Agreement 2017-18 1. Introduction The University of Southampton has a proud long-term record in supporting access and achievement by students from under-represented groups. We were one of the first universities to introduce a Widening to Medicine programme (BM6), one of the first to receive the Buttle Trust Quality Mark in recognition of our support for care leavers, and a founding institution in the Pathways to Law programme. Through our Learn with US outreach programme we take a long-term targeted approach to access and partnership that links to our to Southampton scheme and broader outreach and access programmes. The impact of our commitment to widening access and student success has been evidenced in our performance indicators. Within the Russell Group we have performed consistently well in recruiting state school students and have seen seven years of continual growth in our proportion of first year undergraduate home black and minority ethnic students, which has increased from 10.2% in 2008/09 to 19.1% in 2014/15. We have an excellent reputation for collaborative work with a range of partner organisations, both in the local region (Hampshire, Dorset, Isle of Wight and Wiltshire) and further afield, including London and the Midlands. Our commitment to collaboration and partnership was recognised when it was agreed that Southampton would act as the lead institution for the Southern Universities Network containing the six universities in Hampshire and Dorset, as well as the National Collaborative Outreach Programme for this region, launched by HEFCE in March 2016. The University is keen to ensure that it takes an evidence-based, targeted, long term approach to access and student success. In this regard we have invested in our management information capacity and continued to benefit from our active engagement with the Higher Education Tracker (HEAT). We are also investing in the student experience. Our goal is to continue to provide an exceptional learning environment across the life cycle of our students, balancing investment in enabling access with necessary close attention to supporting achievement and to preparing our students fully for life after university, working to reduce constraints on their career choices regardless of their background. Students play a significant role in our outreach programmes, working with prospective students and their supporters. Our Agreement has been developed in close consultation with the Southampton University Students Union. 1
Within our overall expenditure spending, our focus remains on four broad areas of activity: General outreach activity designed to raise and realise aspirations among members of under-represented groups who have the potential to benefit from a University education at Southampton or elsewhere. This includes residential events and collaborative work with other institutions, for example, sixth form/fe colleges, other universities and charities such as The Social Mobility Foundation and The Brilliant Club; Focused activity to ensure fair access to the University of Southampton, including direct financial support to students, and our Learn with US outreach and to Southampton programmes; Student success and progression activity, designed to ensure high quality experience and outcomes for students from under-represented backgrounds, including emergency loans/grants, specific additional provision for students with disabilities, and internship/work experience opportunities; Enhancement of our capacity to monitor and evaluate our work in this area effectively. While these activities and initiatives are targeted specifically at (potential) students from under-represented backgrounds, many of them will enhance the experience of all our students. 2. Fees, student numbers and fee income We shall set the annual fee for full-time undergraduate study at between 9,000-9,250 for home/eu studentsin 2017/18. This fee will apply to our Foundation Year courses, all years of study on Bachelors of Medicine courses, our four-year integrated Masters courses, and our Post Graduate Certificates in Education (PGCE) courses. (Students studying for a PGCE will not be eligible to receive the direct financial support set out in this Agreement, but will benefit from the improvements in our support and opportunity services and in University facilities.) The Minister of State for Universities and Science announced on 25 May 2016 that the maximum fee cap for institutions that demonstrate high quality teaching would increase by 2.8% to 9,250 in 2017/18. We anticipate that we will receive the rating of meets expectations in the first phase of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), which is the requirement for the inflationary increase, but official confirmation is still awaited. We also need to consult with key stakeholders including the student body before any decision is made regarding whether the University will opt to increase fees beyond 9,000 if eligible and if so whether the increase would apply to continuing students in addition to the 2017 intake. For part-time students studying at an intensity of between 25 to 75 per cent of a full-time course, the fee will be charged pro rata up to a maximum of 6,750, or 6,935 if the University qualifies for and opts to take advantage of the TEF related increase of 2.8%. The maximum fee for an Erasmus study year or Erasmus working abroad year will be 1,385, and for non-erasmus sandwich placement years will be 1,850. (For the relevant year(s) of their study, students undertaking study away from the University will not be eligible for a partial fee waiver or bursary in proportion to their fee, apart from those students eligible for a Care Leavers bursary, which will be awarded 2
regardless of the year of the programme.) For 2018/19 and beyond it is our intention to set our tuition fees at a level between the 2016/17 maximum and the new maximum allowable under TEF. We estimate that the number of full-time undergraduate and PGCE students at the fee level specified above will be 15,032 in 2017/18 (including 493 Nursing students), rising to 16,254 by 2020/21 (including 1,491 Nursing students). We do not actively recruit part-time students to undergraduate programmes, but we estimate that there will be 36 regulated part-time students (for all of whom the tuition fee will exceed the basic fee in an academic year) in 2017/18 (including 30 part-time Nursing students). Our estimated fee income above the basic level for full-time and part-time courses will be 45.8m by 2017/18, rising to 49.6m by 2020/21. 3. and student success measures 3.1 Our strategic approach to access, student success and progression Our strategic approach maps against OFFA s strategic priorities in a number of ways. We continue to focus ever more closely on participation, success and progression of black and minority ethnic groups. As mentioned in the introduction, the proportion of home black and minority ethnic students recruited to the University of Southampton has increased from 10.2% in 2008/09 to 19.1% in 2014/15, an increase of almost 90%. This is down to a range of factors including work with third sector organisations and expansion of our coverage to include London. More recently we have grown this further to include the Midlands. We are aware of the importance not just of increasing the proportion of BME entrants to the University, but also ensuring they are well-supported to be successful students and graduates, and we have begun to analyse the data to inform our approaches to how we address these issues. In terms of addressing under-representation of white British men, the nature of the students in the primary and secondary that the University works with, along with nature of the communities that these serve (for example inner city Southampton and Portsmouth), means that we reach out to a significant number of working class boys. Our IntoUniversity Southampton West centre is based in the Redbridge ward whose ethnic composition was 91.7% White British in the 2011 census, compared to 77.7% in Southampton as a whole 1. For 2017/18 it is planned that the centre will work with 900 students aged 7-18, drawn from Redbridge and adjacent wards. This is one example of the outreach work we are delivering to support this group. Alongside this, we are exploring with the other institutional member of the Southern Universities Network how we can provide opportunities to run programmes in partnership for white British males, and share good practice in this important area. As is clear from our resource plan, the University will maintain its 2017/18 access expenditure levels to 2020/21, and increase its expenditure on student success 1 2011 Census, Office for National Statistics 3
and progression. The University has taken a long term approach to outreach for many years, based largely but not exclusively through its Learn with US outreach programme that is referred to in section 3.2.1. We recognise the need to take a coherent and joined up approach to outreach, targeting cohorts of students and following them through their journey on our Learn with US programme. We actively avoid running one off activities as we are aware that these have less impact than a long term approach. Regarding improving provision around flexible study and support for mature and/or part-time students this area has been identified as one that will be reviewed through our Student Success Project. Work will be undertaken with programmes with a high cohort of mature students to identify the specific issues faced by these students. This will include investigating whether there are any parts of our educational offer that limit the chances of success for our mature students and, if required, explore the possibility of providing a more flexible approach. In terms of further support for the whole student lifecycle the University of Southampton has taken a whole lifecycle approach to its outreach, widening participation and student support activities over many years. We recognise the value of integrating our approaches to these areas to benefit all students and in particular those currently under-represented. We also appreciate that it is critical to follow the student journey and that an approach that simply focuses on inputs (i.e. the pre-application/entry part of the lifecycle) is outdated; instead we will provide support for our students to develop their skills effectively to prepare them for the workplace post-graduation. We recognise the importance of progression and progressing to graduate employment and in providing effective progression opportunities to postgraduate study and are developing innovative approaches to the areas. We recognise the critical importance of taking a collaborative approach to our outreach and widening participation work. This is referred to in detail in section 3.2.4 but we appreciate the importance of working as partners with school, college, third sector organisations, and other Universities. Our commitment to collaboration in this area can be traced back to the late 1990s and the Wessex and Solent Partnership that contained Southampton and four other Universities in Hampshire and West Sussex, up to the present day where we lead the Southern Universities Network and will be leading the development of the consortia bidding for a National Collaborative Outreach Programme. The fact that we have such great support from our partners as a Russell Group university is especially gratifying and testament to the hard work and commitment we put in to developing and carefully managing relationships. This is complemented by our active participation in the UNet group of six leading universities, and the Russell Group Association for Widening Participation, more detail of which is provided within this document. Finally, our 2017/18 Agreement takes account of the proposed changes to NHS bursaries and the requirement to include students in nursing, midwifery and allied health professions courses within its scope in terms of financial support, access, student support and progression. 4
3.2 Outreach and activity The University has a strategic approach to outreach and widening participation activities, aimed at raising and helping to realise the aspirations of members of under-represented groups who have the potential to benefit from a University education, whether that be at Southampton or elsewhere, as well as at ensuring fair access to our University in particular. The University introduced a contextual admissions policy for the 2015-16 intake in order to recognise students achievements and potential in the context of their background and experience. Further details can be found at: www.southampton.ac.uk/studentadmin/admissions/admissionspolicies/contextuala dmissions. The pilot year was evaluated at the end of the admissions cycle and we will continue to monitor the performance, continuation and qualification rates of this cohort throughout the student lifecycle. The Learn with US outreach programme, described in detail below, is a key part of our outreach and access activity, taking a targeted, longitudinal approach with students from Year 6 to 13 (ages 10-18). In 2017/18 we will be investing 2.1m in our outreach activities of which 1.8m uses OFFA countable funding. In response to the request from OFFA on 2 June 2016, we have increased our projected expenditure on outreach activities by a further 0.2m in our Agreement resubmission, in line with potential TEF related fee increases. Due to uncertainties regarding TEF eligibility, the scale and scope of any TEF related fee increases, possible cuts to HEFCE student opportunity funding and student recruitment outcomes, this potential increase and the activities that it would fund have yet to be confirmed. 3.2.1. Our Learn with US Outreach Programme The Learn with US outreach programme is based on a series of regular interventions that take place with target groups of students from Years 6 13. This programme aims to encourage progression to higher education by students from disadvantaged and under-represented groups. Our strategy is to engage with students early in their educational journey, and to work with them in a targeted, long-term manner throughout their primary, secondary and further education, providing information and advice at key decision and transition points. In 2014/15, 13,757 primary/secondary/fe students participated in the programme, along with 602 parents/carers and 818 teachers. The programme includes regular interventions with all year-groups, and opportunities for students to interact with and learn from both staff and students from across the University. In 2014/15, 32 secondary in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight participated in the Learn with US programme. In 2015/16, this expanded to include in Dorset, Wiltshire and London with a total of 35 we plan to expand the programme further in 2016/17 and 2017/18. 5
The key features of the programme are: University visits School/college-based workshops Support for teachers/advisors, parents and carers Information, advice and guidance related to careers and financial support On a year-by-year basis the school/college-based activities include: Year 6: the opportunity to participate in activities which will both support transition and enable to find out about what students can study at University. Years 7 and 8 Exploring University : a combination of in-school workshops and campus visits available for students continue to investigate opportunities available at university, while exploring some of the key differences between school, college and university. Year 9 Careers : a combination of in-school workshops and students are offered a campus visit to explore their own career aspirations and gain a better understanding of the pathways to higher education. Students learn about the importance of their GCSE and post 16 choices through interactive sessions on careers and entrepreneurship, subject masterclasses and by developing a project on key transferable skills. In Year 9 in Learn with US will also be offered the opportunity to participate in LifeLab, a science intervention designed to change young people s attitudes and behaviour towards their health. LifeLab s aim is to help achieve a reduction in the likelihood of developing chronic health problems by raising young people s awareness of health through using modern technology at a hospital based laboratory. Year 10 Research Skills : In addition to the continuation of in-school workshops, students participate in a group challenge delivered over two days and supported by student ambassadors which culminates in an exhibition event where students display their work and share their achievements with their parents. The research challenge aims to highlight the interdisciplinary nature of university while developing some important key transferable skills. Year 11 Next Steps : in-school workshops to support study skills and choices post-16, and the offer of tailored university visits. Students who have been 6
involved in the Learn with US programme for a number of years are also invited to a summer Graduation event and parents/carers can participate in a HE Advice evening aimed at supporting transition to FE and progression to university. Years 12 and 13: school/college-based workshops and the opportunity to attend on campus lectures and taster days, participate in Ask the Expert sessions, Extended Project Qualification support, summer and residential events during which students experience university life. Key to the Learn with US outreach programme is relating the experience of primary/ secondary/fe students to the broader range of subjects available to study in higher education, and introducing them to the opportunities available to graduates. Schools invited to participate in the Learn with US outreach programme are targeted using the following data: POLAR 3 (% students living in POLAR Quintiles 1 & 2) GCSE attainment Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) score % students eligible for Free School Meals. Value Added using the Progress 8 measure HEFCE Gaps in young participation data Within these and colleges we ask staff to give priority to able, gifted and talented students who are: Living in areas of low participation of higher education Carers Looked after children, care leavers or estranged from their families In receipt of free school meals From black and minority ethnic groups or white males from economically disadvantaged backgrounds From gyspy and traveller communities From military families Refugees or have: A disability No previous family experience of higher education Experienced considerable disruption to their studies due to personal circumstances 3.2.2. to Southampton (A2S) The Learn with US outreach programme links to our to Southampton (A2S) programme, which aims to provide a direct progression route for students from under-represented backgrounds (some of whom will also have participated in Learn with US) into the University of Southampton. There were 140 applications for entry 7
via A2S in 2015/16. The numbers of applications have been broadly consistent and we are working to increase this figure for 2017/18. We have developed the A2S scheme to provide special consideration and financial support to students who meet two or more of the following eligibility criteria: In the first generation of immediate family to apply to Higher Education (not including siblings) In receipt of a 16-19 Bursary or similar grant OR received Free School Meals at any point during secondary school education Attended a secondary school which achieved below the national average of 5 A*-C passes (including English and Maths) at GCSE in 2015 Living or grew up in local authority care Are a young adult carer Studies have been affected or disrupted by circumstances in a student's personal, social or domestic life Current home post code shows a student lives in an area with low levels of progression to higher education (POLAR3 quintiles 1 and 2) Students are required to complete and submit an application form, outlining which of the eligibility criteria they meet, and providing information on why they wish to study their chosen subject at the University of Southampton. Successful applicants are invited to attend a Summer School in July of Year 12, following which they are supported in completing an academic assignment. Students who successfully pass the academic assignment will receive support through online mentoring and a Transition and Skills Event held around Easter in Year 13. If this results in an application to the University by an A2S student, the work that they have produced in their participation in the programme, and their background, will be taken into account in the assessment of that application, and may result in their being made an alternative offer, which is normally up to two grades below the standard offer. Successful A2S applicants who go on to enrol in the University receive a 1000 bursary in their first year of study. 3.2.3. Other targeted outreach activity Alongside the Learn with US and to Southampton outreach programmes, we are also working with discrete groups in a number of other areas, such as: Support for care leavers: We have established a good working relationship with the Virtual School and Pathways teams within our local authority. This has enabled us to raise awareness of our offer amongst this key group of influencers and also to work in partnership to develop additional activity to support looked after children and care leavers. Current support provided for care leavers includes; supported individual pre-application visits to the University, providing the opportunity to speak to current students and support staff from outreach, admissions and students services; taster days; mentoring support and potential entrance through the University s to Southampton scheme. Support for Young Carers: we are working with local young carers groups to provide aspiration raising activities and pre-application support for young carers. Young carers are also eligible for additional support through our to Southampton Scheme 8
Support for mature students: includes tailored application workshops and finance presentations. This area of work has been strengthened through partnership work with local access course providers and community groups, and involves liaison with the University s lifelong learning and public engagement teams. We will also look to further develop the information and support available for mature applicants to the University of Southampton. Working with third sector organisations, including INTO University, The Brilliant Club, Researchers in Schools, SEO Scholars, the Social Mobility Foundation and Teach First, to provide targeted progression opportunities for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. We host on-campus visits, provide taster lectures and information sessions, working with our partners to tailor these activities and experiences to meet the needs of their students. In 2014/15 we hosted 275 students at such events, and we anticipate that this number will continue to grow as our partnership activities develop. Support for disabled students and those who support them. We are continuing to organise a biennial conference for staff from the University and local colleges who lead on supporting disabled students, providing a forum to inform and share good practice. We will also be providing transition days between July and September for Year 13 students. These transition days will give students the opportunity to meet with our Enabling Services team, prior to starting their chosen study programme. Providing this opportunity means that we are better able to understand students specific requirements and have appropriate support in place at the earliest opportunity. Support for parent and carers: information evenings to enable parents and carers of young people in Years 11 and 12 to find out more about the university, the application process and support available. Support for access to medicine. The six year widening access to medicine programme (BM6) was introduced in 2002 alongside the existing traditional entry five year programme (BM5). BM6 demonstrates many areas of best practice in accessing higher education and medicine for students from underrepresented backgrounds. The BM6 initiative at Southampton has a tailored admissions process in which the use of contextualised data and acceptance of broader work or work-related experience has been in practice since its inception. Of the students who enter year one, 85% graduate with a medical degree. To date there have been 158 successful BM6 graduates. Support for widening access students continues to be reviewed and developed. There is now a tailored personal academic tutor scheme, which ensures all tutors are aware of the aims of the programme to help students integration to the Faculty and a student-led BM6 mentoring scheme. The annual national BM6 outreach event, a three day residential programme, was reintroduced in 2015/16 and is coordinated by the University s outreach team and the widening access lead in the Faculty of Medicine. A new medical student widening access to medicine society (WAMSOC) has been hugely successful in its first year. It has developed a mentoring programme with year 12 students and is collaborating with the new Into University at Southampton and Teach First initiatives, running advice and guidance workshops. Following a generous gift from the estate of Leonard and Eileen Thomas the Leonard Thomas Fund has been established to help provide students with opportunities that may not have been previously available to them. Alongside 9
provisions for general student hardship this fund provides opportunities to intercalate, elective opportunities, summer studentships and funds to develop a programme of research which aims to identify best practice in supporting widening access students during their studies to optimise retention and progression. 3.2.4. Collaboration and partnership activity In 2014/15 the Universities of Winchester, Southampton, Portsmouth, Southampton Solent, Bournemouth and Arts University Bournemouth set up the Southern Universities Network (SUN) as part of HEFCE s National Networks for Collaborative Outreach (NNCO) initiative. This partnership built on and extended previous collaborations, including the Hampshire Universities WP Group, which in turn was a continuation of Aimhigher Hampshire and Isle of Wight. All six partners have committed to continuation of the SUN in 2017/18 and the partnership will work together to: Continue to provide outreach opportunities for all state in the geographical region of Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, promoting these via the SUN website www.sunoutreach.org. Develop and extend collective projects which support the progression of students with disabilities. This may include working with their parents, carers and advisers. We will draw on the expertise of specialists within our universities and those working in the field. We will also be guided by students currently at university, incorporating them into activities so they can share experiences with potential applicants. Develop and promote wider understanding of the issues facing vulnerable children and young people including the collaborative development of resources and interactions for specific groups in partnership with local authorities and voluntary sector agencies. This work will be informed by the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers. Arrange staff development for widening participation practitioners across the partnership, including students involved in our work via their student unions or as ambassadors. Students will be actively engaged in providing ideas and feedback in relation to outreach practice and projects Share practice and outreach to potential mature or part-time learners. Deliver collaborative presentations to to HE students in local colleges. Promote and support the progression of students from minority ethnic communities. We will work with community groups to support and develop events and projects, with each university sharing its networks and maximising opportunities for collaborative delivery. Share good practice in evaluation, both in terms of each partner s activity and in terms of evaluating collaborative projects, and explore the use of HEAT and/or other tracking services to evaluate the impact of collaborative activity. We will continue to work collaboratively with university partners to subscribe to, and help develop (through membership of the Steering Group), the Higher Education Tracker service. This enables us to continue to target and young people engaging in our outreach programmes, to record activities and to track participant progression to HE. It is also a forum for sharing good practice relating to data interpretation and evaluation. 10
In addition the university partners have run two staff development conferences for outreach practitioners and on the basis of excellent feedback we plan to continue running these in the future. The University will also continue to work closely with Southampton Solent University, delivering collaborative events at key transition points and providing additional support for Southampton secondary school students with regard to progression, retention and attainment. As well as our Learn with US outreach and to Southampton activity, we work in partnership with a number of, colleges, third sector organisations and other groups including IntoUniversity. These relationships add value to our outreach programme and provide aspiration-raising and learning opportunities for potential students. During 2016/17 and into the period covered by this Agreement, we anticipate developing even deeper and more formal links with a number of our partner secondary and expanding our programme to cover a wider geographical area including in Bournemouth, Dorset and Wiltshire. A key development in the area of collaboration and partnership is the University s partnership with IntoUniversity. The Southampton IntoUniversity Centre opened in autumn 2015 and activity has been rolled out across 2015/16, building up to a full programme during 2016/17, with the number of and activities offered increasing during the emerging year. The University is an active participant in UNet (Universities Network), a collaboration between the Universities of Bath, Cardiff, Oxford, Imperial College, London, Reading and Southampton, which aims to improve access to selective universities. Through collaborative outreach UNet encourages post-16 students to consider higher education opportunities at leading universities in the region, supporting them in making an informed decision about the degree which is most appropriate for them. Students have the opportunity to participate in activities organised by partner universities and benefit from our jointly organised Choices conference which provides in-depth information about our respective undergraduate offers. Students are encouraged to include UNet activities in their UCAS personal statements to provide further context to their applications. UNet also provides opportunities for professional development for university admissions teams and for staff in and colleges advising post-16 students about progression to higher education. Russell Group The Russell Group Widening Participation Association has provided a forum for collaborative work across these highly selective institutions for many years and Southampton s Director of UK Student Recruitment and Outreach chaired the group in recent years. As well as providing peer support for senior widening participation, the group plans and delivers collaborative activity including the biennial Teachers Conferences and practitioner networks. Alongside this, the University of Southampton is a partner in Advancing, a national collaboration that comprises 24 leading universities. We are working together with and colleges to develop and deliver continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers and advisors that supports student progression to selective universities and courses. Advancing has a particular focus on with low levels of progression to such universities. We are delivering the majority of CPD events and resources online to allow easy access for all, regardless of their location. 11
Advancing complements the excellent work already carried out at the University of Southampton and other partner institutions by engaging those areas that have historically been hard to reach and may be in geographic cold spots. It is a cost-effective approach to equipping teachers and advisors with the information they need to advise students with confidence. Initially funded through HEFCE s collaborative outreach network scheme, further funding options are currently being explored. Alongside partnership work as part of The Russell Group the University is an institutional member of the Forum for and Continuing Education; and an active supporter of the Higher Education Liaison Officers Association (the professional association for staff in higher education who provide guidance, information and outreach work for prospective higher education students, their families and guidance advisers right across the United Kingdom). All of the collaborative and partnership activity referred to above reflects our commitment to raising and helping to realise aspiration to University-level study among as many potential students from under-represented backgrounds as possible, whether or not that results in increased recruitment at Southampton. 3.3 Financial support We shall provide financial support to students up to the levels indicated below. Students may choose whether to take this support in the form of a fee waiver or bursary. 3,000 per annum for students with residual household incomes of less than 16,000 1,500 per annum for students with residual household incomes of between 16,001 and 25,000 We also continue to provide targeted financial support for specific groups of students: Care Leavers bursaries: 2,000 per annum for each year of study for students who have left care and progressed to the University. A fund of up to 450,000 to enable students from who find themselves in financial hardship to access funds to facilitate retention and improve access to extra opportunities. The fund is used to support students with housing and food costs, towards the cost of tuition fees, and for other costs associated with their course (including nursery fees for student parents where this would not otherwise be affordable). Up to 150 bursaries of 1000 each for students who meet the to Southampton programme criteria (see section 3.2.2) We estimate that the cost to the University of providing financial support in 2017/18 will be 9.7m. This will include bursary payments and fee waivers of 9.1m for students with household residual incomes of 25,000 or less. 3.4 Student success and retention activity For some years our Agreement has outlined our approach to supporting students through their whole lifecycle, from application to post-graduation employment. While previously we have reported spend on student success and 12
progression under a single category, we have this year worked to amend our accounting systems so that spend can be more accurately reported against the categories of Student Success, and Student Progression. In 2017-18 we are allocating OFFA monies of 1.3m to student success activities, and 0.4m to progression activity. In response to the request from OFFA on 2 June 2016, we have increased our projected expenditure on success and retention activities by a further 0.2m in our Agreement resubmission, in line with potential TEF related fee increases. Due to uncertainties regarding TEF eligibility, the scale and scope of any TEF related fee increases, possible cuts to HEFCE student opportunity funding and student recruitment outcomes, this potential increase and the activities that it would fund have yet to be confirmed. As always, much of our activity in this area is available for all our students, irrespective of background, and activity is therefore funded by a mix of Agreement funding and core University funding. Our overall spend on such activities is therefore significantly higher. Our areas of work are: 3.4.1. Revising and improving the student support & retention model In our 2015-16 Agreement we committed to completing the implementation of our integrated approach to an integrated student support and retention model. Our progress is outlined below. At the time of writing, the new model of mental health support has been in place for almost two years. With the benefit of two years worth of data it is clear that the model has been extremely successful in enabling us to reach more students overall, while reducing the number of students needing counselling. Fundamentally the model encourages students to seek support at an earlier stage, before they reach the point of needing counselling. Students are then assessed by our team, risk assessed if necessary, and directed to a far wider range of support resources. This can include self-help tools, group workshops, local support groups, or our own exercise referral scheme. We have closely linked with both NHS IAPT practitioners, and with student peer-to-peer support groups to ensure that we are making effective use of resources outside of our own. As a direct result of this earlier intervention strategy, we are now the only Russell Group university to see a decline in demand for counselling. We consider that this work has been an excellent example of how we can do more with less the reduced demand for counselling means we have been able to reinvest our counselling resource in delivering more positive early interventions for students, meaning we are now seeing more students, and preventing them from reaching a point of crisis, without an increase in cost. This is also the second academic year since the launch of our Personal Academic Tutors (PATs) model which is now embedding. In 2017-18 we will use Agreement to provide an ongoing package of training and resources that supports our Tutors in managing student conversations throughout the student lifecycle. Specific focus is given to supporting students from underrepresented groups, although our PATs provide pastoral support for all students. We strongly believe this facilitates both student success and retention. Our work on academic skills support has now delivered a programme of workshops and support that link students to specific skills improvements that will help them maximise academic performance. This is of particular benefit to students with learning difficulties, or from low participation neighbourhoods. 13
The model has been developed in a way that ensures accessibility is built in so that students with learning difficulties may particularly benefit. Further developments for 2017-18 In the academic year 2017-18 we expect our work on using data to help identify students at risk of dropping to have delivered an 'early indicators approach. This will allow our Personal Academic Tutors and our central support services to work together to identify students not fully engaging with their studies, in order to unobtrusively offer support when needed. This approach is supportive of the more social model of delivering support for students from under-represented backgrounds, ensuring they get the support they need through a fully integrated model, rather than in ways that single them out from the rest of the student body. We have reviewed our current Assistive Technology provision and will be investing in the roll out of Assistive Technology equipment across a far wider proportion of the University Estate, specifically in the Library and our other Common Learning Spaces. Again, this supports our approach of enabling students with disabilities of learning difficulties to access the support tools they need in a way that does not single them out from other students. Recognising the importance of our academic staff in supporting our students, we also acknowledge that it can be challenging for these staff to maintain full awareness of our expanding range of support for students. We will therefore be initiating a project to support staff who support students. This project will deliver targeted toolkits, training, and communication to staff such as our Personal Academic Tutors to ensure excellent provision for our students. Finally, we will also be reviewing our approach to central support to consider whether there are improved ways to support students from under-represented backgrounds using a case management model. The scope of this project is as yet undefined, but will be considered during 2016-17. 3.4.2 Ongoing activity supporting success and retention of under-represented groups Our established targeted activity (which we believe is essential to the success and retention of students from under-represented groups) continues: Provision of a trial of university accommodation for disabled students and their carers during the summer vacation, to enable smooth transition to University at the start of term. Provision of our Needs Assessment Centre for disabled students, in order to determine their additional support requirements and make appropriate adjustments prior to the start of term. Expert teams within our Student Services department providing dedicated support for students with disabilities, learning differences, or mental health problems, enabling them to maximise their chances of success while at university. Targeted workshops and events for under-represented groups from our Careers, Enabling, and Financial Information & Assistance teams, focusing for example on students who are in receipt of Disabled Students Allowances and/or Care Leavers Bursary. 14
Additional support for care leavers and estranged students to support their transition to higher education and to recognise their achievement at graduation. Support would be provided to access fresher s week activities, clubs and societies, accommodation and financial support for additional costs related to graduation, including gown hire and photography. 3.4.3 Student Success project In our last Agreement we commented on data that had allowed us to identify differences in student success for some specific groups of students, and our wish to further investigate this. As a result, we have initiated the Student Success Project a project aimed at delivering tangible and measurable improvements to the experience of students from under-represented groups. The initial stages of the project have been to review our existing internal data, and collect input from staff and students to identify priority areas of work. As a result of this work, four priority work streams have been identified: Focus on mature students, across all lifecycle stages; Focus on students from lower household incomes/polar Quintiles 1 and 2, across all lifecycle stages. A review of the withdrawal process/experience for students from all underrepresented groups; A data work stream to improve our ability to track, monitor, report on, and understand the experiences of students from under-represented groups. Mature students and students from lower household incomes have been identified as a priority among our under-represented groups based on existing data. The project will seek to identify specific underlying causes of lower satisfaction, lower academic progression, and lower academic achievement, and then to deliver targeted solutions to address these issues. The work streams on data and withdrawal processes will seek to improve our internal approach in understanding and managing the full lifecycle experience of our under-represented groups, again with a view to delivering measurable improvements to the student experience. Work to scope activity against each priority areas will take place in 2015-16 to inform our deliverables in 2017-18, when we anticipate that targeted activity will have been identified and be ready for implementation. 3.4.4 Focussed projects that support student success and retention In addition to all the above planned activity, we have in recent years ring-fenced a proportion of our Agreement spend to support in-year decisions that contribute to student success and retention. This approach has enabled us to be agile in responding to data that evidences improvements are required, or good ideas presented by staff, and as signalled in our previous Agreement we continue will continue this approach in future years. Examples of how this spend has been used in the last year include; Encouraging progression to postgraduate study Recognising the important role we have in encouraging students from underrepresented groups to consider post-graduate study, we have used Agreement spending to partially fund a series of new Post-graduate open days. 15
This funding has allowed us to positively promote the benefits of post-graduate study to students from all under-represented backgrounds. Study abroad opportunities for under-represented students For the first time in 2015-16 we are providing a fully financially supported international experience within their degree for students from underrepresented backgrounds. These students are least likely to take advantage of the outbound mobility opportunities offered at the University of Southampton (primarily study abroad periods of a full academic year, full semester or 2 to 6 weeks summer school sessions). To address this we have organised a two week overseas Study Tour, in collaboration with George Washington University in Washington DC USA. This international experience will allow students to develop skills and attributes that contribute to future success. We are aware that such experiences can be one of the most formative experiences of student life, giving an ability to communicate, a personal resilience borne of surviving and thriving in a foreign environment, and an openness to other cultures that improve both personal confidence and employability prospects. In this first year the project has been offered to undergraduate students who entered through our to Southampton scheme. In future years the programme will be extended to up to 30 students from a range of underrepresented backgrounds. Both these activities supporting student progression will be continued using funding from our Agreement. 3.5 Student progression activity Through our previous three Agreements, we have reported our significantly increased investment in careers and employability support for students, recognising that good provision in this area is essential to the long term success of all students post-university regardless of background. We continue to allocate funding to support our comprehensive work experience offer. Our specific provision includes: Over 400 internships a year through our Excel Southampton Programme. A new Optional Year-Out Placement Scheme, with the first cohort of students on placement in 2016-17. Our Business Innovation Programme, providing students with opportunities to provide consultancy style advice to businesses. A volunteering programme allowing students to undertake role-based volunteering with a range of charitable organisations. Our work in this area has proven to be particularly beneficial to students from under-represented backgrounds who may be at some disadvantage in finding placement/work experience opportunities without additional support. Our analysis shows that in 2014-15, 151 students who undertook an Excel Placement, and 57 students (38% of all ) in our business consultancy scheme were from under-represented backgrounds. Further progression support is provided through: 16
Continuing with our programme of central workshops, including our specific skills workshops targeted at helping students with disabilities to improve their work prospects. Maintaining the increased size of our Career Destinations team to ensure that our practitioners can work closely with academic staff to deliver employability support alongside or within our curriculum. Maintaining our dedicated Employer Engagement team to grow and improve our relationships with employers, further increasing opportunities for our students from all backgrounds to engage with employers outside of formal work experience. The development of specific careers support for students with disabilities or specific learning difficulties. 3.6 Summary of expenditure on access, student success and progression measures Institutional access 2016/17 2017/18 agreement spend Financial support 9,253,000 9,688,000 Outreach 1,693,000 2,006,000 Student support 1,156,000 1,485,000 Progression 428,000 481,000 Total spend 12,530,000 13,660,000 4. Targets and milestones The University will maintain its targets as stated in the Agreement for 2016-17. We will keep these targets under review as new data becomes available. The table below and table 5.2, page 18, gives an indication of our current progress against targets: Area Target for 2017-18 Progress as of 2014-15 HESA PI Report Students from State Schools 5% above LAB Below target (1.9%) Students from LPN Exceed LAB Above target Students from POLAR 3 Quintiles 1 and 2 22% New target BME students 15.5% Above target (19.1%) Students declaring a disability 2,100 New target 17
Annual milestones have been set for these targets (Resource Plan, table 7a refers). We are working with our colleagues in the Southern Universities Network, as we will with our partners at Bath, Cardiff, Oxford and Reading, to focus on target setting in relation to our collaborative activities. One target is for the five universities to run a third collaborative Choices Conference in June 2016. 5. Assessment of access and student success record, and monitoring and evaluation arrangements 5.1 Assessment of our access and student success record We use the annual HESA Performance Indicators, and in particular make reference to the location-adjusted benchmarks, in monitoring and evaluating the success of our work aimed at ensuring fair access by and retention of members of underrepresented groups. (See table 5.2 on next page.) This data indicates that we have a good track record of attracting students from a wide range of backgrounds, but that there are areas in which we should improve our performance. Key headlines from our analysis of the 2014/15 performance indicators are: The proportion of full-time young first degree entrants from state remains above the location adjusted benchmark. However the proportions of full-time young first degree entrants from specified socio-economic backgrounds (NS-SEC groups 4-7) and low participation neighbourhoods remain areas to watch, despite increases of 0.6% and 0.2% respectively in 2014/15. The non-continuation rate increased slightly for full-time young first degree entrants who started in 2013/14. The University remains below the sector benchmark for the non-continuation rate of full-time young first degree entrants from low participation neighbourhoods, although this gap has decreased in comparison with that seen for 2012/13 entrants. The proportion of full-time first degree students forecast to achieve a degree remained steady in 2013/14, however the proportion forecast to leave with no award or transfer increased slightly (though remaining below benchmark). All the disability indicators for the University declined in 2014/15. This means that our performance is now equal to the benchmark for full-time students, and below the benchmark for part-time students, for the first time since we have comparable data (2002/03). Analysis of comparative data on grade breakdown indicates that targeting the bestperforming students from low-participation neighbourhoods must remain a priority for the University. Although our non-continuation rates are low, we are developing our capacity to monitor them, with a project underway to provide up-to-date cohort tracking which will allow the University to monitor trends in non-continuation by a range of different target groups in a more timely way than is currently possible. We will also continue to focus on enhancing the effectiveness of the support we provide to under-represented groups to help them progress successfully through our programmes and beyond. We will continue to invest in additional data available from HESA and other sources, and we will continue to enhance our ability to interrogate and evaluate this data and our activity, to give us a more sophisticated analysis of the student experience that will help us to understand better how students from under-represented groups 18