THE UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
ACCESS AGREEMENT 2017-18
FEES, STUDENT NUMBERS AND FEE INCOME
1. In 2017/18 the University intends to opt into the Teaching Excellence Framework and will therefore
charge £9,250 per year for full-time Home/EU new entrants1 to undergraduate courses and full-time
postgraduate courses for the initial training of teachers. The access and student success measures
detailed herein remain dependent on our ability to charge the £9,250 fee.
2. For all part-time students commencing in 2017/18 we will charge a course fee of £9,250 fee pro-rata to
the FTE2 studied with no part-time student charged more than £6,935 per year.
3. If a part-time student pays more than the basic fee, for example, where they take more modules in a
year than is normal, we will ensure that a proportion of any income from part-time fees above the basic
level is directed towards access measures. This proportional spend will be in line with our planned
institutional commitment.
4. Those Home/EU undergraduates starting from 2012 onwards who undertake a year studying abroad or
an ERASMUS year (studying or working) will be charged 15% of the maximum tuition fee (£1,385) as
will students undertaking a UK-based placement year in industry as part of their degree programme.
5. We will apply any annual inflationary increases to all fees in line with the amount set by the Government
each year.
6. In 2017/18 our student numbers are projected to be 20,777 and our estimated higher fee income above
the basic fee, £55M.
ACCESS AND STUDENT SUCCESS MEASURES
7. We have continued to change the balance of our spending towards student access, progression
and success. Expenditure directed towards access, progression and student success will grow
from £2.1M in 2015/16 to £2.9M in 2017/18 and this figure is projected to increase to £4.4M by
2020/21.
Table 1 – Expenditure Summary
Higher fee income
Leeds Financial Support
Access, Student Success
and Progression
2015/16
£51.6M
£15.3M
2016/17
£54.4M
£15.3M
2017/18
£55.6M
£14.9M
£2.1M
£2.7M
£2.9M
Assessment of Access and Student Success Record
The table below outlines our progress against a range of measures since 2009/10.
1
The 2.8% inflationary uplift will not be applied to the Home/EU undergraduate tuition fee for continuing students in
2017/18 (including new entrants in 2016/17 and current offer holders deferring into 2017/18).
2
Full-time equivalent – a part-time student studying 60 credits in a year, which is 50% of a typical full-time student’s activity,
will be charged 50% of £9,250k, i.e. £4,625.
Table 2 – Our Access Trajectory 2006/07 – 2014/15
Data
09/10
Data
10/11
- HESA Data (POLAR 3 tables)
Data
11/12
Data
12/13
Data
13/14
Data
14/15
Target
15/16
- Internal Data
Target
16/17
Target
17/18
Target
18/19
Target
19/20
% of Young, full-time, first degree, home
undergraduates - low SEC (HESA Table 1a)
18.8
20.0
18.4
20.2
21
22.5
23
24
25
25
25
% of Young, full-time, first degree home
undergraduates from LPN (HESA Table 1a)
5.5
7.0
6.5
8.3
7.9
8.2
8.4
8.6
8.8
9
9.2
% of 1st year, full time, home undergraduates
over 21 at point of entry, no experience of HE,
from LPN (HESA Table 2a)
16.5
13.7
14.1
14.7
15.5
12.8
17
17.2
17.2
17.2
17.2
% Retention Rates for home/EU undergraduates
(HESA Table 3a)
95.6
95.8
96.8
96.4
96.3
n/a
96.6
96.7
97
97
97
% Retention of home/EU undergraduates – low
SEC
92.1
91.8
94
93.2
94.2
n/a
94.8
95
95.4
95.8
96
% Retention young students from LPNs
(HESA Table 3b)
93.8
90.6
96
94.6
96.2
n/a
96.3
96.4
96.5
96.6
96.7
% Retention mature students with no Prior HE
experience (HESA Table 3c)
88.3
86.4
91.8
87
83.7
n/a
84
84.2
84.8
85.6
86.3
% part-time mature with no experience of HE
and from LPN (HESA Table 2b)
5.3
14.4
14.2
10.4
7.5
9.2
-
-
-
8.7
9.2
9.7
% of 1st year, full time, home/EU entrants from
a BME background
10.9
12.7
12.1
14.3
13.6
14.8
% of 1st year, full time home/EU entrants from a
BME background - low SEC
3.1
3.7
3.8
4.8
4.5
5.3
Numbers of 1st year, full time undergraduates
from a care background
14
20
19
16
18
21
% Completion rate home/EU students at Leeds
88.2
85.9
86.8
86.7
86.1
% Completion rate Low SEC home/EU students
at Leeds
83.9
81.8
82.4
84.1
82.2
% students declaring disability at Leeds
Commentary
- Exceeded AA target by 0.5% for
2014/15
- 2.1% below HESA benchmark
- Peer Group Performance: Listing
English Russell Group (ERG) in order of
magnitude of low SEC intake, Leeds is 6th
- Failed to meet internal AA target
- Met HESA benchmark (12.2%)
- Peer Group Performance: 6th in the
ERG
- Exceeded 2012/13 AA target by 0.7%
- Above HESA benchmark by 0.5%
- Peer Group Performance: listed 13th ERG
- Exceeded our 2013/14 target of
92.4%
- Above HESA benchmark by 2.8%
Increase of 1.7% on 2013/14
- Peer Group Performance: 4th in ERG
10.2
10.7
11.3
12
12.8
8. Alongside the annual HEFCE and OFFA monitoring requirements, Table 2 illustrates how we measure
our institutional progress i.e. through our HESA Performance Indicators, augmented in-year with our
own management information data. This is enhanced through regular and robust evaluation of our
widening participation schemes.
9. This methodology for reviewing our progress towards fair access and student success helps us to
identify areas of strength upon which to build and gives us the opportunity to more rapidly refine our
approach where there are areas for development.
10. The planned change to UK Performance Indicators (UKPIs) directly affects our targets (which use
National Statistics-Socio Economic Classification) and our outreach activities which seek to recruit and
support low Socio Economic Classification (SEC) students. We have therefore provisionally suggested
targets 1, 2 and 3. We will now include measures relating to low participation neighbourhoods for
recruitment and retention. We have also revised target 5 relating to our work to recruit disabled
entrants:
1. Recruiting first year, full-time home/EU students (under 21) from a low socio-economic
background (25% by 2019/20) and to annually exceed our HESA LPN benchmark from 2014/15
(7.8%).
2. Exceed our 2012/13 HESA benchmark for retention of 95.9% for first degree full-time home/EU
students as well as improve the retention of full-time home/EU undergraduates from NS SEC 4-7
(97% and 96% respectively, by 2019/20)
3. To work towards meeting our 2013/14 HESA retention benchmark for mature students with no
prior HE experience (12.4%) and to exceed our 2010/11 HESA retention benchmark (4.9%) for
young students from LPNs.
4. Exceed our 2013/14 recruitment performance of 15.5% of mature entrants from low participation
neighbourhoods (LPNs) with no previous HE experience (17.2% by 2019/20).
5. Increase the percentage of students declaring a disability at Leeds (12.8% by 2019/20).
11. Targets 1, 2 and 3 may be revised or augmented in our next Access Agreement, depending on when
and what new UKPIs are developed during 2016. We will revisit target 5 as we gain more clarity on the
impact of the new DSA arrangements (see paragraphs 19 and 20).
12. Low socio-economic background. We have achieved an increase of 4.1% in our low SEC
recruitment between 2011/12 and 2014/15 with recruitment from state schools increasing by 8%.
13. We exceeded our 14/15 Low SEC student recruitment target of 22% (attaining 22.5%). Our aim is that
by 2019/20, we will have exceeded our 2013/14 HESA benchmark of 24.5% and 25% of our students
will come from low socio-economic backgrounds. In parallel, we will be measuring our progress using
Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) data (see Target 1, paragraph 10). This will necessitate a change to
the selection criteria for our alternative admissions scheme (Access to Leeds) which currently uses IMD
data to identify students. We are well placed to alter our approach, we utilise a variety of indicators to
identify which schools to target with our outreach work. We would seek to utilise POLAR 3 data
alongside IMD data (which has proven effective at helping increase our recruitment of low SEC
students) to improve our recruitment from LPNs.
14. Supporting our fair access work is our continued work on ensuring our admissions policy does not
disadvantage one group over another. This work is undertaken on an annual basis and our approach is
consistent with the S PA Good Practice Statement on Admissions, the Schwartz recommendations for
good practice and the QAA code of practice.
15. Retention. We have identified through internal data that our retention rates have dropped slightly, which
seems to be a sector wide issue3. We therefore expect to miss our 2015/16 milestone for retention. We
have recently enhanced our standard retention and student success activity by the further development
of our targeted support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds (as detailed from paragraph 52
onwards) by widening the coverage of the Plus Programme scheme. We are also working to identify
those groups most likely to leave HE. This work is designed to ensure that we can target efficient and
beneficial interventions at particular students and student groups within our WP cohort.
3
OFFA press release 23 March 2016: “OFFA comment on “disappointing” rise in non-completion rates for disadvantaged
higher education students”
16. We are committed to continuing to improve our retention rates and aim to close the gap between low
SEC and University average retention rates to 1%. The continued move towards increased spend on
student success and progression reflects this ambition.
17. Mature Entrants. We have seen a reduction in the recruitment of Mature Students from low
participation backgrounds from 15.5% in 2013/14 to 12.8%. Mature student recruitment remains one of
our more challenging milestones although we have been consistently above our HESA benchmark by at
least two percentage points over the past six years (data from 2008/09 entry to 2013/14 entry).
18. We have seen an increase in part-time students from LPNs studying at the University (7.5% in 2013/14
to 9.2% in 2014/15), achieving significantly above our HESA benchmark (6.4%).
19. Disabled Students. Over a number of years the University has monitored information on admissions
and attainment by protected characteristic. This data is currently being utilised to develop our Disability
Support and Assessment Service (DSAS) strategy. We have aligned our Access Agreement with the
proposed targets from this strategy. We are seeking to increase the number of students declaring a
disability at Leeds; to achieve this goal DSAS is developing a more proactive engagement system with
an aim to increase disclosure rates. We believe that this work is more important than ever given the
changes to the Disabled Students Allowance. We are working to ensure that we can identify and offer
support to all who require additional support at Leeds.
20. The percentage of students declaring a disability at Leeds has grown by 0.5% each year since 2012/13
(see Table 2). We intend to maintain that growth in 2016 as we develop our infrastructure for
encouraging declarations. By 2017/18 year we will aim for accelerated growth of 0.6%, and an increase
each subsequent year until 2019/20. It is important to note that this is a first step and we will be
developing a number of targets specifically relating to disabled students so that we can both measure
and inspire progress. Paragraphs 90 and 91 give some examples of the work already underway and
the direction we intend to take with our new targets.
Assessment Summary
As ever, we have reviewed our performance against our targets and milestones. Two clear areas for focus
include mature student recruitment and retention of WP students. We have also, this year, been investigating
the possibility of introducing new high-level targets for the University relating to attainment, completion and
employability.
Mature Learners
Against all English HEIs, we have improved our standing moving into and remaining in the top quartile both in
terms of the actual percentage and proximity to our benchmark. In our 2016/17 Access Agreement we outlined
how we would accelerate progress towards improving mature and part-time student provision. Our work with
part-time students is key to our work to recruit and retain mature students. We have sustained part-time
recruitment in challenging times and are seeking to secure growth in this area by extending the accessibility of
existing programmes through blended learning approaches. In addition, by enhancing our provision of workrelated learning with close employer links.
We have a sustained outreach programme with mature learners and last year worked with over 1700 adults.
The substantial cuts to the adult skills budget and our drive towards reaching our own targets led to the
development of different approaches to our long-term outreach work with under-represented groups who are
not already studying in an educational environment. Our Transforming Horizons framework incorporates the
spectrum of adult outreach and community engagement activity
By utilising longitudinal student tracking, we have identified that (with the caveat that adult progression is not
linear and can take place over a number of years) our adult outreach programme elicits around 10% p/a
successful applications to the University of Leeds with an additional 12-15% p/a progressing to other HE
provision. We can therefore direct future efforts towards increasing this percentage during the next 5 years.
Retention
Our student success work is becoming increasingly sophisticated and we have begun to review the retention of
WP students in more detail. We are using internal management data to identify the retention rate of students
from different characteristics, ethnicities and/or age groups, for example: we have already concluded that
there is no significant difference in the numbers of non-disabled and disabled students who are
retained. However disabled students accessing Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) are more likely to be
retained than those who are not. With the changes to DSA we will continue to monitor these figures but will
initially concentrate on the development of our retention activity for other groups.
We do know that our non-continuation rates for full-time mature students with no HE experience, is 16.3%
(HESA benchmark, 12.4%). These figures reflect the additional challenges that are often experienced by older
widening participation learners in their personal, family and work circumstances. It also supports the efforts we
are making to improve the retention of mature learners (see paragraph 52 onwards). We have therefore set a
target to look at the retention of these students in particular from this year.
Our increased investment in Student Success activities (as outlined in paragraph 52 onwards) means that we
will be able to dedicate specific resource to more specific targeting using multiple indicators of disadvantage.
This work is intended to ensure that we can accelerate progress towards improving the retention and success
of our students. We are not yet in a position to identify specific targets or activities to address each of the
areas/groups where we need to increase or improve our support provision; however, this work is already
underway and our progress will increase as resource comes online.
New targets
Changes to sector indicators (NS-SEC and the discontinuation of the Destination of Leavers from Higher
Education survey) and our work on identifying and utilising indicators of multiple disadvantage led us to the
conclusion that we need to approach this work more forensically and to create groups of smaller targets which
enable us to measure the impact of precise and targeted interventions/support measures. These targets will
also be less affected by the larger changes currently ongoing in higher education.

Employability
We do not know what the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey data will be replaced with at
this point and therefore do not wish to create targets we may have to revise too soon. We are, however,
developing our employer mentoring provision at Leeds, bringing together best practice from across the
University and the sector. We are developing a suite of resources designed to increase the level of provision
across the institution and believe we will be in a position to set targets relating to the provision and/or uptake of
employer mentoring activity at Leeds in our next Access Agreement. This work is linked to the development of
our new employability strategy. Part of the work to inform this strategy was identifying students with less
favourable outcomes. Prior attainment and subject area were key factors as was socio economic class. Work
on other student sub groups (e.g. BME, disability, LPN) undertaken as part of our WP and fair access agenda
will feedback into and help inform future employability work, ensuring that we remain responsive to the needs
of our students.

Completion
We were keen to explore how we can measure the completion of our students, this is, however a longer-term
goal. Completion data can take up to seven years to be finalised (depending on the course of study). It does
not yet, therefore, offer a useful metric against which to set targets but we will include our latest completion
data in our Access Agreements. We use this data to inform the direction of our work and will continue to do so
as we investigate the completion rates of specific student groups.

Attainment
We cannot yet set a target for increasing the attainment of all of our WP students at Leeds, many are already
attaining the same or higher grades than their peers. We are therefore looking at the students who have
progressed through Access to Leeds and we have created a smaller target relating to their progress. As
student attainment improves we will develop further targets to quicken progress across the University.
Strategic Approach
21. This year, we completed the work to refresh our strategy for engaging with WP students. The strategy
was developed in collaboration with colleagues from across Educational Engagement (who deliver our
WP activity for young students) and Lifelong Learning Centre (which leads our mature student
engagement) alongside consultation with academic staff from across faculties and services including
Equality and Diversity. The strategy articulates our commitment to fair access, on course support and
progression into graduate employment or further study. We will achieve our strategy’s aims through
building on the strength of the existing contextual admissions entry routes, deliver effective, quality
engagement, in all formats including digital, for target groups and individuals and develop programmes
that address the needs and interests of target constituencies and provide an outstanding and flexible
learning experience.
22. Our strategic approach is firmly based upon the student lifecycle and balances innovative thinking with
proven success. Through this approach we have a wide portfolio of activity targeting primary-age,
through to key stages 3 and 4, post-16 students and adult learners as well as a support strategy in
place for those who progress into study here at Leeds. This portfolio includes targeted interventions for
specific disadvantaged groups not yet prepared for higher education. This work includes provision for
students previously funded by the NHS who were already included in every part of our outreach,
aspiration raising and student success work, with the exception of our student funding offer. As a result
of the changes to NHS student funding, from 2017 onwards these students will be eligible for Leeds
Financial Support and WP scholarships.
23. We are guided by the institutional-level assessment of our performance against our targets and
benchmarks and recognise that an effective strategy requires review and monitoring. Our approach
therefore has an in-built evaluation model to annually determine the impact of our full WP programme.
24. As illustrated in Table 3 of our 2015/16 Access Agreement, we undertake a rigorous annual process of
collecting, analysing and reporting internal management data. This activity facilitates the refinement of
our strategic approach and the provision of an evidence base for the success of our access activity.
25. The Access Agreement helps drive positive change within the University; its formulation is borne out of
cross institutional engagement. The process of consultation and development not only generates a
higher profile for our fair access and WP activities, but provokes wide discussion and constructive input.
By promoting wide engagement we seek to ensure that the principles of widening participation help to
influence recruitment, teaching and student support.
Outreach, Raising Aspirations and Fair Access
26. The University has established its core programme of outreach; it is designed to be coherent,
embedded and sustainable. Our initiatives have been designed to provide a pathway to HE enabling
students to ‘jump on’ at any point or to follow a progressive curriculum of activity integrated into and with
the school curriculum where feasible or appropriate. Following the full sequence of activity can lead
students from aspiration raising events, through to preparation for HE, fair access to Leeds and on
course financial and pastoral support (i.e. Thomas Transition to Reach for Excellence to Access to
Leeds to scholarships and/or the Plus Programme4). Figure 1(in Annex 2) illustrates how our
interventions and support commence at primary age and continue through to employment.
27. Our core outreach works across the full range of subject disciplines and ages as well as with parents,
carers, teachers and advisors. In 2014/15 we worked with over a 1,000 schools and colleges with
targets including young learners and adults from disadvantaged backgrounds. We have reached over
88,000 young learners and adults at key decision-making points. Schools are targeted utilising an array
of indicators (including POLAR 3 and DfE census data) to ensure we are reaching WP students.
28. Our more sustained interventions have stringent eligibility criteria to help us ensure that we are working
longer-term with the students most in need of support (for example, those from low participation
neighbourhoods); for Thomas Transition, Reach for Excellence, Realising Opportunities, Access to
Leeds (A2L) and our WP scholarships, the eligibility criteria remain strategically aligned, providing
seamless progression through to graduation, i.e. outreach to fair access to student success.
29. Building on the success of our partnership with IntoUniversity5 in East Leeds, we have now invested in a
second centre in South Leeds which has worked with eight cohorts of year 5 and 6 pupils and four
secondary schools since its inception in September 2015. Through this partnership we work with 11
primary schools (who have more than 35% Free School Meals students), seven secondary
schools/sixth form colleges. The programme of activities includes three strands; academic support, a
structured series of workshops focussing on specific areas of the National Curriculum and one to one
mentoring. In addition, the centres have provided additional opportunities for staff and students and
community outreach involving families and teams include Sustainability and Sports. We have an agreed
set of targets with the centres and included in our resource plan as part of our longer-term (and
collaborative) outreach.
30. Our Students into Schools (SiS) scheme has expanded to deliver more targeted interventions aimed
at raising the aspiration and attainment of pupils from primary age. The 17 curricular opportunities6 can
run for the full academic year. From 2017/2018 new modules will be added to the existing cohort of 17,
4
The Plus Programme is our on-course support network, details can be found later in this document.
IntoUniversity works in partnership with universities to provide local learning centres for young people.
6
MATH2800 Maths into Schools; CHEM3615 Chemistry into Schools; PHYS3605 / PHYS5440M Physics in Schools / Advanced
Physics in Schools ; HIST2540 History Students into Schools; GEOG3530 Geographers into Teaching; MUSS2925 Music
Students into Schools; THEO2000 Theology and Religious Studies into Schools; ENGL2110 English Students into Schools;
MODL2001/2005 Linguists into Schools; PHIL2999 Philosophy Students into Schools ; SOEE3521 Earth and Environment
Students into Schools; LEED1040 Introduction to PE Teaching (Discovery Module); LEED2014 Practical PE Teaching (Discovery
Module)
5
allowing Education and Childhood Studies students longer term placements in schools. The
programme also aids our students to develop skills and attributes helpful for progression to employment
and PG study and academic success. Alongside SiS, our standard suite of volunteer delivered activities
include literacy and numeracy support, subject specific tutoring, mentoring and out of school activities.
These are offered and delivered in primary and secondary schools in the city and the region.
31. We have also successfully piloted our Societies into Schools programme with LUU societies taking up
the opportunity to deliver inspiring aspiration raising activities in targeted local and regional primary
schools. The flagship partnership programme between the University and LUU will be further developed
to ultimately allow members of every society in the LUU to have the opportunity to participate in
outreach activities in the schools and the community.
32. Contributing to the transition to Higher Education, our innovative Research Skills Programme7 has
strengthened links with exam boards. The programme’s sessions have proven extremely popular with
schools and the exam board AQA8, has requested permission to use our resources with schools. We
are also working with OCR9 to develop support for the more practical EPQ projects.
33. We continue to link with Teach First (TF) working in schools in areas of disadvantage to support their
teacher CPD and inspire the next generation of TF graduates.
34. Young people in Public Care. Complementing the HEART activity outlined in paragraph 42, we have a
dedicated member of staff at the University, in the role of care leaver contact. Pre-entry young people in
public care are contacted directly with information tailored to their circumstances such as details of
Access to Leeds and our undergraduate pre-entry application WP Scholarships, both of which target
those who have been in the public care system. Our care leaver contact supports prospective students
and their key influencers by dealing with queries and signposting individuals to the relevant services
within the University. This support remains available to students once they start at the University, to
assist them through their transition into and through HE. When applying for accommodation, students
who can demonstrate that they are leaving public care will have their upfront security deposit waived
and can request 365-day accommodation.
35. Our Communities and Partnerships’ team in the Lifelong Learning Centre leads the engagement of work
in local communities (predominantly Leeds, Wakefield, Kirklees) targeting adults from LPNs to
encourage mature and part-time students. We have proved successful in providing a second chance
for adults who started off with no knowledge of higher education. Our activities include communitybased non-accredited provision, campus study days, pre-entry IAG in addition to our mature student
learning champions who make a substantial contribution to all aspects of our outreach strategy.
36. A key element in our strategy to widen participation is our suite of Extended Degree Programmes
which include a foundation year. These are designed for applicants of all ages who do not have the
required entry tariff but demonstrate the potential to succeed. Last year we recruited 202 students to
programmes covering a range of disciplines, including STEM, Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences,
Law and Business. 2015/16 data for the LLC intake indicates that 65% of our students are from LPNs
and more than 80% fall within one or more of the WP categories. 80.7% of all foundation level
programmes progressed into University of Leeds degrees with an additional 6% continuing to HE study
elsewhere.
37. NHS-funded students have long been a part of our fair access work; students wishing to study NHS
funded courses have always been eligible for our contextual admissions scheme (Access to Leeds) and
there is a dedicated Healthcare team working across Educational Engagement and the Faculty of
Medicine and Health, who are tasked with helping to recruit WP students to Leeds.
Collaborative work
38. Leeds has long viewed collaboration as one of the key factors for success. Part of our outreach and
student success work continues to be delivered through collaborative provision and spans aspiration
raising through to on-course support and employability development. We continue to work effectively
within our established collaborations (the Excellence Hub, Realising Opportunities and HEART); more
recent developments include the National Network for Collaborative Outreach (NNCO) and our GP
7
Detailed in our 2015/16 Access Agreement (paragraphs 51-53).
AQA is one of England, Wales and Northern Ireland's five main examination boards.
9
OCR is one of England, Wales and Northern Ireland's five main examination boards.
8
Placement scheme that grew out of our contribution to the Selecting for Excellence project 10 and which
focuses on widening access to medicine courses. 2016 will also see the launch of the Leeds University
Technical College (UTC).
39. Work experience has been seen as a deterrent to medicine applicants from widening participation
backgrounds and therefore we linked three-day GP placements with Reach for Excellence (one of our
WP outreach schemes). Students are selected based on a range of criteria including academic
achievement and whether or not they have previous relevant work experience. GP partners were given
guidance as to the core skills students will need to develop.
40. After a successful pilot project last year, the scheme has been widened to include collaboration with
Hull, York Medical School and the University of Sheffield providing 60 students from a widening
participation background with a pre-placement preparation workshop, a short placement in Primary
Care and a post-placement reflective workshop with current students. Placements were offered to
enhance the medicine strand of our Reach for Excellence scheme and additional students were
selected on criteria reflecting our Access to Leeds criteria. Placements and pupils were given guidance
including information on ethical and legal issues; this information has been used to create a national
work experience pack for general practice.
41. Research involving questionnaires, focus groups and analysis of reflective diaries has found that
participants benefit from the development of transferable skills, career choices and insight into how the
NHS works.
42. The HEART partnership has, over the last three years, developed a network of partners who work
together to provide bespoke and relevant activities for young people in care and their carers. The
network includes colleagues from each partner institution and representatives from Children’s Services
and the West Yorkshire Local Authorities. The network consulted foster children and their families from
the outset to ensure that the needs of the young people are addressed and the activities developed with
these needs in mind. This collaborative approach attracted the backing of Leeds Education Authority
who partner with the network to advertise events and signpost service users to the HEART network.
43. HEART has acted as the Single Point of Contact (SPoC) for the West Yorkshire National Network for
Collaborative Outreach (NNCO). Since its inception, the NNCO has co-ordinated the delivery of WP
outreach activity from the 12 partner institutions, including the provision of a two day collaborative
residential summer school. Building upon the success of this pilot, a three day collaborative summer
school is planned for July 2016, which will include other institutions in addition to the five partner
institutions involved last year.
44. In addition, the NNCO has developed an interactive, online CRM with areas designated for schools,
businesses and partners. Schools can access information including upcoming collaborative and
institutional events, open days, course details and information for care leavers. Businesses can access
information on developing work around higher level skills, and the NNCO partnership with Leeds City
Region and the LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership).
45. We are one of 24 partners in Advancing Access, working with schools and colleges to develop and
deliver CPD for teachers and advisors, supporting student progression to selective universities and
courses. Advancing Access has a focus on schools with low levels of progression to such universities.
46. Advancing Access complements our existing outreach by engaging areas that have historically been
hard to reach and may be in geographic ‘cold spots’. It is a cost-effective approach to equipping
teachers and advisors with information they need to advise students with confidence. Initially funded
through HEFCE’s collaborative outreach network scheme, further funding options are being explored.
47. The universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York’s Excellence Hub continues to focus on raising
aspirations and encouraging applications to Research Intensive Universities through subject specific
taster events and IAG events, workshops and conferences.
48. The Leeds University Technical College (UTC) has been created in partnership with local employers:
Siemens, Kodak and Agfa and with educational expertise from the University of Leeds and Leeds City
College. Supported by Leeds City Council, EEF - The Manufacturers Organisation, Leeds Chamber of
Commerce, Grant Thornton and over 25 local businesses, the UTC will deliver a manufacturing and
10
Selecting For Excellence Project: Final Report (2014): http://www.medschools.ac.uk/News/Pages/The-Selecting-forExcellence-project-releases-final-report.aspx
engineering focused curriculum. Leeds UTC will help tackle skills and recruitment issues faced by local
employers by creating a talented workforce to promote and grow manufacturing and engineering
sectors regionally and nationally.
49. Partnership-working remains fundamental to our adult and part-time widening participation
recruitment. Our community development work is significant in reaching widening participation cohorts
who are unlikely to be recruited through traditional routes. During 2013/14 we worked with 1,702 people
in community-based activity and reached 625 adults in regional FE colleges, with a particular focus on
Access to HE provision.
50. Collaborative work can assist not only with outreach but with student success. Leeds University
Business School (LUBS) established the Nurturing Talent Mentoring Scheme in 2012 and the
scheme has now grown to have 140 mentors supporting students. Over 60 companies support the
initiative; many are large employers in a range of industries (professional and financial services, public
sector, pharmaceutical, banking and technology) and help students (especially WP students) to develop
employability skills as well as build networks and connections with business professionals.
51. We are also developing a collaborative approach to research into student success. We have recently
worked with AQA to investigate the impact of the EPQ on attainment at KS5 and undergraduate level.
Student Success and Graduate Outcomes
52. We have made progress with the development of our Plus Programme and through a synthesis of
various approaches (including providing a sustained and planned programme of activities and support)
we now provide a scheme to help foster retention, employability and academic success. The Plus
Programme already links with student success work undertaken through our Lifelong Learning Centre
(LLC)11. The schemes have a range of measures to particularly address student non-continuation and
foster student success. These include:



Academic support: e.g. diagnostic exercises to identify skills deficits prior to programme
commencement, academic skills and resilience workshops, pre-registration academic refresher
modules and welcome events.
Retention support: recognising the diverse needs of mature and part-time students, the LLC
works closely with Leeds University Union to provide a one-stop-shop, open to all mature
learners. Similar support is available to younger students along with regular group meetings
with staff within Educational Engagement. Other work includes peer support, social events and
personal development seminars.
Employability Support: through bespoke support including careers education and guidance
(individual and group, both within and outside the curriculum), volunteering opportunities,
mentoring schemes (including PwC and Marks and Spencer, as well as alumni mentors),
organising networking with employers and alumni events, provision of Leeds Masters
Scholarships, promotion of postgraduate opportunities.
53. Encouraging progression to postgraduate study is a key aspect of our work to improve the graduate
outcomes for our students. Postgraduate study options are also discussed with our Plus Programme
students at small group meetings (which take place during both Semester 1 and 2) and study
opportunities are highlighted along with financial support opportunities. We work to ensure that our
undergraduates are prepared for the transition to postgraduate study, utilising resources designed to
help them to assess their skills and understand the level and challenge of postgraduate study. We have
also created Masters Taster sessions which provide a chance to experience a real life lecture or
seminar and to meet both teaching staff and current PG students.
54. Those WP students who are in receipt of a Leeds Masters scholarship are invited to participate in the
Plus Programme, which will continue to offer support and activities designed to foster student success.
55. The Plus Programme was created to target those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Work is now
underway to further develop our provision, with particular emphasis on BME students and disabled
students not in receipt of DSA. We are identifying where we have particular student groups who are at
higher risk of non-completion (for example, the non-continuation rate for white males from LPNs was at
11
The LLC delivers bespoke part-time programmes that target students from LPNs without a previous degree including
foundation degrees with ‘top-up ‘ programme and it also supports part-time and mature students who study on mainstream
programmes.
12.5% in 2014/15 compared with 4.6% for students not from LPNs). Once this work has been
completed we will be in a position to enhance the support we provide to specific student groups.
56. The Plus Programme does already offer on-course support to our students from public care. Once at
the University, these students have access to a named person to assist them should they encounter any
difficulties. This provision is intrinsic to the programme of activity we have implemented for careexperienced students from the point at which they first encounter the University through to registration
at Leeds and ultimately graduation and employment.
57. The underlying work to embed the scheme across the institution is largely complete and the Plus
Programme now reports to our Inclusivity Strategy Group. This committee helps provide strategic
direction to the scheme but also helps to ensure that there are formal links with other institutional
student support services, activities and opportunities.
58. The Educational Engagement Evaluation and Monitoring Team have devised a robust Plus Programme
Evaluation Matrix, providing a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plan for 2015/16 onwards. Our
matrix is based on the Kirkpatrick’s four stage model of learning evaluation and includes longitudinal
tracking of the students who participate in the programme. Plus Programme activities will be evaluated
throughout the year and through an end of year analysis. Methodology will be varied; we will utilise
online surveys, questionnaires, focus groups and individual interviews. Throughout the process, we will
seek student input and ensure that future activities are delivered around their feedback so that the Plus
Programme remains relevant, responsive and beneficial to the participants. We will consider what
worked well and refine our offer where students make suggestions for improvement.
59. At Leeds we have a systematic approach to enhancing student employability. Our degree programmes
build in employability skills development; we offer a comprehensive range of work placements and study
abroad options to boost job prospects. We also ensure that Leeds for Life and our Careers Centre12 are
available to our students after they have graduated. We realise that our relationship with our students
does not cease upon graduation.
STUDENT FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Structure and Evaluation
60. Student Financial Support at Leeds comprises our automatically awarded Leeds Financial Support
(LFS) and our complementary portfolio of WP Scholarships (to which students must apply prior to
commencing their studies). From 2017 onwards students who were previously NHS funded will be
eligible for LFS and WP scholarships.
61. Our finance package is annually evaluated to ascertain its impact on recruitment and retention, to hone
our promotional approach and to inform the structure of the award as and when changes are required.
62. We have again adjusted our LFS package. This decision has been informed by direct input from staff
and students through University committees. Our annual evaluation work continues to indicate that
financial support is having a positive impact on a significant proportion of our students. The most recent
evaluation found that:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
12
91% of respondents said that Leeds Financial Support has impacted in some way on their
student life and/or any decisions they had to make. This is similar to the findings from previous
years, however, it looks as if the impact is more profoundly perceived once students reach their
third year.
74% of all respondents said that the awards changed (positively) the way they feel about their
ability to stay on their course. This is slightly higher than in the previous year’s survey.
78% of those who were aware of LFS before registering at Leeds said that the level of financial
support potentially available to them was either ‘very important’ or ’important’ in their decision to
study at Leeds. As can be expected, the lower the household income the more likely students
were to rate this aspect ‘very important’ when considering their decision.
49% of all respondents who started studying in 2014 said that the prospect of receiving some
university financial support influenced their decision to go to university, at least to some extent.
The likely influence decreases as household income rises, 56% on an income of up to £9,999
report an influence compared to only 22% of those with an income of £30k and more.
Leeds for Life is available up to 5 years after graduation and our Careers Centre is available to our graduates for life.
63. Much of the qualitative feedback supported this view:
“I was able to avoid working long hours, so able to apply for career enhancing internships instead.”
“For the first time I didn't base every decision I made around whether or not I would go hungry. I was
able to buy foods that weren't the blandest and cheapest possible, which I had been doing before
university. I was able to say yes to social engagements (which more often than not cost money), thus
felt more comfortable making friends. I was able to buy my books (as opposed to borrow them from the
library, or if not available, try and research the book online, which I have had to do at points).”

Leeds Financial Support
64. Leeds Financial Support (LFS) is designed and structured to give students choice and to be responsive
to individual needs whilst also supporting the achievement of our targets. Our principles are to:
 Ensure our financial support increases the effectiveness of our outreach and encourages
students from disadvantaged backgrounds to consider, apply, register and succeed at Leeds
 Address the real costs of living whilst providing applicants with a choice of support to benefit
their specific needs and individual circumstances and attitudes
 Provide financial support which is simple, easy to understand and clearly targeted at those for
whom it will have a real impact.
65. We offer full and part-time students a choice of a fee discount, cash award or contribution towards
accommodation, giving them the opportunity to choose the support most appropriate to their individual
circumstances.
Table 3 – Student Funding Package 2017/18
Household income
£0 - £10,000
£10,001 - £25,000
£25,001 - £30,000
£30,001 - £36,000
£36,001 - £42,875
Award Amount
Year 0 (Foundation year only)
£3,000
£1,500
£1,000
£500
Award Amount
Year 1 and subsequent years
£2,250
£1,750
£1,500
£1,000
£500
66. With respect to students from the devolved administrations, the arrangements for Scottish and Northern
Irish students will match those for students from England. Welsh students will be ineligible for the
Leeds Financial Support given the financial support arrangements put in place by the Welsh Assembly.
67. In light of the significant pressure on the part-time sector the funding package will not change from the
2015/16 arrangements for part-time students. These students will therefore continue to receive awards
that are pro rata to the standard student funding package available in 2015/16 (outlined in Table 4).
Table 4 – 2015/16 Full-time Funding Package
Household income
Award Amount
Year 0 (Foundation year only)
Award Amount
Year 1 and subsequent years
£25k or below
£3,000
£2,500
£25,001 - £30,000
£1,500
£1,500
£30,001 - £36,000
£1,000
£1,000
£36,001 - £42,875
£500
£500
Foundation Student Funding
68. In addition to LFS worth up to £3,000 for foundation year students with a household income of £25k or
below (outlined above in Table 3), students entering a full-time Foundation year in 2017/18 will be
eligible for the following levels of fee discount:
Table 5 – Foundation Year Fee Discount 2017/18
Household income
£25k or below
£25,001 - £42,875
Fee Discount
Year 0 (Foundation year)
£3,000
£1,500
69. For students entering the part-time Foundation Year a pro-rata discounted fee will be charged and prorata financial support provided.
70. Leeds Masters Scholarships have grown out of the Postgraduate Support Scheme work undertaken
as a collaborative research project between Leeds and five other HEIs. This offers WP students from
Leeds and other universities additional funding alongside Postgraduate student loans, thus providing a
pathway beyond undergraduate qualifications and through to postgraduate study.
TARGETS AND MILESTONES
What we will do
Milestones
2017/18
Milestone
2019/20
24% and 8.8%
25% and 9.2%
96.8% and 95.4%
97% and 96%
15.2% and 3.5%
13.7% and 3.3%
Exceed our 2013/14 recruitment performance of 15.5% of mature entrants from low participation neighbourhoods (LPNs) with no previous HE experience.
16.4%
17.2%
Increase the percentage of students declaring a disability at Leeds (internal data)
11.3%
12.8%
25% of our first year, full-time home/EU students (under 21) will be from a low socio-economic background (HESA table 1a) and to annually exceed our HESA LPN benchmark
from 2014/15 (7.8%)
Exceed our 2012/13 HESA benchmark for retention of 95.9% for first degree full-time home/EU students as well as improve the retention of full-time home/EU
undergraduates from NS SEC 4-7 (97% and 96% respectively, by 2019/20)
To work towards meeting our 2013/14 HESA retention benchmark for mature students with no prior HE experience (12.4
% non-continuation) and to exceed our 2010/11 HESA non-continuation benchmark (4.9%) for young students from LPNs.
Outreach
What we will do
What the outcomes will be 2019/20
Engage young people, their influencers, schools/colleges to raise aspirations and awareness of higher
education by annually:

Working with 80,000 young people

Engaging 2000 influencers (parents, carers, teachers and advisors) of young people

Placing 1000 students in schools who will act as ambassadors for the University of Leeds

Delivering two large scale ‘Festivals’ e.g. The Leeds Festival of Science

Offering a comprehensive series of discipline-specific outreach events

Providing an intensive partnership with selected schools (with 66% of pupils from disadvantaged
backgrounds) as part of our talent spotting schemes.

We target over 300 schools/colleges with high proportions of WP students and embed WP/fair
access/funding messages in our work with schools in general.
Of those we work with:




95% of young people in years 5-8 are aware of higher education
95% of young people in years 9-11 will see university study as a realistic option.
90% of young people in years 12-13 will consider the University of Leeds or other higher
education institution
We will see increased levels of recruitment from targeted schools.

Longer Term Interventions - Reach for Excellence, Access to Leeds, Adult Education, Foundation Years, Plus Programme
To support the ‘most able, least likely’ we will annually:

Work with 800 young people in years 11, 12 and 13 supporting them to apply to a research-intensive
university (Thomas Transition, Reach for Excellence and in subject specific talent programmes).
Of those we work with:
Grow the numbers of students on our admissions pathways through:

2000 direct applications to Access to Leeds (A2L)
We will achieve:
For adults who have achieved FE Level 3/HE Level 0 (or equivalent) we will seek to expand our successful
applications to the University of Leeds. To increase the number of adults studying at (FE) level 2 (or equivalent)
We will achieve:
In Year 11, 80% of participants will report
improved self-confidence and self-belief in
ability to progress to HE
In year 12, 45% apply to a research-intensive
university and 35% register to the University of
Leeds
820 A2L students per year at the University

210 successful applications to University of Leeds from Level 3 or HE Level 0 mature students.
to progress to Leeds we will engage 430 adults in activities (including a summer school, HE tasters and 8
campus study days).

Engaging with adults from low socio-economic classifications to consider higher education we will deliver nonaccredited adult education in a range of curriculum areas in order to encourage progression to further FE study
and to raise awareness of higher education as a longer-term option. We take a long term approach in engaging
adults from low SECs in LPN to explore the journey to higher education, starting with non-formal adult
education
Annually, of those we work with:

550 adults will be engaged in non-accredited activities

330 will indicate an interest in progression to higher education.
We will offer bespoke targeted success, retention and progression measures to ensure the support and success
of disadvantaged students, for example young people leaving public care and our scholar s.
To achieve this we will:

Extend support to 2760 scholars, A2L students and those who entered Leeds through foundation
year course from pre-entry to graduation

Maintain a high institutional retention rate at circa 97%

Increase our low SEC student retention rate to 96%
280 adults directed to other HE provision.
Collaborative Provision
Working in partnership across the region, HEART will provide bespoke support for young people in public care,
aged 5 – 18, through sustained engagement.
We will engage:

125 students and their foster carers, of which 93% will show increased confidence through
exposure to new and challenging experiences.
Working in collaboration with partners, including HE providers, HEART will engage learners from areas and
regions with low participation rates in sustained engagement

120 learners.
Across the partnership of Excellence Hubs (a collaboration with the Universities of Sheffield, Hull and York) we
will provide IAG decision making conferences for years 8/9, 11 and 12 students.

2,200 learners engaged
The partnership between the University and IntoUniversity supports young people from disadvantaged
backgrounds (below the age of 13) in East Leeds and South Leeds.

900 young people engaged in 2018/19
Recruit students to Realising Opportunities, a collaboration with 14 other research intensive universities.

60 students per year recruited to the scheme by Leeds.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION
71. Our monitoring and evaluation programme runs throughout the year (see Table 3 in our 2015/16 Access
Agreement) helping us measure our progress and target our activity effectively. We believe our
programme of evaluation to be transparent and sector leading. As outlined in previous Access
Agreements, our approach utilises standard questionnaire templates, case studies and annual in-depth
evaluations of key projects.
72. The review of Leeds Masters Scholarships holders (completed in 2015/16) offers a good example of how
our monitoring and evaluation arrangements allow us to take an evidence-based approach to our
activities. The review found that the scholars could be broadly split into two categories, those who were
self-sufficient and settled in their studies and those who required additional support across a range of
difficulties. As a result, we have provided a named, recognisable contact for all scholars and a new, preentry information session in 2016/17. In this session, scholars will be provided with an introduction to the
University support services, finance and budgeting information, study skills support and signposting to
other appropriate services.
73. We remain committed to continuing improvement in this area and in 2014/15 created a Monitoring and
Evaluation team within our Educational Engagement Service (which is responsible for leading our WP
work for the University). This team coordinates and guides the evaluation and monitoring undertaken for
our WP initiatives (reporting to all appropriate committees) as well as exploring ways in which we can
contribute robust research to the sector. It has also created a network of academic staff, WP practitioners
and representatives from external agencies in order to identify gaps in WP research and ways in which
we could work collaboratively to bridge these gaps. We plan to share our progress and research findings
across the sector.
74. An Evaluation Working Group with representation from across the Educational Engagement Service has
been developed to refine the existing evaluation framework and we will be utilising the Kirkpatrick model
of evaluation where appropriate.
75. We are also developing evaluation and research projects for current PG students and early career
researchers to support the student success agenda. We believe that we should use the expertise of
students within our academic community while also using the opportunity to offer them research
opportunities and share best practice.
76. Our Lifelong Learning Centre and our School of Healthcare have recently completed some research to
help support mature student progression into HE, particularly mature students applying with an Access to
HE Diploma rather than A levels. A majority of applications to study at Leeds from students who have an
Access to HE Diploma are made to the School of Healthcare. The research evidence indicates that
mature learners would benefit from tailored online resources to support their learning journey from further
to higher education along with other findings which will inform our approach in future years.
77. Student Financial Support at Leeds comprises our automatically awarded Leeds Financial Support (LFS)
and our complementary portfolio of WP Scholarships (to which students must apply prior to commencing
their studies). Our finance package is evaluated year-on-year to ascertain impact of the award on
recruitment and retention, to hone our promotional approach and to inform the structure of the award as
and when changes are required.
78. From 2015/16 onwards, we will move to a mixed methods approach and include qualitative data analysis
alongside our quantitative analysis. We will analyse data across multiple levels of deprivation to measure
the impact on particular subgroups.
79. To further support our evaluation and monitoring model we have invested in the development of an
electronic evaluation tool. The tool is now becoming the standard means through which we measure the
impact of individual and collective intervention activity. The tool is currently being used to:

Survey senior leader teams in schools with low progression to assess their engagement with
local HE providers

Assess the impact of Summer Schools

Assess longitudinal projects with multiple interventions (e.g. Reach for Excellence)

Assess the impact of on course support (Plus Programme)
80. In addition to tracking impact at individual level, we use our own internal Customer Relation Management
System (CRM) to track the impact of activity type on applications and registrations at Leeds. We also
monitor contextual admissions and scholarships applications through this mechanism and target the
promotion of these WP opportunities accordingly.
81. We recognise that taking a longitudinal and collaborative approach is also beneficial when evaluating the
impact of our outreach activities. We are therefore investing in the Higher Education Access Tracker
(HEAT) system in order to track student engagement in outreach activity and subsequently support our
data analysis and reporting mechanisms when estimating the impact of such activity. This system will
allow us to begin to ascertain the effects of our individual and collective outreach work and the associated
network will help us to inform and share best practice. In fact, the Excellence Hub (see paragraph 47)
partners are developing an Evaluation and monitoring plan for implementation from September 2016
onwards. This will include long term tracking of school level data for pre-16 students and individual level
data of post-16 students through HEAT.
82. We are also in the process of reviewing our engagement with and recruitment of particular sub groups of
students including white working class boys, black Caribbean students, care leavers, carers and students
with a disability. We will use the findings of the research to improve the targeting and provision of
aspiration, retention and attainment raising activities within these groups.
83. Within the University of Leeds the responsibility for managing fair access and widening participation lies
with the Educational Engagement Service (predominantly focused on young people) and the Lifelong
Learning Centre (predominantly focused on adult learners). Both report to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for
Student Education and through appropriate University committees, including the Education Engagement
Implementation Group, Taught Student Financial Support Sub Group, Taught Student Recruitment
Committee, Taught Student Education Board and ultimately to Senate.
EQUALITY AND INCLUSION
84. When designing our access plans, the University worked to ensure that we adhered to the principles of
equality and diversity as outlined in the Equality Act 2010. Two of our four key institutional targets for
recruitment and support relate to people with protected characteristics (disabled and mature students)
and equality considerations flow through all of our access activity.
85. Our Equality Policy Unit (EPU) staff serve on committees and working groups responsible for inputting
into the creation, reporting and monitoring of our Access Agreement. There is also clear senior
leadership of widening participation which is aligned to the institutional vision.
86. Within our institutional Equality and Inclusion Strategy13 we have identified an Equality Mission for Leeds.
One of the four priority areas is to ensure we successfully embed equality into all aspects of University
business. Priority 4: ‘Ensure a world class student experience through inclusion and academic
excellence’ addresses fair and equal access to recruitment, attainment and progression opportunities and
highlights the importance of integrating the varied needs of a diverse student population into the
governance and practice of student education.
87. Our Equality and Inclusion work is an essential part of our approach to the recruitment of and support for
students with protected characteristics. This is an important facet of our access provision as these
students are statistically over represented within lower socio-economic groups and low participation
neighbourhoods. We continue to support and recruit students with protected characteristics through a
variety of approaches which help to demonstrate how our equality and inclusion agenda is embedded
within our access work. Examples include:
13

Our Lifelong Learning Centre is specifically dedicated to the recruitment of mature students

Our EPU team has been working with Educational Engagement (EE) to identify and ultimately
address the unequal outcomes between different ethnic and social groups. We are initially
targeting students we work with through the Plus Programme (see paragraph 52 onwards)
identifying differentials in employability, attainment and retention. As well as the central support for
this student success activity (offered through the Plus Programme) we will explore the data at
http://www.equality.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/policies/EI-strategy-single-page-word-version.docx
Faculty level, working with colleagues in academic schools to identify gaps in provision or potential
areas of focus. We believe that it is essential that the work is linked across the institution through
Schools/Faculties and Services.

We have created some employability related activities focussing on disabled students. This year,
we trialled a dedicated hour at the start of our main autumn careers fair, specifically for our
disabled students, providing them with a safe space for discussion with key employers. Student
and employer feedback was very positive and we have decided to further strengthen this for the
summer fair.

Our WP Scholarships and Access to Leeds14 schemes typically recruit a higher proportion of BME
students than the University average. These students are supported by Plus Programme activities
which help us meet Priority 4 of our institutional Equality and Inclusion strategy. We are reviewing
outreach, recruitment and student success activity with an eye to recommending how this can be
made more inclusive. For example, our early findings indicate that our WP recruitment activity
does not necessarily deter disabled students (a similar proportion to the University average
progress to Leeds through our access programmes), but we would expect these routes to have
higher proportions of disabled students than the University average.

Through the Plus Programme, flexible arrangements are made for mature learners or those with
children/caring responsibilities (in relation to the scheduling of Small Group Meetings held in
Semesters 1 and 2). Training is provided to students participating in our Plus Programme peer
support network as Group Leaders (who provide information and advice to new scholars during
Semester 1) to raise their awareness of diversity and working inclusively. When designing event
programmes, religious obligations are accommodated and prayer time is allocated where required.

Equality Policy Unit developed a finance web page dedicated specifically to potential Muslim
students who may have concerns regarding “Riba”. 15 The page outlines the changes to the student
finance arrangements as well as detailing a number of alternatives for those students affected.
88. We have recently completed a significant piece of work across the University in 2015 (working across
DSAS/EPU/EE and Student Finance colleagues) in response to changes to the Disabled Students
Allowance, particularly in reference to the introduction of the £200 student contribution towards
computer/assistive technology costs. Our response has been to use the financial criteria used for other
means of awarding University financial support.
89. To respond to further changes to DSA the University is developing a transformational approach to the
assessment and support for disabled students, moving from a funding led, individual reasonable
adjustments and institutional structure model to a proactive, student centred and guided model supporting
its vision, values and aspirations for embedding inclusivity across its culture, systems, structures and
processes. This involves the coordinated working across faculties and key professional services to
develop more inclusive approaches to academic provision and service delivery. Examples include
utilising technology (such as Lecture Capture) for availability of lectures on demand; developing an
institutional resource for guides on developing an inclusive curriculum; and simplifying the student
disability related information across the University. This work will also enable us to prioritise and direct
resources more strategically to ensure that student support effectively complements curriculum design
and pedagogy.
90. This will be an area of substantial institutional staff and student engagement and communication. We will
be monitoring the impact on the numbers of students disclosing a disability; accessing DSAS and the
effect of the changing model on student retention; satisfaction; attainment and employability outcomes.
This monitoring will continue to inform the targets we set through our Access Agreements.
91. The Equality Policy Unit has also developed policies to support students who are pregnant, parents of
very young children or carers.16 We believe that being or becoming responsible for a child or dependent
adult should not, in itself, be a barrier to a student, or prospective student, starting, succeeding in, or
completing a programme of study at the University. The University is committed to being as flexible as
possible whilst, at the same time, making sure that any accommodations made for the student do not
compromise academic standards.
14
The University’s Access to Leeds programme is featured as a case study in the new Russell Group publication on ‘Opening
Doors – understanding and overcoming barriers to university access.’
15
Islamic Sharia law prohibits "Riba", which means the paying and receiving of interest for profit.
16 http://www.equality.leeds.ac.uk/university-policies-2/
92. We produce management information, at University level, on admissions (applications, offers and
acceptances), student experience surveys and student attainment data by protected characteristics. The
University-wide ‘Inclusivity Strategy Group’ (ISG), a sub-committee of the University’s Taught Student
Education Board, oversees this information: to review diversity profiles, identify areas of underrepresentation and gaps in student outcomes between groups of students, across the student lifecycle.
The Group’s role is to recommend further analyses; establish appropriate targets and action plans to
address any identified issues; and recommend specific courses of action and inclusive practices, drawn
from sector engagement, research and best practice. It is our intention to introduce more benchmarking
information into our datasets to enable us to measure our performance more meaningfully against the
sector and discipline areas. Furthermore, we aim to strengthen the work of this Group in providing advice
and guidance to local Faculty Equality and Inclusion Committees set up as described in paragraph below.
93. The University has focused attention on the establishment of local Faculty Equality and Inclusion
Committees (which will be advised and guided by the Inclusivity Strategy Group) to support the
implementation of the Framework and to enable the engagement of the four key priorities in a local
context. These Faculty Committees will work to support the identification and addressing of areas of
student under-representation, differences in experience outcomes and differentials in attainment and
employability outcomes between groups of students, using an evidence-based approach.
PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS
94. We recognise that fee levels and the financial support system available in universities and nationally
might be difficult to understand so we are committed to making our information as accessible as possible.
Our student finance webpages are approved and reviewed through committees which have student
representation and our annual Money Guide includes input from the Leeds University Union.
95. We will continue to provide:









Enhanced financial information on our website covering our fees as well as the government and
University financial support available for new and continuing students.
Dedicated parent and advisor information via the web and through conferences and sessions at
Open Days.
A dedicated financial literacy programme for schools and colleges, which includes student finance
information sessions specifically tailored for parents/carers.
Integrated messages regarding finance in all communications with prospective students and
embedded within our WP outreach at a national level.
A Money Guide outlining our fees and financial support (alongside government financial support)
which will be regularly updated and used in outreach; during Open Days; and HE Fairs. Fees and
student finance information will also be included in our prospectus.
Individual financial literacy and budgeting support for students on our talent-spotting schemes
Web based advice regarding the pros and cons of the different choice elements (fee waiver, bursary,
accommodation discount) of our Leeds Financial Support.17
Accurate information for disabled students about the level of support they can expect to receive.
Care experienced students are emailed prior to starting their courses, with information on the
relevant support services available at the University for academic and personal support
96. All of our information regarding financial support adheres to the Competition and Markets Authority's
advice to ensure that we comply with consumer law.
97. We will provide the relevant information to UCAS and SLC in a timely and accurate manner, to populate
their course databases to inform applicants.
CONSULTING WITH STUDENTS
98. We have long seen the benefits of consulting our students in the formation and delivery of WP activity
and have historically engaged with them in decision making processes at all levels of the institution. This
activity ranges from student representatives helping to select winners 18 of our Widening Participation
Scholarships, to representing the student voice on our Plus Programme Steering Group (within
17
18
Drawn up in partnership with Leeds University Union.
Since 2006.
Educational Engagement), to formal (and informal) input into and monitoring of the Access Agreement
through the relevant committees. See Annex 1 for the perspective of our Students’ Union.
99. During 2011 we formalised the University ‘Partnership’. Developed by students and staff, it describes our
mutual expectations as members of the University community. Within the Partnership structures, student
views have been sought both formally and informally in the development of the Access Agreement
throughout the year. At a formal level, there is student representation throughout the committee
structures19 that comment on, endorse and monitor the Access Agreement including the Education
Engagement Implementation Group, Recruitment Committee, Taught Student Financial Support SubGroup and Senate. This partnership has been refreshed in 2016.
100. The University and LUU have worked together to provide a simple and accessible database of
volunteering activity. This has been fully integrated with the Leeds for Life platform, allowing students to
search for quality assured volunteering placements through the Students into Schools programme;
student-led volunteering projects; and quality assured volunteering brokered with the third sector. The
Volunteering Hub also offers the opportunity for young people on our talent spotting programmes to get
involved in different volunteering opportunities, giving them a broader view of university life preapplication. The Leeds for Life Foundation provides funding to support student-led volunteering projects
both in the UK and overseas.
101. The Volunteering Hub is working to expand the opportunities for our students to engage and support
people in settings outside formal education. The investigation of a curricular opportunity (similar to the
Students into Schools modules), which will allow students to become involved in programmes in the
community and the third sector is under way.
102. Our Educational Engagement Service employs students to help deliver activities on campus or in
schools (often these students are those who progress to Leeds through WP routes). These student hosts
are given debrief sessions with Careers Centre staff to assist them in identifying the skills they have
developed through their work. This is also the case with our mature student Learning Champions who are
involved in a range of activities with adults from local communities to encourage HE progression. By
encouraging reflection in this way we continue to help enhance the development of skills in our student
body. We offer a variety of roles and detail which skills a student host will develop within each of these
roles allowing for students to target their skills development. Feedback from student hosts also help
inform our training year-on-year.
103. Leeds’ Widening Access to Medical School (WAMS) scheme is run by medical students supported by
doctors. Our students share their experiences of the application process, offer mentoring to prospective
medical students, deliver on and off campus presentations and workshops to pupils from primary age
through to sixth form. Eligibility to receive mentoring aligns with our Access to Leeds criteria ensuring
that we support students who would most benefit. WAMS is just one of many student-led societies
helping to deliver outreach.
104. Student consultation forms a large part of the Plus Programme evaluation matrix; focus groups,
individual interviews and case studies will continue to take place in order to build a strong evidence base
to support activity design and delivery. At a committee level, we have student representation on a Taught
Postgraduate Diversity Working Group and Taught Postgraduate Diversity Steering Group to help to
ensure that our offer of financial and on-course support continues to meet the needs of our audience.
105. The University’s dedicated care leaver contact arranges focus groups with care experienced students to
discuss the package of support they would like to receive at the University. Further focus groups have
been undertaken with widening participation students to carry out research about their study abroad
decision making process and to what extent financial considerations influenced their decisions.
106. Our Educational Engagement Service continues to work closely with LUU, incorporating a series of
questions within the Financial Literacy project evaluation questionnaires on behalf of the Union; this
provides the Union with an opportunity to gather information from pre-entry students about the kind of
advice they would like to receive once at University and the format this might take.
19
These include the Taught Student Financial Support Sub Group (meets five times per year: September to July), Education
Engagement Implementation Group (meets six times per year: September to July), Taught Student Recruitment Committee
(meets three times per year: September to July), Senate (meets six times per year: October-July).
Annex 1
Access Agreement LUU 2017/18
Leeds University Union Strategy
1.
At Leeds University Union (LUU) we have just completed our new strategic review plan for the next four
years. This process involves researching 4058 students’ needs and wants through an online survey and
focus group. This research was then used to construct our current strategic plan. The plan runs from 20142018 and focuses on four areas of work. These areas of work are to inspire students to succeed, enrich
student’s experiences and activities, empower students to make change and drive our student’s union into
the future. Each area of work has specific targets working towards these goals. The research is also used in
partnership with the University in the development of work and understanding students’ needs.
Consultation
2. Consultation is a key part of policy work within LUU, both in consulting students but also in responding to
consultation on behalf of students. Each year students at the University of Leeds elect 6 officers to represent
them. Of those six offers we have an Equality and Diversity officer and a Welfare officer. The elected officers’
manifestos become part of their objectives for the next year and inform project work and campaigns. For the
2015/16 elections there were 8488 votes in total, the successful Equality and Diversity officer won with 3695
votes and 2185 for the Welfare candidate.
3. LUU is often consulted with from the University and external sources such as NASMA or Government
consultations. LUU is a part of the University decision making process at every level and is consulted with
when policies are made. An LUU student exec officer and staff member sit on University committees for
example Taught Student Recruitment Committee, Taught Student Financial Support Sub Group and
Progressing an Inclusive Taught Student Education Service group. As part of these committees student
opinion is sought and represented in policy development, review and monitoring. Examples of this are the
new scholarship offer and the annual Leeds Financial Support offer each year.
4. One mechanism we use to consult with our students is our forum system. Students bring ideas to the forums
and a jury of randomly selected student peers vote whether the idea becomes policy. If it is a close vote it
goes to referendum. This year some of the key issues that have come to through forums are: working with
the University sports facilities to make them more affordable to those with low incomes and working with
societies to make a ‘Time to Change’ pledge. Following the outcome of forums staff within LUU are assigned
to passed policies and responsible to put them into action.
Widening Participation
5. LUU is embedded within the raising aspiration work of the University of Leeds. LUU supports the following
programmes: Access to Leeds, Realising Opportunities and Thomas Transition.
6. Within the Access to Leeds programme LUU participates in the summer residential and when they arrive in
Leeds at the welcome talks. This has been a long running partnership and recently this has gained
momentum as our current Equality and Diversity officer was an Access To Leeds student when she applied
to Leeds.
7. In August 2014 we participated with the Thomas Transition programme for the first time by offering
workshops on the cost of living in Leeds with case studies and activities to give pupils a taste of budgeting.
8. We also run scholarship student targeted events. This year putting on workshops and events especially for
scholars including budgeting and energy saving and money saving deal hunting. Our Equality and Diversity
officer has also been consulted with the Plus Programme offer to see how we can improve support for
Access to Leeds students after they are accepted into the University of Leeds. The Plus Programme
sessions are offered to students to improve their skills, including confidence building and presentation skills
workshops, study skills (i.e. – essay support, time management, exam preparation, research skills and report
writing) in the hope that this will support students whilst they are studying at the University of Leeds.
9. The strategic review research we conducted with over 4000 students has also been used in order to develop
the scholar support. The University used the research to identify areas of support such as safety, money
management and feelings of isolation. This was then integrated into plans for the Plus Programme, both in
terms of communications to students but also in strategy and developing the Plus programme brand.
Equality and Diversity
10. As part of the DSA reforms our Equality and Diversity officer has been integral in supporting students and
communicating with the University. LUU is consulted throughout the Universities reporting structure and in
developing the Universities response to the DSA reform and supports with key messages to concerned
students. The Equality and Diversity officer sits on the working group focusing on this and is also feeding
back concerns from students about these changes.
11. We have also launched Liberation Co-ordinators. These are students who volunteer to support other
students in running and feeding into Liberation Campaigns both on campus and nationally. The liberation
areas are: Black students/BME, Women students, LGBT and Disabled students. The Liberation Campaigns
exist to defend and extend the rights of those particular groups of students. These are groups of students
who face discrimination in education and who are also oppressed in wider society. The students in these
roles have fed into key activity throughout LUU such as LGBT History month but have also developed their
own activity. The BME Liberation Co-ordinators have run local events in support of the Black Lives Matter
movement and the LGBT Liberation Co-ordinators have ran stalls and social media campaigns about LGBT
youth homelessness targeting MPs to raise awareness. This is the first year we have had Liberation Coordinators and so we are working to develop this programme with the students.
12. Black History Month- This work is important to engage with our Widening Participation students who identify
with these ethnicities to help foster a sense of belonging. This helps with engagement and retention. We
have been running events in Black History Month for several years. This year’s programme involved film
showings and talks on history and career access to young people from under-represented and under-served
backgrounds.
13. One of our focuses for our Equality and Diversity officer this year is to develop personalised careers support.
She has been working with the careers centre on this with a pilot focusing on disabled students. Last
semester we hosted an event with L’Oreal which focused on disabled students and how organisations can
provide support in internships and graduate schemes. Although it wasn’t highly attended this was a
successful event as topics such as disclosing disability and providing reasonable adjustments were covered.
We are therefore planning to host another event this semester with Lloyds bank which will aim to focus on a
wider range of students (such as BME, Women, disabled and LGBT students).
14. One policy that has been an area of work this year is the policy to increase access to affordable childcare on
campus. As part of this policy we have started researching what students currently have access to in their
local area and on campus and what childcare they need. We are currently conducting focus groups to find
out detailed opinions and experiences of childcare in order to improve support and signposting for student
parents.
Welfare
15. Our Welfare officer has been looking at ensuring we are offering the right support throughout your course
and this work has looked at money advice, departmental support and also a review of mental health
services.
16. In order to provide students the right support there has been a survey rolled out across all Universities in
Leeds. This survey is called ‘What Students Want’ and was designed by Leeds SUs together- a partnership
of staff and officers across all Universities in Leeds. The idea behind the research was to see what students
wanted from the general election in 2015. 1581 students completed the survey; of that number 883 were
from the University of Leeds. The results have highlighted number of concerns for students in Leeds such as
finding good housing, money worries, safety and the cost of transport. This research is being used to
motivate students to vote, in conversations and debates with local MPs and will be used in ongoing
campaigns and policy work.
17. We also run networking and briefing meetings for Student Support Officers within the Universities. These
meetings are targeted to staff in departments who offer support to students. The meeting this year involved
updates on our advice campaigns, our “zero tolerance” to sexual harassment campaign and updates from
the University appeals and complaints team, the head of student support and the student exec officers.
These meetings help with retention and helps with on course support.
18. This year the Welfare office has also been working and contributing to the mental health review. In the spring
of 2014, the University of Leeds signed the Time to Change pledge, followed in the summer by a review of its
support services. LUU Welfare Officers Charlotte Warner and Freya Govus sat on a panel which heard
evidence from services ranging from the Chaplaincy to the International Students office. Since then, the
Welfare Officer has become part of talks about the integration of the mental health services that the
University of Leeds provides to students.
Recruitment
19. LUU is a key focus point in recruitment supporting the University open days. We do this through hosting
accommodation talks and offering talks and tours about the support LUU has to offer. We also provide
targeted money information to prospective students through the LUU money website and leaflets for students
thinking of studying at the University of Leeds. These leaflets are handed out at open days and at any talks
in schools or outreach or widening participation events that LUU contributes to. This leaflet covers how to
check what you are entitled to, the University support, budgeting advice, money saving tips and how to
become a Money Ambassador.
20. At various points throughout the year LUU is asked to deliver Student Finance or Budgeting workshops in
schools in the local region. In 2015 two such school are Bradford Grammar and Ryburn High School. In
these talks we cover Student Finance myths, how you can apply, cost of living and budgeting exercises and
where to go for further advice. These talks received positive feedback and encourage students to apply to or
continue onto Higher Education.
Lifelong Learning Centre
21. We work closely with the Lifelong Learning Centre, the University department for part time and mature
learners. This partnership involves supporting social events, advice, information and representation. We
have a mature and part time society that we support. Currently the Equality and Diversity officer and the
Education Officer are supporting the Mature and part time society to campaign against the age cap on the
proposed new Post Graduate loans.
22. We also deliver money advice and energy saving workshops tailored to the Lifelong Learning Centre
students who do not necessarily live in student accommodation and may have children. These workshops
involve the national Citizens Advice Energy Best Deal project with a target to reducing fuel poverty.
Partnership
23. The University and LUU have had a formal partnership agreement since 2011. This partnership is still active
as demonstrated with the level of consultation but also in major projects such as the LUU building plans
(http://www.leedsuniversityunion.org.uk/buildingproject/). This is an intensive refurbishment that will
rejuvenate a lot of the LUU spaces accessed by students..
24. Our partnership is also celebrated with the Partnership awards each year. This year we have had over 1100
nominations and we are currently shortlisting the nominations ready for the event. The categories are
Wellbeing Champion, Academic Rep, Best Feedback, Innovation Award, Inspirational Teaching Award,
Mentor Award, Outreach Award, Personal Tutor Award, Postgraduate Teaching Award, Positive Impact
Award, and the Supervisor Award. In particular the outreach award is for the person who has made an
exceptional effort towards encouraging and working with potential students and supporting a diverse and
inclusive environment. Shortlisting is still ongoing for the 2016 awards with awards to be given out at the end
of April 2016.
Figure 1
Annex 2