Building communities and helping students to succeed: Early interventions for student success

Dr Scott McKenzie, Alayla Castle-Herbert, Anne Verries-Wade and Hanna Silk, The Open University in Wales

Email: scott.mckenzie@open.ac.uk

Session recording

Presentation

Click to download the presentation Building communities and helping students to succeed: Early interventions for student success (.pptx)

Abstract

Bringing together practitioner, academic, and student perspectives, this session will share the initial findings of a Student Success Project that aims to give part-time learners in Wales the best start in Higher Education. The Project sets out to improve students’ chances of succeeding through an evidence-based, multi-intervention programme delivered to new students who are most at risk of disengaging. Specifically, this includes students who:

• are from the bottom two quintiles of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation;
• have lower previous educational qualification levels;
• are studying on modules with below-average completion rates.

There are four strands to the Project, including pre-entry contact, induction, post-entry proactive interventions, and financial wellbeing support.  We are undertaking scholarship work to evaluate our student success activities, predominantly focussing on student induction and proactive interventions.

In this session, we’ll discuss the role of one-to-many (group) interventions in developing student communities for part-time distance learners, and how this links to student success. We’ll briefly cover how we have used learning analytics data, combined with practitioner insights and student voices, to shape and evaluate the programme. Finally, we’ll share initial findings and discuss techniques and tips for helping students tackle their first term.

Scott McKenzie

Assistant Director Learning & Curriculum, The Open University in Wales

Scott is Assistant Director, Learning and Curriculum at The Open University in Wales. As part of this role, he ensures the curriculum, learning, and teaching practices of the OU overall meets the needs of Wales and Welsh learners. This includes leading improvements to help OU students move seamlessly from one stage of their journey to the next. 

Before joining The OU, Scott worked at Cardiff University for 12 years and was Head of Widening Participation between 2016 and 2022, having originally specialised in developing transition programmes for neurodiverse students. In 2018-19, Scott took up a secondment as Director of First Campus, the South-East Wales Reaching Wider partnership.

Scott also has a background in teaching and research across multiple disciplines within Social Sciences. He has an EdD from Cardiff University, and his research interests include access to Higher Education, geographies of deprivation, and student success.

Alayla Castle-Herbert

Policy Officer (Learning and Teaching), The Open University in Wales

Alayla has a BA in Law and Criminology, and MSc in Social and Public Policy from Cardiff University and is currently working towards an MSc in Psychology with The Open University. She has been working at The OU for three years and her role is all about understanding and improving the student experience for students in Wales. Prior to this, she held a number of research and policy positions across education and the third sector. Alayla is particularly interested in the relationship between community, engagement, and student success, and strives to embed student voice and inclusivity in all she does. In her spare time, she is a big reader, passionate about learning, equity and social justice, and is currently renovating her first house, picking up a few DIY “dos and ‘don’ts” along the way.

Anne Verries-Wade

Educational Advisor and Associate Lecturer, The Open University in Wales

Anne has a BA and Masters in English and Spanish from Montpellier University (France) and a PGCE from Cardiff University. She has taught in Higher and Further Education for over 25 years. A qualified guidance practitioner, her role as an educational adviser in the Student Support Team at The OU in Wales involves supporting mature students with diverse backgrounds who juggle life with their studies and face barriers to learning such as disabilities or caring responsibilities.  Anne is passionate about helping new, non-traditional students to get the best start possible in Higher Education and she collaborates with academic and professional colleagues to develop activities that promote their success. Alongside this academic-related role, Anne is an Associate Lecturer (tutor) in the School of Languages and was actively involved in designing, facilitating and developing the Languages induction programme. She was one of the main contributors to a scholarship project that evaluated the effectiveness of the programme and explored student engagement and perceptions.

Hanna Silk

Student Policy and Regulations, Solicitor (non-practising), MA Ed student, The Open University in Wales

Hanna has a background in family law and has studied at Swansea University and Cardiff Law School. As a current OU student (MA Ed – Applied Linguistics) and last year’s OU Students Association Representative for Wales, Hanna has had the opportunity to promote and support a wide range of student engagement projects at the OU. Building on this experience, Hanna has recently joined the OU as a member of staff in Student Policies and Regulations. Outside of work and study, Hanna enjoys learning Welsh and long walks with her family.