Access Agreement For students enrolling in 2017/18

Transcription

1 Agreement For students enrolling in 2017/18 Introduction 1. With 39,400 students Anglia Ruskin University is one of the largest providers of higher education in the east of England. We are proud to be a university that supports opportunity for all who can benefit from higher education and we are ambitious for ourselves and for our students. Fees, student numbers and fee income 2. This agreement applies to fee regulated home (UK) and European Union students taking full time undergraduate courses or Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and part time students who are not being sponsored by employers. This agreement will also apply to students taking nursing, midwifery and allied health professions courses who were previously eligible for NHS bursaries but who will now be eligible for maintenance loans and tuition fees. 3. For we are proposing to charge new full time students starting a foundation degree or Higher National Diploma/Certificate a fee of 7,500. For first degree entrants we will charge 9,250. Fees for part time students are pro rata full time rates determined by intensity of study subject to the upper limit, currently 6,935. We propose to increase all fees each year by any real terms rise permitted by the government. 4. Our estimated full time and part time student numbers for the purposes of this Agreement, and our estimated fee income above the basic level, are set out in our resource plan submitted to OFFA. 5. This agreement does not affect any existing undergraduate students of our university, including those studying at our partner institutions, to whom our previous Agreements apply for the duration of their course, as determined by their starting academic year. 6. For students studying at our partner institutions, different fee arrangements apply, as below. Partner institutions 7. This Agreement also applies to students studying for an Anglia Ruskin award at one of our partner institutions in the UK where they wish to charge home/eu students more than the basic fee for fee regulated courses. 8. Fees at our partner institutions vary. Each has their own arrangements for the provision of student support and each has determined additional financial support for students paying higher fees based on their own context. We expect additional fee 1

2 income spending to be broadly in line with our university percentage where partners have a similar student body, and to be higher where they have a lower proportion of less advantaged students. Fees for part time students are pro rata full time rates determined by intensity of study subject to the upper limit, currently 6,935. A list of partner institutions and fees are set out at the foot of this document and specific financial support for students is set out in Appendix 1., student success and progression measures 9. Anglia Ruskin is aware that our students invest significant time and money into their higher education and we are committed to doing all we can to help them succeed and make the most of their investment. Overall we are continuing strategically as we always have done working to do our best for the diverse range of students that we attract, a large number of whom are from under-represented groups in higher education. We are continually developing services we have had in place over years to provide the best support to our students alongside their studies. We survey students and regularly offer opportunities for feedback to ensure that our provision constantly evolves to fit student needs. Our Agreement targets reflect our key priorities, but beneath this we are always working to support access and student success, as our vision and values, Corporate Plan and sub-plans evidence. 10. We continue to develop ways to take a whole institution approach which links our Agreement obligations with our long-standing commitment to access and student success. We endeavour to provide an environment in which we can support and challenge our students to achieve their full potential and to be a university where we treat each other with dignity, courtesy and respect. Our Values state this explicitly: We are friendly and inclusive, and celebrate individuality and diversity. We support and encourage everyone, and strive hard to anticipate needs and aspiration; we are committed to valuing diversity and promoting equality. 11. We have based our access agreement spending on our current numbers of low income students, which total around 60% of our fee regulated student population, and on predicted student numbers of all students from less advantaged and under-represented backgrounds. The proposal set out below will total over 6.2m of funding for access measures and oncourse support for students which represents 18.3% of our estimated additional fee income. However, Anglia Ruskin has a long and proud commitment to supporting students with the potential to succeed whatever their background, and our actual institutional spending on access and student success measures is considerably higher. Performance across the Student Lifecycle 12. Table 1 below shows the targets included in our 2016/17 Agreement. Performance for 5 years is shown with a colour grading. Darker green indicates the best performance. The latest benchmarks are included for each indicator. 2

3 13. Table 1: 2016/17 Agreement Targets Stage of Student Lifecycle Target 2010/ / / / /15 Latest HESA Benchmark No. of students in cohort Notes Success Success HESA T3b - No longer in HE after 1 year & in low participation 11.40% 11.20% 12.10% 13.90% neighbourhoods (POLAR 3) (Young, Publishe full-time, first degree entrants) d 2017 HESA T3c - No longer in HE after 1 year & no previous HE qualification 11.90% 9.80% 15.50% 13.80% (Mature, full-time, first degree Publishe entrants) d 2017 HESA T1b - Low participation neighbourhoods (POLAR3) (Young, full-time, undergraduate entrants) HESA T1b - State School (Young, full-time, undergraduate entrants) HESA T1b - NS-SEC classes 4-7 (Young, full-time, undergraduate entrants) HESA T2a - (Mature, full-time, all undergraduate entrants) HESA T2b - Low participation neighbourhoods (POLAR3) (All, part-time, entrants) In 2013/14 50 students were no longer in HE. To meet our benchmark of 9.2 %, 9.20% 375 approximately 17 more students need to continue. In 2013/ students were no longer in HE % To meet our benchmark of 12.30%, 1020 approximately 15 more students need to continue. Slightly below benchmark (0.3) and static for 2 years. Approximately 28 students mean a 1% 15.00% 15.20% 13.60% 14.00% 14.00% 14.30% 2760 change. So to meet 2019/20 target we need to attract 168 more students from low participation neighbourhoods. A slight increase and better than benchmark. Approximately 25 students 96.50% 96.40% 96.30% 96.50% 97.10% 95.40% 2540 mean a 1% change. So to meet 2020/21 target we need to attract 78 more students from State Schools. A slight increase and just below benchmark. To meet our benchmark of 40.60%, approximately 28 more students from NS-SEC 33.80% 37.30% 39.60% 39.00% 39.10% 40.60% 1875 classes 4-7. Approximately 19 students mean a 1% change. So to meet 2019/20 target we need to attract 36 more students from NS-SEC classes % 12.60% 14.20% 13.60% 13.70% 14.90% A slight increase and just below benchmark. To meet our benchmark of 14.90%, approximately 22 more mature, full-time, undergraduate entrants needed Approximately 18 students mean a 1% change. So to meet 2020/21 target we need to attract 50 more mature, full-time, undergraduate entrants. A slight increase and above below benchmark. Approximately 19 students mean a 1% change. 4.20% 3.70% 5.20% 5.60% 6.20% 6.00% 1850 So to meet 2020/21 target we need to attract 42 more students from low participation neighbourhoods. 14. We remain committed to seeking out potential students from under-represented backgrounds to encourage them to consider higher education as something that is appropriate and accessible to them. We want to raise their aspirations and to support and encourage them whilst they are studying, and to offer every opportunity for them to succeed. We will continue to work actively in the east of England to promote our university and the benefits of higher education in general and to maintain good collaborative relationships with regional Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to maximise the impact of outreach work. We welcome applicants from a wide range of backgrounds with a varied range of qualifications, both academic and vocational and from those with non-traditional educational backgrounds and we are committed to considering each application on its merits based on our assessment of an applicant s ability to meet the 3

4 academic or professional requirements of the course. 15. Our performance data shows that we have been successful at attracting very high numbers of students from low income households, at 57% for 2014/15 entrants with 44% being from households with under 25,000 residual household income and 13% being above this threshold but below 42, Below is a summary of performance against our access targets: 14% are from a lower participation neighbourhood, which is 0.3% below benchmark and 2.5% above the rate for England, staying the same as in 2013/14; 97.1% are from state schools or colleges, which is relatively unchanged from 2013/14 and 1.7% above benchmark (95.4%) and England performance (89.8%); 39.1% are from NSEC Classes 4, 5, 6 &7. This is below our benchmark by 1.5 and above the proportion in England (33.7%) for 2014/15; The proportion of mature full time undergraduate students (all entrants) from lower participation neighbourhoods with no previous HE experience is 13.7%, up 0.1% from 2013/14. Performance is below benchmark (14.9%), but above the rate for England (12.7%); In 2014/5, our part-time undergraduate profile comprised 7.2% young students and 92.8% mature students. 6.2% of our students (all entrants) studying part-time have no previous HE experience and are from low participation neighbourhoods. This is up from 5.6% in 2013/14, and just above benchmark (6%). Outreach 17. We are proud of our long history as an institution which actively promotes access to higher education. Our success in outreach has been evidenced through the years with movement in our overall student demographic profile. Our outreach programme is broad in range and will continue to offer an opportunity for regular interactions with students in schools and colleges throughout their learning journey. We have developed and continue to evolve, activity from primary age through to mature learners, and across all modes of study. We will also offer a range of activity with those networks supporting young people, including their parents/carers and staff in schools and colleges. 18. Our portfolio of information, advice and guidance covers all aspects of a student s journey to higher education; from school age students to mature learners and across all modes of study. The portfolio is offered and delivered in a co-ordinated, timely and accessible manner, based on current evidence and the significant experience of our outreach team. Although the framework of our outreach programme is established we continue to respond to feedback and make changes to improve our effectiveness along the way. 19. Our core activity comprises: An aspiration and awareness raising project with children in primary schools targeted to schools that are feeders to our local Outreach secondary schools; A pre - GCSE options activity for years 8/9 students - delivered in partnership with local charities, businesses, further education providers and other higher education providers; Talks, workshops and activities, delivered both on and off-campus, covering the broad spectrum of HECIAG areas for years 7-13 and their parents and guardians; Information, advice and events for mature (pre-access, access and post-graduate students we are especially mindful that this cohort are more likely to be considering part-time study and therefore important to the current social mobility agenda; Tailored events and information for specific target groups, which may include care leavers, students with disabilities and the networks that support them. 4

5 20. The alignment of our activity to the key transition points for school students (end of primary, GCSE options, post-16 and post-18 options) creates the opportunity to engage several times with students and their teaching staff /parents/carers, this is widely documented as being a key strategy to breaking down perceived barriers to progressing to Higher Education. 21. Our long-term commitment and approach to engaging students will be further strengthened through the development of Compact Agreements. The agreement, with the schools, provides support to students who have the potential to succeed at university, but who, due to circumstances beyond their control, are prevented from realising their potential. For example they may be a carer, in care, or are the first in their family to enter HE etc. Going forward, this project will be further developed and extended to schools across the Eastern Region. 22. Collaborative activity is a key aspect of the way we work. We engage with a range of education, skills and careers / employment providers and networks, including local authorities, Head teachers, heads of Sixth Form and IAG networks, charitable and social enterprise organisations and other HE providers in the region. Examples of our collaborative and partnership activities include: bridge building, rocket car racing to promote STEM careers within Essex County Council, membership of the Regional Universities Looked After Children working group, which feeds into the National Network for Care Leavers (NNECL). We support the provision of the Nuffield Placement scheme, activities funded through the National Careers Service and those with local, national and international businesses such as the Chelmsford Engineering Society, the Institute of Physics and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 23. We will integrate the lessons learned through the National Network for Collaborative Outreach (NNCO) project, into our university outreach practice, following the conclusion of that project in December As the lead organisation for Cambridgeshire & Peterborough network and joint lead member of the Essex network we have already gained a greater insight into the challenges and opportunities presented by such a programme of work. 24. We will continue to offer and develop our activity for mature learners, especially those who are studying to HE courses. We will continue to work closely with coordinators and Adult Learning Leaders to facilitate our delivery of information and advice to both staff and students. This will ensure there is an ongoing understanding of the courses, finances (especially with regard to part-time study) and study support available to this group. We will use the lessons learned from the NNCO Mature Learners conference to inform and shape our annual Conference, designed specifically to support this group in to HE. Progression and Success 25. As an institution with high numbers of students from less advantaged backgrounds we have always worked hard to increase student retention and progression and we are also concerned with students at risk of under-performing. We have been developing our use of data to assist us in this work and over the academic year have been developing and piloting our new Student Engagement Dashboard. The Dashboard will help us to identify students at risk of withdrawal as well as those who are underperforming. At the time of writing our pilot programme covers over 3500 students and is already proving a valuable tool for Personal Tutors. We are also working closely with our Students Union to develop the student view of their data so as to ensure it is presented in the most supportive and instructive way to encourage students to further engage with their studies to stay on course 5

6 and to achieve the best outcomes. We believe that the Dashboard will allow us to make a very significant step forward in our ongoing work to support student success and plan a full institutional roll out from September We continue to develop services with a focus on supporting students to remain on course and to succeed, in particular we have been growing our Study Skills Plus service, and are expanding our Counselling and Wellbeing Service. Our Student Money Advice Service remains key, as we know that financial hardship is often the reason cited when students withdraw. All of our Student Services provision is highly visible and remains focussed on retention, progression and success including encouraging students to consider further study. 27. We have also been using our Dashboard pilots to focus on specific groups including care leavers and disabled students. These pilots are helping to identify trends and patterns in engagement, with a focus on staging interventions to ensure these students have the required level of support during their studies. 28. A summary of performance against our progression and success targets: The proportion of our young full-time first degree entrants from low participation neighbourhoods who are no longer in HE is 13.9% in 2014/15. Performance is below benchmark (9.2%) and down on the previous year (12.1%); The proportion of our mature full-time first degree entrants without a previous HE qualification who are no longer in HE is 13.8% in 2013/14. Performance is below benchmark (12.3%), but improved from the previous year (15.5%). 29. We have a long standing commitment to flexible learning to support mature students and those for whom full time study is not the best option. We have reviewed our provision of part time study with a view to improving the part time student experience. 30. We have been working for some time to raise the proportion of good degree outcomes for our students. We are pleased that the latest results show a significant increase from 58% in 2013/14 to 65% in 2014/15. We are aware that we still have some distance to travel, in particular for students who do not have English as a first language. This remains a focus for us. 31. We understand that fully engaging our students leads to improved retention and greater individual success. We will continue to provide a range of academic and developmental activities to enhance the experience of our students and to develop their skills and employability. Through our Employability Service and in partnership with Faculties we are actively working to support our students into the professions and to consider postgraduate study. We are also increasing our focus on equality, diversity and inclusion and we will ensure we maintain subscriptions to networks that support our work in this area, in particular the Equality Challenge Unit. Financial Support 32. We will continue our popular Books Plus scheme for starters in (our partner institutions have different schemes, as set out in appendix 1). The majority of our students are from low income households and we know that students prefer this form of support to fee waivers. The Books Plus scheme has been very successful. It is available to all HEFCEcountable students paying the 9,250 fee (pro rata for part- time students) on the principle that a universal scheme is less stigmatising and because of its scale offers greater benefits for individual students. We are maintaining funding at 400 per annum per student (pro rata for part time students) to spend on study resources via our partnership with John Smith s Bookshops. For students who started in or after 2014/15 we have added an engagement 6

7 element where they can spend capped amounts of their funds on Students Union and university run sports clubs, societies and other activities. This encourages students to engage, build networks, develop additional skills whilst ensuring that they are linked in to university life and feel a sense of belonging. 33. We are currently carrying out a survey of Books Plus and initial findings indicate another year of positive feedback. 94% of students surveyed stated that the Books Plus scheme has helped them get the texts they needed for their studies with almost 80% stating that because of Books Plus they have achieved better grades. When asked overall how they would rate Books Plus, 87% said they love it and none said they did not like it. Additionally, for the first time this year, the evaluation requests feedback on the engagement element of the scheme. Initial feedback shows that 45% of students have been able to join in with more Students Union clubs and activities using their card and 50% were able to join in with more fitness and/or sports activities. 34. Books Plus is a use it or lose it scheme where students are encouraged to use all of the funding available to them to support them in their studies and in accessing developmental opportunities. Any funds remaining on a student account after they have graduated are moved into our Student Hardship Fund. 35. As part of our 2016/17 agreement we are launching a Learning Support Fund to provide additional access to learning opportunities for students from less advantaged groups where hardship is an issue. The fund will provide students support via equipment, goods and services and is targeted at the least advantaged, including disabled students and care leavers. For 16/17 we are creating the fund by contributing a notional 200 per FTE student with a household income of under and we plan to develop and invest in this fund further in 2017/18 by increasing the notional per head contribution to Financial support to students offered by our partner institutions is set out in Appendix 1. Targets and milestones 37. Our goals are to ensure that we encourage all who have the potential to benefit to apply to university and that every student joining Anglia Ruskin has the opportunity and support to be successful. We are mindful that students from under-represented groups often face additional barriers and we are working to identify and address obstacles to achievement. Our targets and milestones are set out in our resource plan. Where our current performance is below national benchmark, we have set targets to ensure that we raise our performance to be above benchmark. Where our performance is at or above benchmark we have set targets to equal or exceed current improvement trends. 38. Taking a whole institution approach to our work on access and student success, we have continued to develop our use of data to understand and make interventions regarding student retention, progression and success. In particular through the development of our Student Engagement Dashboard but also via other data models. 39. In order to determine priority areas for focus we have used the national HESA Performance Indicators, internal performance analysis and other national benchmarking information to identify those groups which are underrepresented in our student community and those groups where retention, learning and teaching outcomes or employment prospects are below benchmark. 40. We will continue to work towards our previously established targets and this year we have identified a further four: 7

8 HESA Table E1b - Employment indicator (employed or studying): UK domiciled leavers obtaining first degree qualifications from part-time courses; Reduce the gap between % of white and BME students achieving good honour degrees (1st or 2:1); Reduce the decline in part time student numbers (UK Domicile); Having reduced the degree attainment gap between disabled students and those who do not declare a disability to around 1%, we will work to maintain this. 41. We have seen a 7% decline in our UK-domiciled part-time undergraduate entrants, less than the 10% reported nationally. We have always been committed to parttime study and once the significant decline nationally in part-time numbers became apparent after the tuition fee increases in 2012/13, we carried out an institutional review to make our part-time offer and experience more attractive. We have included two new targets in our Resource Plan, an employment indicator and a commitment to reduce the decline in student numbers. We hope the financial support that the government has put into place through the extension of the loan system to part time students will help us improve our performance in this area. Outreach 42. The targeting of our outreach work is informed by a number of data sources, including POLAR3, Free School Meals (FSM) and HEFCE Gaps data. We also use (where available) further contextual information such as: First in the family, special educational need groups or a history of statutory care. We have learned lessons from the NNCO project and extended our reach towards pre-16 students in state schools, as a category of outreach students. We are also developing methods to better identify and make contact with disadvantaged mature learners. 43. Our geographical location, near to the Fens and East Coast, gives us good access to some important target groups, particularly (underachieving) white British men in rural and coastal communities. Our proximity to London also gives us opportunities to contribute to the Prime Minister s goal of raising the participation of black and minority ethnic (BME) students by 20% over the next four years. Progression and Success 44. Over the last few years our university has been actively considering outcomes for our students, and in particular differential outcomes between some groups. We are engaged in a range of initiatives to support the retention and success of protected, disadvantaged or at-risk groups, including a much greater emphasis on the use of data and on creating an inclusive environment. We have also recently developed data models to identify particular courses where support is needed to improve degree attainment and employability as well as to identify where our least advantaged students are, in order to focus support. 45. Our Disability Working Group has consulted key stakeholders on the top priorities to make the biggest impact at our university towards a more inclusive learning environment. Our continuing commitment to disabled students has yielded positive results with the degree attainment gap between disabled students and those who do not declare a disability steadily closing from 2012/13 to 2014/15, to a gap of just 1%. Our challenge now is to maintain or reduce further this gap over the next five years. We have included a target to confirm our commitment. 8

9 46. Following an extensive review which considered differential attainment and employability outcomes of our BME students we have set ourselves challenging targets to reduce the gap between the percentage of white and BME students achieving good honours degrees (1st or 2:1). We have also been working to improve the employment outcomes of our BME students and have been successful to date reducing the gap between white and BME students in work or further study from 6.2% in 2012/13 to 4.9% in 2013/14 (DLHE). 47. Our Employability Service runs a successful programme of events throughout the year, including workshops, employer events and fairs, as well as offering all students a drop in service. This service is designed to help all of our students to stand out to potential employers, by supporting students to develop transferable skills and get practical experience to increase their employability. We are in the process of developing a detailed data model to monitor attendance at events, including the ability to evaluate whether a representative group of students is attending each event. We will use this data model to determine whether events are reaching disadvantaged groups and to take action accordingly. The tool will also help us to focus our resources to support students from disadvantaged groups who may need particular employment guidance. Monitoring and Evaluation 48. We have been developing reporting and monitoring of our Agreement work and this is now included in the work of the Student Satisfaction Improvement Group and to relevant university committees, including our Senate and our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group, all of which include Students' Union representatives. Outreach 49. Evaluation of impact is addressed in several ways; we provide feedback opportunities for all our activity to student participants and staff from targeted schools we explore if an activity is age appropriate, meets learning outcomes and provides a positive and aspirational experience. We use this information to develop our portfolio and ensure our offer is meeting the needs of our target audiences. 50. In addition to the more standard feedback methodology we also assess distance travelled (in terms of the impact on knowledge base) during Outreach events to gauge the impact of specific activity on target audiences. Where appropriate, we measure knowledge base at the start of an event or activity and then ask participants to repeat the exercise before they leave so that we can measure what they have learnt during their time with us. This helps us assess the impact on the participant, and also helps us to continue developing content. 51. As a university we would welcome the opportunity to feed into a centrally organised national tracking programme as this would allow the monitoring of the outreach effort on postcode areas (POLAR) which by the very nature of true outreach work is the absolute measure of impact. 52. Monitoring and evaluation occurs on a per-event, quarterly and annual basis. The impact of specific activities is always measured using a distance-travelled approach, which enables us to demonstrate progress towards specified learning outcomes, and the impact of our activity (on participants) as a whole. Qualitative feedback is also sought from teachers, organisers and co-ordinators on a per-event basis, to enable us to monitor the quality and suitability of our provision. 9

10 53. We now monitor and record all our activity using a Customer Relations Management (CRM) system. This enables us to keep track of which schools and colleges we have delivered activity for and helps us to validate our targeting approaches. Where possible and appropriate (within the bounds of issues such as Data Protection, safeguarding etc.) we also capture identifying details for the students we work with (Year 12 & 13). This data is inputted to the CRM and made available to appropriate colleagues, e.g. from Student Services, so that they can identify and continue to support less advantaged students through the HE student lifecycle. 54. At quarterly intervals we monitor our quantitative progress towards our Agreement milestones and take action as needed. Our end-of-year report draws together both the evaluation and monitoring data collected throughout the year, along with highlights and lessons learned from specific projects and activities. The end-of-year report helps us to gauge the significance of our achievements; both in terms of impact on students, as we aggregate the whole year s distance travelled and the volume of activity with the broader community. Progression and Success 55. We continue to develop our reporting and consideration of retention, progression and success at all key university fora including the Corporate Management Team and at Senate and its subcommittees. 56. We have increased the resourcing for monitoring and data analysis within Student Services for retention, progression and success via the creation of a new post of Head of Inclusion and Faculty Student Advice and in our Retention and Progression Team. We have also increased resourcing into our equality and diversity work, with the arrival of a full-time Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) Manager whose has responsibility for student ED&I issues. 57. We use a range of means to monitor our Books Plus scheme. We receive data reports on the use of the Books Plus cards including the proportion of funds being spent on different resources (e.g. equipment, texts, activities etc.) and how fully students are using their funds. Our current scheme has a very high take up with over 95% of funds spent in the academic year. The system can see which individuals are not taking advantage of the scheme and this allows another avenue of intervention for us to check that a student is not in difficulty and to encourage them to use the funds available to them. The scheme is very popular with students, with consistently high satisfaction scores. Feedback to date also suggests that 400 is an appropriate amount of funding and consequently we plan to continue the scheme, and at this level, for the foreseeable future. 58. The piloting of the new Student Engagement Dashboard has involved a feedback and evaluation process which will continue to evolve as we refine the model and formally introduce it in Academic Year 2016/17. Recent evaluation tools include a pilot survey and student feedback. The feedback is overwhelmingly positive from both students and staff. Every student interviewed thought it was a good idea. Many students described the thought of using the dashboard as having a motivational effect on their approach to university. The Dashboard is specifically designed to help us increase retention, progression and student success and we expect to see it used across our university from September A Transitional Support for Students Group was established in January 2016, with the objective to review support provision, focusing on points of transition in the student lifecycle from application to graduation for our undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research students. 10

11 60. On the basis of previous experience, we will continue to refine our monitoring and evaluation methods across our, Success and Progression activities. 61. This agreement has been drawn up by our Agreement Steering Group, Chaired by the Director of Student Services. It includes representatives from key areas including the Director of Finance, the Pro-Vice Chancellor Corporate Marketing and International Development Services, the Pro-Vice Chancellor for partnerships, a Dean of Faculty and our Students Union. 62. Delivery of our Agreement at senior level is the responsibility of the Director of Student Services, the Director of Finance, and the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Corporate Marketing and International Development Services. The work is overseen by the Corporate Management Team, which is led by the Vice-Chancellor. Equality and diversity 63. Due regard has been given to our responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 in our approach to this and previous Agreements. We are linking our access and student success activity with our equality, diversity and inclusion activity, in particular in regard to data collection, evaluation and action. In accordance with legislative and regulatory requirements, we monitor our access activities from an equalities perspective. 64. Our institutional approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) is designed to cover both the protected characteristics as well as other disadvantaged and at-risk groups including those covered by our Agreement. A good example to demonstrate this institutional commitment to addressing disadvantage are the ED&I Objectives approved by our Corporate Management Team. Our overarching aim is to create a more inclusive and successful learning community for our students and staff by increasing our focus on equality and diversity. Our objectives are to: i. Work in partnership with colleagues across our university to identify, monitor and address differential patterns across the protected characteristics in the recruitment, progression and achievement of our staff and students; ii. Celebrate, communicate and promote equality, diversity and inclusion; iii. Embed good equality, diversity and inclusion practice into our daily activities and decision making processes; iv. Promote and embed inclusive learning, teaching and assessment; v. Promote equality, diversity and inclusion in our institutional research activity. 65. The overarching aim and five objectives clearly set out our commitment to ED&I across all areas of activity within our university. There is much crossover between our ED&I work and our Agreement for 2017/18 and particularly with objectives i, ii and iv. 66. The focus of objective (i) is to improve our awareness of patterns of behaviour across protected characteristics, disadvantaged and at-risk groups of students. This will be achieved through the application of three different but related data models which are currently at varying stages of development: the Student Engagement Dashboard, the Agreement model and a new ED&I model. Using these models we hope to explore what our data is telling us in greater detail not only across the protected characteristics but also about other less advantaged groups like those covered by our Agreement. Our university will use this more detailed data to review activities throughout the student lifecycle and identify appropriate activities in response to findings. One key area which we are particularly focussed on is to address the degree attainment gap between BME and white students, which stood at 19% for Academic Year 2014/15. 11

12 67. Objective (ii) highlights the importance of raising awareness of ED&I matters within our university so that our staff and student body become more conscious and proud of the diversity we foster on campus. 68. Objective (iv) supports the work on inclusive practice led by Anglia Learning and Teaching and that of the Disability Working Group who have identified priority actions in order to embed inclusive learning, teaching and assessment practices across the institution. These include developing a CPD framework on inclusive practice, an accessibility review of our online resources and the implementation of a peer support initiative for students. Embedding an inclusive approach to learning, teaching and assessment will benefit all students across the protected characteristics, disadvantaged and at-risk groups. 69. Our university will take an inclusive approach to monitoring and evaluation whereby impact on protected, disadvantaged and at-risk groups will be monitored and evaluated simultaneously. The aforementioned data models will offer a large amount of the supporting information for monitoring and evaluation purposes. 70. Under the auspices of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group and in partnership with the Equality Challenge Unit, we have also just established a task and finish group to develop a fresh approach to equality analysis incorporating best practice from the sector and elsewhere. Provision of information to prospective students 71. We maintain an up to date website with full information for prospective students, their parents, advisers and sponsors. We also run a range of open events with staff on hand to answer questions. In addition, we provide a range of activity for those supporting and advising prospective students to help them stay up to date with developments in the Higher Education sector including networking sessions for Coordinators and conferences for information advice and guidance staff. 72. We provide: A full suite of information and advice materials and events for prospective students and their parents/carers via our Outreach and Recruitment Team. The focus is on considering HE, how to apply and the student finance system; An Applicant Enquiries Team to respond to a wide range of incoming enquiries; Online enquiry services via a dedicated address or online form; A comprehensive, mobile friendly, website which includes information and advice on applying to university and the student finance system; Prospectuses online and in hard copy; A range of information about being a student, including funding and advice about course choice via our website; Presentations and literature regarding our finance offer at open days/evenings Information directly from specialist staff in Student Services in person, online, by phone or . We provide online services to enable enquirers in remote locations to contact us; Information sessions for regional teachers, careers advisers and other IAG staff working with prospective students; Specialist information and advice and a DSA-QAG accredited access centre for applicants with disabilities. 73. We are committed to excellent customer service to all stakeholders including prospective students, their advisers, parents and sponsors. Anglia Ruskin is accredited as a whole university under the government Customer Service Excellence framework 12

13 and at the time of writing holds 23 Compliance Plus elements, indicators of best practice. We routinely gather feedback and work to improve our systems and services. In addition, we have recently undertaken a very significant feedback exercise as part of our rebranding and website development. 74. Information about our university is also available via Unistats. Information to current students 75. We provide up to date information about all aspects of our university via our website and on some social media platforms. In addition, we have a very popular Anglia Ruskin app, with c 25,000 registered users, to provide access to personalised timetables and other key services and information to students. We also provide a range of hard copy materials on campus. 76. We have a comprehensive Matrix Quality Standard Accredited Student Services that provides a wide range of information, advice and guidance to students as well as developmental activities and opportunities. We work closely with our Students Union to ensure that students are also provided with a wide range of information including advice and advocacy should they need to appeal or formally complain. 77. We provide further information for students during our pre-entry and welcome programme activities. We are also mindful that there is a great deal of information for new students to take on board and in order to ensure we offer the maximum opportunity to communicate our key messages. For this reason, we deliver our induction activities over a number of weeks at the start of year and are also incorporating work for students transitioning from one year of study to the next. Consulting with Students 78. Our Students Union has been involved in the discussion and formulation of the content of this Agreement. In addition they are members of the range of groups and committees at which work under our Agreements is discussed (e.g. the Agreement Steering Group, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group, Student Satisfaction Improvement Group, and Committees). Our Students Union has provided the statement below: The Students Union President and Chief Executive have been members of the 2017/18 Agreement Steering Group, which met regularly to produce the Agreement for submission on 27th April The Students Union has been fully involved in the consultation process. 13

14 Footnote; Anglia Ruskin University Partners with students starting in the academic year 2017/18 Existing partnerships Fee 2017/18* Harlow College (University Centre Harlow) 7,750 College of West Anglia (University Centre West Anglia) 8,240 Peterborough Regional College (University Centre Peterborough) 7,750 Cambridge Regional College 7,750 London School of Osteopathy 9,250 London College of Accountancy (Known as Anglia Ruskin London ) 9,250 The Urdang Academy 9,250 Cambridge Ruskin International College (CRIC) 9,250 *NB Part time fees are pro-rata to full time rates determined by intensity of study subject to the upper limit, currently 6,

15

16 Appendix 1 Agreement Offering Anglia Ruskin University Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Direct and indirect financial support Household Income < 25,000 Books Plus 400 plus Eligible to apply for the Learning Support Fund and the Student Hardship Fund Books Plus 400 plus Eligible to apply for the Learning Support Fund and the Student Hardship Fund Books Plus 400 plus Eligible to apply for the Learning Support Fund and the Student Hardship Fund Household Income > 25,000 Books Plus 400 Books Plus 400 Books Plus 400 Example shown is for full time undergraduate courses with fees of 9,250 p.a. and foundation degree courses with fees of 7,500 p.a. Part time fees and access agreement direct support pro rata to full time. Learning Support Fund provides targeted direct financial support and indirect support via equipment and services.

17 Appendix 1 Agreement Offering AR London (also known as London College of Accountancy) Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Household Income < 42,875 Transport cash bursary 500 Key text books 100 Total 600 Transport cash bursary 500 Key text books 100 Total 600 Transport cash bursary 500 Key text books 100 Total 600 Direct and indirect financial support Household Income > 42,875 Key text books 100 Total 100 Key text books 100 Total 100 Key text books 100 Total 100 Example shown is for full time undergraduate courses with fees of 9,250 p.a. Part time fees and access agreement direct support pro rata to full time.

18 Appendix 1 Agreement Offering London School of Osteopathy Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Household Income < 25,000 Low Income bursary 200 Global Scheme 400 Total 600 Low Income bursary 200 Global Scheme 400 Total 600 Low Income bursary 200 Global Scheme 400 Total 600 Direct and indirect financial support Household Income > 25,000 Global Scheme 400 Global Scheme 400 Global Scheme 400 Example shown is for full time undergraduate courses with fees of 9,250 p.a. Part time fees and access agreement direct support pro rata to full time. Global Scheme is a cash bursary.

19 Appendix 1 Agreement Offering University Centre Peterborough Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Household Income < 25,000 Low Income 500 Global Scheme 500 Total 1,000 Low Income 500 Global Scheme 500 Total 1,000 Low Income 500 Global Scheme 500 Total 1,000 Direct and indirect financial support Household Income > 25,000 Global Scheme 500 Total 500 Global Scheme 500 Total 500 Global Scheme 500 Total 500 Example shown is for full time undergraduate courses with fees of 7,750 p.a. and foundation degree courses with fees of 7,750 p.a. Part time fees and access agreement direct support pro rata to full time. Global Scheme is a cash bursary.

20 Appendix 1 Agreement Offering University Centre Harlow Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Household Income < 25,000 Low Income 600 Total 800 Low Income 600 Total 800 Low Income 600 Total 800 Direct and indirect financial support Household income > 25,000 < 42,875 Low income 300 Total 500 Low income 300 Total 500 Low income 300 Total 500 Household income > 42,875 Total 200 Total 200 Total 200 Example shown is for full time undergraduate courses with fees of 7,750 p.a. and foundation degree courses with fees of 7,750 p.a. Part time fees and access agreement direct support pro rata to full time. Global Scheme is a cash bursary.

21 Appendix 1 Agreement Offering University Centre West Anglia Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Household Income < 25,000 Low Income 600 Total 800 Low Income 600 Total 800 Low Income 600 Total 800 Direct and indirect financial support Household income > 25,000 < 42,875 Low income 200 Low income 200 Low income 200 Household income > 42,875 Total 200 Total 200 Total 200 Example shown is for full time undergraduate courses with fees of 8,240 p.a. and foundation degree courses with fees of 8,240 p.a. Part time fees and access agreement direct support pro rata to full time. Global Scheme is a cash bursary.

22 Appendix 1 Agreement Offering Cambridge Regional College Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Household Income < 25,000 Low Income 150 Global Scheme 250 Low Income 150 Global Scheme 250 Low Income 150 Global Scheme 250 Direct and indirect financial support Household Income > 25,000 Global Scheme 250 Total 250 Global Scheme 250 Total 250 Global Scheme 250 Total 250 Example shown is for full time undergraduate courses with fees of 7,750 p.a. and foundation degree courses with fees of 7,750 p.a. Part time fees and access agreement direct support pro rata to full time. Global Scheme is a cash bursary.

23 Appendix 1 Agreement Offering Cambridge Ruskin International College Foundation Year Degree Year 1 Degree Year 2 & 3 Direct and indirect Household Income < 25,000 Cash bursary 100 Book vouchers 400 Accommodation discount 500 Total 1,000 Cash bursary 100 Book vouchers 400 Accommodation discount 500 Total 1,000 Books Plus 400 plus Eligible to apply for the Learning Support Fund and the Student Hardship Fund financial support Household Income > 25,000 Book vouchers 400 Accommodation discount 100 Total 500 Book vouchers 400 Accommodation discount 100 Total 500 Books Plus 400 Example shown is for full time undergraduate courses with fees of 9,250 p.a. and foundation degree courses with fees of 7,500 p.a. Part time fees and access agreement direct support pro rata to full time. Students who cannot be offered an accommodation discount will have this amount as a cash bursary. After completing Degree Year 1 with CRIC, these students become eligible for the standard ARU student support arrangements, covered earlier in this appendix

24 Appendix 1 Agreement Offering Urdang Academy Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Household Income < 30,000 Bursary to cover course related costs Total 3,210 Bursary to cover course related costs Total 3,210 Bursary to cover course related costs Total 3,210 Direct and indirect financial support Household Income > 30,000 Ad hoc support based on an assessment of need upon request Ad hoc support based on an assessment of need upon request Ad hoc support based on an assessment of need upon request Example shown is for full time undergraduate courses with fees of 9,250 p.a.

25 Table 7 - Targets and milestones Institution name: Anglia Ruskin University Institution UKPRN: Table 7a - Statistical targets and milestones relating to your applicants, entrants or student body Reference number Stage of the lifecycle (drop-down menu) Target type (drop-down menu) Description (500 characters maximum) Is this a collaborative target? (dropdown menu) Baseline year (drop-down menu) Baseline data Yearly milestones (numeric where possible, however you may use text) Commentary on your milestones/targets or textual description where numerical description is not appropriate (500 characters maximum) T16a_01 Student success HESA T3b - No longer in HE after 1 year & in low participation neighbourhoods (POLAR 3) (Young, full-time, first degree entrants) Non-continuation rate for young full-time first degree entrants from low participation neighbourhoods No % 11% 10% 9% 8% 7% Target of 8.3% set for in previous agreement. Benchmark 9.5%. Over 3 years a 3% decrease. So milestones set to reflect this pattern. T16a_02 Student success HESA T3c - No longer in HE after 1 year & no previous HE qualification (Mature, full-time, first degree entrants) Non-continuation rate for mature full-time first degree entrants with no previous HE qualification No % % Target of 9.65% set for in previous agreement. Benchmark 12.6%. Over 3 years a 2% increase. So milestones set to aim for target of 9.5%. T16a_03 HESA T1b - Low participation neighbourhoods (POLAR3) (Young, fulltime, undergraduate entrants) Participation of young students from lower participation neighbourhoods (all entrants) No % 15.5% 17% 18.5% 20% 20% Target of 17.65% set for in previous agreement. Benchmark 13.6%. Over 3 years just less then a 1% increase, with a slight decline last year. So milestones set to reflect this pattern. T16a_04 HESA T1b - State School (Young, full-time, undergraduate entrants) Participation of young students from state schools and colleges (all entrants) No % 97% 97.5% 98% 98.5% 98.5% Target of 98.3% set for in previous agreement. Benchmark 95.2%. Static performance over the past 3 years. So milestones set to reflect this pattern. T16a_05 HESA T1b - NS-SEC classes 4-7 (Young, full-time, undergraduate entrants) Participation of young students from NS-SEC Classes 4, 5, 6 & 7 (all entrants) No % 39.5% 40% 40.5% 41% 41% Target of 39.95% set for in previous agreement. Benchmark 40.3%. No movement in 3 years. So milestones set to reflect this pattern. T16a_06 HESA T2a - (Mature, full-time, all undergraduate entrants) Participation of mature students with no previous HE experience from low participation neighbourhoods (all entrants) No % 14% 14.5% 15.5% 16% 16.5% Target of 15.2% set for in previous agreement. Benchmark 12.7%. So little movement in 3 years. So milestones set to reflect this pattern. T16a_07 HESA T2b - Low participation neighbourhoods (POLAR3) (All, part-time, entrants) Participation of PT students with no previous HE experience from low participation neighbourhoods No % 6.0% 6.6% 7.2% 7.8% 8.2% Target of 6.6% set for in previous agreement. Benchmark 5.5%. So 2% increase in 3 years. So milestones set to reflect this pattern. T16a_08 Progression Other statistic - Part-time (please give details in the next column) T16a_09 Student success Other statistic - Ethnicity (please give details in the next column) T16a_10 Other statistic - Part-time (please give details in the next column) HESA Table E1b - Employment indicator (employed or studying): UK domiciled leavers obtaining first degree qualifications from part-time courses Reduce the gap between % of white and BME students achieving good honour degrees (1st or 2:1) Reduce the decline in part time student numbers (UK Domicile) No % 98.5% 99% 99% 99% 99% No % 15% 13% 11% 9% 7% No % 5% 3% 1% 0% 0% T16a_11 Student success Other statistic - Disabled (please give details in the next column) Reduce the degree attainment gap between disabled students and those who do not declare a disability No % 1% 0% 0% 0% 0%