The significant and indispensable impact of timely, …...discussion paper “Improving retention,...
Transcript of The significant and indispensable impact of timely, …...discussion paper “Improving retention,...
Thesignificantandindispensableimpactoftimely,onlineacademicsupportonstudentconfidenceandprogressionSubmissionandrecommendationsfromYourTutor.edu.autotheHigherEducationStandardsPanel7July2017
2017-2018
SubmissionandrecommendationsfromYourTutor.edu.autotheHigherEducationStandardsPanel,toofferassistancewithefficientimplementationandmeasureableoutcomesforuniversities,government,andtheAustralianpublic.7July2017ResponsetotheHigherEducationStandardsPanelDiscussionPaper,“Improvingretention,completionandsuccessinhighereducation,”June2017Contact:JackGoodman,ExecutiveChairmanandFounderYourTutor,Level1,[email protected]|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.”