Disability Ethnicity and Gender Equality Impact Assessment Report of

The Open University Student Support Review

June 2011

ContentsPage No

Summary3

Section 1 – Equality Impact Assessment3

Methodology3

Student Satisfaction4

Student Completion and pass rates4

Section 2 – Pilot Team experience measured against
the Team E&D standards11

Section 3 – Other learning gained from the seven
pilot Student Support Teams11

Appendix A16

Summary

Between 2009 and 2011, Phase 3 of the Student Support Review was tasked with trialling new forms of student support via seven pilot Student Support Teams. These Teams worked to the equality standards detailed in Appendix A in an attempt to advance equality and improve student success. The pilot Teams have learned a great deal about supporting students and have seen many benefits in terms of the student and staff experience (see section 3 for more details). The evidence from the seven pilot Student Support Teams shows that they have had some successes; for example, in increasing student satisfaction rates for students with a disability and from certain ethnic minorities. However, the overall evidence is that the pilots have not had any effect on student success in terms of equality. There has been no widening of inequality and no reduction. This learning will need to be taken forward now that the Student Support Team concept has been approved by Senate and will be implemented by the University.

The experience of the pilot Teams also leads to the conclusion that there is no ‘one best model’ for student support which will be recommended to the University, but rather a synthesis of different parts ad activities of the Team approach, tailored to the needs of the curriculum area and personal student characteristics. For more details please see the SSR’s final report to Senate at:

Section1 – Equality Impact Assessment

Methodology

In order to complete an equality impact assessment for the SSR pilot Teams three pieces of work have been completed,focussing on the following student characteristics. These three characteristics have been chosen because these were the relevant characteristics before April 2011 which is when the pilot Team evaluation was carried out:

  • Disability
  • Gender
  • Ethnicity

Student satisfaction

  1. For disability and gender, an analysis was carried out on the returns from the student questionnaires sent out in June and December 2010to pilot Team students to see if there were any measurable differences in answers given to the questions by students with a disability and between male and female students. A total of 690 students responded to these 2 questionnaires.
  2. For ethnicity, an analysis was carried out on the returns from the student questionnaires which we sent out in June and December 2010 and January 2011to pilot Team students to see if there were any measurable differences in answers given to the questions. A total of 888 students responded to these 3 questionnaires (a breakdown of responses by disability and gender are not currently available for the January 2011 questionnaire).

Student completion and pass rates

  1. Student completion and pass rates were analysed for one of the major modules within each of the pilot Student Support Teams.

NB: All percentages have been rounded up or down to the nearest whole number, so in some cases do not add up to 100%.

Student Satisfaction

In completing an analysis of student satisfaction, broken down by disability, ethnicity and gender, this analysis has focussed on overall student satisfaction as the proxy for wider satisfaction. This is because the majority of students completed the first question in the questionnaire which was an overall measure of satisfaction. After that question, in many cases, the data is incomplete or the numbers are too small on which to draw any conclusions.

The question asked was: ‘How satisfied are you with your overall study experience?’ Possible answers were: Very satisfied, Fairly satisfied, Not very satisfied, Not at all satisfied.

Very and fairly satisfied answered have been merged together under the heading ‘satisfied’ to enable a comparison with the OU End of Module Survey which asks if students are ‘satisfied’ with their overall study experience.

The response rates on the student questionnaires was approximately 20%, an average OU questionnaire response rate.

A. Disability.

An analysis of the responses from students with a declared disability (39 students = 5.6% of responders) to those who did not have a declared disability (651 students), there were no significant differences in the answers given which relate to the pilot Student Support Team approach.

As far as student satisfaction is concerned, students on pilot Teams with a disability were 6% more satisfied with their study experience than students not on a pilot. However, they were still 4%less satisfied with their study experience, than students without a disability on a pilot. This mirrors overall OU rates of satisfaction, taken from the End of Module Surveys in 2010, where students with a disability are, on average, 5% less satisfied with their overall study experience.

Student satisfaction:

Satisfied / Not very / Not at all
Students with a declared disability, on a pilot / 87% / 5% / 8%
Students with a declared disability, OU average, 2010 / 81%
Without a declared disability, on apilot / 91% / 7% / 2%
Without a declared disability, OU average, 2010 / 86%

Students with a disability generally stated that they accessed less support and fewer online resources that students with no declared disability. Are they less confident in asking for additional support? Are they less physically able to access online support? This may be something the University wishes to explore in more detail.

B. Gender

An analysis of the responses from students in relation to gender (332 men vs. 358 women), showed that there were no discernable differences in the answers given which relate to the pilot Student Support Team approach or to student satisfaction. Men were 2% less satisfied than women with their study experience. This mirrors the OU average from the End of Module Survey in 2010 which also shows a marginal difference in satisfaction rates of 0.5% between men and women.

Pilot Team student satisfaction:

Satisfied / Not very / Not at all
Male / 89% / 8% / 3%
Female / 91% / 6% / 3%

However, an analysis of the data revealed that women were generally more positive about their study experience with the OU and accessed more support for their studies from all areas of the University. Women were also much more likely to use Facebook and OUSA as forms of support. Men seemed to access more support online. This may be something the University wishes to explore in more detail.

C. Ethnicity

It has not been possible within this assessment to examine in detail all the permutations of questionnaire responses against all the different ethnic codes. A high level analysis indicated that there were no discernable differences in the answers given which relate to the pilot Student Support Team approach. It is worth noting that the numbers involved in this analysis are very small and therefore very few conclusions can be drawn.

As far as student satisfaction is concerned, White and Black students were the most satisfied with their pilot Team study experience, and both rates were several percentage points higher than the OU average. However, satisfaction rates for Asian, Mixed and Other students were considerably lower. It is worth noting that, in some cases, the numbers involved are very small, so the difference between 50 and 75% (for example) may only represent one student.

Student satisfaction:

Satisfied / Not very / Not at all
White on a pilot(698 students, 78%) / 91% / 7% / 2%
White OU average / 86%
Black on a pilot (10 students, 1%) / 90% / 10% / 0%
Black OU average / 86%
Not known on a pilot(158 students, 18%) / 87% / 11% / 2%
Not known, OU average / 79%
Asian on a pilot(11 students, 1%) / 82% / 9% / 9%
Asian, OU average / 85%
Mixed on a pilot(8 students, 1%) / 76% / 13% / 13%
Mixed, OU average / 90%
Other on a pilot(3 students, 1%) / 66% / 0% / 33%
Other, OU average / 85%

Student Completion and pass rates

For this analysis, the main, or one of the main, modules within each of the pilot Teams has been analysed (usually the module with the largest student numbers) forstudent completion and pass rates based on gender, disability and ethnicity.

In nearly all cases, the completion and pass rates of male and female students was very similar but the rates for students with a disability or from certain ethnic minorities was lower than the average, which mirrors OU norms. It is worth noting again that, in some cases, the numbers involved are very small.

  1. Arts pilot – module analysed – AA100 10B, R05 students only

A. Disability.

Student
cohort / Arts UG average – students with a disability, 2009/10 / Pilot - AA100, 10B, R05 all students / Pilot - students with a disability
Completion rate / 65% / 76% / 70%
Pass rate / 71% / 65%

B.Gender

Student
cohort / Arts UG average – Male, 2009/10 / Arts UG average – Female, 2009/10 / Pilot - AA100 10B R05 overall / Pilot - Male / Pilot - Female
Completion rate / 74% / 73% / 76% / 76% / 75%
Pass rate / 71% / 72% / 72%

C. Ethnicity

Ethnicity / Number of students / Arts UG completion rate, 2009/10 / Pilot - AA100, completion rate / Pilot - AA100, pass rate
Asian / 1 / 71% / 0% / 0%
Black / 2 / 61% / 100% / 100%
Mixed / 5 / 67% / 100% / 100%
Not known / 3 / 65% / 100% / 100%
White / 194 / 74% / 74% / 71%

2. Science Level 1 pilot – module analysed – S104 10B, R04 students only

A. Disability.

Student
cohort / Science UG average – students with a disability, 2009/10 / Pilot – S104, 10B, R04 students / Pilot - Students with a disability
Completion rate / 59% / 52% / 44%
Pass rate / 49% / 33%

B. Gender

Student
cohort / Sciences UG average – Male, 2009/10 / Sciences UG average – Female, 2009/10 / Pilot –S104 10B R04 overall / Pilot - Male / Pilot - Female
Completion rate / 66% / 67% / 52% / 49% / 58%
Pass rate / 49% / 44% / 57%

C. Ethnicity

Ethnicity / Number of students / Science UG completion rate, 2009/10 / Pilot - S104, completion rate / Pilot - S104, pass rate
Asian / 4 / 62% / 25% / 25%
Black / 5 / 54% / 20% / 20%
Mixed / 3 / 58% / 33% / 33%
Not known / 3 / 59% / 0% / 0%
White / 129 / 67% / 57% / 53%

3. Social Sciences pilot – module analysed – DD101 10B, R03 students only

A. Disability

Student
cohort / Social Sciences UG average – students with a disability, 2009/10 / Pilot – DD101, 10B, R03 students / Pilot - Students with a disability
Completion rate / 58% / 62% / 59%
Pass rate / 61% / 59%

B.Gender

Student
cohort / Soc Sciences UG average – Male, 2009/10 / Soc Sciences UG average – Female, 2009/10 / Pilot – DD101 10B R03 overall / Pilot - Male / Pilot - Female
Completion rate / 65% / 66% / 62% / 62% / 62%
Pass rate / 61% / 61% / 61%

C. Ethnicity

Ethnicity / Number of students / Social Science UG completion rate, 2009/10 / Pilot – DD101, completion rate / Pilot – DD101, pass rate
Asian / 1 / 62% / 100% / 100%
Black / 0 / 57% / n/a / n/a
Mixed / 8 / 59% / 62.5% / 62.5%
Not known / 3 / 64% / 100% / 100%
White / 190 / 67% / 61% / 61%

There is also emerging evidence from this pilot that the piloting experience and contact by a pathway tutor has led to a significant increase in the attainment rates of students with low PEQs and studying Openings modules. This increase in attainment rates is approximately 10% but requires further analysis before we can sure of our results.

4. OUBS pilot – module analysed – BZX628 10E, all students

A. Disability

Student
cohort / OUBS UG average – students with a disability, 2009/10 / Pilot – BZX628 10E students / Pilot - Students with a disability
Completion rate / 55% / 67% / 85%
Pass rate / 61% / 85%

B.Gender

Student
cohort / OUBS UG average – Male, 2009/10 / OUBS UG average – Female, 2009/10 / Pilot –overall / Pilot - Male / Pilot - Female
Completion rate / 66% / 66% / 67% / 66% / 68%
Pass rate / 61% / 60% / 64%

C. Ethnicity

Ethnicity / Number of students / OUBS UG completion rate, 2009/10 / Pilot –completion rate / Pilot – pass rate
Asian / 12 / 60% / 83% / 79%
Black / 17 / 60% / 59% / 55%
Mixed / 13 / 63% / 80% / 75%
Not known / 7 / 59% / 0% / 0%
White / 217 / 67% / 65% / 61%

5. Engineering pilot – module analysed – T191 9J, all students

A. Disability

Student
cohort / MCT UG average – students with a disability, 2009/10 / Pilot – T191 09J students / Pilot - Students with a disability
Completion rate / 62% / 71% / 85%
Pass rate / 70% / 85%

B. Gender

Student
cohort / MCT UG average – Male, 2009/10 / MCTUG average – Female, 2009/10 / Pilot –overall / Pilot - Male / Pilot - Female
Completion rate / 69% / 72% / 71% / 71% / 71%
Pass rate / 70% / 70% / 71%

C. Ethnicity

Ethnicity / Number of students / MCT UG completion rate, 2009/10 / Pilot –completion rate / Pilot – pass rate
Asian / 11 / 62% / 45% / 45%
Black / 19 / 56% / 50% / 50%
Mixed / 6 / 62% / 50% / 50%
Not known / 29 / 66% / 62% / 62%
White / 657 / 71% / 71% / 70%

6. FELS Sports & Fitness pilot – module analysed – E112 09J, all students

A. Disability

Student
cohort / FELS UG average – students with a disability, 2009/10 / Pilot – E112 09J students / Pilot - Students with a disability
Completion rate / 63% / 57% / 57%
Pass rate / 54% / 57%

B. Gender

Student
cohort / FELS UG average – Male, 2009/10 / FELS UG average – Female, 2009/10 / Pilot –overall / Pilot - Male / Pilot - Female
Completion rate / 63% / 72% / 57% / 58% / 55%
Pass rate / 54% / 54% / 53%

C. Ethnicity

Ethnicity / Number of students / FELS UG completion rate, 2009/10 / Pilot –completion rate / Pilot – pass rate
Asian / 6 / 69% / 33% / 33%
Black / 23 / 60% / 50% / 50%
Mixed / 13 / 67% / 77% / 75%
Not known/Other / 31 / 61% / 45% / 45%
White / 392 / 72% / 57% / 54%

7. Physical Sciences pilot – module analysed – SMT359, 10B, all students

A. Disability

Student
cohort / Science UG average – students with a disability, 2009/10 / Pilot – SMT359, 10B, all students / Pilot - Students with a disability
Completion rate / 59% / 61% / 62%
Pass rate / 48% / 34%

B. Gender

Student
cohort / Sciences UG average – Male, 2009/10 / Sciences UG average – Female, 2009/10 / Pilot –overall / Pilot - Male / Pilot - Female
Completion rate / 66% / 67% / 61% / 60% / 66%
Pass rate / 48% / 47% / 52%

C. Ethnicity

Ethnicity / Number of students / Science UG completion rate, 2009/10 / Pilot - S104, completion rate / Pilot - S104, pass rate
Asian / 10 / 62% / 20% / 20%
Black / 2 / 54% / 50% / 50%
Mixed / 6 / 58% / 50% / 0%
Not known/Other / 15 / 59% / 80% / 80%
White / 253 / 67% / 60% / 49%

Section 2 – Pilot Team experience measured against the Team E&D standards

The pilot Team E&D standards are detailed in Appendix A.

  1. Knowledge – As a result of their structure, Teams have significantly increased the knowledge of staff across the University in dealing with and supporting students. More staff are now student-facing and have been exposed to the range of student needs and experiences. See Section 3 for further information.
  2. Tracking – The SSR Office and pilot Teams have attempted to identify which personal characteristics and behaviours are likely to lead to student success and failure and use this learning to contact student at appropriate key points in their studies. The pilot Teams learned a great deal about the different types of students who study their modules and qualifications and what characterises and behaviours make students ‘vulnerable’ depending on the subject area in question. Teams used this knowledge to refine their support models as their Teams progressed. As a result of this work, student tracking has been taken forward in a separate project by Student Services Operating Models Theme 3: Information, Advice and Guidance. A student tracking system will be implemented in the autumn of 2011.
  3. Support – see answer for 2 above.
  4. Evaluation – The pilot Team experience has been measured in terms of student completion, pass, progression and satisfaction rates. Analysis by disability, ethnicity and gender has been carried out above.

Section 3 – Other learning gained from the seven pilot Student Support Teams.

Benefits for students

The pilot Team experience suggests that there are likely to be significant benefits for students who are being supported by a curriculum-led Team which we hope will be experienced by all students in the future. The dominant themes from the pilot Teams include:

  • providing a single point of contact and support for students thereby enabling a more holistic, proactive service and a more coherent process for teaching, learning, assessment and communications across the whole of the student journey.

‘A single point of entry for queries, providing a one stop shop which allowed strong triaging of student and tutor queries within the Team, expertise to develop at all levels within the team and the avoidance of unnecessary referral elsewhere.’[1]

  • a principle for teaching and support at a higher level than the module to manage continuity of support for students and a sustainable student identity across modules, providing students with support based on a depth of knowledge of a curriculum area, employability within that area, and a student’s personal long-term study and career goals.

‘The Team would certainly wish to continue its work in the future, as it has
developed a way of working and specialist knowledge to support students in the
Engineering programme which meets a clear need among students’[2].

'I appreciated that someone is interested in my overall studies, not just one course.’[3]

  • the creation and development of student academic communities, based around a specified area of the curriculum and the development of processes whereby students become more active participants in their role as students

'From doing my last course I found that I belonged to one

huge friendly community, everybody helping one another to

succeed and look forward to continuing my studies for years to come’.[4]

‘…being able to discuss and talk the language of Social Sciences develops confidence in students and enthusiasm for being part of an academic community’[5]

  • the student experience of OU modules and programmes has a direct feedback mechanism from the support team into the Faculty teams responsible for curriculum design and development.

‘the qualification manager has commented on a perceived reduction in curriculum management workload as a consequence of the Specialist … team fielding all student queries, whilst a problematic TMA was changed by the module team on the advice of a member of the… team’[6].

  • the more active management of students by pilot Teams has led to more students being supported to complete and pass their modules and more to take a dignified exit from their studies, rather than being left to passively withdraw.

‘…we did significantly affect the active withdrawal rate on S104 (23.74% (10B), 22.29% (09J) compared to an all regions mean of 18.11%. ... This is seen as a successful outcome as we have evidence … that several of these withdrawn students were able to re-register on either S104 or other more suitable modules and with our help, turn a negative study experience around’[7].

Overall student outcomes

Student completion & pass rates[8]:

  • Four of the seven pilot Teams have experienced increases in completion rates of between 2% and 7% as compared to comparator modules.
  • The same four pilot Teams have experienced increases in pass rates of between 1% and 13%.
  • One of the pilot Teams has experienced mixed results – with one module experiencing a reduction in completion and pass rates of 6% & 4% respectively and a second module experiencing increases in completion and pass rates of 11% and 14% respectively.
  • Two of the pilot Teams experienced a reduction in completion and pass rates of between 3% and 6% with an increase in active withdrawal rates of between 3% and 6%.
  • Openings students included in the Social Sciences pilot Team experienced a significant increase in pass, completion and progression rates.

‘There is some initial evidence that WP students have particularly benefitted from the pathway tutor contact….with completion rates of WP pilot students around 65% significantly higher than OU averages for WP students.’[9]