Home page
Home page

Navigation breadcrumbs

  1. Home
  2. Evidence toolkits

Evidence toolkit: Student access, success, 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

  • 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

  • Tutoring (pre-entry)

    Academic tutoring is an intervention that involves a teacher, trained teaching assistant or a tutor providing academic support to an individual or group of students.

    • Cost

      High cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      Small positive impact

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      Large positive impact

    • Strength of evidence

      Medium evidence

    Pre-entry to HEAttainment raising (pre-entry)Progression to ‘high tariff’ institutionProgression to HEProgression to own institutionSkills development

  • Summer schools

    Summer schools are a form of outreach comprising a range of activities organised during the summer holidays,  including workshops, taster sessions and social activities. Summer schools often take place on campus but can also be delivered online.

    • Cost

      High 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 institutionSkills developmentSocial / cultural capital

  • Study and soft skills support (pre-entry)

    Attainment-raising activities are interventions carried out by higher education providers to raise attainment of school-age pupils. Some of these activities aim to improve attainment through the development of study skills, by way of practical activities designed to enhance attitudes and techniques to improve learning.

    • Cost

      Medium cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      Small positive impact

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      Small positive impact

    • Strength of evidence

      Emerging evidence

    Pre-entry to HEAttainment raising (pre-entry)Progression to HEProgression to own institutionSkills development

  • Promoting self-advocacy for disabled students (post-entry)

    Self-advocacy is the ability to speak up for yourself. It relates to an individual’s ability to manage their own environment effectively. Promoting self-advocacy involves supporting students to navigate and negotiate their learning.

    • Cost

      Medium cost

    • Impact on aspirations / attitudes

      Small positive impact

    • Impact on behaviour / outcomes

      Mixed impact

    • Strength of evidence

      Emerging evidence

    Disabled learnersPost-entry to HEBelonging in HE (post-entry)CompletionRetentionSkills developmentWellbeing

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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