Widening Participation
At the heart of our approach will be a major drive to increase the diversity of our student and staff population and to remove the barriers to a ¹û¶³´«Ã½ education
Our goals:
Core to University Mission and Beacon of Excellence
Targeted and Lifecycle Approach (Outreach, Access, Retention, Success, Progression)
Core to University Mission and Beacon of Excellence
We will …
Ensure that widening participation and social mobility are core to the University’s mission and aspire to be a beacon of excellence in the sector
We will achieve this by …
- Putting the Widening Participation Strategy in place
- Ensuring that widening participation is central to core University and departmental priorities and connects with other related strategies
- Establishing ambitious targets for widening participation categories, including State Schools, Low Socio-Economic Class, Low Participation Neighbourhoods, Mature, Low performing schools, Local entrants, and BAME entrants
- Championing our widening participation approach internally and externally
Case study: ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Bright Stars Programme
The ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Bright Stars programme is the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ primary schools outreach programme which is in its fourth year. The programme supports over five hundred year 5 and 6 (age 9-11) pupils in the Coventry and ¹û¶³´«Ã½shire areas each year. The activities are delivered by a group of trained student ambassadors who are studying at ¹û¶³´«Ã½ and have an interest in Education or in developing teaching skills.
Targeted and Lifecycle Approach (Outreach, Access, Retention, Success, Progression)
We will …
Adopt a targeted and evidence-based ‘lifecycle’ approach to widening participation for the benefit of all our students
We will achieve this by …
- Ensuring that our progress against Widening Participation targets are evidence-based
- Ensuring that provision is underpinned by robust evaluation and research-led practice at the forefront of national policy
- Equipping departments with specific data that promotes evidence based approaches
- Widening demand and increasing support to facilitate a talent pipeline for widening participation target groups
- Accelerating access to ¹û¶³´«Ã½ for students from a range of widening participation backgrounds
- Improving student retention (non-continuation rates) and success (good honours) for widening participation targeted groups
- Enhancing progression in further study and employment (DLHE / Graduate Outcomes) for widening participation groups
- Enhancing opportunities for target groups in the region to access and progress to higher education
Priorities 2018/19: Embedding a lifecycle approach to Widening Participation
We will seek to make ¹û¶³´«Ã½ sector-leading in our approach to Widening Participation (WP), supporting students across their HE journey; from initial outreach for aspiration-raising and attainment, to ensuring access for ¹û¶³´«Ã½ programmes, success in closing attainment gaps in graduate outcomes, and progression to further study and employment.
Work in 2018/19 will include: consultation and launch of our new WP Strategy; developing research and evaluation capability for WP programmes; agreeing ambitious WP targets; enhancing coordination with faculties on WP activities; initiating a life-cycle and cross-institutional ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Access and Mobility Programme; and opening an IntoUniversity centre in Coventry.
Governance Structures and Coordination
We will …
Adopt a holistic and embedded institutional approach to widening participation across all levels of the University
We will achieve this by …
- Developing the Widening Participation Committee and establishing complementary governance structures and coordination mechanisms to facilitate the delivery of the Widening Participation Strategy
- Establishing a Widening Participation Evaluation and Research Working Group
- Establishing Steering Group and Faculty Operational Groups
- Resourcing of Faculty and Departmental widening participation structures
Case study: Widening Research and Participation (wrap) Project
The Widening Research and Participation (wrap) project is a 2-year research project at the ¹û¶³´«Ã½, investigating the availability and accessibility of undergraduate research opportunities in which ¹û¶³´«Ã½ students can participate. The research team comprises two postgraduate and two undergraduate students supervised and supported by the Research Development Manager and URSS co-ordinator. The project is funded by ¹û¶³´«Ã½â€™s Widening Participation Development Fund.