1. Engaging with Higher Education
Nick Cave & Charlotte Brooks

2. Engaging with Higher Education
Activity - How do you currently engage with HE at your school/college?
UCAS timeline and key engagement opportunities
Pre-16 engagement and the WP agenda
Other types of engagement
The university perspective & top tips
Activity – What engagement would you like to see in the future?

3. Activity - How do you currently engage with HE at your school/college?
In groups, discussion around the ways in which your school/college currently engage with Higher Education.
At school or at HE institutions?
Student and/or parents? Staff development?
Engagement you have instigated?
Engagement HEIs have instigated?
Please use the post-it notes provided to list the different activities you engage in with Higher Education
We will write this up and include it in notes circulated after the conference

4. The UCAS timeline Step 1: Choosing Courses Step 2: Apply Step 3:
Year 12
2016/17
October
2017
January
2018
April /May
2018
August
2018
October
2018
Step 1:
Choosing Courses
Step 2:
Apply
Step 3:
Offers
Step 4:
Decisions
Step 5:
Results
Step 6:
Start University
Websites Prospectuses Open Days
15th Oct Oxbridge Dentistry Medicine Vet Science
15th Jan Everyone else
Conditional
Unconditional
Reject
Interview?
Firm Accept
Insurance Accept
Decline
Confirm place
Adjustment?
Clearing?

5. Year 12 engagement Talks / Workshops in school HEI based events
Why University?
Choosing a course / university
Subject specific e.g. “Applying to Medicine”
Personal statements
Preparing for Open Days / UCAS Exhib.
HEI based events
University Open Days
Taster lectures / taster days
Summer schools
Public lectures and events e.g. BBC Stargazing Live
Bespoke campus visits
School based events
HE / Careers fairs – invite employers as well as universities?
Parents’ evenings
University guest lecturers – subject specific showcases
Virtual engagement
Webchats / skype chats for potential students
Social media
Virtual open days
MOOCs (massive open online courses)

6. The UCAS timeline Step 1: Choosing Courses Step 2: Apply Step 3:
Year 12
2016/17
October
2017
January
2018
April /May
2018
August
2018
October
2018
Step 1:
Choosing Courses
Step 2:
Apply
Step 3:
Offers
Step 4:
Decisions
Step 5:
Results
Step 6:
Start University
Websites Prospectuses Open Days
15th Oct Oxbridge Dentistry Medicine Vet Science
15th Jan Everyone else
Conditional
Unconditional
Reject
Interview?
Firm Accept
Insurance Accept
Decline
Confirm place
Adjustment?
Clearing?

7. Year 13 engagement Talks / Workshops in school HEI based events
UCAS Process
Personal Statements (Autumn)
Student Finance
Clearing & Adjustment
Study Skills
Preparing for University
HEI based events
University Applicant Visit Days (might also include interview)
Public lectures and events e.g. BBC Stargazing Live
Clearing Open Days
School based events
Mock interview days
Personal statement clinics
HEI Assistance for applicants
UCAS application progress
Accommodation application and processes
Personal requirements / student support (accessibility, disabilities, specific learning requirements etc)

8. Widening Participation Post-16
Post-16 engagement- Working in schools with Year 12 & 13 students across the East Midlands
Campus visits for Year 12 students
Progression Programmes- 18 month programmes for Year 12 students
- LEAP
- Realising opportunities
- Pathways to Law
- Med Reach

9. Widening Participation Pre-16
Working in Leicester & Leicestershire
Talks in schools from Primary to Year 11
Sessions on Study Skills, Why University? Revision tips, GCSE/A-Level options, student led sessions and more!
Campus Visits- University Experience Days for Year 8 & 9
Employability sessions
Summer schools Year 8,9 &10

10. Non-WP pre-16 engagement?
Some universities might be able to offer similar engagement opportunities to pre-16 students
6th form open evenings
Talks workshops for KS3 e.g. “Choosing Level 3 Qualifications”
Visits to campus
Open days are not just for year 12 students
Could you invite year 11 students to events organised primarily for year 12?
Have you tried approaching the WP teams at your local universities for pre-16 engagement?

11. Other types of engagement
Parents
Shift existing events to the evening to include parents?
Arrange additional sessions just for them?
Consider combining existing events with parents evenings?
Dedicated / general HEI produced materials, resources, websites that can be circulated to parents?
Staff development
Talks/training in school e.g. UCAS reference writing, advising students through clearing/adjustment
University Schools of Education? Contact about potential CPD?
University run Teacher and Adviser Conferences! (thanks for coming )
Accompanying school groups to open days

12. The University Perspective
Why we engage with schools
Student Recruitment
Direct recruitment (HE fairs etc)
Indirect recruitment
Local and community responsibility
Widening Participation
CSR
Our limitations
Often quite small teams for Student Recruitment / Outreach work
At busy times of year, more requests than we can fulfil
Budget restrictions
Travel / distance vs type of engagement

13. Top tips for engaging with HEIs
Give plenty of advance notice, particularly for events in March, June and July
Please try to provide exact dates and timings where possible, but a save the date is better than waiting months for concrete timings
Be creative with sessions / events to make them fit
Talks run as carousels?
Students attend fairs in groups to ensure steady flow / build in talks
Be careful with HE fair timings
Is this near to or clashing with a UCAS Exhibition? for full listings
Other local 6th forms arranging similar things? Combine events to increase participation of students and HEIs?
Rough rule of thumb - The more local the HEI, the better the chance of engagement

14. Activity - What engagement would you like to see in the future?
In groups, discussion around the ways in which your school/college would like to engage with Higher Education in the future
Budget constraints? What if you had unlimited funds!?
Current activities you request that cannot be fulfilled?
Activities you want to attend but cannot?
Dream / ideal activities
Please use the post-it notes provided to list the different activities you engage in with Higher Education
We will write this up and include it in notes circulated after the conference

15. Thank you for listening – any questions?