Academic involvement in Outreach: Best practice case studies from health and languages

Abstract

This paper will examine the role academic colleagues can play in the Widening Participation process (predominately outreach), by providing examples of innovative practice from the University of East Anglia. At the University of East Anglia a unique academic post is held in each Faculty to ensure that Widening Participation students are supported throughout their time at university and that subject-specific outreach sessions can utilise world-leading research to raise aspirations. This paper will highlight examples from Modern Foreign Languages and Health Sciences to demonstrate how academics can help raise aspirations and support long-term intervention projects. Norfolk is both a rural and costal county and faces difficult challenges in raising aspirations as some areas of the county have a progression rate to HE as low as 8%. Thus, by creating a dynamic range of activities in collaboration with academic colleagues, a breadth of targeted activities can be delivered, activities that also benefit current UG students, academics, and support the reputation of the university itself.Key words Widening Participation, Academic-led Outreach, Health Sciences, Languages. Overview and motivationsIn 2012 the University of East Anglia (UEA) introduced into its Access Agreement 1 the provision of faculty specific outreach. This proviso supported the creation of four new academic posts (one for each of the main faculties), where the post holder would contribute not only to traditional academic activities within their faculty, but have a workload allocation to focus solely on the development, coordination and delivery of outreach activities and establishment of strategy within their faculty. UEA were among the first wave 1 Sets out a university or college's fee limits and the access measures it intends to put in place e.g. outreach work and financial support. Any English institution wishing to charge above the current tuition fee threshold of £6,000pa for full-time courses must have an approved agreement.

Widening Participation: Developing 'Academic' Programmes in Light of Recruitment Pressure

“…Conditions attached to funding, particularly funding associated with the OFFA allocation, mean that this conflict can be exacerbated by timeconsuming evaluation and reporting requirements that are managed by 'professionals' or academics in different departments. The consequence is that academics can be dissuaded from participating in such projects, depriving WP students of the essential academic contribution needed to enhance their capacity to reach HE (see Brown, 2012: 104;Harris and Ridealgh, 2016). Non-participation is unfortunate and we ought to recognise that much can be gained from effective collaboration between academics and non-academics.…”