1. A project team approach for institutional change to improve belonging and success through improving retention data
Alison Browitt

2. This work was undertaken as part of the What Works
This work was undertaken as part of the What Works? Retention and Success change programme, funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, co-ordinated by the Higher Education Academy and Action on Access.

3. What Works Phase 2
Activity at Glasgow was co-ordinated through pre-existing structures:
Retention Working Group (established 2006), reporting to the Learning & Teaching Committee – renamed the Retention and Success Working Group
Core team to look at institutional level change to support engagement and belonging while discipline activities took place in three academic areas
Student participation through Students’ Representative Council on core team and working group but also students on the discipline teams to inform activities in the Schools – participation recognised on HEAR
Bovill, C., Cook-Sather, A., Felten, P., Millard, L., Moore-Cherry, N. (2015). Addressing potential challenges in co-creating learning and teaching: overcoming resistance, navigating institutional norms and ensuring inclusivity in student-staff partnerships. Higher Education. [online] 14 May Available at:

4. What Works Phase 2
Disciplines had ownership of their own activities with support provided by the project manager. Through project, discipline leads were co-opted on to the core team
Three discipline teams piloting change in their academic areas around the What Works change programme themes:
Induction – Life Sciences
Active Learning – Life Sciences / Engineering
Co-curricular activity/support (Peer mentoring) – Interdisciplinary Studies at Dumfries campus

5. Core team aims
Main aim: to improve data on student retention and success
To reinstate level of management information prior to new student record system in 2011/12
To expand use of data by consulting on what is useful to different audiences
To review other data already collected and how it could be incorporated

6. Core team aims Improve data on student retention and success
To build further on improvements in retention rates
To monitor retention of groups of students most at risk, including MD20/MD40 (the most socio-economically disadvantaged postcodes as identified by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation)
To raise awareness of issues around transitions of students and MD20/MD40 in particular, to better support their engagement and belonging, retention and success

7. Data
For more detail on retention of Scottish HE students see Scottish Funding Council, Learning for All: Measures of Success, Tenth update – 10 August Edinburgh: SFC Statistical Publication, p. 40, available at:

8. Feedback from staff consultation
Data must be timely and reliable;
Ideally ‘joined up’ – including ‘at risk’ indicators that evidence lack of engagement (i.e. behaviour as important, if not more so, than student characteristics);
While historical trends were of interest, particularly as management information, more useful was the ‘first look’ at the most recent cohorts;
Data is important but a focus on targets or improving statistics can be a negative message, particularly for staff in an advising role (it may be the right thing for the student to leave);
Data granularity required differs dependent on job role e.g. course coordinators, academic advisers, senior management, services;
Increased awareness of WA students including MD40;
Data needs to be accompanied by guidance on action to be taken by staff;
Should be transparent – and useful to let students understand the norms.

9. Lessons learned
We consider essential requirements for a successful project team are:
support from senior management and existing committee structures
a fully engaged team who feel ownership of the project
dedicated administration/ project management support
student involvement wherever appropriate
Data:
There is a lot of data collected in a Higher Education Institution
It is not always readily available or easy to work with
The endeavour can pay dividends as reliable data can be an enabler to start to engage staff with issues and provide the agency for change

10. Thank you! #UofGWorldChangers Contact: alison.browitt@glasgow.ac.uk
(Engineering)
(Life Sciences)
(Dumfries campus)
#UofGWorldChangers
@UofGlasgow