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Evidence toolkit: Student access, success and progression

Our toolkit summarises the existing evidence on approaches to widening participation and student success for disadvantaged and underrepresented groups.

How we rate evidence in our access, success and progression toolkit.

Find out more

  • Aspiration-raising interventions (pre-entry)

    Aspiration-raising activities consist of interventions carried out by higher education providers to raise students’ aspirations to apply to, and attend, higher education.

    • Cost

      Medium cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      Small positive impact

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      More evidence needed

    • Strength of evidence

      Weak evidence

    Pre-entry to HEAttainment raising (pre-entry)Belonging in HE (pre-entry)Progression to HEProgression to own institutionRetentionSkills developmentSocial / cultural capital

  • Financial support (post-entry)

    Financial support includes grants, bursaries, scholarships and fee-waivers. When offered after entry to higher education, it is designed to help students succeed on-course by alleviating the financial costs of studying.

    • Cost

      High cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      Small positive impact

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      Small positive impact

    • Strength of evidence

      Emerging evidence

    Post-entry to HECompletionProgression to own institutionWellbeing

  • Financial support (pre-entry)

    Financial support includes grants, bursaries, scholarships and fee-waivers. When offered to prospective students, financial support is designed to help overcome the perceived or actual cost of applying and/or going to higher education.

    • Cost

      High cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      Small positive impact

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      Small positive impact

    • Strength of evidence

      Emerging evidence

    Pre-entry to HEProgression to ‘high tariff’ institutionProgression to HEProgression to own institution

  • Foundation year programmes (post-entry)

    Foundation year programmes are one-year introductory courses at the start of undergraduate university. They are designed to help students who may not meet the standard requirements for entry into university to develop skills and subject-specific knowledge, with the aim of increasing access to undergraduate studies, increasing course completion and raising attainment.

    • Cost

      High cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      More evidence needed

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      More evidence needed

    • Strength of evidence

      Weak evidence

    Post-entry to HEAttainment raising (post-entry)Belonging in HE (post-entry)CompletionProgression to ‘high tariff’ institutionProgression to HEProgression to own institutionRetentionSkills developmentSocial / cultural capital

  • Information, advice and guidance (IAG) (pre-entry)

    Information, advice and guidance (IAG) is an umbrella term for support that helps students make informed choices about education options.

    • Cost

      Low cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      Mixed impact

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      Mixed impact

    • Strength of evidence

      Medium evidence

    Pre-entry to HEProgression to ‘high tariff’ institutionProgression to HEProgression to own institution

  • Information, advice and guidance for employment and employability (post-HE)

    Information, advice and guidance (IAG) for employment and employability is the provision of resources to students to help them understand their career options and make effective decisions around them.

    • Cost

      Low cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      More evidence needed

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      Mixed impact

    • Strength of evidence

      Emerging evidence

    Socio-economic / demographic disadvantaged learnersFemale learnersBAME learnersDisabled learnersPost-entry to HEProgression to employmentSkills developmentSocial / cultural capital

  • Learning analytics (post-entry)

    Learning analytics is an umbrella term for the measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of data about learners, for the purpose of understanding and optimising their learning and the environments in which it occurs.

    • Cost

      Medium cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      Mixed impact

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      Small positive impact

    • Strength of evidence

      Emerging evidence

    Post-entry to HEAttainment raising (post-entry)CompletionProgression to employmentProgression to own institutionProgression to PG studyRetentionSkills development

  • Mentoring, counselling, coaching and role models (post-entry)

    Mentoring, counselling, coaching and advising all involve a relationship between two individuals where a more experienced person provides support to a less experienced individual.

    • Cost

      Medium cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      Small positive impact

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      Small positive impact

    • Strength of evidence

      Emerging evidence

    Post-entry to HEAttainment raising (post-entry)Belonging in HE (post-entry)CompletionProgression to employmentProgression to PG studyRetentionSocial / cultural capitalWellbeing

  • Mentoring, counselling, coaching and role models (pre-entry)

    Mentoring, counselling and role model interventions are designed to encourage students to perceive higher education as a desirable destination and a place where they would belong.

    • Cost

      Medium cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      Small positive impact

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      More evidence needed

    • Strength of evidence

      Emerging evidence

    Pre-entry to HEAttainment raising (pre-entry)Belonging in HE (pre-entry)Progression to ‘high tariff’ institutionProgression to HEProgression to own institutionSocial / cultural capitalWellbeing

  • Multi-intervention outreach

    Multi-intervention outreach combines two or more activities into an ongoing programme of support for students at different stages of their education.

    • Cost

      High cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      Small positive impact

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      Mixed impact

    • Strength of evidence

      Emerging evidence

    Pre-entry to HEAttainment raising (pre-entry)Belonging in HE (pre-entry)Progression to ‘high tariff’ institutionProgression to HEProgression to own institutionSkills developmentSocial / cultural capital

  • Online teaching and learning (post-entry)

    Online Teaching and Learning is the support carried out in the absence of face-to-face contact.

    • Cost

      Medium cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      More evidence needed

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      Mixed impact

    • Strength of evidence

      Emerging evidence

    Post-entry to HEAttainment raising (post-entry)CompletionProgression to employmentProgression to own institutionProgression to PG studyRetentionSkills development

  • Programmes of student support (post-entry)

    Programmes of student support refers to sustained programmes of engagement (for example, via course modules or events) designed to improve retention and success among students from disadvantaged and underrepresented groups.

    • Cost

      Medium cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      Small positive impact

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      Small positive impact

    • Strength of evidence

      Weak evidence

    Post-entry to HEAttainment raising (post-entry)Belonging in HE (post-entry)CompletionProgression to employmentProgression to PG studyRetentionSkills developmentSocial / cultural capitalWellbeing