In this post, Shian Holt highlights recent work undertaken by the School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences (PPLS) to enhance support for Widening Participation students in the Strand 3 of the Widening Participation strategy: ‘Support to succeed’. Shian is Head of Student Support & Enhancement in PPLS. This post is part of the L&T Enhancement Theme: Examples of positive practices in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).
Within the context of a large school, Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences (PPLS), how do we ensure that widening participation (WP) students find the support that they need: how do they navigate our culture and what can we do that will make a difference?
From the publication of the Widening Participation Strategy, we were keen to access WP data. This data is the key to unlocking how we can proactively understand WP students’ support needs, as previously we are only able to respond with enhanced support if a student chose to share this information with us. Our experience of working with WP students is that they tend to be independent and fairly self-sufficient, and therefore usually only come to us for help when things have really gone wrong. The opportunity to build a relationship with WP students prior to this contact was an important motivation.
In 2019/20, PPLS set up a WP small working group, but, as word spread, interested staff and students wanted to join and the membership grew. The initial focus of the working group was to introduce the WP strategy to staff, and raise awareness of the WP student experience. Meetings were focused on discussion about our own experience of the needs of this group, reviewing what we already do within the school level and what we could do to enhance this support. The groups intention was to identify a pilot project for year one.
One of the immediate challenges was that there are multiple WP flags (e.g. index of multiple-deprivation, parental education and school Higher Education participation rate), which do not necessarily indicate need or what kind of support students might look for. Looking at the groups of WP students that the University looks to attract and support, by definition, this represents a wide diversity, and students can apply with one or multiple flags. The working group looked at the WP data and, when comparing these flags with the University’s, the highest risk group of non-progression at University of Edinburgh are Scots domiciled, adult returners to education, the majority of whom are WP. This seemed like a good place to start.
From our early meetings, there was an agreement that PPLS would develop a pilot to support WP students with August resits. The rationale being that there is a long gap between the end of semester two and the August assessment diet, without the usual study routines, and regular contact with academic staff and teaching offices. Many students work full time in the summer break, and the pilot was looking to support students like these with a resource pack, which would include study guides and guidance of where to get help. We started the project by reviewing the PPLS August diet student data, and surveying this group to find out how they approached preparing for assessment.
PPLS are networked to other CAHSS WP working groups, so we knew that whilst we were working on this resource, others were piloting their own initiatives. The short-term objective was to spend year one piloting enhanced support, and then learn from each other what was working and what was not.
In March 2020, the pandemic hit, and through the hugely important no detriment policy, applied to student assessments, there was no August diet. We paused the project.
Starting 2020/21, we returned to the WP August diet support pilot. Working with PPLS Skills Centre, Dr Jim Donaldson, and the Undergraduate Teaching Office (UGTO), we put together a resource pack that included top tips for effective study, and a FAQ referring to all the available resources outside of the semester dates, e.g. library, course organisers, Learn course materials, and how to get in contact and access help. This resource pack was distributed with the assessment information provided to students for the August 2021 diet.
In addition to the resource pack, we had developed an enhanced communication plan, with regular check-ins by the UGTO, to see if students were on track and offer support. Due to the demands placed on UGTO and Student Service teams during the August 2021 diet, including an increase in volume of work simultaneously coinciding with lower staffing, this part of the plan could not be delivered.
As we were not able to facilitate regular check-ins from the UGTO, the Senior Tutor, Dr Sue Widdicombe, emailed advice to all Y1 students, which addressed issues that WP students are likely to find especially challenging. In particular, the Senior Tutor suggested strategies for engaging confidently in tutorial discussions; how to manage anxieties relating to completing the first assignment; discussed reactions to feedback and how to make best use of it; and advice on catching up.
So where are we now? We have taken year one as our baseline, and, over the coming years, will be able to collect data to assess whether the additional support has had an effect. Taking the study resource pack pilot as an example, it is very challenging to achieve enhanced support without additional resource. However, the PPLS WP working group continues, with a multi-layered plan for supporting WP students to succeed. We are looking forward to seeing what PPLS can achieve for WP students in 2022/23.
Shian Holt
With over eight years in higher education, Shian has been developing and delivering strategic support and services for students. Shian is a qualified coach, and has more than 20 years’ experience of working in complex environments, Commercial and Third Sector, including project delivery and line management.
Kelly Zou
Kelly Zou is a storyteller, illustrator, and ex-programmer. She is based in UK and currently studying MA in Illustration in Edinburgh College of Art. She has been the recipient of Honorable Mention in the 2019 3×3 Illustration Awards, her works were chosen for 2019 and 2020 Asia Illustrations Collections, and she is also the illustrator of the book “The Lost Flower Children” by Janet Taylor Lisle, published in China. She loves telling stories.
Website: https://www.kellyzou.com/
Instagram: @kelly_zxj
