Common use of Student retention and success Clause in Contracts

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 the experience of students with disabilities and to this end will invest in the following equipment to support students: Equipping a room with webcam and appropriate assistive technologies to link to Access Centres so that virtual appointments can take place to speed up the assessment process A mobile hoist UCS will also establish a ring fenced fund to support the needs of students with disabilities.

Student retention and success. UCS has been steadily improving its The College welcomes the fact that the new arrangements recognise the necessary support under the access agreement for retention rates over the past four years, but acknowledges there are still improvements to be madeactivities. UCS is committed to increasing student retention and success and it is proposed that Although we presently have a proportion relatively good rate 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 the College acknowledges the potential for increasing need as the student population alters (towards increased students from disadvantaged, non-traditional, 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 preunder-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 judgingrepresented groups). The Teaching Fellows will then be used to drive forward innovation in Teaching and Learning. Increased infrastructure demands may arise from College also recognises that the work range of Teaching Fellows which provision will need to change as a result of new modes of study coming on line. The RAC provides academic and pastoral support for all students and particularly for those from under-represented groups. Under the new Access Agreement, retention support will focus on development of employability and academic success, and includes: Personal Development & Progression (personal tutor) allocations for all undergraduate students (as per previous years), but with development of a more robust system, including initial assessment with each student, progression planning and key skills work. Strengthening PDP: portfolio of work developed (key skills, project, personal assessment, reflection) to be supportedcompleted by students and tutors; accredited on transcript under personal / professional development modules to increase employability. There Increased range of key study skills sessions. These will now be accredited and appear on students’ transcript, achieving targets under increasing success and employability. Development of a “One-Stop-Shop” online housing map of key support services, IAG, useful contacts and student self-directed assessment and learning related to progression. This comprehensive virtual help zone will offer a different means of support and will be accessible to all students. The College will re configure its intranet provision to provide this enhanced service. The College, in conjunction with the Business Development Centre, will also explore the development of various initiatives and projects, including the allocation of scholarships and bursaries (Item 3.4.2), to support students in accessing a need range of employability projects. This will not only increase potential employability of under-represented groups, but will make entry to our courses more attractive due to the positive graduate outcomes and opportunities attached. The College is also aware of the range of physical access measures that will positively impact on both access and retention targets. As such, we propose the following developments to our student services: Assessment and development of existing shuttle buses to and from RAC, not only for investment support for existing students but as a positive feature of recruitment, particularly concentrating on local target areas (Swindon, Gloucester). Collaboration with public transport services will be investigated. £100 voucher for each student towards the cost of a bicycle is continued under the new Access Agreement Availability of an increased range of programmes and mode of study (Item 3.1.10), and in particular collaborative delivery, e-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 the experience of students with disabilities and to this end will invest in the following equipment to support students: Equipping a room with webcam and appropriate assistive technologies to link to Access Centres so that virtual appointments can take place to speed up the assessment process A mobile hoist UCS will also establish a ring fenced fund to support the needs of students with disabilitiesdistance learning.

Student retention and success. UCS has been steadily improving its retention rates over We have improved the past four yearsmeasures in place to support student success and recruited Learning Advisors during 2012-13. The Learning Advisors provide primarily academic support via a School-based structure. They support and monitor the progress of students from under- represented groups and will be complemented by the work of a Student Experience Data Analyst. As monitoring, but acknowledges there are still improvements evaluation and analysis become systemised we expect to be made. UCS is committed able to increasing student retention and success and it is proposed that develop a proportion more sophisticated approach to understanding the impact 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 preour on-course studyinterventions during 2013 and beyond into 2014/15. UCS intends to develop The University College also runs a residential pre-entry programmes of study that can be accessed on a part-time basis programme, ‘Get Set for Success’, which aims to support the transition into HE for students from non-traditional backgrounds. Students who have engaged with this programme are not yet ready targeted for on-course support by the Learning Advisors and we are planning to further enhance the support available to students from unrepresented groups particularly in relation to: information, advice and guidance; equality and diversity; disability and careers support. Through in-house research we have also identified a need to support particular groups of students in ‘belonging’. We will focus on developing targeted activities which build on the pre-entry programme after students have enrolled. These mainly social activities will focus on improving the skills gaps often associated with students from under- represented groups, such as HE but would awareness and confidence, with a view to improving student engagement and retention. In conjunction with the Learning Advisors system, this will strengthen the monitoring and support for students from under-represented groups throughout their time at the University College. In 2013 we will implement a new ‘Student engagement, retention and success’ institutional strategy. This, together with involvement in the HEA/Xxxx Xxxxxx Foundation project ‘Student Retention and Success’ during 2013 – 2016 will provide a significant driver in terms of improving on course retention and success. Following an extensive programme of training and migration, a new virtual learning environment was introduced in September 2012 across all academic programmes; simmsCAPital has prompted the increased use of online resources across all programmes, and led to enhanced student access and engagement (as evidenced by feedback to Information Services). This allows students greater accessibility to learning materials. We believe that this development will have a positive impact on students who come from a range of backgrounds including those under–represented in HE. It will be ready after participating further developed in such the coming years to integrate with the Student Review scheme, an enhanced institutional Personal Development Planning Scheme (PDP) for students which provides one-to-one sessions for students to discuss individual progress and support requirements with their Academic Tutor. This scheme is being facilitated by a programmerange of online tools and guidance information on simmsCAPital, as well as an e-portfolio system for recording action plans and progress. High quality teaching is a key feature The University College will continue to increase the preparedness of providing a high quality student experience. A number students from under- represented groups for the world 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 recognisedwork. Students will be involved encouraged to undertake accredited work placement modules as part of their degrees and will be supported in both nomination doing this by individual tutors from the University College and judgingby appropriately qualified workplace supervisors who will promote student learning in the workplace. The Teaching Fellows placement modules will then be used give students the opportunity build confidence and sense of responsibility, gain specific skills relating to drive forward innovation chosen career paths, understand what they have to offer to employers, explore career options and boost their CV’s. They will have the opportunity to explore and discuss their career aspirations, understand the range of experiences that are open to them, develop employability skills, build social and professional networks and understand the value of these. They will also improve their academic outcomes by experiencing theory in Teaching practice. Students undertaking placements will attend employability workshops (the Careers Service has a Graduate Employability Coach) and Learningindividual tutorials, designed to help them reflect on their professional and personal progress, identify areas for improvement and set goals for their workplace experience. Increased infrastructure demands may arise from the work of Teaching Fellows which will need to be supported. There They will be mentored in areas such as organisation and planning, team building, negotiation, problem solving, and ethics to ensure that they are able to make a need for investment positive contribution to the workplace and succeed both in particular learning technologies the module and developing in their placement. Where applicable, they will be given access to employers and alumni from whose experience they can learn and who can help them to see the path to success. They will build a 24/7 learning environment to support the more flexible learning style portfolio of many students. A good tutorial system is essential to enable lecturers to spot problems and deal experience which can be taken with them earlybeyond higher education. UCS already has an excellent tutorial policy however, as with many initiatives, The modules and 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 placements will be putting evaluated on completion by students and placement providers, and their success measured and evaluated in place administrative support to stop at-risk students slipping through the net. Although we have a general understanding terms of why students leave before they have achieved their awardretention, we need to ensure we have better statistical data to evidence and help improve our withdrawal rates. UCS will resource a system success 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 the experience this group of students with disabilities at university and in gaining graduate employment. On-going research (quantitative and qualitative data) will be undertaken to this end will invest measure the usefulness and value of the placements for students and graduates in the following equipment to support studentsterms of preparation for future employment or further studies, investigating such aspects as: Equipping a room with webcam preparedness for employment; establishing networks; gaining skills and appropriate assistive technologies to link to Access Centres so that virtual appointments can take place to speed up the assessment process A mobile hoist UCS will also establish a ring fenced fund to support the needs of students with disabilitiesattributes favoured by employers; and establishing career choices.