The majority of ARU students fall into multiple groups of disadvantage. Many face barriers to accessing traditional experiences that support employability, such as volunteer opportunities, work experience, placement years etc. all exacerbated by the current cost-of-living crisis. At ARU we have developed innovative practices that bring employers into the students’ curriculum, providing an authentic and current learning experience; Live Briefs and Lecturer Practitioners. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, we aim to explore the perceptions and experiences of undergraduate students from widening participation groups (i.e. groups presenting gaps in graduate outcomes) in at-risk undergraduate courses (i.e. Progression below the B3 metric of 60% in professional level work or study 15 months after graduation). This focus aligns with our Access and Participation plan.

The Research assistant will:

• conduct a literature review
• be supported to prepare an application for ethical approval for the study
• advertise and recruit participants for an online survey and focus groups or semi-structured interviews
• design an online survey (e.g. in JISC, Qualtrics or Gorilla)
• be trained in how to conduct focus groups, semi-structured interviews and will be supported to run focus groups
• conduct a thematic analysis of interview transcripts
• be supported to analyse quantitative data on student experience
• prepare an initial draft of key findings