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Ibelong is an Erasmus+ project delivering a suite of evidence-informed interventions to improve the belonging and success of students who are first-generation entrants, from ethnic minorities or have a 'migrant background'. The activities operate at course or programme level and involve working with both staff and students. This article provides a rationale for the #Ibelong programme of activities by drawing on relevant research and describing the three interconnected interventions: Dialogue Days, Team Teacher Reflection and Community Mentoring. The interventions were evaluated using Programme Theory evaluation tools: theory of change and logic chains. The descriptions highlight activities that have worked well, how delivery has been adapted from in-person to online delivery, and evidence of short-term benefits and medium-term outcomes. The article concludes by reflecting on how this suite of interventions could be used by other courses, universities and sectors, to improve the belonging and success of diverse students and staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been national and institutional commitment to widening participation (WP) for over 20 years in England, and during this time considerable investment has been made in WP. The field of WP is, however, still characterised by a lack of evidence of impact, and institutions are under pressure to provide better evidence moving forward. Practitioners working across the student life cycle find evaluation challenging. This paper focuses on the approach used to evaluate a programme of work intended to improve the success of non-traditional students in higher education (HE), drawing on logic chains and a theory of change model (programme theory evaluation tools). It considers the benefits and limitations of this approach and discusses how it was applied in practice. It provides examples of indicators and evidence and considers ways in which the model can be improved and applied to other contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented which discusses various topics within the issue including effectiveness of student financial support, role of the Great Britain Office for Fair Access (OFFA) in promoting higher education and financial aid to higher education.

An editorial introduction to the July 2014 issue is presented, discussing trends in higher education funding in Australia since 2013, and highlighting featured contributions by John Sanders, Sue Kilpatrick, and Michele Fleming.

An introduction is presented in which the author covers several reports from the issue on topics related to education including access to higher education in England, educational cooperation, and motivation among part-time students.

Improving student retention and success by enhancing transition and the first year experience is widely accepted as an institutional priority. This paper draws on evidence from a three-year programme: 'What works? Student retention and success' in England, involving seven projects and 22 higher education institutions. This study identified the importance of student engagement and belonging. Student engagement enables belonging through: supportive peer relations; meaningful interaction with staff; developing knowledge, confidence and identity as successful HE learners and, an HE experience relevant to students' interests and future goals. The 'What Works' model emphasises: early engagement; having an explicit academic purpose; and developing student and staff capacity to engage/be engaging. Focusing on transition (pre-entry interventions, induction and learning and teaching in the first semester/year) this paper presents specific examples that have had an impact, and relates them to the 'What Works' model to evaluate their implementation and outcomes. It concludes with a reflective checklist to assist readers to improve transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In England and Australia, higher education institutions (HEIs) are expected to widen participation (WP) in higher education (HE) to enhance social justice and improve individual and national economic returns. Furthermore, HEIs are the major providers of initial and in-service teacher education. This article surveys international literature to explore ways in which teacher education programmes could and do contribute to preparing teachers to advocate for WP, including drawing on learning from WP research that demonstrates the value of current HE students engaging young people in schools and colleges to support them in seriously considering progressing to HE. We conclude that teachers and pre-service teachers are well placed to be advocates for WP. In the majority of higher education institutions, however, WP and teacher education functions are not working collaboratively to embed advocacy for WP into teacher education programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the cessation of nationally funded widening participation programs in Great Britain. According to the author, the programmes worked collaboratively with others in order to improve the access and success of students from underrepresented groups in higher education they also evaluated their interventions and undertook research to inform their programmes. He says that the Higher Education Academy is working to archive the legacy of these nationally funded organisations.