Abstract

The Access Covenant (AC) was first detailed in the University of Lincoln’s Access Agreement 2017/18: a range of measures to support WP applicants and students through transition, retention and progression including disabled, part time and mature students “with a particular emphasis on students from rural, coastal and dispersed communities in South Lincolnshire”.

The AC began to roll out in 2017/18 and anecdotal evidence suggests there is already a cohort of students who have engaged with it in some way through advice and support, oversight of attendance and possible early intervention, targeted careers support and workshops, events and financial support. An evaluation of the AC which captures short term impact with a longitudinal component to observe AC students as they travel through university, while attempting to align the evaluation with the NERUPI (Network for Evaluating and Researching University Participation Interventions) Framework, is now underway.

Using a mixed methods approach the evaluation includes gathering data from university staff involved in AC initiatives to provide a process and impact evaluation. This presentation draws on the evaluation thus far to examine the experiences of staff at the ‘coalface’ of WP, and seeks to understand the challenges and possible solutions to the sensitivities of data collection and sharing in WP evaluation.