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 | GHWY members adopt common definition of care-experienced
We are proud to announce that all 13 GHWY member institutions have pledged to adopt a common definition of care-experienced.
Members will use UCAS's definition of care-experienced, which is more inclusive of the range of care settings students may have experienced.
This will help care-experienced students who are navigating what can be a complex system, and ensure that those in need of support are better able to get access to it. | | Read more |
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 | Head of GHWY reflects on upcoming activities in 2023-24
The new academic year has started with a bang for GHWY as well as our member institutions.
It feels like a good point to provide a reminder of our work streams and to look at what is coming up in 2023-24.
Planned activities include three webinars that will support members with their APP Wave 2 preparations (see registration links in 'upcoming GHWY events' section), and the further roll-out and refinement of the Uni Connect Attainment Raising activity. | | Read more |
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 | GHWY under-represented groups: reflection and future plans
We summarise the progress of our Under-represented Group (URG) Networks and look ahead to what is in the pipeline for them in 2023-24.
Upcoming activities include updates to our Disabled Students Transition Pack to reflect user feedback; and continuing work on the Systematic Review that will be an output for our Black Asian and Minoritised Ethnic Students Network.
We also look at some of the external recognition our Networks have received through conference presentations. | | Read more |
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Blogs from our members Bringing you updates and opinion pieces from our Access and Participation Strategy Group and Go Higher Skills Group |
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Deconstructing the embedded employability narrative
The employability and employment outcomes of graduates from our universities has become a central feature of contemporary HE policy and regulatory scrutiny by the OfS.
How we engage students with their future is a topical debate, with widespread consensus that it must start within the curriculum. However, how we do this effectively is still the subject of much conjecture. |
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Blogs from our under-represented group (URG) networks Keeping you up-to-date with the activities of our four URG networks |
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Supporting men to progress into HE
HESA data shows that men are 35% less likely to have enrolled into HE by age 19 than women.
It’s in this context that Manchester Metropolitan University hosted the Boys Impact Conference.
Tahera Mayat (GHWY Collaborative Outreach Officer) and Jonathan Holland (Co-Chair of Boys on Free Schools Meal Network) presented a session based on the work from our Boys on Free School Meals Network. |
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Updates from our members We bring you updates from across our 13 member institutions |
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 | Manufacturing company A-SAFE has announced a new partnership with Calderdale College. They will collaborate on initiatives including apprenticeships and off-site learning to equip engineering students with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the workplace.
The partnership aims to inspire the next generation of engineers, innovators and industry leaders by nurturing fresh talent, providing real-world experiences, and supporting students’ career aspirations.
A-SAFE will also invest in the development of the Elite Performance Centre at the College’s Halifax campus for Sport students | | Read more |
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 | Building design can help to foster collaboration and improve productivity. The Rose Bowl building at Leeds Beckett University is undergoing a transformation to bring together different departments that are currently siloed.
The work will benefit staff and students while embracing hybrid working. There will be hubs and lounges and a work café on each floor for informal meetings and hot desking. A range of seating areas from comfortable seating to meeting pods recognises that people have different work needs.
The work is due to be completed in September 2023. | | Read more |
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Upcoming GHWY eventsWe are hosting three webinars that will offer detailed experiences to support member institutions with their Access and Participation Plan (APP) Wave 2 preparations. Note these exclusive online events are only open to colleagues from within our members. |
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| | Navigating, matching and sifting the OfS APP data dashboard and EORR
When: Thursday, 5 October between 2-4pm Who: Jane Owen-Lynch, University of Huddersfield
OfS’s EORR has 12 risks linked with 25 indicators of risk and over 40 different student characteristics and thus choosing the focus points for any APP is a daunting task.
This workshop will provide an example of one way forward. It will start with a tour of the OfS APP dashboard, then consider the pitfalls of looking at individual rather than intersectional differences linked with impactful action planning.
It will end by looking at ways to match the groups and profiles to the EORR parameters to best effect. | | Register |
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| Evaluation for Access and Participation Plans
When: Thursday, 12 October between 1-2.30pm Who: Ruth Squire, Leeds Trinity University (LTU)
The workshop will share some lessons from LTU’s experience of trying to meet the challenge of evaluation as part of the ‘first wave’ of APP writing, before guiding attendees through the simplified evaluation grid in new APP templates.
Attendees will be supported to produce their own evaluation grid, using theory of change as a basis, and will identify where they can grow their evaluation practice to meet OfS expectations.
It will involve small group discussion rooms and working together on padlet to produce a theory of change. | | Register |
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| Whole institution approach and student consultation
When: Friday, 20 October between 10am-12pm Who: Matt Dollery and Richard Kemp, University of Leeds (UoL)
The workshop will outline UoL's experience of demonstrating a whole provider approach to access and student success while writing the APP as part of the ‘Wave 1’ round of submissions.
The workshop will explain how this was managed at a large institution and the kind of preparation to consider before writing the APP.
There will be the opportunity for smaller group work and feedback on how these processes could be managed in other institutions. | | Register |
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Upcoming CPD opportunities |
Our Uni Connect project runs a wide range of free opportunities to upskill and build confidence for staff who support young people with their progression. |
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 | Date and timeTuesday, 10 October between 3-4pm
LocationOnline
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Supporting learners with personal statements
The session will enable teachers and advisers to effectively support students with the UCAS personal statement writing process.
It will look at some the basics of structuring statements and will also examine the characteristics of the most successful statements.
Attendees will learn how personal statements are used by universities in the decision making process and will be shown how they can make sure their students have the competitive edge. | | Register |
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Office for Students underperforming amid looming crisis in higher education
A new report by the Industry and Regulators Committee warns that the OfS and the Government are failing to act on the looming financial crisis facing the higher education sector.
It raises concerns that the sector has become dangerously dependent on international and postgraduate student fees to compensate for increased costs, tuition fee freezes for home undergraduate students, and reduced EU research funding. | | Read more |
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HEPI research shows nearly half of universities ‘promote’ part-time work
HEPI research into the cost-of-living crisis shows that a significant proportion of universities are open to the possibility of students working part-time during their studies.
The research, which investigated how universities were helping students in the context of the crisis, was partly based on a website audit of 140 members of Universities UK. It noted the strategies, such as food banks, travel subsidies and laptop loans, advertised as being offered by the universities. | | Read more |
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Go Higher West Yorkshire: reducing inequalities in access to, success in and progression from Higher Education. |
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