New partners to evaluate the impact of wellbeing interventions prompted by analytics

TASO has commissioned the Policy Institute at King’s College London to evaluate three interventions prompted by analytics that aim to support student mental health and wellbeing in higher education. TASO has been awarded funding for this project from the Evaluation Accelerator Fund (EAF). The EAF is administered by the Cabinet Office Evaluation Task Force.

Following an open call in spring 2024, TASO has selected and funded three universities to participate in a project that will evaluate their student mental health and wellbeing interventions (prompted by analytics).

TASO has also commissioned the Policy Institute at King’s College London to independently evaluate the project, working with the universities to evaluate their interventions using randomised controlled trials.

This project is one of three TASO flagship student mental health projects. Each project involves different evaluation methodologies: randomised controlled trials, quasi-experimental designs, and evaluation with small cohorts.

The aim of the project is to provide evidence on the effectiveness of interventions in higher education. TASO will share these findings more widely with the sector, to encourage other providers to undertake similar evaluations, and to provide evidence-based support for student wellbeing.

The project will evaluate the following interventions being delivered by the partner universities:

• Northumbria University – Northumbria will compare two methods for identifying students in need of wellbeing support: analytics data or a validated wellbeing scale. Students identified as having low wellbeing will receive nudges directing them to support services.
  • “As part of our ongoing research and innovation in the area of analytics applications in Higher Education, we’re very excited to be partnering with TASO on wellbeing analytics. We’ve designed a trial which we believe will generate powerful results from which the sector can learn and hopefully it will inspire institutions to use their data to proactively make interventions tailored to students’ needs.” – Dr Carly Foster and Dr James Newham
• University of Staffordshire – Staffordshire’s student app ‘Beacon’ will nudge students towards accessing support services via push notifications. These notifications will signpost to wellbeing and careers support, and will be prompted when students dip below an engagement threshold calculated by learning analytics.
  • “We are thrilled to be working with TASO and the Policy Institute at King’s College London on this project to explore innovative ways to support student wellbeing through data-driven interventions. At the University of Staffordshire, we are particularly excited about expanding the use of Beacon to nudge students towards the support they need. By combining learning analytics with personalisation, we hope to make a tangible impact for students. This collaboration will provide valuable insights that can shape future practices across the higher education sector.” – Christina Matthews (Executive Director Student and Academic Services)
• University of East Anglia –  The intervention for this project involves two types of emails, prompted by learning analytics, directing students with low engagement to support services. The evaluation will compare a brief, informal email prompting students to complete a support service form, with a more detailed, academic-style email providing extensive information on available support options that students with low engagement can access.
  • “We are excited to work with TASO and the Policy Institute at King’s College London to investigate how we can communicate more effectively with our students and support their wellbeing, and their engagement with learning. This is a great opportunity to make better use of the data we routinely collect to enhance the quality of our provision.” – Professor Fabio Arico (Director, Centre for Higher Education Research Practice Policy and Scholarship, UEA) and Prof. Helena Gillespie (Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Student Inclusion, UEA)

The Policy Institute at King’s College London will be evaluating whether or not these interventions have a positive impact on students’ engagement with wellbeing services and, subsequently, their wellbeing, compared to students who do not receive the interventions.

• “We are delighted to be working with TASO, Northumbria, UEA and Staffordshire to understand how interventions informed by learner analytics can support student wellbeing. HEPs collect a wealth of data about students and it is terrific to see providers using that data in a sophisticated way to improve the student experience and improve the happiness of students. There is a wealth of good practice in the sector, and rigorous methods like RCTs can help bridge the gap between evidence and practice, supporting all providers to implement interventions that are shown to work.” – Susannah Hume (Director of Evaluation, Policy Institute, King’s College London)

Where possible, within the timescale of the evaluation, we will use direct measures of wellbeing, and additionally, proxy outcomes such as attendance, engagement, and take-up of the support offered.

The final reports will be published in spring/summer 2025.