Gaining a deeper understanding of the experience and equitability of extensions and their impact on retention for Stage 1 Engineering students

• Project leader(s): Emma Champion
• Theme: Supporting students
• Faculty: STEM
• Status: Current
• Dates: February 2024 to December 2024

Previous scholarship has shown that students with extensions have poorer outcomes on modules and that extensions are used by a higher proportion of students within Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) groups.

Findings from Doye & Hassan (2021), which looked at DD102 and A105, stated:

• A student with an extension is more likely to fail the module than a student without
• A student with an extension is more likely to withdraw from the module than a student without
• Students who formally withdrew from study had longer extensions granted than those who passed the module
• Older students (46 and over) are less likely to have an extension than younger students, with the 26-35 age band being the most prevalent.
• White students have generally less extensions than other ethnic groups
• Students who have declared a disability have more extensions than those students without a declared disability
• Students in a high socioeconomic group were substantially more likely to have an extension than those in a low socioeconomic group.

Findings from Halliwell & Brown (2021) stated:

• proportionally there were twice as many extensions granted to disabled students compared to non-disabled;
• that significant extension requests on TMA 1 can be an indication of struggle;

Full analysis of the statistics on the use of extensions on T192 and T194, and the outcomes for students, will be completed as part of the project, however some initial analysis has been done on data from the 18J to 21J presentations of T192, T193 and T194 which has shown the following:

• On T192
  • 10 857 assignments were submitted, of which 986 had an extension (9%).
  • Average TMA01 & TMA02 assignment score: 81.4 & 82.7
  • Average TMA01 & TMA02 scores for assignments with an extension: 71.8 & 75.9
• On T193
  • 3775 assignments were submitted, of which 727 had an extension (19%).  N.B. we only had data for J presentations, hence why total numbers are low.
  • Average TMA01 & TMA02 assignment score: 75.3 & 75.9
  • Average TMA01 & TMA02 scores for assignments with an extension: 68.2 & 70.0
• On T194, 9 861 assignments were submitted, of which 2032 had an extension (20%).
  • Average TMA01, TMA02 & TMA03 assignment score: 86.1, 77.7 & 74.9
  • Average TMA01, TMA02 & TMA03 scores for assignments with an extension: 80.1, 69.9 & 68.5

However, while we can see correlations between extensions and student outcomes, the actual student experience of requesting an extension and the AL experience of granting or not extensions is not well understood. In addition, the equitability of extensions is not clear, particularly the equitability for different student communities. The aim of the project is to observe the current situation to gain an initial understanding of experiences around extensions which will then inform further scholarship and possibly practice.  A further stage might involve trialling interventions, such as additional support for students with extensions or additional training/guidance to ALs on how to use extensions effectively. The project will focus on students and ALs on the stage 1 engineering modules, T192 and T194.  T193 has not been included within this first stage of the project for two reasons; firstly to limit the scope of the project to something that can be achieved in the timeframe and also because looking at T192 and T194 will enable us to observe any changes in use of extensions by students as they progress through Stage 1.

The objectives of the project are:

• Investigate the link between the use of extensions, the experience of students on the module, and retention.
• Investigate qualitative characteristics of the AL experience around extensions.
• Establish if the application of extensions affects protected characteristics groups differently.
• Inform subsequent scholarship, advice and guidance to improve equitability.

Approach:

• Conduct data analysis to determine which students, amongst Stage 1 Engineering students, are using extensions and what their outcomes are compared to students who have not had extensions.
• Gain an understanding of the student experience of extensions on T192 and T194 through real-time student feedback embedded in the study planner, a student survey and student interviews.
• Gain an understanding of the AL experience through a reflective diary exercise and through an AL survey.

Outcomes/Impact:

We will share the scholarship within relevant areas.  We also hope to use the findings to inform future scholarship, with the ultimate outcome being to help E&I ALs improve their support to students with extensions, improve the outcomes for those students and improve retention.

References:

Halliwell, C., Brown, C., (2021) How are students using extensions and what is the impact on their success? Available at: Catherine Halliwell and Cath Brown, Students using extensions. eSTEeM Final Report.pdf 

Doye, Z., Hassan, I., (2021) An enquiry into the impact of assessment extensions on two level 1 module. Available at: Project 41 Final report enquiry into the impact of extensions.docx (Intranet only)