qualifying and those from other neighbourhoods has narrowed. However, the general trend in the overall proportion of students continuing or qualifying is not improving and remains below the sector and locally-adjusted benchmarks. The 2011/12 entry cohort were a particularly strong cohort, being the year before higher fees were introduced, therefore this appears to be an atypical year. Overall young full time first degree entrants still have a lower proportion of students continuing or qualifying at the University than the adjusted sector benchmark for this group. Therefore the University recognises it needs to develop further the steps being taken to address this. The proportion of mature students continuing or qualifying at the University provides a similar picture to that for young undergraduates. The proportion of mature students with a previous HE qualification continuing or qualifying at the University improved and was higher than those without a previous HE qualification. However, the overall figure for mature students is also below the adjusted sector benchmark, so again the University continues to recognise the need to address the retention rates of mature students Analysis of differential student outcomes In addition to the published HESA performance indicators, the University has also conducted its own analysis of disparities in outcomes within its student body over the past three academic years from 2013/14 to 2015/16. The University is extending its research analysis and strategic approaches across the institution to better understand and address the factors affecting its success and achievement rates, particularly for those from low participation groups or disadvantaged backgrounds. Analysis of internal data on student performance outcomes from the three previous years shows that overall student success rates at all levels improved in 2015/16, with success for students overall at level 4 improving from 78.6% to 80.7%. However, the following differential performances are also highlighted (in cases where characteristics are known). BME - The difference between success of students identifying as white and those identifying as BME remained at 6.6% overall in 2015/16 but widened to 13.2% at level 4: Level Ethnicity 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 4 White 80.1% 79.5% 81.9% BME 74.9% 71.6% 68.7% Notwithstanding the small BME population size at Xxxxxxx, this difference at level 4 is clearly a particular concern that we will seek to understand and address. Although, the differential narrows at each level, reducing to 3.8% at level 5 and 1.4 at level 6, a much lower percentage of BME students than white students gain first or upper second class honours degrees: Degree class Ethnicity 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 1st or 2i White 63.8% 68.0% 69.3% BME 48.1% 48.0% 54.7% Low participation neighbourhoods (POLAR 1 and 2) - Comparison of the outcomes for students from low participation areas with those from other areas indicates that the difference in success rates between the two groups has narrowed considerably at all levels since 2013/14. Level POLAR group 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 4 1&2 74.5% 78.1% 79.6% Other 82.4% 79.0% 81.3% 5 1&2 84.9% 86.9% 89.7% Other 87.9% 89.0% 90.4% 6 1&2 88.7% 86.3% 90.7% Other 92.9% 90.8% 91.3% All levels 1&2 81.6% 83.4% 86.1% Other 87.6% 86.0% 87.6% From this it can be seen that in 2015/16 the gap in outomes stands at 1.7% for level 4, reducing to 0.7% at level 5, and 0.6% at level 6. We will continue to monitor this and deliver actions at institutional level to ensure that this narrowing trend is maintained. We have also analysed performance further within these groups by gender, POLAR groups and ethnicity. Over the last three years, female students have achieved better success rates than males, both within POLAR 1&2 groups and within other POLAR groups. The percentage gap in differential outcomes between female and male students in these groups, however, appears to be narrowing overall: Level In POLAR group 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 % gap F/M % gap F/M % gap F/M 4 1&2 5.9 9.1 2.0 Other 9.7 5.5 2.6 5 1&2 8.9 4.1 2.5 Other 5.1 4.6 3.6 6 1&2 4.2 7.2 2.4 Other 3.0 2.6 4.6 All levels 1&2 6.7 7.3 2.5 Other 6.5 4.8 3.6 However, male students overall achieve lower degree classifications than their female peers. In 2015/16, 56.9% of male students from low participation neighbourhoods achieved a first or upper second, compared to 71.4% of female students from the same group. This parallels the figures for male and female students from other POLAR groups (58.3% and 72.2%, respectively). The percentage gap in success rates between students from higher participation neighbourhoods (HPN) and those from POLAR 1&2 groups (LPN) has narrowed considerably at all levels since 2013/14. This includes a narrowing of the percentage gap in success rates of males from social-economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods (POLAR 1&2) and their male peers from other POLAR groups, to a greater extent than for comparable groups of female students: Level By Gender 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 % gap HPN/LPN % gap HPN/LPN % gap HPN/LPN 5 Male 5.9 2.0 0.1 Female 2.1 2.5 1.2 6 Male 5.0 7.9 -0.7 Female 3.8 3.3 1.5

Retention and Student Success. The following indicators of the University’s absolute and relative performance in non-continuation of students following year of entry (2011/12) are taken from the UK Performance Indicators of HE produced by HESA. Year of entry 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 Young Young full-time first degree entrants 11/12 - all (Table 3a) Xxxxxxx – no longer in HE 9.9 8.2 9.0 9.6 6.4 9.5 9.4 9.8 Benchmark 8.3 7.5 8.2 7.6 6.7 6.8 7.1 7.2 degree non- continuation (following % continue or qualify at previous year of entry) Xxxxxxx 86.0 88.6 88.7 88.3 92.3 88.3 88.7 88.2 (Table 3a) % adjusted sector continue or qualify 88.4 89.5 89.4 90.4 91.3 90.8 90.5 90.2 From low participation neighbourhoods (Table 3b) (POLAR3) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE - 9.8 12.0 11.1 9.6 11.0 14.1 12.0 Benchmark - 8.4 10.2 8.9 8.5 8.0 8.8 9.1 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx - 86.5 85.6 86.2 89.3 84.2 83.4 85.7 % adjusted sector continue or qualify - 88.7 87.5 89.2 89.6 89.8 89.0 88.6 From other neighbourhoods (Table 3b) (POLAR3) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE - 7.9 8.4 9.3 5.8 9.2 8.4 9.3 Benchmark - 7.2 7.8 7.0 6.2 6.4 6.7 6.7 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx - 89.0 89.2 88.8 92.9 89.0 89.8 88.8 % adjusted sector continue or qualify - 89.7 89.7 90.8 91.7 91.1 90.9 90.7 Mature Mature full-time first degree entrants 11/12 (Table 3a) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 14.4 13.1 12.3 9.7 9.0 11.1 10.2 10.8 Benchmark 13.5 12.9 13.1 11.3 10.2 10.8 10.3 10.3 degree non- continuation (following % continue or qualify at previous year of entry) Xxxxxxx 82.2 84.1 85.6 89.6 90.3 87.5 87.6 86.4 (Table 3a) % adjusted sector continue or qualify 83.9 84.6 85.2 87.3 88.4 87.6 88.1 88.0 With no previous HE qualification (Table 3c) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 14.2 14.0 11.9 12.0 9.6 12.4 9.2 11.00 Benchmark 13.7 13.0 13.3 11.8 10.4 11.0 10.5 10.7 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx 81.8 82.9 85.4 86.9 89.3 86.0 88.5 86.0 % adjusted sector continue or qualify 83.6 84.2 84.9 86.6 88.0 87.2 87.7 87.4 With previous HE qualification (Table 3c) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 12.6 10.9 13.8 4.7 7.5 6.8 13.5 10.5 Benchmark 12.6 12.6 12.3 10.0 9.4 10.0 9.5 9.3 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx 86.2 86.9 86.2 95.3 92.5 92.4 84.6 87.8 % adjusted sector continue or qualify 85.5 85.7 86.3 89.0 89.6 89.1 89.5 89.6 For young undergraduates entering the University, there has been an improvement of 2.1% in the nonIn 2012-continuation figure for students from low participation neighbourhoods, and the difference in proportion between these students continuing or qualifying and those from other neighbourhoods has narrowed. However13, the general trend University saw improvements in all its continuation rates which is in line with the overall proportion of students continuing or qualifying is not improving and remains below sector. It also outperforms the sector and locallylocally adjusted benchmark. Examination of the 2011-adjusted benchmarks. The 2011/12 12 entry cohort were profile suggests that the student intake had a particularly strong cohort, being the year before higher fees were introducedentry tariff point average than observed in previous (and later years), therefore this appears the positive outcomes in 2012-13 could be attributed to be an atypical yearthis. Overall young full time first degree entrants still have a lower proportion of students continuing or qualifying at However the University than the adjusted sector benchmark for this group. Therefore the University recognises it needs to develop further the steps being taken to address this. The proportion of mature students continuing or qualifying at the University provides a similar picture to that for young undergraduates. The proportion of mature students with a previous HE qualification continuing or qualifying at the University improved and was higher than those without a previous HE qualification. However, the overall figure for mature students is also below the adjusted sector benchmark, so again the University continues to recognise the need to address the retention rates of mature students Analysis of differential student outcomes In addition to the published HESA performance indicators, the University has also conducted its own analysis of disparities in outcomes within its student body over the past three academic years from 2013/14 to 2015/16. The University is extending its research analysis and strategic approaches across the institution to better understand and address the factors affecting its success and achievement rates, particularly for those from low participation groups or disadvantaged backgrounds. Analysis of internal data on student performance outcomes from the three previous years shows that overall student success rates at all levels improved in 2015/16, with success for students overall at level 4 improving from 78.6% to 80.7%. However, the following differential performances are also highlighted (in cases where characteristics are known). BME - The difference between success of students identifying as white and those identifying as BME remained at 6.6% overall in 2015/16 but widened to 13.2% at level 4: Level Ethnicity 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 4 White 80.1% 79.5% 81.9% BME 74.9% 71.6% 68.7% Notwithstanding the small BME population size at Xxxxxxx, this difference at level 4 is clearly a particular concern that we will seek to understand and address. Although, the differential narrows at each level, reducing to 3.8% at level 5 and 1.4 at level 6, a much lower percentage of BME students than white students gain first or upper second class honours degrees: Degree class Ethnicity 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 1st or 2i White 63.8% 68.0% 69.3% BME 48.1% 48.0% 54.7% Low participation neighbourhoods (POLAR 1 and 2) - Comparison of the outcomes for students from low participation areas with those from other areas indicates that the difference in success rates between the two groups has narrowed considerably at all levels since 2013/14. Level POLAR group 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 4 1&2 74.5% 78.1% 79.6% Other 82.4% 79.0% 81.3% 5 1&2 84.9% 86.9% 89.7% Other 87.9% 89.0% 90.4% 6 1&2 88.7% 86.3% 90.7% Other 92.9% 90.8% 91.3% All levels 1&2 81.6% 83.4% 86.1% Other 87.6% 86.0% 87.6% From this it can be seen that in 2015/16 the gap in outomes stands at 1.7% for level 4, reducing to 0.7% at level 5, and 0.6% at level 6. We will continue to monitor this invest in measures to support and deliver actions at institutional level to ensure that this narrowing trend is maintained. We have also analysed performance further within these groups by gender, POLAR groups and ethnicity. Over the last three years, female students have achieved better success rates than males, both within POLAR 1&2 groups and within other POLAR groups. The percentage gap in differential outcomes between female and male students in these groups, however, appears to be narrowing overall: Level In POLAR group 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 % gap F/M % gap F/M % gap F/M 4 1&2 5.9 9.1 2.0 Other 9.7 5.5 2.6 5 1&2 8.9 4.1 2.5 Other 5.1 4.6 3.6 6 1&2 4.2 7.2 2.4 Other 3.0 2.6 4.6 All levels 1&2 6.7 7.3 2.5 Other 6.5 4.8 3.6 However, male students overall achieve lower degree classifications than their female peers. In 2015/16, 56.9% of male retain students from low participation neighbourhoods achieved a first or upper second, compared to 71.4% of female students from the same group. This parallels the figures for male and female students from other POLAR groups (58.3% and 72.2%, respectively). The percentage gap in success rates between students from higher participation neighbourhoods (HPN) and those from POLAR 1&2 groups (LPN) has narrowed considerably at all levels since 2013/14. This includes a narrowing of the percentage gap in success rates of males from social-economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods (POLAR 1&2) and their male peers from other POLAR groups, to a greater extent than for comparable groups of female students: Level By Gender 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 % gap HPN/LPN % gap HPN/LPN % gap HPN/LPN 5 Male 5.9 2.0 0.1 Female 2.1 2.5 1.2 6 Male 5.0 7.9 -0.7 Female 3.8 3.3 1.5backgrounds.

Retention and Student Success. The following indicators of the University’s absolute and relative performance in non-continuation of students following year of entry are taken from the UK Performance Indicators of HE produced by HESAXXXX. Year of entry 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 Young Young full-time first Xxxxxxx – no longer in HE 9.0 9.6 6.4 9.5 9.4 9.8 Benchmark 8.2 7.6 6.7 6.8 7.1 7.2 degree non- continuation (following % continue or qualify at previous year of entry) Xxxxxxx 88.7 88.3 92.3 88.3 88.7 88.2 (Table 3a) % adjusted sector continue or qualify 89.4 90.4 91.3 90.8 90.5 90.2 From low participation neighbourhoods (Table 3b) (POLAR3) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 12.0 11.1 9.6 11.0 14.1 12.0 Benchmark 10.2 8.9 8.5 8.0 8.8 9.1 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx 85.6 86.2 89.3 84.2 83.4 85.7 % adjusted sector continue or qualify 87.5 89.2 89.6 89.8 89.0 88.6 From other neighbourhoods (Table 3b) (POLAR3) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 8.4 9.3 5.8 9.2 8.4 9.3 Benchmark 7.8 7.0 6.2 6.4 6.7 6.7 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx 89.2 88.8 92.9 89.0 89.8 88.8 % adjusted sector continue or qualify 89.7 90.8 91.7 91.1 90.9 90.7 Mature Mature full-time first Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 12.3 9.7 9.0 11.1 10.2 10.8 Benchmark 13.1 11.3 10.2 10.8 10.3 10.3 degree non- continuation (following % continue or qualify at previous year of entry) Xxxxxxx 85.6 89.6 90.3 87.5 87.6 86.4 (Table 3a) % adjusted sector continue or qualify 85.2 87.3 88.4 87.6 88.1 88.0 With no previous HE qualification (Table 3c) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 11.9 12.0 9.6 12.4 9.2 11.00 Benchmark 13.3 11.8 10.4 11.0 10.5 10.7 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx 85.4 86.9 89.3 86.0 88.5 86.0 % adjusted sector continue or qualify 84.9 86.6 88.0 87.2 87.7 87.4 With previous HE qualification (Table 3c) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 13.8 4.7 7.5 6.8 13.5 10.5 Benchmark 12.3 10.0 9.4 10.0 9.5 9.3 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx 86.2 95.3 92.5 92.4 84.6 87.8 % adjusted sector continue or qualify 86.3 89.0 89.6 89.1 89.5 89.6 For young undergraduates entering the University, there has been an improvement of 2.1% in the non-continuation figure for students from low participation neighbourhoods, and the difference in proportion between these students continuing or qualifying and those from other neighbourhoods has narrowed. However, the general trend in the overall proportion of students continuing or qualifying is less for students from low participation neighbourhoods than for those from other neighbourhoods. The general trend in the proportion of students continuing or qualifying is also not improving and remains below improving, despite the sector and locally-adjusted benchmarksslight increase seen for 2013/14 entrants compared with 2012/13 entrants. There has also been a significant decline in students from low participation neighbourhoods continuing or qualifying. The 2011/12 entry cohort were a particularly strong cohort, being the year before higher fees were introduced, therefore this appears to be an atypical year. Overall young full time first degree entrants still have a lower proportion of students continuing or qualifying at the University than the adjusted sector benchmark for this group. Therefore the University recognises it needs has work to develop further the steps being taken to address thisdo here. The proportion of mature students continuing or qualifying at the University provides a similar picture to that for young undergraduates. The proportion of mature Mature students with a no previous HE qualification actually had a higher proportion of students continuing or qualifying at the University improved and was higher than compared with those without with a previous HE qualification. However, However the overall figure for mature students is also below the adjusted sector benchmark, so again the University continues to recognise the need to address the retention rates of mature students Analysis of differential student outcomes In addition to the published HESA performance indicators, the University has also conducted its own analysis of disparities in differential outcomes within its student body over the past three 5 academic years from 2013/14 2010- 11 to 2015/162014-15. The From this analysis the University is extending its research analysis and strategic approaches across the institution to better understand and address the factors affecting its success and achievement rates, particularly for those has identified that students from low participation neighbourhoods, students entering the University with BTEC qualifications, and male students are less likely to continue or qualify at the University, and therefore the University will endeavour to focus resource and initiatives on those that are most likely to have an impact on these groups of students. Progression to further study or disadvantaged backgrounds. Analysis of internal data on student performance outcomes to/within employment The following statistics are derived from the three previous Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey: In Work and/or Study Graduate Prospects2 Graduating year 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 Undergraduate FT First Degree Leavers 90.3% 92.8% 93.4% 69.8% 65.3% 62.8% From Low Participation Neighbourhood (POLAR3) 89.5% 90.9% 93.7% 70.4% 61.7% 62.8% With a declared disability 90.5% 86.5% 88.8% 70.6% 60.8% 62.0% All data in this table relates to Home and EU Full time first degree leavers only. From the above table it can be seen that the proportion of FT first degree graduates from the University of Xxxxxxx in work and/or study 6 months after graduation has increased over the last 3 years, however graduate prospects for this group as a whole are falling. The proportion of students from a low participation neighbourhood in work and/or study mirrors the trend of increase over the last 3 years shows that overall student success rates at all levels improved and compares well to the proportion of FT first degree leavers as whole. Compared with 2012/13 graduate prospects for this group have increased and, 2 proportion of students with known destination in 2015/16, with success graduate level job and/or further study other than for students overall at level 4 improving from 78.6% to 80.7%. However2012/13 leavers, the following differential performances are also highlighted (in cases where characteristics are known). BME - The difference between success of students identifying as white and those identifying as BME remained at 6.6% overall in 2015/16 but widened to 13.2% at level 4: Level Ethnicity 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 4 White 80.1% 79.5% 81.9% BME 74.9% 71.6% 68.7% Notwithstanding the small BME population size at Xxxxxxx, this difference at level 4 is clearly a particular concern that we will seek to understand and address. Although, the differential narrows at each level, reducing to 3.8% at level 5 and 1.4 at level 6, a much lower percentage of BME students than white students gain first or upper second class honours degrees: Degree class Ethnicity 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 1st or 2i White 63.8% 68.0% 69.3% BME 48.1% 48.0% 54.7% Low participation neighbourhoods (POLAR 1 and 2) - Comparison of the outcomes graduate prospects for students from low participation areas neighbourhoods compares well with those from other areas indicates that students overall. For graduates with a declared disability, the difference proportion of students in success rates between work and/or study and graduate prospects was below the two groups has narrowed considerably at proportion for all levels since FT first degree leavers in 2012/13 and 2013/14. Level POLAR There is also a decreasing trend for this group 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 4 1&2 74.5% 78.1% 79.6% Other 82.4% 79.0% 81.3% 5 1&2 84.9% 86.9% 89.7% Other 87.9% 89.0% 90.4% 6 1&2 88.7% 86.3% 90.7% Other 92.9% 90.8% 91.3% All levels 1&2 81.6% 83.4% 86.1% Other 87.6% 86.0% 87.6% From this it can be seen that in 2015/16 the gap in outomes stands at 1.7% for level 4, reducing to 0.7% at level 5, and 0.6% at level 6. We will continue to monitor this and deliver actions at institutional level to ensure that this narrowing trend is maintained. We have also analysed performance further within these groups by gender, POLAR groups and ethnicity. Over over the last three 3 years, female students have achieved better success rates than males, both within POLAR 1&2 groups and within other POLAR groups. The percentage gap in differential outcomes between female and male students in these groups, however, appears to be narrowing overall: Level In POLAR group 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 % gap F/M % gap F/M % gap F/M 4 1&2 5.9 9.1 2.0 Other 9.7 5.5 2.6 5 1&2 8.9 4.1 2.5 Other 5.1 4.6 3.6 6 1&2 4.2 7.2 2.4 Other 3.0 2.6 4.6 All levels 1&2 6.7 7.3 2.5 Other 6.5 4.8 3.6 However, male students overall achieve lower degree classifications than their female peers. In 2015/16, 56.9% of male As for students from low participation neighbourhoods achieved a first or upper secondneighbourhoods, an increase in graduate prospects for 2013/14 leavers was seen compared to 71.4with 2012/13 leavers, therefore some progress is being made here. Undergraduate FT First Degree Leavers 96.00% 95.00% 94.00% 93.00% 92.00% 91.00% 90.00% 89.00% University of female students from the same group. This parallels the figures for male and female students from other POLAR groups (58.3Xxxxxxx Sector Benchmark 91.60% and 72.292.70%, respectively). The percentage gap in success rates between students from higher participation neighbourhoods (HPN) and those from POLAR 1&2 groups (LPN) has narrowed considerably at all levels since 2013/14. This includes a narrowing of the percentage gap in success rates of males from social-economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods (POLAR 1&2) and their male peers from other POLAR groups, to a greater extent than for comparable groups of female students: Level By Gender 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 % gap HPN/LPN % gap HPN/LPN % gap HPN/LPN 5 Male 5.9 2.0 0.1 Female 2.1 2.5 1.2 6 Male 5.0 7.9 -0.7 Female 3.8 3.3 1.5

Retention and Student Success. The following indicators of the University’s absolute and relative performance in non-continuation of students following year of entry (2012/13) are taken from the UK Performance Indicators of HE produced by HESA. Year of entry 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 Young Young full-time first degree non- continuation (following previous year of entry) (Table 3a) Xxxxxxx – no longer in HE 8.2 9.0 9.6 6.4 9.5 9.4 9.8 Benchmark 7.5 8.2 7.6 6.7 6.8 7.1 7.2 degree non- continuation (following % continue or qualify at previous year of entry) Xxxxxxx 88.6 88.7 88.3 92.3 88.3 88.7 88.2 (Table 3a) % adjusted sector continue or qualify 89.5 89.4 90.4 91.3 90.8 90.5 90.2 From low participation neighbourhoods (Table 3b) (POLAR3) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 9.8 12.0 11.1 9.6 11.0 14.1 12.0 Benchmark 8.4 10.2 8.9 8.5 8.0 8.8 9.1 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx 86.5 85.6 86.2 89.3 84.2 83.4 85.7 % adjusted sector continue or qualify 88.7 87.5 89.2 89.6 89.8 89.0 88.6 From other neighbourhoods (Table 3b) (POLAR3) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 7.9 8.4 9.3 5.8 9.2 8.4 9.3 Benchmark 7.2 7.8 7.0 6.2 6.4 6.7 6.7 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx 89.0 89.2 88.8 92.9 89.0 89.8 88.8 % adjusted sector continue or qualify 89.7 89.7 90.8 91.7 91.1 90.9 90.7 Mature Mature full-time first degree non- continuation (following previous year of entry) (Table 3a) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 13.1 12.3 9.7 9.0 11.1 10.2 10.8 Benchmark 12.9 13.1 11.3 10.2 10.8 10.3 10.3 degree non- continuation (following % continue or qualify at previous year of entry) Xxxxxxx 84.1 85.6 89.6 90.3 87.5 87.6 86.4 (Table 3a) % adjusted sector continue or qualify 84.6 85.2 87.3 88.4 87.6 88.1 88.0 With no previous HE qualification (Table 3c) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 14.0 11.9 12.0 9.6 12.4 9.2 11.00 Benchmark 13.0 13.3 11.8 10.4 11.0 10.5 10.7 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx 82.9 85.4 86.9 89.3 86.0 88.5 86.0 % adjusted sector continue or qualify 84.2 84.9 86.6 88.0 87.2 87.7 87.4 With previous HE qualification (Table 3c) Xxxxxxx– no longer in HE 10.9 13.8 4.7 7.5 6.8 13.5 10.5 Benchmark 12.6 12.3 10.0 9.4 10.0 9.5 9.3 % continue or qualify at Xxxxxxx 86.9 86.2 95.3 92.5 92.4 84.6 87.8 % adjusted sector continue or qualify 85.7 86.3 89.0 89.6 89.1 89.5 89.6 For young Young undergraduates entering the University, there has been an improvement the proportion of 2.1% in the non-continuation figure students continuing or qualifying is less for students from low participation neighbourhoods, and the difference in proportion between these students continuing or qualifying and than for those from other neighbourhoods has narrowedneighbourhoods. HoweverThis is also true of mature students with no previous HE qualification compared with those with a previous HE qualification. The University would therefore like to close the gap on this particular group with regard to non-continuation. Despite good performance overall in terms of non-continuation in 2012-13, the general trend in the overall proportion of students continuing or qualifying at the University is not improving and remains below the sector and locally-adjusted benchmarksimproving. The 2011/12 entry cohort 2011-12 intake (shown in the 2012-13 figures above) were a particularly strong cohort, being the year before higher fees were introduced, therefore any improvements seen in non-continuation for this appears cohort appear to be an atypical year. Overall young full time first degree entrants still have a lower proportion of students continuing or qualifying at the University than the adjusted sector benchmark for this group. Therefore the University recognises it needs to develop further the steps being taken to address this. The proportion of mature students continuing or qualifying at the University provides a similar picture to that for young undergraduates. The proportion of mature students with a previous HE qualification continuing or qualifying at the University improved and was higher than those without a previous HE qualification. However, the overall figure for mature students is also below the adjusted sector benchmark, so again the University continues to recognise the need to address the retention rates of mature students Analysis of differential student outcomes In addition to the published HESA performance indicators, the University has also conducted its own analysis of disparities in outcomes within its student body over the past three academic years from 2013/14 to 2015/16atypical. The University is extending its research analysis and strategic approaches across the institution to better understand and address the factors affecting its will therefore prioritise student success and achievement ratesretention initiatives going forwards, particularly for those from low participation groups or disadvantaged backgrounds. Analysis of internal data on student performance outcomes from the three previous years shows that overall student success rates at all levels improved and in 2015/16, with success for students overall at level 4 improving from 78.6% to 80.7%. However, the following differential performances are also highlighted (in cases where characteristics are known). BME - The difference between success of students identifying as white and those identifying as BME remained at 6.6% overall in 2015/16 but widened to 13.2% at level 4: Level Ethnicity 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 4 White 80.1% 79.5% 81.9% BME 74.9% 71.6% 68.7% Notwithstanding the small BME population size at Xxxxxxx, this difference at level 4 is clearly a particular concern that we will seek to understand and address. Although, the differential narrows at each level, reducing to 3.8% at level 5 and 1.4 at level 6, a much lower percentage of BME students than white students gain first or upper second class honours degrees: Degree class Ethnicity 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 1st or 2i White 63.8% 68.0% 69.3% BME 48.1% 48.0% 54.7% Low participation neighbourhoods (POLAR 1 and 2) - Comparison of the outcomes for students from low participation areas neighbourhoods/with no previous HE qualification. Progression to further study or to/within employment The University has one of the highest employability rates for North West Institutions, with over 92%1 of all 2012-13 undergraduate leavers reported to be in employment or further study 6 months after graduation. Of all FT First Degree leavers in employment, nearly 76% were in a graduate entry job. There is a disparity between leavers from low participation neighbourhoods and those declaring a disability compared with the overall population. Therefore the University will need to ensure that initiatives aimed at increasing the employability its students include and support these particular disadvantaged groups. In Work and/or Study FT First degree leavers in employment - Graduate Entry job All Undergraduate Leavers 92.4% 75.6% From Low Participation Neighbourhood (POLAR3) 91.2% 73.5% With a declared disability 85.7% 71.1% 1 Quoted figures from Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey 2013-14. Strategic Approach to Access and Student Success The University takes a whole student lifecycle approach to its access and student success activity and has ensured its strategy for 2016/17 is in line with the National Strategy for Access and Student Success. This is achieved through extensive outreach work, student retention and success initiatives, and activities to enhance our students’ progression into employment. The University will protect its own record of fair access and also aims to ensure that within its outreach work, collaborative and broader awareness and aspiration-raising activity will be consolidated and continued. In order to do this, we shall in 2016-17 continue to invest in outreach activities which work with all age groups starting at primary school level. The University will continue work in collaboration with schools, colleges, employers and other areas indicates HEIs in delivering its targeted outreach activity. It will also seek to develop some long-term, sustained outreach work with particular targeted groups. The University is also committed to working with Further Education Colleges in the region in order to strengthen the progression of mature students from Access to HE programmes. Student Success for all students, and in particular for under-represented groups, will remain a priority and particular area of focus in 2016-17. The University will move away from a wider programme of targeted department led initiatives to more cross institutional approaches to improving retention and student success. Underpinned by evidence from the sector, and building on the good practice developed through its previous department led initiatives, it is hoped that this will benefit more students than locally targeted schemes and bring about change at an institutional, rather than a local level. In order to maintain its excellent employability rates for graduates and ensure that students from under-represented groups, in particular, benefit from interventions to enhance employability, the University will also continue to invest in this area. The University will also continue to provide financial support in the form of bursary and scholarship schemes. Evaluation of impact of these schemes, both on recruitment and on students’ success post entry, is ongoing but remains inconclusive. Students in receipt of bursaries at the University in 2013- 14 were less likely to withdraw from their studies than their peers who did not; however this does not constitute a trend and therefore we will continue to offer and monitor the impact of these schemes into 2016-17. Estimated spend on access and student success measures In 2016-17, the University estimates that it will spend approximately 20% of projected additional fee income on new and existing measures to widen access and improve the retention, success and progression of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as targeted student financial support commitments. With regard to Access, this expenditure accounts for posts for new and existing outreach work, events and activities; information, advice and guidance about higher education and financial arrangements; and support in targeting, monitoring and evaluation of outreach and other WP-related activity, including collaborative working and established outreach mentoring schemes with schools and colleges. The investment also supports administration of University of Xxxxxxx Bursary and Scholarship schemes. Recognising the need to address retention and student success of students from under-represented groups, the University plans to modify its spending profile to put additional investment into this area, moving some money from existing financial support packages which have had the least impact on recruitment and student success. The University also plans to change the way it spends money in this area to prioritise and support more cross institutional approaches to improving retention and student success, reducing the number of smaller department led initiatives. Investment in the current Graduate Head Start programme and Xxxxxxx Difference Award initiatives to enhance students’ employability will be maintained, as well as continued investment in a number of other initiatives to promote student progression to employment. This includes the University’s Employability Fund which supports low income students to carry out activities which will develop their employability. All expenditure included in this agreement complies fully with guidance from OFFA on eligibility. Where activity may form part of wider non-targeted activity, only estimated proportions attributed to the targeted aspects have been counted, and this conservatively. Examples of funded activities The University has considered its current position in terms of its access and student success record, as well as findings from its own evaluation of previous outreach activity and student success initiatives, in determining the activity funded under its access agreement for 2016-17. It has also been informed by the National Strategy for Access and Student Success. Findings from nationally recognised research, such as the benefits of primary outreach activity and long term, sustained outreach interventions have also contributed to our plans going forwards. Therefore all examples of funded activity detailed below have been determined based on our own evaluation of the estimated impact the activity has already had, or is being assumed to have, on access and student success at the University. Access to Higher Education Outreach A considerable element of the outreach investment in 2016-17 will be in maintaining the resources, staffing and other costs to support the direct targeting and delivery of activity. Evaluation of previous outreach activity has shown that the difference majority of participants in success an increased number of events gained better understanding of life at university; more reported that they would like to go, or definitely would go, than did so before the event. Therefore, the University will continue to fund the posts which enable the University to provide:  HE awareness- and aspiration-raising events with targeted schools and colleges;  Information and advice on HE (including student finance) for targeted schools, colleges and individuals;  Data analysis, monitoring and evaluation of impact of outreach activity;  Administrative support for the outreach office. Investment will be continued in this area to provide a consolidated programme of direct delivery of activities with participants. The University’s WP outreach programme will continue to be based on the formation and maintenance of direct links and the development of long-term structured and co-ordinated interventions with a number of targeted schools and colleges with low higher education participation rates between or large proportions of disadvantaged students. Work will focus mainly on partnerships with schools, academies and colleges in the two groups has narrowed considerably at all levels since 2013/14. Level POLAR group 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 4 1&2 74.5% 78.1% 79.6% Other 82.4% 79.0% 81.3% 5 1&2 84.9% 86.9% 89.7% Other 87.9% 89.0% 90.4% 6 1&2 88.7% 86.3% 90.7% Other 92.9% 90.8% 91.3% All levels 1&2 81.6% 83.4% 86.1% Other 87.6% 86.0% 87.6% From this it can be seen that in 2015/16 the gap in outomes stands at 1.7% for level 4, reducing to 0.7% at level 5Cheshire and Warrington area, and 0.6% further afield into Merseyside and Greater Manchester, but activity will also extend into those areas within the adjoining regions, for example Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, as well as Staffordshire and Lancashire, where there are opportunities which support targeted engagement and collaborative activity. This will again involve strengthening links with partner and link schools and colleges, so as to build closer networks of relationships and to provide the basis for extending progression pathways. In addition to general taster days and subject specific events, examples of other types of planned activity in 2016-17 include:  Supporting students from low participation backgrounds to make applications to higher education, by offering information and advice on courses, writing personal statements and student finance. We will also provide appropriate information and awareness raising activities for people who act as key influencers on target populations (e.g. parents; teachers; careers/education guidance staff and careers advisers). Continued investment will allow us to consolidate our existing work in this area.  Targeted interventions at level 6key transition points in a students’ learning, for example Xxxxx 0 and Level 3 options, parents’ evening events, and careers fairs. Feedback from past events has been invaluable in shaping the structure of these activities and events.  Mature students – Access to HE Diplomas remain an important route into Higher Education for mature entrants and the University recognises from its assessment of its Access record for 2013-14 that there may be further work to do here. We will continue to monitor this work closely with our feeder colleges through visits and deliver actions at institutional level to ensure that this narrowing trend is maintainedIAG events (both on and off campus). We have will also analysed performance further within these groups by gender, POLAR groups develop bespoke information for mature students pre- and ethnicity. Over post-application and provide the last three years, female students have achieved better success rates than males, both within POLAR 1&2 groups opportunity for individual advice on admissions and within other POLAR groups. The percentage gap in differential outcomes between female and male students in these groups, however, appears to be narrowing overall: Level In POLAR group 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 % gap F/M % gap F/M % gap F/M 4 1&2 5.9 9.1 2.0 Other 9.7 5.5 2.6 5 1&2 8.9 4.1 2.5 Other 5.1 4.6 3.6 6 1&2 4.2 7.2 2.4 Other 3.0 2.6 4.6 All levels 1&2 6.7 7.3 2.5 Other 6.5 4.8 3.6 However, male students overall achieve lower degree classifications than their female peers. In 2015/16, 56.9% of male students from low participation neighbourhoods achieved a first or upper second, compared to 71.4% of female students from the same group. This parallels the figures for male and female students from other POLAR groups (58.3% and 72.2%, respectively). The percentage gap in success rates between students from higher participation neighbourhoods (HPN) and those from POLAR 1&2 groups (LPN) has narrowed considerably at all levels since 2013/14. This includes a narrowing of the percentage gap in success rates of males from socialpost-economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods (POLAR 1&2) and their male peers from other POLAR groups, to a greater extent than for comparable groups of female students: Level By Gender 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 % gap HPN/LPN % gap HPN/LPN % gap HPN/LPN 5 Male 5.9 2.0 0.1 Female 2.1 2.5 1.2 6 Male 5.0 7.9 -0.7 Female 3.8 3.3 1.5application feedback.