Abstract
This short article summarises the evaluation findings from the end of Year 1 Phase 2 Uni Connect Raising Higher Education Aspirations project in Lincolnshire. This national initiative, funded by the Office for Students, delivers targeted Higher Education outreach activities to young people in Years 9 to 13 in areas where the Higher Education participation of young people is much lower than expected based on GCSE-level attainment. These areas often coincide with where universities focus their widening participation efforts to help them meet their Access and Participation Plans. In Lincolnshire the project is managed and delivered by LiNCHigher, one of 29 local learning partnerships involved in the project nationally. The data were collected between March and July 2020 during the Covid-19 national lockdown when all schools were closed and draws primarily on data collected from six case study schools. Evaluation activity comprised an online student activity survey, semi-structured interviews with School and College Leads, LiNCHigher Area Engagement Officers and two student focus groups, conducted just prior to lockdown in early March. The evaluation found that, prior to Covid-19, interventions were beginning to have a positive impact on the Higher Education aspirations of all students and that schools both welcomed and valued the initiative highly. The evaluation report made several recommendations, including ensuring workshops are more interactive.
Highlights
This article presents the interim evaluation findings from the end of Year 1 Phase 2 Lincolnshire Uni Connect Raising Higher Education Aspirations project
At case study school D both the Area Engagement Officers (AEOs) and the School Lead reported a shift in culture at the school as a result of outreach interventions
The School Lead commented: “we have found there is a difference
Summary
This article presents the interim evaluation findings from the end of Year 1 Phase 2 Lincolnshire Uni Connect Raising Higher Education Aspirations project. Funded by the Office for Students (OfS) and managed locally by LiNCHigher, a consortia partnership, the project delivers targeted Higher Education (HE) transitional outreach activities to young people in Years 9 to 13 in areas of England where the HE participation of young people is both low and much lower than expected based on GCSE-level attainment. The initiative is targeted at those from backgrounds that strongly indicate they are significantly less likely to progress onto HE, i.e. non-traditional students. These same students are often the focus of universities’ Access and Participation Plans. There are 28 other local Uni Connect partnerships in England involved in the project, each consisting primarily of universities and colleges
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