When faced with a rising number of student withdrawals, the Department of Chemistry at Warwick embarked on a unique project.

Led by Dr Tom Ritchie, Director of Student Experience, in-depth interviews are conducted with former students to understand their reasons for leaving. The project has unearthed valuable insights, revealing a need for greater mental health support, more cost-of-living support options, clearer course expectations and a more welcoming student environment.

The feedback fuelled the development of the award-winning We are Chemistry student engagement programme, enhanced cost-of-living support initiatives and informed a comprehensive curriculum review.

In addition, new year one modules and Inclusive Education plans have also been designed with student perspectives at heart. A new Chemistry Common Room has also been secured and refurbished, to foster a stronger sense of community.

Outputs:

• We are Chemistry - free events and activities, open to all students
• Cost of Living Support - useful resources and initiatives to help students feeling financial strain
• Designing for Inclusion - student-led projects aimed at creating interdisciplinary solutions to EDI issues
• Chemistry Common Room - breakout space crafted with student input

Next steps: The Chemistry department continues to conduct interviews each year as part of its ongoing audit of the student experience, to ensure it keeps evolving.

The Disability Data Dashboard has been developed in conjunction with the Strategic Planning & Analytics Office (SPA).

The dashboard is a Power Bi site, and uses visuals alongside comparison data to ensure that relevant staff are able to receive insights into the disabled students who study in their departments and programmes.

The dashboard is available to staff, and can be accessed by request via email to Dr Damien Homer (Head of Disability Services). Email:

Next steps: Disability Services are keen to develop the dashboard further and welcome any feedback or comments.

In the longer term, the team will continue to support departments in better understanding disabled students at Warwick.

Following the outcome of the department's Student Equity Survey, and guided by the University's strategic priorities on awarding gaps, the School for Cross-faculty Studies chose to work with five students to scope research projects. The research focused on decolonisation, trans-and non-binary-inclusive teaching, and addressing awarding gaps. In all three areas, the department identified the need for scoping research on best practice, on similar initiatives at Warwick and elsewhere, and on relevant challenges within the department.

Outputs:

• A scoping report, ‘Decolonising the School for Cross-faculty Studies’. This has been created to serve as a basis for staff and student consultation on questions of decolonisation.
• A student-led information resource for new trans- and non-binary students. This will be shared with students and staff and incorporated into the school’s student-facing webpages.
• A student-led review of pedagogical literature and practice, identifying best practice around trans- and non-binary inclusive teaching. This will also be shared with staff.
• A review of pedagogical literature on awarding gaps. This has helped identify key priorities for the department, particularly in terms of fostering a sense of belonging. This will also be shared with staff.

Next steps: Moving forward, the School for Cross-faculty Studies plans to focus on wider consultation across the department on themes raised from the research. This will include working with Student Staff Liaison Committees as well as engaging with co-creation opportunities for students and staff.

It is widely known that Widening Participation indicators available at UG level are not applicable to the PGT community, given that the PGT student population is mainly international. WBS is currently looking to identify specific attributes impacting attainment at PGT level.

The data review exercise carried out by WBS has looked at the following factors to try to ascertain differences in attainment for the PGT cohorts:

• Nationality
• Age
• Prior degree
• Standardised language tests (including reading, listening, writing and speaking scores)
• Funding Source
• Scholarship
• Gender
• Course

Most of the findings follow sector trends. Research has found that students coming from Europe (including the UK) are more likely to obtain a distinction compared to other groups. Having another Level 7 qualification, or another PGT degree, also positively impacts students’ chances of getting a distinction, as does obtaining a Warwick or WBS scholarship.

Some other findings are more specific to WBS cohorts. For example, clear attainment differences between several Asian countries. It was also found that students with a low International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score, in the reading section specifically, are less likely to obtain a distinction.

Using multiple factors of analysis was particularly useful to reveal previously hidden differences in awards and compare specific student groups.

Outputs: Digital content will be developed during the summer of 2024.

Next steps: The data review has been useful to highlight high-level attainment trends within the WBS PGT population, better understand reasons for awarding gaps between specific groups and start to think about potential interventions to support those students to succeed.

WBS is now also looking to understand how the support provided to PGT students may support learning gains in relation to awards.