back on course

What Works? Student Retention & Success Conference

Barbara Stephens, Project DirectorAlexis Peters, Senior Project Manager

What is back on course?• back on course is a HEFCE funded project operated by The

Open University, working in partnership with UCAS

• The project is designed to tackle the issue of undergraduate retention across the Higher Education sector in England

• For the first year, the back on course team worked with UK undergraduate students who had withdrawn from full time study in 13 North West HEIs, as a pilot

• As a result of the success of the pilot, HEFCE asked for the scheme to be rolled out across England in academic years 2010/2011 and 2011/2012

• Currently 107 HEIs are partnered with the scheme and the service has been offered to 40,000 early-leavers

What does back on course do?• We provide free, impartial information, advice and guidance to

achieve a ‘positive outcome’

• Explore reasons for leaving and future opportunities

• Confidential discussions tailored to student’s own circumstance

• Clients may have multiple guidance interviews

• Outcomes may be HE, FE, different modes of study, professional training, work or just opportunity to talk through what happened

• We give students the information to make positive decisions about their futures

• A chance to frame withdrawal not as failure but as an opportunity to reflect and make positive decisions

The back on course research project• Annual research conducted to feed back to sector (reports

published in autumn 2010 and 2011)

• Aims to identify characteristics of ‘at risk’ students more closely than previously

• Brings back on course data and UCAS Apply data together

Research parameters and limitations• Research aims to sit between in depth smaller studies previously

done and at scale HESA data

• Data collected quantitatively using pre-defined categories developed from pilot research

• Only early-leavers matched to UCAS dataset included in research

2011 research report (1)2011 Research at 3 different levels:

1. Characteristic data about who leaves HE

2. Who participates in back on course service

3. What early-leavers say about why they left

2011 research report (2)Data analysis began in early summer 2011; at this point:

• 19,570 clients offered service; 14,730 of these matched to UCAS data

• 7,445 of these had been passed to the IAG service who had made pro-active attempts to contact these clients

• 2,526 of these had been successfully contacted by the service, of which 965 had provided additional information

Key research findings from 2011 (1)• 12% of matched early-leavers had re-applied to HE and been

accepted – higher than generally expected?

• Younger students, those from POLAR groups 4 & 5 and those with A levels were more likely to cite dissatisfaction with their course

• Mature students significantly more likely to leave early, twice as likely to use the BoC service and less likely to reapply to HE

• 48% of early-leavers live within 25 miles of the HEI

Key research findings from 2011 (2)• Asian and black students are comparatively less likely to leave early

than white students; disabled students no more likely

• 47% of early-leavers are from the 40% more advantaged sectors of the population, but this reflects the profile of applicants – however, this is counter to the belief that early-leavers are ‘WP’ students

• Characteristics of ‘no shows’ are different to other early leavers – more likely to be from 21-29 age group, ethnic minority

What might this mean?• Both the anecdotal and the quantitative data suggests that the

extent to which the student identifies with the institution is crucial

• Students who live less than 25 miles from the institution may be living at home, and not transferred their affiliation from home to HEI

• Students living at home don’t have commitments to accommodation that may make it easier for them to leave

• Understand the difficulty of forming individual relationships with students, but this may be a strategy that is needed in order to reduce numbers of students leaving

• While declared disability at entry is not a key factor, developing illness or having it diagnosed while at the HEI may be

• Anecdotal evidence suggests that for many, failing to complete their course is a personal tragedy

Questions and discussion

Thank you

www.backoncourse.ac.uk

Barbara Stephens: b.m.stephens@open.ac.uk

Alexis Peters: alexis.peters@open.ac.uk