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. 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.
4.3.2 The University employs a Senior Progression Officer (Schools & Colleges) whose role includes monitoring student retention, attainment and progression, and identifying potential areas for improvement for non-traditional groups. This work will continue and may give particular consideration to ‘differences in attainment for different groups of students (particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds and students with disabilities), and how they engage with the full opportunities that their programme of study might offer’10.
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 i. To reduce the non-continuation rate for WP students at Manchester Met to 7.5% by 2020 (as measured by HESA Table T3b – POLAR 3 data).
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.
4.3.2 The University employs a Senior Progression Officer whose role includes monitoring student retention and progression, and identifying potential areas for improvement for non-traditional groups. This work will continue.
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. 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. 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. 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 College has evidence that students from lowest income households benefit from direct financial support for their Final 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.
4.3.2 The University College employs a Senior Progression Officer whose role includes monitoring student retention and progression, and identifying potential areas for improvement for non-traditional groups. This work will continue.
4.3.3 We are also mindful of the importance of progression in the creative industries post- graduation for non-traditional students. To strengthen and consolidate opportunities which can benefit these learners both during their studies, and within the first few months after the completion of their course we propose for 2014/15 a staff appointment to provide additional advice and guidance. We shall also consider practical support such as internships, for these students as they progress through the course, and will consider introducing these in future years.
4.3.4 The University College acknowledges the importance of supporting non-traditional students on course, and will be reviewing how best to provide support for the development of study skills, either through a new appointment, through a revision to existing work patterns, or through the development of dedicated materials which can be accessed by learners as required.
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.
