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:

Aspiration-raising interventions (pre-entry)

Aspiration-raising activities consist of interventions carried out by higher education providers to raise students’ aspirations to apply to, and attend, higher education.
- Attainment raising (pre-entry)
- Belonging in HE (pre-entry)
- Progression to HE
- Progression to own institution
- Retention
- Skills development
- Social / cultural capital
- Pre-entry to HE
- Cost
  
  Medium cost
- Impact on aspirations / attitudes
  
  Small positive impact
- Impact on behaviour / outcomes
  
  More evidence needed
- Strength of evidence
  
  Weak 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
Financial support (pre-entry)

Financial support includes grants, bursaries, scholarships and fee-waivers. When offered to prospective students, financial support is designed to help overcome the perceived or actual cost of applying and/or going to higher education.
- Progression to ‘high tariff’ institution
- Progression to HE
- Progression to own institution
- Pre-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
Foundation year programmes (post-entry)

Foundation year programmes are one-year introductory courses at the start of undergraduate university. They are designed to help students who may not meet the standard requirements for entry into university to develop skills and subject-specific knowledge, with the aim of increasing access to undergraduate studies, increasing course completion and raising attainment.
- Attainment raising (post-entry)
- Belonging in HE (post-entry)
- Completion
- Progression to ‘high tariff’ institution
- Progression to HE
- Progression to own institution
- Retention
- Skills development
- Social / cultural capital
- Post-entry to HE
- Cost
  
  High cost
- Impact on aspirations / attitudes
  
  More evidence needed
- Impact on behaviour / outcomes
  
  More evidence needed
- Strength of evidence
  
  Weak evidence
Information, advice and guidance (IAG) (pre-entry)

Information, advice and guidance (IAG) is an umbrella term for support that helps students make informed choices about education options.
- Progression to ‘high tariff’ institution
- Progression to HE
- Progression to own institution
- Pre-entry to HE
- Cost
  
  Low cost
- Impact on aspirations / attitudes
  
  Mixed impact
- Impact on behaviour / outcomes
  
  Mixed impact
- Strength of evidence
  
  Medium 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
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
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
Mentoring, counselling, coaching and role models (pre-entry)

Mentoring, counselling and role model interventions are designed to encourage students to perceive higher education as a desirable destination and a place where they would belong.
- Attainment raising (pre-entry)
- Belonging in HE (pre-entry)
- Progression to ‘high tariff’ institution
- Progression to HE
- Progression to own institution
- Social / cultural capital
- Pre-entry to HE
- Cost
  
  Medium cost
- Impact on aspirations / attitudes
  
  Small positive impact
- Impact on behaviour / outcomes
  
  More evidence needed
- 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

Order by:

Evidence interventions

Aspiration-raising interventions (pre-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

Financial support (pre-entry)

Cost

Impact on aspirations / attitudes

Impact on behaviour / outcomes

Strength of evidence

Foundation year programmes (post-entry)

Cost

Impact on aspirations / attitudes

Impact on behaviour / outcomes

Strength of evidence

Information, advice and guidance (IAG) (pre-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

Learning analytics (post-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

Mentoring, counselling, coaching and role models (pre-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