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Understanding the impact of outreach for disadvantaged adult learners

2nd March 2017

David Barrett Ben Spratt

Assistant Director Organisational Change Manager

www.offa.org.uk @OFFA_HESource: UCAS (End of cycle 2016, 18 year olds)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016

Entr

y r

ate

Year of entry

Entry rate among the most disadvantaged (POLAR3, Q1)

73%

Entry rates: The number of 18 year olds from low participation

neighbourhoods has increased dramatically

19.5%

11.2%

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Mature and Part-time students: The numbers of mature and part-time students has been declining rapidly – by 46% and 61% respectively from 2006-07 to 2015-16

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

400000

2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16

Num

ber

of

entr

ants

Year of entry

UK domiciled undergraduate mature and part-time entrants in English institutions

Mature (full timeand part time)

Part-time (all ages)

Source: HESA

www.offa.org.uk @OFFA_HE

Demographic change

550,000

600,000

650,000

700,000

750,000

800,000

2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 2030 2034 2038

Num

ber

of

18 y

ear

old

s in E

ngla

nd

Population projections for 18 year olds in England, 2006-2039a

Source: Office for National Statisticsa Data from 2006-2015 refer to actual population estimates and from 2016 onwards population projections based on 2014.

2024 before 18

year old population

recovers to 2015

levels

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“All institutions have a responsibility to consider how they might work to support

part-time and mature learners”

“[…] you should consider the different barriers mature learners may face in

accessing, succeeding in, and progressing from higher education. If you have

experienced a decline in the number of mature learners applying for higher

education at your institution, you should consider committing some of your access

expenditure to addressing this.”

OFFA Strategic guidance: developing your 2018-19 access agreement

OFFA’s Guidance

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How universities and colleges are responding…

Over the 12 target groups there was a total of:

1,314 high level targets

105 mature

87 HEIs18 FECs

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• adult and community courses

• mature students’ taster sessions and ‘menu’ sessions

• bespoke IAG for Colleges of Further Education and other providers of Access Courses

• specific activities for Access students

• pre-entry (experience) days for mature students

• twilight information sessions on campus

• help from an Applicant Information Officer

• a Summer School for mature learners

What they are doing pre-entry

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• a wider choice of campuses, courses, campus

cultures

• transition programmes

• part-time courses e.g. 1 night/week for 6 years

• foundation years

• flexible study modes and progression routes

• online learning

Range of provision

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• online induction package

• a series of round table events during induction week

• the same access academic and wellbeing support

• mature students bursary

• a suite of activities and support

Student support

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Three key elements:

• Understand: learning from the research of others and contributing to a greater evidence

base, and so improving the guidance that informs the approaches that universities and

colleges take

• Challenge: using an evidence-based approach to more actively challenge and engage

with universities and colleges to make sustained and faster progress

• Champion: raising issues of fair access to a broad audience and sharing and

championing evidence of success and best practice, so informing practice, policy and

investment decisions

OFFA Strategic Plan 2015-2020

OFFA’s strategic approach

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Evidence strategy - aims

• To grow the depth and breadth of shared knowledge in the sector so that

evaluation, research and analysis contribute to improvements in understanding

and outcomes

• To improve the quality of evaluation, research and analysis

• To ensure that evaluation, research and analysis inform improvements in practice

• To demonstrate impact and learning of this approach effectively, for example by

identifying and disseminating good practice.

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• Set focus: Our role is to clearly state the priority areas.

• Ask questions: Our role is to enquire effectively, rather than know all

the answers for a given institution.

• Facilitate activity: Our role is to act as a catalyst for activity that

delivers our aims.

Evidence strategy – our role

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• Collaborative, nuanced and context-

specific

• No ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach

• Evaluation that is scalable and

transferrable

• Sector-level buy-in

OFFA’s approach to evaluation

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Important to OFFA because:

• outreach is a strategic priority

• dramatic declines in the number of adult learners

• adult learners more likely to be from disadvantaged or under-

represented groups

• encourages institutions to evaluate their own practice

• broad scope – geographical, institution type, mode of study

• recognises diversity of adult learners and diversity of the sector

• provides some tools the whole sector can use

Understanding the impact of outreach for disadvantaged adult learners

www.offa.org.uk @OFFA_HE

Thanks for listening…