The Connect Benefit Series 2021-22 that Advance HE (AHE) launched this August is a suite of projects running throughout the academic year designed to co-create and share innovative solutions to contemporary problems.
They cover a number of themes one of which is Student Success and there are now some AHE resources available which can be found below. These resources are directly relevant to the work that is currently underway across the Institution around the Learning and Teaching Retention Project.
Access, retention, attainment and progression: an integrative literature review
As part of AHE Connect Benefit Series on Student Success, they are delighted to announce the publication of ‘Access, retention, attainment and progression: an integrative review of demonstrable impact on student outcomes‘ led by a team at Sheffield Hallam University.
The key question asked by the research team was: What evidence-based policy or practice has had a demonstrable impact on student outcomes (access, retention, attainment, and progression) since 2016? In their summary blog, Dr Rebecca Hodgson and Dr Liz Austen share some insights into the team’s approach and findings. This review updates a previous Advance HE review in 2017 by Oliver Webb, Lynne Wyness and Debby Cotton by expanding the type of literature reviewed and aligning inclusion with the Office for Students’ ‘standards of evidence’.
Podcasts
To complement the literature review, a series of podcasts has also been released. These can be accessed below:
Student Success: access
In this episode, Nathaniel Pickering, Lecturer Research Evaluation and Student Engagement, Sheffield Hallam University is joined by Caroline Heaton, Senior Lecturer (Research, Evaluation and Student Engagement), Sheffield Hallam University, who principally researched this area of the literature review focusing on access to discuss the complex picture of measuring impact in this area.
Student Success: retention
In this episode, Dr Liz Austen, Head of Evaluation and Research, Sheffield Hallam University is joined by Dr Rebecca Hodgson, Associate Dean Teaching and Learning, Sheffield Hallam University who principally researched the retention area of the literature review. As well as discussing the key findings for this section of the review, this podcast also focuses on how to develop interventions in relation to retention and next steps for stakeholders for increasing retention.
Student Success: attainment
In this episode, Dr Jill Dickinson and Dr Liz Austen discuss the links between retention and attainment, pedagogical approaches to supporting student success, and evidence pertaining to the online learning context.
Student Success: progression
In this fourth podcast, Dr Rebecca Hodgson is joined by Dr Liz Austen who principally researched the progression area of the literature review, with particular focus on the challenges with measuring and reporting impact on progression outcomes and the specific impact of placements and work experiences.
Employability in higher education webinar
We hosted a webinar on 14 October where authors from Oxford Brookes University spoke to their recent Advance HE Publication: Employability: A Review of the Literature 2016-2021.The webinar included a general overview of the research, a spotlight on those findings that the authors wished to highlight for discussion and, provide their own perspective on. There was also an opportunity for audience members to ask questions of the authors based on the review, thematic areas and the broader findings.