Thesignificantandindispensableimpactoftimely,onlineacademicsupportonstudentconfidenceandprogressionSubmissionandrecommendationsfromYourTutor.edu.autotheHigherEducationStandardsPanel7July2017

2017-2018

SubmissionandrecommendationsfromYourTutor.edu.autotheHigherEducationStandardsPanel,toofferassistancewithefficientimplementationandmeasureableoutcomesforuniversities,government,andtheAustralianpublic.7July2017ResponsetotheHigherEducationStandardsPanelDiscussionPaper,“Improvingretention,completionandsuccessinhighereducation,”June2017Contact:JackGoodman,ExecutiveChairmanandFounderYourTutor,Level1,11ChandosStreetStLeonardsNSWjgoodman@yourtutor.edu.au|M:0422386508Ph:0299062700

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ExecutiveSummaryValueforinvestment,theimpactofthedigitalrevolution,andtimetocompletionaremakingattritionratesa

nationalpriority.

OurpositionasAustralia’sownonline,at-scale,TierZerouniversitysupportspecialistsmakesourperspective

andrecommendationsunique.

Adiscussionaroundstudentattritionnowrequiresafocusthatincludesdigital,onlineacademicsupport,and

anyimplementationstrategyinthehighereducationsectormustoffertimely,digitalproofofoutcomes.

Werecommend:

• thattheHigherEducationStandardsPaneladoptastrategythatreducesrelianceonenrolmentdata

andaddsreal-timedataforabetterstudentexperience;

• thePanelconsiderstheimportanceoftimelyintervention,digitalpriority,supportofacademicstaff,

theTierZeroorganisationalapproach,andstudents’pre-censusengagementinrelevantsupport

services;

• WeofferrecentresearchandreviewfindingsthatindicateincludingYourTutorinastrategyfor

studentsupportisbestpractice,whentheintentisscalablestudentconfidenceandacademic

achievement.

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Background:TheHESPdiscussionpaperandourroleintheAustralianhighereducationlandscape

WewelcometheopportunitytomakethissubmissiontotheHigherEducationStandardsPanel’s(HESP)

discussionpaper“Improvingretention,completionandsuccessinhighereducation”1Wewritefromour

uniquesectorperspective,experience,andexpertiseinthenicheareaofonlineacademicsupportservices.

TheHESPdiscussionpaperraisesanumberofimportantquestions,notleastwhetherthecurrentnational

studentattritionrateof~15%istoohigh,toolow,oratanacceptablelevel.Whileitprovidessomecomfortto

(most)universitiesthattheirattritionratesarenotexcessive,theissueofimprovingstudentsuccessratesisan

increasingnationalpriority.Webelievethisisforthefollowingthreekeyreasons:

1. ValueforInvestment.TheMinisterhascommunicatedclearlythatthetrade-offbetweenthe

demand-drivensystemandunlimitedCommonwealthSupportedPlaces(CSPs)isthatuniversities

mustdemonstratethat,forEVERYenrolledstudent,“everythingpossibleisbeingdonetoensure

studentshavethebestchanceofsuccessfullycompletingtheirenrolledunits,coursesand

qualifications.”2

2. TheImpactoftheDigitalRevolution.Thepaperdescribestwofactorsthatcorrelatestronglywith

attrition:matureagedstudentsandexternalenrolments.BelindaRobinsonfromUniversities

Australiaemphasisesthat“studentswiththehighestattritionratesarethosemostlikelytobe

jugglinguniversitywithjobsorcaringfortheirfamilies.That’sparticularlytrueforstudentswhoare

matureage,part-timeorstudyingonline.”3Increasedaccesstohighereducationstudiesneedto

incorporatesupportsystemsthatsuitthesegroupsofstudentswho‘juggle’universityandprivatelife

andmayneverbeabletoattendon-campussupport.

Theuseoftheword“external”maybeconsistentwithpreviousreportsintoattrition;however,itis

notreflectiveofthechangingnatureof“external”studyincontemporarystudentcohorts.

Specifically,“onlinestudents,”and“campus-basedstudents”aretakingontraitsofeachotherand

increasinglybecoming“digitalstudents,”who,regardlessoftheirstudymodesorphysicallocationare

spendingmoretimeonline,lesstimeoncampus,andexpectingmoreservicestobedelivered

digitally.

3. TimetoCompletion.Measuringcompletionratesbasedonatimeframeofnineyearsis,weargue,

toolongintheincreasinglydigitisededucationallandscape.Ifthesectorcanonlyachieve85%

completionratesin2017forstudentswhocommencedin2008,thenweneedtounderstandthe

1https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/final_discussion_paper.pdf2TheAustralianGovernment2016,ImprovingthetransparencyofhighereducationadmissionsAustralianGovernmentresponsetothereportoftheHigherEducationStandardsPanel,https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/australian_government_response_to_hesp_admissions_transparency_report_0.pdf

3UniversitiesAustralia,MediaRelease,14June2017,http://link.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/m/1/67805778/02-b17165-a5aa7785f5dd43c8adbbda075e7e6674/1/740/a39568c6-a125-4ed4-b5dc-13b3d5223032

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efficacy,impactandbenefitforgraduatesofearningadegreeinsuchanextendedtimeframe.The

worldofemploymentischangingatanacceleratingrate,andsuccessfulgraduatesgenerallycomplete

infeweryearsandsecureemploymentbasedontheknowledgeandskillsgainedinamore

compressedtimeperiod.

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OurpositionintheAustralianhighereducationsector,theonlyscalableTierZerosupplier

YourTutorisAustralia’sownonline,at-scale,‘TierZero’4universitystudentsupportspecialistprovider.

Weareenteringanewphaseofeducationdeliverywheretechnologycanbeutilisedtoincreasecapacityand

scale,personalisation,24/7accessibility,andcost-efficiency;factorsthatarecrucialtothesuccessofour

universities.

Atthetimeofwriting,wepartnerwithhalfofallAustralianuniversities,aswellasagrowingnumberinSouth-

EastAsiaandtheUnitedKingdom.

YourTutorstronglysupportstheHESP’sinvestigationintosolutionsthatcanimproveretention,completion,

andstudentsuccess.Asthediscussionpapernotes,studentretentionisaninterestatbothindividualand

nationallevels.Asanation,weinvestbillionsofdollarsunderwritingtheeducationalaspirationsofmillionsof

Australians.Fortheindividualswhopursuetheirdreamofauniversitydegree,afailuretocompleteisthe

worstpossiblepersonaloutcome:no“portable”evidenceofcapabilityandasubstantialdebtthatmustbe

repaid.

Invitationforaroundtabletodiscussbest-practiceimplementationfordigitalhighereducationservices

Inadditiontothissubmission,weinvitetheAustralianGovernmentandpartnerstakeholderstoreviewwith

us,ataroundtable,thebest-practiceimplementationofonlinestudentsupport,usingour14yearsofdata,

insights,andexperience.

Agovernmentinitiativethatseekstoimproveretention,completion,andsuccessandthatseekstofuture-

prooftheresultsandimplementationwillinevitablyrelyonat-scale,onlinedeliveryforcost-efficienciesand

digital,trackableproofofstudentoutcomes.

Further,toshowtheAustralianpublicandkeystakeholdersinthehighereducationsectorthemeritsofHESP

initiatives,resultsneedtobevisible-bothimmediatelyandlong-term.Wearecurrentlyhelpinguniversities

achievegoalsfocusedonretentionandcoursecompletioninfaculties,colleges,and,increasingly,atthe

4TierZeroreferencesacross-industryconcept,inwhichcustomersaredirectedtowardself-servicemodelsasafirstoption,toquicklypreventescalationofcustomerfrustrationandtorelievepersonnelandeconomicburdenonalimitedpoolofsupportstaff.‘TierZero’includesscalable,self-serviceoptionssuchasFAQguides,slides,printedmaterial,oranon-demandacademicsupportservicelikeYourTutor.Subsequenttiers–Tier1,Tier2,Tier3-includecriticalescalationofstudentacademicenquiriestospecialistAcademicSupportStaffattheuniversity.Inindustrieswithlargeuserbases(forexample,telecommunicationsandhighereducation)thisstructurehasbeennecessitatedbythechangingexpectationsofmobile,24/7customers.

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institutionallevel.Despitemeasureablesuccessforstudentoutcomes,HESPgoalshaveunparalleledvalueata

scalewehavenotyetseeninsideanyindividualuniversity.

WelookforwardtocollaboratingwiththegovernmentandouruniversitypartnerstomaketheHESP

discussionproductive,aswellasbeingpartofsubsequentdiscussionsonsuccessfulimplementationand

measurement.

TheYourTutorserviceinuniversities,in2017

YourTutorison-demand,timelyintervention.Itisanonline,one-to-one,learningexperience(YourTutor

ConnectLive)aswellasanasynchronouswritingfeedbackservice(YourTutorWritingFeedback).

Itisalive,humanservice,staffedbyourownscreened,accreditedandtrustednetworkofexperts.

Withinpartneruniversities,theserviceisintegratedwithexistinginstitutionalLearningManagementSystems

(LMS)foreaseofaccessforstudents,andminimaltechnologicaldisruptionforadministrators.

Theserviceison-demandandaccessibleduetoitsdigitalbasis,affordingthepotentialforuniversitiesto

capitaliseonthousandsofuntappedsupportopportunitiesthatincreaselearningandconfidence.

Supportneedsarecurrentlyunmetduetoaccessibilityforanincreasingnumberofdistancelearners,andthe

restrictedopeninghoursofexistingon-campussupport.TheHESPdiscussionpapercitesthatconfidenceisa

majorandconsistentdeterminantofstudentdiscontinuation.5

TheContextforDigitalChange

Weproposethat,inconsideringtheholistic“studentexperience,”highereducationinstitutionsneedto

prioritisetechnology-enhanced“digital”deliverytomeetwidersocietalstandardsbeingset(andexpected)

outsidethesector.

By“enhanceddigitaldelivery”werefertothere-imaginationofthe‘traditional’studentexperience-one

wherestudentsattendlecturesoncampus,participateintutorials,submitwrittenworkandsitexams-by

forward-lookinginstitutionsaroundtheworld.Theseinstitutionsseektobettermeetdiversestudent

expectationsforaccessible,convenient,relevant,personalised,just-in-timelearningexperiences.

5“Improvingretention,completion,andsuccessinhighereducation.”HigherEducationStandardsPanelDiscussionPaper,pg.24,https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/final_discussion_paper.pdf

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Digitaldeliveryisintrinsicallylinkedtouniversitiesapplyinganevidence-basedapproachthatdelivers

measureableimpactsonstudentoutcomes,andprovidesinsight,throughanalytics,intoareassuchasthe

likelihoodofstudentstoengageinvariouslearningexperiences.Digitalsolutions,delivered24/7,shouldbe

prioritisedtofulfilstudentexpectationsandrequirementsasmodern,digital‘consumers’.

Theuniversitysectorisbeingtransformedbyseveralkeysocial,technological,andeconomictrends,allof

whichareputtingunprecedentedpressureonthesectortoembracechange:

1. GrowingEnrolments.In2017,domesticenrolmentintakeis270,000,anincreasefrom180,000in

2012.6Injustthefirstfourmonthsof2017,internationalenrolmentsincreasedby14%,andarenow

thenation’sthirdlargest‘export’revenue,accountingforover$22-billion.7Anincreaseinnon-

traditionalstudentnumbersanddiversityincludingESLstudents,IndigenousAustralians,matureage

andstudentswithlowerentryscores,necessitatesanincreasedemphasisonsupportmechanismsto

maximisethesestudents’chancesofsuccess.

2. TheDigitalRevolutionChallengestheUniversitySector.Universitiesarecomingtounderstandthat

the“studentexperience”isnotonlyrelevant,itiscrucialtolong-terminstitutionalviability.University

revenuesareincreasinglyreliantondomesticandinternationalenrolmentsandstudentswillseekout

thebestqualityeducationalexperiences.Todaythereareno‘onlinestudents’;allstudentsare

digital.8Forward-lookinguniversitiesaremodifyingthewaycoursesaredeliveredandsupportis

providedtooptimisethestudentexperienceandensurestudentattritionratesarekepttoa

minimum.Thishasinvolvedadoptingcostandorganisationalefficienciestoensureresourcesare

availabletoandaccessiblebydiversecohorts,andthattheseresourcesarescalabletomeet

increasingdemands.Thisincludesthedevelopmentandimplementationofscalablemodelssuchas

TierZero-self-serve-customerservicetotriageandmeettheneedsofincreasingstudentacademic

andemotionalsupportrequirements.

3. EconomicsandSustainability.Studentsuccessisnowanissueofnationalimportance-forthe

studentsthemselveswhoassumegrowingdebt,forthenation’seconomicandsocialfuture,andfor

theuniversitiesseekingtomaintainandgrowasustainablemodelofrevenuetoenablefurther

researchandemployment.Ultimately,society’srecognitionofthevalueofanacademiccredentialis

themostimportantdeterminantofauniversity’sbrand.Everyuniversityneedstoprotectandgrow

itsbrandbyensuringthatthedegreesstudentsobtainaccuratelyrepresentthequalityofitscourses,

knowledge,andthecapabilitiesofitsgraduates.Cuttingcornerswithundergraduatedegrees-or

6https://internationaleducation.gov.au/research/International-Student-Data/Pages/InternationalStudentData2017.aspx7“Internationalstudentnumberssurgeby15percent”(26May2017).http://www.senatorbirmingham.com.au/Latest-News/ID/3534/International-student-numbers-surge-by-15-per-cent8https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-03-21-why-students-living-on-campus-take-online-courses

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settingdoublestandardsfordomesticversushigher-feepayinginternationalstudents-isan

unsustainableapproachforthecountryandforindividualinstitutions.Thisissuehasbeenmagnified

withtheintroductionofthepublicQualityinLearning&Teaching(QILT)dataandtheensuinghigher

degreeofscrutinythateachinstitutionnowundergoes.

Supportingstudentstocompletetheirstudies

Whatarethemosteffectiveidentification,intervention,andsupportstrategiesforimprovingstudent

completion?

Recommendation1.1Behaviouraldatamustbecollectedconstantlyanddigitally,toachievemoreeffective,

actionablestudentidentification.

Todate,aprofilinganalysisofincomingenrolmentsoffersasnapshotofstudentreadinessforacademicstudy.

Whilethisprofileisstatic,itcancertainlyofferawaytosegmentstudentsbasedondescriptors-ATARscore,

noATAR,backgrounddemographics.Thiscanoffersomeinsightsandclarityaroundlikelyattritionrisk.For

instance,throughthisanalysis,non-ATARstudentswhodemonstratetohavehigherattritionratescanbe

identifiedandmonitoredmoreeffectively.

However,reasonsforattritionextendpastenrolmentdatapointslikesocioeconomicstatusorEnglishasa

secondlanguage.Forinstance,astudent’slackofconfidenceandperceivedlackofacademiccapabilityare

consistentattritiontriggers9.Universitiesneedtomovebeyondtheuseofenrolmentdatatoidentifyat-risk

students.Behaviouralmonitoringisalsoadvised,relatedtoacademicactivity,whichwouldinvolvemerging

enrolmentdatawithinsightsavailablein‘back-end’systemsfromsupportservices,suchasYourTutor.Some

universitieshavealreadysetupearlywarningsystems,whichincludebehaviouraldatapoints-forexample,

logsofstudentengagementwithLMSsystems,includingfrequencyandcontent.Thisprovidesamoredynamic

pictureofstudentactivityandreducesrelianceonstaticenrolmentinsight(whichalsomayormaynotbe

completeorcurrent).Italsoenablesuniversitiestoshiftfocusbacktolargepopulations(themiddle-majority)

andawayfromthesmallpercentagesofeasily-identified,high-attrition-riskstudentswhoaremorelikelyto

receiveintensivesupportfromuniversitystaff.Thisalsoaffordsinsightsintocontinuousimprovementin

studentsupportsystemsastrendsemergearoundtypicalstudentbehaviourspriortodrop-out.

Recommendation1.2Forstudentsupportstrategiestobebetterpromotedandutilised:

9Willcoxson,Letal2011,TheWholeofUniversityExperience:Retention,attrition,learningandpersonalsupportinterventionsduringundergraduatebusinessstudies,AustralianLearningandTeachingCouncil,citedinhttps://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/final_discussion_paper.pdf

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1.2.1Timelyintervention

Studentaccesstosupportmustbeunhinderedanddrivenbyeachstudent’sownpreferences.Contemporary

learners’studypatternsarediverseandtakeintoaccountexistingpersonalandprofessionalcommitments.

Studentsneedhelpondemand,attheiruniquetimeofneed.

YourTutorservesstudents’needsforacademicsupportattimesoftheirchoosing.YourTutorusesa24/7

platformintegratedintoexistingLearningManagementSystems(LMS),staffedbyourownnetworkof

accreditedsubject-areaspecialists.

Forthemostpart,currentuniversitysupportservicesincludeon-campuslearningcentres,whichstrugglewith

thecapacitytomeettheneedsofcurrentstudentcohorts.Theratiomakesthecurrentriskclear:30,000

undergraduatestudentsand30AcademicSupportstaff.Thisisamisalignmentthatneedsaddressingaspart

ofanyresolutiontoencouragestudentutilisationofsupportstrategies.Thisisfurtherexacerbatedbecause

studentswhodonotattendcampus,orwhoselimitedhoursoncampusdon’talignwithsupportservices’

openhours,areunabletoaccesstheseservices.

Publishedliteraturedemonstratesthattimelyacademicsupportboostslearnerconfidenceandencourages

retention.Ifstudentscannotaccesssupport,theirconfidenceisdiminished,theirfrustrationandsenseof

failureincreasesandtheyareatincreasedriskof‘droppingout’.10Whenthesemomentsareaddressedina

timelymannerwithconvenient,accessible,personalisedsupport,learnerscanbuildself-efficacy,whichis

directlylinkedwithstudentsuccessandcoursecontinuation.

1.2.2Digitalsupportmustbethepriority

Asafirstlineofaction,interventionandsupportstrategiesmustbeonline,toensurescaleandequitablereach

tostudentsfromregionalandremotelocations,internationaloffshorestudents,andthosethatdonotattend

campus,orforotherreasonshaveminimisedtheirtimeoncampus.Thiswouldalsoaddresstherecognised

trendthatstudentsstudyingsolelyindistancemodeareathigherrisk.11YourTutor-online,on-demand

academichelp-isanunmatchedinterventiontoolforitsscalability,efficiency,andequitabledelivery-to

includenotonlystudentsidentifiedas‘atrisk’,butallstudentsneedinghelpwithacademicliteracy,dueto

fluctuatinglevelsofconfidencebetweendifferentunitswithintheircourse.

1.2.3.Academicstaffmustbeabletocritiquesupportservicesandreceiveprofessionaldevelopment

benefits

10http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/new-online-guidelines-aim-to-arrest-low-completion-rates/news-story/6d4ed6fc22f31a8c676e875f06c5057311http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/distance-students-still-far-from-engaged-education-data/news-story/3574076cd786cc43f8c8870d1f1f423d

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WerecommendacademicstaffbecomefamiliarwithYourTutorandevaluateitsefficacypriortowidespread

implementation.Buy-infrombothstaffandstudentsisrequiredtoensuremaximumbenefitsfromtheservice

areachievedinbothstudentachievementandretentionrates.

Forsuccessfulandscalableimplementationofstudentsupportandtheresultingperformanceoutcomes,itis

necessaryandprudenttoworkwiththecurriculum-expertandprimarystudentcontact,oftenacourse

convenor,whocanembedYourTutorsupportintocourseoutlines.Thishasbeendemonstratedtobean

effectivestrategyforutilisation.Inarecentsurvey,72%ofstudentssaidthattheyutilisedYourTutor’s

academicsupportontherecommendationoftheireducator/teacher(2016YourTutorstudentsurvey,

MevCorp).

1.2.4ATierZerostructureshouldbeadoptedbyuniversitiesto‘funnel’studentsandenabletheapplication

oflogictoreserveon-campusuniversitystaffsupportforcriticalstudentconversations.

Forthemostefficientuseofvaluable,limitedon-campussupportservices,studentsshouldbedirectedto

onlinesupportasafirstlineofhelp.ATierZeroorganisationalapproachallowsallstudentstoself-serve.For

example,40,000undergraduatestudentshaveaccesstoYourTutorinoneuniversitypartner,makingitthefirst

helppointforacademicsupport.Themajorityofstudentswillbenefitsufficientlyfromthishelptonegatethe

needforfurtherone-to-oneon-campussupport,thusreducingdemandsonlimitedservices.However,

studentswhorequireextrahelpcanprogresstomorespecialisedservicesavailableoncampus.YourTutor

workswithacademic/learningsupportcentrestosignpost‘at-risk’students,asrequired.

1.2.5Universitiesmustengagestudentsearlyintheacademicsupportsystem,withinapre-census

assessmenttaskstrategy.

Evenearlierthanapre-censusassessmenttaskgrade,participatinglecturerscurrentlymakesubmissionsto

YourTutormandatory,inordertofosterastudenthabitofactivelyutilisingtheuniversity’ssupportsystemsfor

academicliteracyhelp.Thesubmission,draft,andfeedbackreceivedfromtheYourTutorexpertisincludedin

thestudent’sfinalassessmentsubmissiontoallowacademicstoassessmodificationsbasedonserviceuse.

Further,83%ofstudentsatauniversitywhoundertookacoursewithmandatoryYourTutorassessment

submissionsindicatedthattheyfeltthattheirassignmentqualitywasimproved,duetothefeedbackthey

receivedthroughtheservice12.

122015YourTutorstudentsurveyofselectcohortatparticipatinginstitution

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2.Disseminatingbestpractice:Evaluationsofnewandinnovativeapproachestoimprovestudent

completion

YourTutorisimprovingstudentconfidenceandcorrelatesstronglywithstudentacademicachievement.

Evaluationsrecommendthatitisanacademicstudentsupportservicethatcanimprovestudentoutcomesin

highereducation.

Finding1.MeanGPAishigheramongststudentswhouseonline,on-demandacademicsupport

Lynch,A.(2017,March29).TheJCUTrialofYourTutor.DatapresentedatUniversitiesUKInnovationand

ExcellenceinTeachingandLearningConference,London.

TheJamesCookUniversitytrialengaged23%oftheparticipatingstudentcohort(foratotalof1,384students)

tousetheservice.Resultsareasfollows:

a. MeanGPAwashigheramongststudentswhousedYourTutor.ThosestudentswhousedYourTutor

scoredameanof4.49,overthosewhodidnot,3.57.

b. Thestatistically-significantimprovementinmeanGPAwasapparentregardlessofgender,ethnicity,

NESB,OPclass(highschoolattainment,Queenslandmeasure),ormodeofdelivery.

c. Studentperformanceimprovedmostsignificantlyforthemajority-middlecohorts,showingahigher

performanceclosertoparwithhigh-achievers.RepeatuseshowshigheraverageGPAs.

d. Nineoutof11courseshadmeanGPAsbelowpass-exceptstudentswhosoughthelpwithYourTutor,

whowerealloverthepassline(4.0GPA).

e. Theafter-hoursservicepotentiallyreachespreviouslyunengagedstudents.28%ofYourTutorusers

didnotappeartoengageinanyothersupportservice,reachingstudentswhohadnotpreviously

reachedoutforhelp.Thiscouldmaketheafter-hoursoptionafirststepforfeedbackandconfidence,

buildingastudent’scapacityanddesiretolaterengageinanevenbroadercollectionofprograms,for

deeperengagementwiththeirstudy.

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Finding2.Timelyonlineacademicsupportpredictsconfidence,predictsgrade

Lee,C.B,&Hanham,J.(2017,May31).InterimReportNo.2-Evaluatingtheimpactofonlinetutoring

(YourTutor)

Datawerecollectedthroughanonlinesurveythatwascompletedby506undergraduatestudentsfroma

universitylocatedinSydney,Australia.Datawereanalysedusingconfirmatoryfactoranalysisandstructural

equation

modelling.

“YourTutorcanbeconsideredavaluableinstructionalaidforimprovingstudents’academicconfidencewhich,

inturn,cancontributetoimprovementsinstudentgrades.”

AcademicconfidenceattributedtoYourTutorpositivelyaccountedfor20%ofthevarianceinstudents’self-

reportedgrades.

Finding3.Online,on-demandacademicsupporthastherequiredflexibilityforadiversestudentintake

DepartmentofEducationandTraining(16May2017),HEPPPEvaluationFinalReport,HigherEducation

ParticipationandPartnershipsProgram,p.80

“UsingHEPPPfunding,manyuniversitiesareprovidingacademicsupportthroughonlinelearningtools.For

example,theYourTutoronlinetoolisbeingusedby11universitiesundertheHEPPPtoprovidetutoring

supporttostudentsafterhours.Theonlinetoolsupportsflexibilityaroundworkschedulesandfamily

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commitments,particularlyenablinglowSESandmatureagestudentstoaccessacademicsupport(Regional

UniversitiesNetwork,Submission47).YourTutorstatesthat83percentofstudentsusingtheservicereported

improvedconfidenceinacademicstudy(YourTutor,Submission83).”

Finding4.WideningparticipationprogramsincludeYourTutorasaneffectivecapability-buildingcomponent

topreparesustainableenrolmentsinhighereducation

KPMGAuditandReport(2015,April)EvaluationofBridgestoHigherEducation,p.56

“Withrespecttosecondaryschoolstudents,programssuchasWSUYourTutorprovidestudentswiththeskills

tostrengthentheiracademicpursuits.”