News and blog

Sara Rashid, TASO research intern and BA History student at University College London examines the barriers – such as poverty and racial inequities – that keep South Asian students, particularly Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, underrepresented in UK higher education.

TASO CEO Dr Omar Khan explores how funding shortfalls threaten to widen the gap in higher education participation between disadvantaged and advantaged students, with significant implications for individual opportunity as well as the broader economy.

A new report, published today by TASO, shows that higher education pays off in terms of earnings and employment outcomes, but that fundamental equality gaps persist.

In partnership with RSM UK, TASO has published a ‘Framework for economic evaluation’ to support the higher education sector to assess its interventions using economic evaluation tools.

Find out more about ‘Supporting disabled students: a blueprint for transition support’

TASO is committed to open science – the movement to make scientific research accessible to all. Here, we discuss why open science is essential for breaking down barriers in research and why the sector needs to adopt open science principles.

Today, TASO – in partnership with Nottingham Trent University – is launching new guidance and tools to help the higher education sector better evaluate how interventions are delivered and implemented. We call this approach ‘impact and process evaluation’ or ‘IPE’.

TASO will appoint two higher education providers to work with an independent evaluator to evaluate the impact of their mental health and wellbeing interventions with small cohorts.

TASO’s fourth annual conference last week was jam-packed, filled with panel discussions, practical breakout sessions and exclusive looks at our latest evaluation guidance to help delegates craft effective evaluations. Dr Omar Khan, CEO at TASO reflects on the conference and the progress we and the sector have made in the past four years.

For Mental Health Awareness Week, Dr Omar Khan, CEO at TASO, discusses how TASO plans to merge awareness with action to enhance support for student mental health and to create a proactive culture of wellbeing in higher education.

TASO CEO Dr Omar Khan discusses our recent research on reasonable adjustments and transition support for disabled students, and the importance of using evidence to move the needle on fair access to education for all.

As we finalise new guidance to support the sector in conducting better and more consistent implementation and process evaluation (IPE), we hear from colleagues Billy Wong and Lydia Fletcher, at the University of Reading, on how IPE can help us understand the journey to change, not just the final destination and outcomes.