Sarah Beech Outreach Officer University Best Practice in Parental Engagement 10/07/2016 AGCAS/GTI Parental Influence Conference Jessica Taylor Employability Advisor AGCAS/GTI Parent Influence Conference

Sarah Beech Outreach Officer Sharing Best Practice 10/07/2016 AGCAS/GTI Parental Influence Conference

10/07/2016 AGCAS/GTI Parental Influence Conference Who are Parent Ambassadors? People who have supported their children, or those in their care, through university, from application through to graduation, BUT have not been to university themselves.

10/07/2016 AGCAS/GTI Parental Influence Conference Started under the ‘Aimhigher’ initiative in Stoke-on- Trent and Staffordshire Began in September 2006 National Aimhigher Award 2008 for ‘Excellence in Practice’ Project Context

10/07/2016 AGCAS/GTI Parental Influence Conference Provide a better understanding of the benefits of HE among parents/carers of WP students Improve the perception of, and attitudes among, parents/carers, towards progression to HE Increase the knowledge among parents/carers of progression routes to HE Project Objectives

10/07/2016 AGCAS/GTI Parental Influence Conference Parent Ambassadors out and about.... Parents Evenings Able & Talented Events Open Days/Visit Days Options/Careers Evenings Specific Parent IAG Events Community Days

10/07/2016 AGCAS/GTI Parental Influence Conference Feedback.... ‘Parent Ambassadors were able to relate to my problems, doubts etc.’ ‘Even though I was sure about my daughter studying further, I now feel much more confident that this will be the right thing for her from listening to the other parents.’ ‘Parent and Student Ambassadors were fantastic – you cannot beat information provided by those doing and going through it.’

10/07/2016 AGCAS/GTI Parental Influence Conference Recruitment Website, Local Newspapers, Graduation Ceremonies, Posters, Letters, Social Media, Word of Mouth, Outreach Brochures, even parents of colleagues...

10/07/2016 AGCAS/GTI Parental Influence Conference Future development of the project.... Questionnaires and Case Studies Networking events Drop-in sessions at Welcome Week

10/07/2016 AGCAS/GTI Parental Influence Conference Activity.... Imagine that you are a Parent Ambassador providing advice and support to a Parent whose child is thinking of going to University. In your groups consider the following questions: What do you think are the Parent’s main fears/ worries/ concerns? What advice would you provide to overcome these concerns? What other activities could you recommend they get involved with? (e.g. Open Days)

Jessica Taylor, Employability Advisor Influencing the Influencer Parental Engagement with Aston University

Aston University Parent’s Guide Printed booklet & website Generic guide to University study Designed for all parents, whether or not they have attended HE Includes a glossary/jargon- buster!

Higher Education Advice Evenings An evening event aimed at the parents of sixth form students, providing them with up to date knowledge and guidance about the UCAS process. Held twice per year (June and October) from 5pm – 8pm. Not Aston focused so suitable for students applying to any university Buffet provided! Topics include: The benefits of HE - Employment opportunities after graduation Choosing a course How your son/daughter applies to University – making the most of their application Student Finance at University/College – what support is available, funding, budgeting etc

Social Media Aston University Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts are all open to parents Twitter account is often used by parents or teachers to ask questions about the University

Pre-Application Open Days Held 3x per year – for 2015 two will be held on a Saturday. This change is due to the demand from parents who also wanted to attend At our September open day (held on a Tuesday), 58.5% of students attended with one or more parents. This % rises at the weekend open days Access to an ‘information market’ of support services including: Accommodation Disability and Additional Needs Unit Academic and Admissions Staff Careers & Placements

Applicant Visit Days All students that have applied to Aston are invited to one of our Applicant Visit Days Students usually attend with one or more parents/guardians Students and parents are split up in to ‘student life’ sessions and ‘parent sessions’ This allows parents to ask questions that they would like to know, and saves the students from embarrassment!

Offers We found that students often weren’t sharing their information with parents regarding offers, as most of the information was online Re-introduction of a physical offer letter More of the important information (accommodation deadlines, key USPs etc) sent by post Verbal feedback from parents tells us that the students do now share this information more than they did when it was sent electronically!

School Events Frequent participation in parent’s advice evenings held at schools/colleges Usually involves providing information talks about UCAS, Student Finance, Why go to Uni, etc. Advice is not Aston-specific but promotes the idea of Higher Education Helps to allay any fears or worries that parents may have

Why do we engage parents? Although many students are 18+, the influence of parents is not to be underestimated. Our Decliner/Acceptor surveys always show that parents are key to decision making. In our 2014 decliners survey, 49.8% (Home) and 67.2% (Overseas) chose parents as their key influencers Parents often have concerns about their children being safe and secure at University. We try to allay fears about crime/safety – our campus is one of the safest in the UK although due to our city centre location, people don’t always think this! Parents often have preconceptions and set ideas about University. We try to inform them of the facts so that students can make an informed decision!

Thank you for listening!