Progression Data

Progression to University of Derby from Widening Access target schools in September 2023

484 students applied to the University from target schools, of which 126 went onto enrol.   

The conversion rate for applications to enrolments is 26%, significantly higher than the University as a whole (14%). This shows excellent engagement with the University from applicants at target schools. This is the pattern we expect to see due to their engagement in our comprehensive outreach programmes.  

Socio-economic and demographic breakdown of enrolling students from target schools 

Table 1:  September 2023 enrolments by gender  

Table 2: September 2023 enrolments by ethnicity  

Table 3: Progression of students from disadvantaged backgrounds (IMD)

Table 4: Comparison between target schools and colleges and whole University enrolments by IMD quintile

Table 5: Progression of students from low progression neighbourhoods (TUNDRA)

Table 6: Comparison between target schools and colleges and whole University enrolments by TUNDRA quintile

An analysis of the socio-economic background of enrolling learners from target schools shows:

• higher than expected interest in the University, evidenced through the high rate of conversion from applicant to enrolment
• significantly more female learners are enrolling than male (59% vs 40%), this is in keeping with national and University trends (56% vs 44% UCAS acceptances; 61% vs 39% whole University)
• the majority of target learners who went onto enrol are White (64%), with Asian learners as the next largest ethnic group (25%), and then Black learners (5%)
• significantly higher than expected numbers of target learners who went on to enrol are from areas of traditionally low progression to HE (36% from the area least likely to progress using the TUNDRA dataset, compared to 28% for the whole University) and areas of high deprivation (33% from areas of the highest deprivation compared to 26% for the whole University using the IMD dataset)

Whilst this shows better than expected engagement and progression into the University from most under-represented learners in WA target schools, the analysis also highlights the need to sharpen our focus and build on access work with two key groups, as we can see:

• lower than expected levels of engagement and progression from male students;

lower than expected levels of engagement and progression from black students, which is also coupled with significant gaps in continuation, attainment and outcomes at HE level for black students in comparison to white students.

Progression to HE from those who have engaged in Widening Access outreach

EMWPREP (East Midlands Widening Participation Research and Evaluation Partnership) is a partnership of higher education institutions which work together to contribute to a tracking database. The EMWPREP team work with HESA on behalf of the partnership to provide data on the long-term progression and graduate outcomes of those who have engaged in outreach activity. We are provided with an annual report from EMWPREP of the outcomes for those who have engaged specifically with University outreach activity.

From this we can see that:

• of 10,140 trackable learners who had engaged in UoD outreach activity and became ‘HE ready’ (ie 18 and 19 years of age) up to and including 2021/22, 48% have entered higher education
• of these learners, 6,285 (62%) were from the lowest POLAR quintiles (the least likely to progress to HE). From this grouping 43% have progressed to HE at age 18 or 19. It isn’t an exact comparison, due to our learners coming from cohorts over a number of years, but to give context, in 2021/22 progression to HE from the lowest POLAR quintiles was 28%, and so we see far higher progression rates than would normally be expected
• of the 10,140 learners, there is a clear pattern of higher progression to HE when learners engage in multiple activities. 44% of learners who engaged in one activity progressed to HE, compared to 54% for those engaging in 3 or more activities. This provides good evidence to support the long-term, progressive programmes approach to outreach which we employ
• of the 1,010 learners who have now graduated and who are also from the lowest POLAR quintiles 75% have achieved a good degree. This compares with 76% nationally, and 70% for the whole University population, again illustrating a long-term positive impact for those engaging with UoD outreach programmes

Graduate outcomes for those who have engaged in Widening Access outreach

730 learners who had engaged in UoD outreach and graduated from 2016/17 onwards completed the Graduate Outcomes survey. Of these:

• 90% were in work and/or study 15 months after graduation compared to the national average (taken over the last three years) of 87%
• 74% were in high skilled employment or further study compared to the national average of 73%