external policy drivers impacting admissions1

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Contextualised admissions in the competitive environment Applicant Experience in Wales SPA event - 4 June 2014 Janet Graham, Director of SPA

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Contextualised admissions in the competitive environment Applicant Experience in Wales SPA event - 4 J une 2014 Janet Graham, Director of SPA. External policy drivers impacting admissions1. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Contextualised admissions in the competitive environment

Applicant Experience in Wales SPA event - 4 June 2014Janet Graham, Director of SPA

Page 2: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

External policy drivers impacting admissions 1 New competitive market place - looking for efficiencies and new USPs

for quality of offering and service, while enhancing access for disadvantaged students and ensuring fair admissions

Increasing competition between HEIs, and with HE in FE and new independent providers, UK plc: global competition, league tables

Changes and developments to the Pre-HE curriculum - GCSEs, A/AS level reform, Welsh Bac - other changes round the UK

QAA UK Quality Code - Chapter B2 covers admission

Page 3: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

External policy drivers impacting admissions 2 UCAS changes - to admissions process and UCAS Tariff Issues round advice and guidance for potential students Student number controls deregulation in England - impact UK wide Tuition fees and student finance - policy varies round UK Push for fair access and widening access Demographics - Fewer young applicants until 2020 HE providers recruit UK-wide, changing patterns of behaviour by HE

Page 4: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Institutional Challenges in Admissions Meeting targets for both student numbers and under-represented groups

– getting the right balance

Good record keeping, IT systems for admissions data analysis and market intelligence

Managing change - planning, admissions and student recruitment working together

Implementing policy -Tracking and Evaluating: in-house, UCAS Strobe

Quality of the applicant and student experience including pre-entry engagement, information and guidance and learning support

Promotion of academic success - access, transition, retention, employability

Page 5: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Fair admissions in a competitive landscape

Competition between HE providers is growing.

There is an increasing need to seek out students with potential from a wider

range of backgrounds.

Page 6: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

What is contextualised admissions?

Contextualised admissions is defined as contextual information and contextual data used by HE providers to assess an applicant’s prior attainment and potential to succeed in higher education in the context of the circumstances in which their attainment has been obtained.

SPAs Report:http://www.spa.ac.uk/information/contextualdata/spasworkoncontextual/cdresearch2013/

Page 7: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Why is contextual data used?Academic Excellence Competition Evidence-base Increase applicant pool External policy drivers Diversity as pedagogical value

Fair admissions“We are very aware of the differences out there, and it’s obvious

when students come to study with us that the brightest sparks do not always come with the best grades.”

Page 8: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Contextualised admissions and holistic assessment

Page 9: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Fair admissions in a competitive landscapeSo does this mean moving away from academic rigor and high standards? No. It is about supporting the delivery of fair admissions and maintaining high

academic standards. It is about seeking excellence by identifying the ‘best’ applicants with the

greatest potential and likelihood of a successful degree outcome.

Page 10: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Scientific ‘Gold standard’: good, individual-level data

Caveats:

Data availability

Expertise and cost

Limitations (often young, UK domiciled HE applicants)

Outreach or / and admissions

Area

School

Household

Individual

Evidence 1: What matters for measuring academic potential?

Page 11: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Evidence 2: Same grades same potential

Students from different types of school perform differently. In the majority of research, those from state schools outperform

independent school students or those from poorer performing schools outperform those from higher performing schools

(Oxford, Bristol, Cardiff, HEFCE, Scottish institution) This is not confirmed in one case study where school did not affect degree

results

(Cambridge) Studies use different ways of thinking about and measuring disadvantage

as well as attainment.

Page 12: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Evidence 3: Positive progress where students admitted using contextual data

Positive benefits for individual providers (recruitment, conversions, PIs)

“…can only work if you get the applicants…. to do that you have to change the perception that the university is ‘not for me’.”

Comparative research into performance of contextualised students supports the approach

Research into outcomes achieved by WP outreach groups confirms performance (e.g. PARTNERS, LEAPS)

Building commitment to those who enter

Page 13: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Evidence 4: Transferring evidence into practice

Case study providers

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Methodology:                

Application of data F F TA TA F F FA F

Approach:                

Implications (beyond additional consideration)

  AO I   AO (some)

GO/I AO MO

‘Formal’ application of contextual data into holistic decision making

‘F’ – flagging; ‘T’ – triangulation; ‘‘A’ – adjusting scores (i.e. calculating adjusted grades to reflect relative performance as well as using actual grades). ‘I’ –highly likely or guaranteed interview; GO –guaranteed offer; AO/MO–adjusted offer on individual basis/ modified offer - at lower end of range

Page 14: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Contextual data indicators 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

School performance indicator for Level 2/age 16          

School/college performance indicator for Level 3/age 18       School/college higher education progression indicator          

Low Participation Neighbourhood indicator         Area of relative deprivation            

Other geo-demographic indicator (ACORN and OAC)          

Outreach indicator (completion of agreed programme)         Declaration of exceptional circumstance           Higher education background indicator              

‘In care’ indicator   Other individual indicator (refugees)              

Page 15: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Basket of Data

Educational Background School performance: % of students

achieving 5+ GCSEs A*-C including English and Maths (or equivalent in Scotland)

Average point score by school “best 8” GCSEs (or Standard grade SCQF level 4 equivalent performance)

mean QCA points per A level and per student (or equivalent in Scotland)

Socio-Economic Background % of students entitled to free school

meals by School (historical data only by Local Authority)

% of students entitled to EMA (not England)

Lives in a low progression to higher education neighbourhood (POLAR 2 and POLAR 3) derived from postcode

SIMD Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SFC version)

Supplied by UCAS, if universities and colleges sign up to take it.

Contextual data for HEPs, free, via UCAS for 2014

Page 16: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Useful practices

Using multiple datasets

Dealing with missing data (N.B. standardisation)

Using multiple indicators

Triangulation

Checking information - particularly self declared, e.g. follow up ‘in-care’

Using ranked data for decision making

Using additional information for marginal decisions

Page 17: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

From the report to practice:

Use of contextual data and information aligned to strategic mission

Contextual data can be a helpful part of holistic admissions

Senior management buy-in and pro-active support

Good record keeping

Linked systems for widening participation, admission, planning, student progression, graduation and beyond – student lifecycle

Create / use HEI own ‘baseline’ evidence base

Page 18: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

From the report to practice:

Know what data is out there and how to use it

Appropriately trained staff

Transparency about how and when contextual data is used

Integrated approach to outreach/WP and admissions

and ideally to support the student experience, retention, and graduation

‘Access without support is not opportunity’ If possible, sharing of expertise, creation of a comparative evidence-base

Page 19: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Strategic importance of contextualised admissions:

Facilitates reaching targets

Improves calibre of entrants

through identifying potential

Widens participation and

enhances diversity of the student body

Supports the applicant

experience

Could aid social mobility

Helps delivery of fair admissions

Helps assess applicants for financial support

Helps identify applicants who may benefit from

additional support

Page 20: External policy drivers impacting admissions1

Janet Graham, Director of SPATel 01242 544919 email: [email protected]

Thank you

www.spa.ac.uk