Evaluation of the Plan

Strategic Context for Evaluation

We take a comprehensive approach to access and participation involving academic, professional, and leadership teams in monitoring and evaluating strategic targets. Our Research and Impact Manager ensures that the data capture is appropriate for the required monitoring and evaluation outputs. We also draw on the skills of staff responsible for the delivery of the Activities in this Plan, and our student representatives, to effectively incorporate evaluation. 

Currently, our evaluation capabilities are 'emerging', based on the OfS self-assessment tool, indicating a need to better embed evaluation into activity design and feedback loops. To address this, we plan to enhance staff and student skills through training in evaluation methods and Theory of Change (ToC), primarily facilitated through our membership in the SEER network. By engaging with external partners and participating in collaborative research projects and symposiums, we aim to refine our practices, share insights with the wider sector, and ensure that students remain active partners in the design and implementation of research.

Activity Design

We have established evaluation as a fundamental component from the outset, integrating it directly into individual activities to determine our effectiveness in meeting strategic objectives. By adopting a ToC approach, we have identified clear intended outcomes and utilised a robust evidence base to inform our activity development and challenge underlying assumptions. With ongoing support from SEER, we intend to continuously review and strengthen these frameworks, incorporating new findings as they emerge and developing more detailed models at the activity level where necessary.

Evaluation Design

In collaboration with SEER and utilising guidance from the OfS and TASO, we've developed evaluation approaches tailored to our context as a small and specialist provider with limited cohort sizes. Because of these constraints, we prioritise mixed-method approaches, triangulating findings and using qualitative data to deepen our insights or address gaps in quantitative evidence.

Currently, our work primarily aligns with Type 1 (narrative) and Type 2 (empirical enquiry) of the OfS Standards of Evidence, though we remain committed to exploring the potential for Type 3 experimental evaluations in the future. We maintain a flexible approach and employ creative evaluations to combat survey fatigue amongst our students. By aligning our measures and focusing on both process and impact, we ensure a comprehensive understanding of our activities while using learning analytics and student consultation to further investigate issues regarding equality of opportunity and personalised support.

Given recent updates, we'll also incorporate elements of evaluation of value for money into our work going forward to ensure we are achieving the best possible results for our learners.

Implementing our Evaluation Plan

We will collaborate internally across our team and with our strategic partners to deliver our evaluation plan. Our evaluation process will comply with institutional policies and all legal requirements relating to data protection, following ethical, safeguarding, legal and risk considerations.

Through our partnership with SEER, we utilise a Data Sharing Agreement that allows us to engage in collaborative research, such as evaluating the impact of financial support using the OfS toolkit. By adopting standardised outcomes across the SEER membership, we increase our evaluation efficiency and mitigate the challenges of small datasets by accessing larger collective sample sizes and specialised tools like student tracking. This network also facilitates peer review and the sharing of best practices, while our agility as a smaller provider allows us to respond rapidly to interim findings, ensuring we can flex our activities to continuously improve our practice and meet our strategic targets.

Learning from and Disseminating Findings

We are committed to sharing our learning and findings with our partners, close networks, and the wider sector to strengthen the evidence base for equality of opportunity in higher education. We intend to submit our evaluation outputs to the OfS repository. 

Our membership with SEER provides us with access to academic expertise in evaluation, while our involvement in networks such as Conservatoires UK and Go Higher West Yorkshire (including UniConnect), NERUPI, GuildHE, Culture Consortium Leeds and Yorkshire Universities offers platforms to present our research and collaborate with similar organisations.

Internally, we are developing a community of practice involving both staff and students to facilitate the sharing of findings and ensure that evaluation insights inform broader institutional processes, including programme reviews and recruitment strategies. By publishing our findings on our website and engaging with sector bodies, we aim to contribute significantly to effective practice, particularly for small and specialist institutions.