Blog16 July 2025
The TASO post-entry MOAT (Mapping Outcomes and Activities Tool), launched at our 2024 annual conference, added a new tool to our evaluation toolbox: a framework for categorising post-entry student-success initiatives.
Higher education providers can now codify their activities according to a standardised framework and record these in a standardised manner on an institutional database or external system such as the Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT).
The advantage of this approach is that, ultimately, it will be possible to carry out evaluations of similar interventions from multiple providers to develop evidence and understand what works in student success.
The Higher Education Evaluation Library (HEEL) – currently under development and due for launch in 2026 – will provide further opportunity to use the post-entry MOAT (and indeed the pre-entry and attainment-raising MOATs) to categorise interventions with associated evaluations (planned or completed).It is, therefore, a prime time to revisit and update the post-entry MOAT with the experience we’ve gained in the 12 months since its inception, from our wellbeing intervention evaluations (small cohorts, QEDs and RCTs), our recent invitations to tender (ITT), and our scoping work for the HEEL.
Re-categorising for clarity
This new version of the MOAT corrects an oversight where two activity sub-types – Transition into HE and Transition within HE – have now been recategorised as activity types. It is clear that these transition activities are an important part of the sector’s efforts to improve student outcomes – over half of the 49 submissions to our recent ITT concerned activities designed to improve student outcomes via some form of transition process, and they come in many forms.
After comparing the first version of the MOAT with theories of change for wellbeing interventions and the Student Mental Health toolkit we have added three new activity sub-types – Creative activities, Psychoeducation and Support groups – to cover activities that providers are undertaking to improve student wellbeing. We have taken the view that we will not include clinical interventions in the MOAT as we are not set up to advise on their evaluation.
Additionally, and to aid clarity and usefulness we have replaced the activity sub-type Support for extra-curricular activity with Financial subsidy so it is not just tied to extra curricular activities and could include subsidised textbooks, laptops, travel, and so on.
Acting on feedback received, we have changed the field Young carer to Carer to reflect the fact that non-parental caring responsibilities are not limited to those under the age of 21.
Finally, we have made some changes to the organiser field – the field that indicates the people involved in delivering an intervention. First, we have changed Ambassador to Student ambassador as this is terminology common in the sector. Second, we’ve added Undergraduate student to the same field – not all undergraduate students involved in the delivery of an activity will be student ambassadors.
We hope these changes make the post-entry MOAT more useful, especially in light of the upcoming HEEL, and demonstrate our commitment to listening to and working with the sector to enhance our resources.
Find out more about the post-entry MOAT. Please contact us at research@taso.org.uk if you have any comments or feedback you would like us to consider.