SPA - Janet Graham

SPA and fair HE Admissions in the new competitive environmentAccess to HE summit 3 December 2013

Janet Graham, Director of SPA

What is SPA?

Set up in 2006 following the Schwartz Report Fair Admissions to Higher Education: Recommendations for Good Practice 2004

“ The Group recommends the creation of a central source of expertise and advice on admissions issues. Its purpose would be to act as a resource for institutions who wish to maintain and enhance excellence in admissions. Such a centre could lead the continuing development of fair admissions, evaluating and commissioning research, and spreading best practice.”

UK’s independent, fully funded (normally free at the point of delivery) and objective voice on fair HE admissions

Small team, but with practical and relevant experience

“Equal opportunity for all individuals, regardless of background, to gain admission to a course suited to their ability and aspirations.”

What is Fair Admissions?

1. be transparent

2. enable institutions to select students who are able to complete the course as judged by their achievements and their potential

3. strive to use assessment methods that are reliable and valid

4. seek to minimise barriers to applicants

5. be professional in every respect and underpinned by appropriate institutional structures and processes

Fair admissions and fair access: what’s the difference?

If fair admissions covers the five principles, is fair access about getting more disadvantaged students into ‘top’ universities? Supporting the most able but least likely to apply?

Yes, but that’s only part of the issue

Raising aspirations and encouraging and supporting all students with potential to aim higher for an HE course that is right for them at an institution that can provide what they need, when they need it - full-time, part-time, flexible or distance learning etc

External policy drivers impacting admissions


Increasing divergence in the HE policy frameworks round the UK but HE providers recruit UK-wide


Changes and developments to the Pre-HE curriculum

Issues round advice and guidance for potential students

Tuition fees and student finance – policy varies round UK

Demographics - Fewer young applicants until 2020

Fair admissions in a competitive landscape

Competition between HE providers is growing.

There is an increasing need to seek out students with potential from a wider

range of backgrounds.

What is contextualised admissions?

Contextualised admissions is defined as contextual information and contextual data used by HE providers to assess an applicant’s prior attainment and potential to succeed in higher education in the context of the circumstances in which their attainment has been obtained.

Why is contextual data used?

Academic Excellence

Competition

Evidence-base

Increase applicant pool

External policy drivers

Diversity as pedagogical value

Fair admissions

“We are very aware of the differences out there, and it’s obvious when students come to study with us that the brightest sparks do not always come with the best grades.”

Contextualised admissions and holistic assessment

Fair admissions in a competitive landscape

So does this mean moving away from academic rigor and high standards? No.

It is about supporting the delivery of fair admissions and maintaining high academic standards.

It is about seeking excellence by identifying the ‘best’ applicants with the greatest potential and likelihood of a successful degree outcome.

Strategic importance of contextualised admissions:

Facilitates reaching targets

Improves calibre of entrants

through identifying potential

Widens participation and

enhances diversity of the student body

Supports the applicant

experience

Could aid social mobility

Helps delivery of fair admissions

Helps assess applicants for financial support

Helps identify applicants who may benefit from

additional support

Scientific ‘Gold standard’: good, individual-level data

Caveats:

Data availability

Expertise and cost

Limitations (often young, UK domiciled HE applicants)

Outreach or / and admissions

Area

School

Household

Individual

Evidence 1:What matters for measuring academic potential?

Evidence 2: Same grades same potential

Students from different types of school perform differently.

In the majority of research, those from state schools outperform independent school students or those from poorer performing schools outperform those from higher performing schools

(Oxford, Bristol, Cardiff, HEFCE, Scottish institution)

This is not confirmed in one case study where school did not affect degree results

(Cambridge)

Studies use different ways of thinking about and measuring disadvantage as well as attainment.

Recommendations for HE admissions

Rationale and understanding Conceptual clarity – from SPA Sharing expertise, good practice and networking Communication

Data and indicators Centralised data provision Data transfer

Research Long term comparative research Other admissions Different provider contexts

Basket of Data

Educational Background

School performance: % of students achieving 5+ GCSEs A*-C including English and Maths (or equivalent in Scotland)

Average point score by school “best 8” GCSEs (or Standard grade SCQF level 4 equivalent performance)

mean QCA points per A level and per student (or equivalent in Scotland)

Socio-Economic Background

% of students entitled to free school meals by School (historical data only by Local Authority)

% of students entitled to EMA (not England)

Lives in a low progression to higher education neighbourhood (POLAR 2 and 3) derived from postcode

SIMD Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SFC version)

Supplied by UCAS, if universities and colleges sign up to take it.

Initial basket of data for HEIs, free, via UCAS for 2014

SPA College HE Community of Practice Group

Building an evidence base of current practice seeking out existing good practice;

Assessing practices and procedures in HE admissions and adapting SPA’s existing good practice if appropriate and/or developing new practice for FE College use;

Raising awareness of the Group’s work with FE Colleges offering HE in their regions;

Disseminating relevant information to FE Colleges offering HE in their regions;

Promoting the professionalism of admissions with FE Colleges offering HE in their regions and with the wider College HE admissions community.

Part-time admissions – fair admissions and good practice

Review Thomas report and implications for SPA’s work

Input to sector bodies and other stakeholder groups with regard to PT admissions

Build mailing/contact list of PT admissions practitioners within HE providers, with potential to develop into community of practice

Update SPAs Good Practice Statement and Checklist on PT

admissions Produce guidelines on PT admissions – e.g. data to be collected

and rationale for doing so

The applicant experience www.spa.ac.uk/applicant-experience

Built under four broad stages, as part of student journey

Adopted a behavioural view of ‘experience’

Interactive participation and engagement,

not a passive journey

Linked and underpinned through effective

information, advice and guidance

pre-application

applicationpost-

applicationtransition

ing ingsing

The applicant experience www.spa.ac.uk/applicant-experience

A good applicant experience is mutually beneficial to both the

applicant and the higher education provider

prepares, informs and provides equality of opportunity to enter higher education

should accurately match the student’s aims, abilities and aspirations with the character of the institution

therefore improves student retention and enhances the strategic mission of the institution

A poor applicant experience is inherently detrimental to both the

applicant and the higher education

provider – both lose out perpetuates barriers to entry disengages potential applicants and

their advisors risks incongruence between student

expectations and institutional character therefore embeds an enrolment strategy

leading to unfulfilled potential and increased drop-out

is mutually beneficial to both the applicant and the higher education providerprepares, informs and provides equality of opportunity to enter higher education

should accurately match the student’s aims, abilities and aspirations with the character of the institution

therefore improves student retention and enhances the strategic mission of the institution

is inherently detrimental to both the applicant and the higher education provider

both lose out

perpetuates barriers to entry

disengages potential applicants and their advisorsrisks incongruence between student expectations and institutional charactertherefore embeds an enrolment strategy leading to unfulfilled potential and increased drop-out

Building an applicant experience strategy

monitor

mea

sure

institution mission and values

strategic aims policies

pre-application stage processes

application stage processes

post-application stage processes

transition stage processes

key interactions

linking interactions

IPG integrated practitioner

groups / communities

key interactions

key interactions

key interactions















enablers (staff; systems; funds)

The Applicant Experience Strategy

Strategic leadership in admissions is integral to an institution’s learning and teaching strategy, management and planning.

SPA’s view is that an applicant experience strategy underpins the student experience, it supports the management and processes of both academic and professional staff.

The benefits for the institution should be more integrated ways of working, with possible efficiency gains enhanced staff professionalism and understanding of strategy improved quality practices and procedures which may give competitive

advantage, enhance reputation and aid retention ability to take advantage of external changes quickly

The benefits for the applicant: transparency, a better experience

Janet Graham

Thank you. Questions and discussion.

www.spa.ac.uk