As TASO continues to support the sector to conduct robust evaluation, we will soon be launching three new projects and seeking higher education providers (HEPs) to collaborate with us.

The invitations to tender (ITT) for all new projects will open in mid-June and remain open for eight weeks.

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Project one – Institutional data use: building better evaluation 

What is it? 

A new project exploring the use of institutional data – i.e, data routinely collected and monitored by HEPs, such as learning analytics data – to generate Type 2 (empirical enquiry) and Type 3 (causality) evidence of the effectiveness of post-entry interventions to reduce equality gaps. TASO’s recent work on the student experience has used institutional data to uncover relationships between attainment and disadvantage (Online teaching and learning in the time of COVID-19) and the effectiveness of interventions to promote engagement with learning (Learner Analytics). The generalisation of findings from these recent projects is limited, in part, because they are based on the data from individual institutions or because data is coded differently between institutions and not easily comparable. This new project seeks to work collaboratively with HEPs to map post-entry activities and outcomes, explore the standardisation of data coding, and develop more robust evaluation designs which leverage the power of the data already collected by universities and colleges.

Who should apply? 

  • TASO is seeking to select, and work with, up to four providers (or groups of providers) who are interested in the use of institutional data to facilitate more powerful evaluation which can support the student experience and reduce equality gaps.
  • An independent evaluator for the project will be commissioned via TASO’s Panel of Evaluators. 

When will the project take place? 

  • Mid-June – the invitation to tender will open and remain open for eight weeks.
  • September 2023 – the project will commence
  • March 2024 – final reporting and project end

How much support will the HEP receive? 

  • Providers will be able to apply for up to £20k to support this work.

The invitation to tender (ITT) for project one is now open. Find out more below.
Access the ITT for this project
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Project two – Disability in HE

What is it? 

Our report on ‘What works to reduce equality gaps for disabled students’ provides a number of recommendations on what could happen next to improve outcomes for this group. We are directly following up on these recommendations with two strands of work.

Strand 1 – Reasonable Adjustments

HEPs have legal responsibilities to support disabled students under the Equality Act 2010. They also receive funding from the government in the form of Disabled Student Premium to provide reasonable adjustments and support services for disabled students. Despite the legal requirements and funding, there is little research on what support is effective. There is a need for better evidence on reasonable adjustments: on how they are delivered and their impact on disability inclusion. Without comprehensive research on reasonable adjustments, we cannot assess whether or to what extent they are achieving their intended impact for students. We will be commissioning a survey/sector engagement exercise to improve our understanding of the use of reasonable adjustments in HE as a foundation for future evaluation of these activities.

Strand 2 – Disability in HE: Developing evidence-based transitions support and improving data use

The existing evidence suggests that transitions support can be effective for enabling disability inclusion. This evidence, particularly Type 3 research, was often based US experiences, where there is a legal or statutory requirement for HEPs to focus on

delivering support during transition into HE. In the UK context, there is some evidence on the importance of transitions, and the Disabled Student

Commitment has suggested ways of improving information, access and guidance in accessing HE, focusing on HEPs but also UCAS, the OfS and funders of HE access and participation programmes. As transitions support is improved and expanded,

it will be more feasible and important to evaluate what is working best to deliver on disabled student inclusion.

This new project seeks to work collaboratively with HEPs to develop a blueprint for a model of evidence-based transitions support which offers potential for adaptation, implementation and evaluation across the HE sector to provide more consistent support for disabled students.

In-line with the Disabled Students Commission, our recent report also made a number of recommendations on how the use of disability data in HE requires improvement. As part of this project, HEPs will also feed into the Strand 1 engagement exercise and participate in some elements of Project 1: Institutional data use: building better evaluation to help map the particular barriers and opportunities relating to use of disability data in HE.

Who should apply? 

  • TASO is seeking to select, and work with, up to three providers (or groups of providers) to participate in Strand 2.
  • An evaluator for Strand 1 of this project will be commissioned via TASO’s Panel of Evaluators.

When will the project take place? 

  • Mid-June – the invitation to tender will open and remain open for eight weeks.
  • September 2023 – the project will commence
  • February 2024 – final reporting and project end

How much support will the HEP receive? 

  • Providers will be able to apply for up to £20k to support this work.

The invitation to tender (ITT) for project two is now open. Find out more below.
Access the ITT for this project
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Project three – Ethnicity degree awarding gaps: Theory of Change development

What is it? 

A new project based on the findings and recommendations from our soon to be published report that examines approaches to tackling the ethnicity degree awarding gap. We will collaborate with HEPs interested in receiving evaluation support to develop a Theory of Change for interventions aimed at addressing the ethnicity degree awarding gap.

Who should apply? 

  • TASO is seeking to select, and work with, up to six providers who will be matched with a member of our Panel of Evaluators to develop a Theory of Change for their intervention.

When will the project take place? 

  • Mid-June – the invitation to tender will open and remain open for eight weeks.
  • September 2023 – the project will commence
  • December 2023 – final reporting and project end

How much support will the HEP receive? 

  • Providers will receive evaluation support, in the form of a TASO funded independent evaluator, to develop a Theory of Change for their intervention.

The invitation to tender (ITT) for project three is now open. Find out more below.
Access the ITT for this project