Group of learners |
Data source |
Description |
Age group |
Key Stage 4 population |
NPD |
Studying in school year 11 , the final year of Key Stage 4 , typically taking their GCSEs |
Aged 16 at the end of the year |
Applicants |
UCAS |
Made at least one application |
|
|
to higher education through |
|
|
UCAS Undergraduate scheme |
Offered |
UCAS |
Received at least one offer by |
|
|
30 June or accepted onto a |
|
|
course by the end of the cycle |
Accepted |
UCAS |
Accepted onto a higher |
|
|
education course by the end of |
|
|
the cycle |
Aged 18 at the end of the year , two years after taking their GCSEs
Aged 18 at the end of the year , two years after taking their GCSEs
Aged 18 at the end of the year , two years after taking their GCSEs
Limitations
38 . Before presenting the findings , a number of limitations with this analysis should be noted :
a . The most recent UCAS application data in this report was for the 2021 application cycle . The applicants who were aged 18 in the 2021 application cycle would have been half way through year 9 as phase one of Uni Connect was being established in 2017 , meaning they could have had at most four and a half out of the five years of sustained and progressive outreach intended in the programme design .
b . As previously stated , the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have influenced the application outcomes of the two most recent cohorts of learners included in this analysis , as well as the delivery of the Uni Connect programme itself . Particularly for the cohort applying in 2021 , it is impossible to definitively separate the impact of the Uni Connect programme from that of the pandemic .
c . With this data , we were not able to identify the individuals with whom the partnerships have worked as part of the Uni Connect programme . We could only identify individuals who lived in the areas targeted by Uni Connect while in Key Stage 4 . For this reason , this analysis cannot show the impact of Uni Connect in raising participation among learners who were directly engaged by the programme . 25 It can only show whether the Uni Connect programme appears to be associated with improved participation rates in targeted areas .
d . It is possible that learners who are being engaged by the programme are benefitting , but that the scale of this outreach is insufficient to have any meaningful impact at a national level , and therefore cannot be seen in the findings of this analysis . In Table 6 ,
25
Although we did attempt to repeat this analysis for a more limited population of learners whose schools appeared to have been directly engaged by the programme as part of our sensitivity analysis . There was no difference in the overall conclusions .
15