Mission Statement: Working together to create a better future for all through education, enterprise and employment.

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1 Bradford College Access Agreement 2016/17 1. Introduction. Mission Statement: Working together to create a better future for all through education, enterprise and employment. Bradford College has a history dating back to 1832 when it was founded as a technical education foundation. The College s mission and vision are placed in the context of its long and significant experience of the development and delivery of higher education. The mission of the College is captured and demonstrated through opportunities for progression from entry level to masters, our widening participation to raise the aspirations and wellbeing of the people of Bradford and our 175 years of collaboration with the employers of the city and region. The College was an early innovator in the development of widening participation in HE long before the term was first coined nationally and long before it received prominence in national HE policy and strategy. From September 2014 the College has been based in its iconic new building which will provide state of the art facilities for all our students. This aspirational building will enable students to participate in learning from age 14 to postgraduate level. Bradford College recruits over 17% of its undergraduate students from widening participation backgrounds (Polar 3 data). The successful recruitment and retention of these students is a central part of the College s Higher Education Strategy. 2. Duration and scope 2.1 This agreement covers the academic year 2016/17 only. 2.2 This agreement relates to setting of fees for UK and UE students including: Full and part-time undergraduate (including ITT) honours programmes Full and part-time Foundation Degree and Higher National programmes Postgraduate ITT programmes 2.3 Existing students enrolled on programmes outlined in 2.2 above before September 2016 will continue to be subject to arrangements for fees and bursaries as laid out in previous Access Agreements. 3. Fee levels and additional access expenditure 3.1 Bradford College intends to charge all full time undergraduate entrants, apart from Higher Nationals, tuition fees of 7950 per annum for 2016/17 regardless of their programme of study apart from:

2 FdA SMLE 6,500 FD Early Years 6, Bradford College intends to charge all Higher National Diploma entrants tuition fees of 7,550 per annum for 2016/17 regardless of their programme of study. 3.3 Bradford College intends to charge all postgraduate ITT entrants tuition fees of 9,000 per annum for 2015/ Bradford College intends to charge all part-time undergraduate entrants tuition fees as a proportion of full time fees per annum for 2016/17 regardless of their programme of study. 3.6 Bradford College anticipates applying any permitted annual increases on these fee levels for subsequent years. The fees charged enable the College to continue to invest in the retention and improving results for our students. Costings attributable to each element of activities outlined below, are detailed within the tables attached. 4. Focus of activity for recruitment The College is principally a local and regional recruiter with a number of niche national recruiting programmes. The College is actively engaged with the HEART partnership (Higher Education Access Rewarding Transforming) and an agreed statement is attached at Appendix 1. In addition the College provides a comprehensive programme of outreach programmes through the Student Recruitment Team. The activities include all local FE & 6 th Form Colleges and schools, some of which have low post 16 and post 18 progression to Further and Higher Education. The activities focus on raising awareness of Higher Education opportunities in Year 9 to enable appropriate Key Stage 4 choice and in Year 11 to maximise progression and make informed subject choices. These activities include the students currently studying within the Bradford College FE programmes. The College is engaged with local primary schools working with year 6 pupils focussing on aspiration. The increase in success and progression spend will include full access to an employability entitlement. An exciting programme of activity was piloted in 2011/12 and further extended in 2015/16. This programme will continue in 2016/17. The programme aims to prepare students to be effective leaders and helps students to become career ready through experiential learning. The College s commitment to a vocational / professional curriculum means it is ideally placed to offer students courses that lead to professional careers providing the greatest potential for social mobility. Previously, the College has used variable measures which have demonstrated a higher proportion of widening participation. The College is currently working with sector colleagues to establish an agreed set of widening participation measures to use which will provide a sector wide baseline data set which will enable meaningful comparison and evaluation.

3 The College currently spends around 30% of the income above the basic fee income, on access, retention and success. 5. Baseline and contextualised data The College uses contextualised data to provide an initial assessment of performance in relation to access and student success. This enables the impact measures to be appropriate and meaningful. The College recruits students with varied experience of post 16 education, many of whom are first generation HE students. The College uses contextualised data to: Target additional, appropriate information and guidance on a course specific basis Provide information about the additional support resources available within the College to maximise success, for example, functional skills support, support for students whose first language is not English, general welfare support and guidance Monitor closely retention and progression. 6. Retention The College recognises the challenges which can accompany the commitment to widening access particularly in the successful retention of some students. The College also recognises the direct relation between maximising success for these students which may, in turn, hinder potential of good professional career opportunities. The overall undergraduate retention for the College is around 70%. This overall percentage masks the high retention and successful completion rates in the final year of study. In common with many institutions committed to widening participation, the College experiences higher than expected levels of early leavers from year one students. The College aims are continuing with its target to raise the retention rates as follows: from 70% in to 85% in ; 34% of Bradford College FE students placed, progressed to HE at Bradford College. This target is to continue to increase to achieve in line with the HE Strategy and action plan The details of year on year improvement are listed within the tables attached. The retention activities described are applicable to all HE students at the College. The College has a significant number of students within HE who are from under-represented groups and the support strategies; access, retention and success are equally applicable to all students. 6.1 Planned activity to improve retention and success The College has reviewed its induction arrangements which should provide timely support measures in order to address issues which may impact on retention during the early months at College and actively promote a sense of belonging. Activities for students to prepare them for their learning experience at Bradford College, including a Progression Module which will carry UCAS points within Bradford College ensuring a level of preparedness for study which will improve retention.

4 A risk register will be available for staff to refer students causing concern to the guidance team. Timely and appropriate support will be available to manage issues with students. These may include: financial support, study skills support, welfare, counselling, time- management support. The Students Union plays an important role in delivering support for students. The College works to the standards of the Buttle Trust in order to demonstrate its commitment to Looked After Children and improve support for this particular cohort. The entry criteria for each programme have been reviewed to ensure students are well placed academically to succeed. The College s e learning provision to provide enhanced support and flexible learning opportunities. Develop the Activities+ programme which is delivered in partnership with the Students Union. This provides opportunities for volunteering, sport and leisure activities, clubs and societies which will improve the overall student experience. Opportunities for involvement in the Students Union are encouraged which include active involvement in the SU Executive. Students will be involved in their own tracking to promote responsibility for their own success and target achievement. Links with placement providers are strong which should reduce the likelihood of issues causing concern during placement going unnoticed. We are enhancing existing credit accumulation and transfer systems (CATS) such as to create opportunities for students, particularly those with professional qualifications, to benefit from previous higher level study. We are committed to increasing flexible learning opportunities and have a target to increase part-time undergraduate numbers by 25% by The data tables attached detail the targets for improved retention and progression for students in their first and second year of study. The College is awaiting the outcome of its application for Taught Degree Awarding Powers (TDAP). If successful it will be able to carry out a major review of its curriculum emphasising the following key issues: Offer expanded provision in key niche areas including a wider range of accredited provision designed to maximise step on step off modes of study Consider the provision of accelerated study Expand niche areas of distance learning which have a national market building on success Build on existing successful links with other providers to maximise successful collaboration To increase the number of students in graduate level jobs six months after graduating

5 7. The College is committed to providing additional financial support for its students through the additional fees levy. As in previous years the College is allocating significant resource to support students financially. Following a review of the impact of financial support, it has been agreed that the most effective use of financial support is to promote retention and subsequent success. The experience of the students at Bradford college suggest strongly that hardship loans and payments are the most effective way to secure retention and promote success. The College will be investing heavily in equipment such as lap tops, to ensure all students have access to resources which will enable success and help to overcome barriers to retention. The College will advertise the financial support available on the website with clear guidelines for application and relevant information, such as criteria for acceptance. There will be 140,000 to support this. This is a limited fund so applications are encouraged as soon as a need is identified. For full time / home students there will be: 1. Provision of loans to students whose funding from Student Finance England has not yet been received. 2. Provision of small grants (up to 300 depending on circumstances) where a student has run out of money before their next payment from Student Finance England. 3. Students who are in receipt of Special Support Grant or Maintenance Grant and stating they have financial difficulties to be given a grant (see below) if they are able to demonstrate financial difficulties: No of dep Grant If this does not cover need or a student who is not in receipt of Special Support Grant/Maintenance Grant, an interview will be undertaken to establish what financial support is needed to keep the student on course. 5. In exceptional circumstances, to pay for tuition fees where a student is in danger of leaving their course because Student Finance England (or equivalent) has refused financial support after the student has started their course. This will normally be when a student has been lead to believe they would be eligible for funding, but has then been refused.

6 This may include students who are not classed as home students by Student Finance England, but who have lived in the UK for 3 years or more. Part-time and EU students 1. Provision of a grant to help with the majority of travel, materials and childcare costs for students whose gross household income is 19,000 or less (excluding Child Tax Credit payments). Students whose household income is between 19,000 and 25,000 to receive 50% of the support. In all cases student must be attending their course regularly and in 4 and 5 students to have a reference from their tutor confirming they are up-to-date with their work and stand a reasonable chance of successfully completing the course. Students not funded by Student Finance England (or equivalent) will have to show they made reasonable provision for paying living costs and tuition fees before assistance from the Access to Learning Fund will be considered. 8. Equality and Diversity We are an open and welcoming College which is committed to the promotion and monitoring of equality and diversity. This has been endorsed by the most recent Ofsted inspection (September 14). The promotion of equality and celebration of diversity are at the heart of the College the culture or mutual respect and consideration for others pervades all areas of the College and creates a good environment to support and encourage learning. The Equality and Diversity Committee, chaired by the Principal, monitors progress against priorities defined in the Equality and Diversity Action plan. Data included for scrutiny through this committee includes HE applicants, retention and success including three year trends and comparison against national benchmarks, where available. This data enables the College to review strategies and impact relating to widening participation and set targets to further improve opportunities for success at HE for non-traditional participants. With specific reference to recruitment the percentage of students from widening participation postcode areas; this is far higher than the associated figures for Low Participation Neighbourhoods regionally and nationally. The College celebrates a diverse range of faith and belief events. 9. Evaluation and monitoring The College has agreed a Quality Cycle to ensure the monitoring of progress against targets and enabling improvements in practice are effective and timely. This process will include the preparation of future Access Agreement (attached). The quality process ensures appropriate College committees and groups are involved at every stage. Bradford College sees its students as co-creators of the student experience and, as such, student representation is embedded within all

7 stages of the Access Agreement from developing future agreements to reviewing progress against targets for current agreements. The Agreements will be ratified by the SU executive. The College is committed to further develop its evaluation methods in relation to widening participation activities. This will include embedding the strategies and methodologies described within the Hefce toolkits for practitioners. These toolkits provide a framework from which effective and continuous monitoring and impact based evaluation can be made. Please see Appendix 1 where a description of a new evaluation approach will be utilised through our collaborative work. 10. Provision of information to prospective students The College will ensure that accurate and timely information is available to prospective students through: The College s own publications and websites The College s planned marketing and promotion campaigns Through structured partnerships e.g. HEART Through UCAS and GTTR Pre-entry guidance At each stage of the applicant journey and through the wider College links with employers and alumni will be utilised to raise awareness of the provision with all interested stakeholders.

8 Appendix 1. Bradford College is committed to the Higher Education Access Rewarding Transforming (HEART) partnership established by twelve HE providers in West Yorkshire (FE Colleges providing HE, HEIs and Universities) until December We are also committed to the Single Point of Contact (SPoC) secured by HEART which operates to December HEARTs mission remains to work in partnership to improve access to, and achievement in, Higher Education to enhance individual and economic development. Strategic target groups for core HEART activity are established as Looked After Young People (LAYP) and Care Leavers and further strengthening relationships with Leeds City Region (LCR) Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and through this addressing issues relating to higher level skills required for economic growth and therefore including mature and part-time learners. HEART will act as the Single Point of Contact (SPoC) and coordinate the collaborative outreach being provided by partners and contributing to the National Network for Collaborative Outreach (NNCO). We are committed to utilising a proportion of formula funding toward outreach which engages a number of schools in HEFCE Cold Spot areas with targeted collaborative outreach activity. HEARTs approach to engaging with LAYP/Care Leavers working through the intermediaries (local authorities, social workers, foster carers and independent fostering agencies) has strengthened considerably and has led to an increase in activities and attendance at these activities. HEART will continue to manage relationships with local authorities, foster carers and independent fostering agencies leading to a sustained range of activities targeting intermediaries and the young people in care (approximately 3,500 in West Yorkshire)/leaving care. The HEART Manager, in the role as representative for Yorkshire and Humber on the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers, supported the successful application for the NNECL SPoC and continues to ensure that activities in West Yorkshire are reported to the NNECL. The LCR LEP continues to attract devolved funding and HEART is the representative for all partners on the Leeds City Region Skills Network. HEART continues to lobby for greater emphasis on Higher Level Skills in the LEP Strategy and Skills Plan and has informed development of the LEP Skills Service and the proposed interventions for ESF funding within the European Single Investment Framework including specific mention of outreach and access. We expect HEART to continue performing this role and ensuring the outreach and access agenda remain in the LEP thinking and plans. HEART Higher Level Skills Ambassador (HLSA) scheme continues to recruit additional business leaders able to disseminate the value of higher education and higher level skills to their own workforce and throughout their business networks. Mature and part-time learner recruitment and progression remains a concern within West Yorkshire as it is nationally. HEART produces regular reports for the Board advising strengths and weaknesses in partner presentation of part-time courses and this is leading to improvements such that genuine part-time provision is simpler to find for mature and part-time learners. HEART will, subject to the organisers agreeing the new format, continue to sponsor the regional Adult Learners Week awards and to support the Adult Learners Festival. HEART continues to be monitored carefully for effectiveness and impact by the Board (comprised of senior managers from all twelve partners and representatives from HEFCE and LCR) with strategy and priority activities informed and agreed by the Board. Operational activity is overseen and guided by members of HEART planning groups (comprised of senior practitioners working in outreach/widening participation and business engagement).