Evidence toolkit

Our toolkit summarises the existing evidence on approaches to widening participation and student success for disadvantaged and underrepresented groups. The evidence is presented by types of interventions.

Click through for detail on the efficacy and evidence of interventions.
Find out how approaches have been categorised on our ratings page.
We’ll be updating our toolkit as new evidence is produced. If you have evidence to share, please get in touch.

Order by:

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.
- Belonging in HE (post-entry)
- Completion
- Retention
- Skills development
- Wellbeing
- Post-entry to HE
- Disabled learners
- Cost
  
  Medium cost
- Impact on aspirations / attitudes
  
  Small positive impact
- Impact on behaviour / outcomes
  
  Mixed impact
- Strength of evidence
  
  Emerging evidence
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.
- Progression to employment
- Skills development
- Social / cultural capital
- Post-entry to HE
- Socio-economic / demographic disadvantaged learners
- Female learners
- BAME learners
- Disabled learners
- Cost
  
  Low cost
- Impact on aspirations / attitudes
  
  More evidence needed
- Impact on behaviour / outcomes
  
  Mixed impact
- Strength of evidence
  
  Emerging evidence
Online teaching and learning (post-entry)

Online Teaching and Learning is the support carried out in the absence of face-to-face contact.
- Attainment raising (post-entry)
- Completion
- Progression to employment
- Progression to own institution
- Progression to PG study
- Retention
- Skills development
- Post-entry to HE
- Cost
  
  Medium cost
- Impact on aspirations / attitudes
  
  More evidence needed
- Impact on behaviour / outcomes
  
  Mixed impact
- Strength of evidence
  
  Emerging evidence
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.
- Attainment raising (pre-entry)
- Belonging in HE (pre-entry)
- Progression to ‘high tariff’ institution
- Progression to HE
- Progression to own institution
- Skills development
- Social / cultural capital
- Pre-entry to HE
- Cost
  
  High cost
- Impact on aspirations / attitudes
  
  Small positive impact
- Impact on behaviour / outcomes
  
  Mixed impact
- Strength of evidence
  
  Emerging evidence
Work experience (post-HE)

Work experience includes a range of interventions providing students with exposure to industry and employment. These interventions are run by higher education providers to improve career outcomes and employability for students.
- Progression to employment
- Skills development
- Post-entry to HE
- Socio-economic / demographic disadvantaged learners
- Female learners
- BAME learners
- Disabled learners
- Cost
  
  Low cost
- Impact on aspirations / attitudes
  
  More evidence needed
- Impact on behaviour / outcomes
  
  Small positive impact
- Strength of evidence
  
  Emerging evidence
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.
- Attainment raising (post-entry)
- Completion
- Progression to employment
- Progression to own institution
- Progression to PG study
- Retention
- Skills development
- Post-entry to HE
- Cost
  
  Medium cost
- Impact on aspirations / attitudes
  
  Mixed impact
- Impact on behaviour / outcomes
  
  Small positive impact
- Strength of evidence
  
  Emerging evidence
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.
- Attainment raising (post-entry)
- Belonging in HE (post-entry)
- Completion
- Progression to employment
- Progression to PG study
- Retention
- Skills development
- Social / cultural capital
- Wellbeing
- Post-entry to HE
- Cost
  
  Medium cost
- Impact on aspirations / attitudes
  
  Small positive impact
- Impact on behaviour / outcomes
  
  Small positive impact
- Strength of evidence
  
  Weak evidence
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.
- Attainment raising (pre-entry)
- Progression to HE
- Progression to own institution
- Skills development
- Pre-entry to HE
- Cost
  
  Medium cost
- Impact on aspirations / attitudes
  
  Small positive impact
- Impact on behaviour / outcomes
  
  Small positive impact
- Strength of evidence
  
  Emerging evidence
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.
- Attainment raising (post-entry)
- Belonging in HE (post-entry)
- Completion
- Progression to employment
- Progression to PG study
- Retention
- Social / cultural capital
- Wellbeing
- Post-entry to HE
- Cost
  
  Medium cost
- Impact on aspirations / attitudes
  
  Small positive impact
- Impact on behaviour / outcomes
  
  Small positive impact
- Strength of evidence
  
  Emerging evidence
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.
- Completion
- Progression to own institution
- Wellbeing
- Post-entry to HE
- Cost
  
  High cost
- Impact on aspirations / attitudes
  
  Small positive impact
- Impact on behaviour / outcomes
  
  Small positive impact
- Strength of evidence
  
  Emerging evidence

Order by:

Evidence interventions

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

Cost

Impact on aspirations / attitudes

Impact on behaviour / outcomes

Strength of evidence

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

Cost

Impact on aspirations / attitudes

Impact on behaviour / outcomes

Strength of evidence

Online teaching and learning (post-entry)

Cost

Impact on aspirations / attitudes

Impact on behaviour / outcomes

Strength of evidence

Multi-intervention outreach

Cost

Impact on aspirations / attitudes

Impact on behaviour / outcomes

Strength of evidence

Work experience (post-HE)

Cost

Impact on aspirations / attitudes

Impact on behaviour / outcomes

Strength of evidence

Learning analytics (post-entry)

Cost

Impact on aspirations / attitudes

Impact on behaviour / outcomes

Strength of evidence

Programmes of student support (post-entry)

Cost

Impact on aspirations / attitudes

Impact on behaviour / outcomes

Strength of evidence

Study and soft skills support (pre-entry)

Cost

Impact on aspirations / attitudes

Impact on behaviour / outcomes

Strength of evidence

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

Cost

Impact on aspirations / attitudes

Impact on behaviour / outcomes

Strength of evidence

Financial support (post-entry)

Cost

Impact on aspirations / attitudes

Impact on behaviour / outcomes

Strength of evidence