Ipsos | Uni Connect Phase 3 : Attainment-raising Activity – Final Report
26 both Year 10 and Year 12 learners , though only Year 10 learners engage with this through the pre-16 attainment-raising strand of Uni Connect .
The case study Uni Connect partnership approached University B to further expand their existing relationship following the introduction of the attainment-raising strand . Alignment with the university ’ s Access and Participation Plan and a pre-existing focus on attainment-raising facilitated this collaboration . Programme B was selected by both teams as the most appropriate for both objectives , and adaptations were required only to refine and repurpose it for the Uni Connect context . Both teams were involved in the re-development stage , with core adaptations including : shortening the sessions to enhance engagement , increasing the amount of activities delivered in the day , and ensuring learners are seated with their peers to enable a more comfortable learning environment . Shared wider ambition was celebrated as a core facilitator by HEP staff :
“ There ’ s no clash there . There might be different scores and it might be different targeting that we use , but the ambition [ with the Uni Connect partnership ] is exactly the same . We want to ensure that these learners are not only better equipped to attend higher education , but also stay there , continue through and actually attain at the end of it , through developing these skills , because this is exactly what they will be learning .” ( HEP staff )
Programme B has subsequently been co-delivered , reaching more schools as a result . Initial shadowing and handover were carried out to ensure partnership staff were confident to deliver and evaluate the programme without university support . Since this handover period , the partnership delivered the programme on-campus with their target schools , and the university have continued to deliver to their own schools too . Logistics and expenses ( e . g . travel , staffing ) are managed by the respective teams , though frequent communication ensures the programme remains a collaborative endeavour . They have been able to remain “ always in conversation ” since delivery began this academic year . Continued readjustments throughout delivery have ensured the programme meets learner / school needs and this has been a balanced approach across both parties :
“ So , they ’ re not only taking a lead in the delivery more and more , it ’ s that they ’ re not adapting the sessions , but enhancing the sessions . […] I think initially , there was concern that someone would take this session that you ’ ve created . We all have this natural inclination when you ’ ve created something to keep hold of it . […] But actually , it ’ s been really beneficial to the session and it ’ s been beneficial to the learners .” ( HEP staff )
Both the partnership and the university have considered this a positive collaboration that has improved the programme itself and extended both the partnership and university ’ s reach to new schools within catchments . A complete joint review will be conducted at the end of the academic year , alongside a combined approach to the evaluation .
Whilst this collaboration has been a success , both the partnership and university staff expressed concerns over the impact of funding changes moving forward . Whilst the university considers the partnership a valuable “ conduit ” for reaching more schools , they are sceptical about relying on the partnership to sustain these relationships because of unpredictable funding conditions . The university have been able to establish connections with “ harder to reach ” schools as a result of this collaboration but seek to establish their own relationships that have guaranteed longevity irrespective of the partnership moving forward . These differing funding / objective timescales across partners was considered a significant barrier for collaborative programme design and delivery .
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