Ulster University is a large regional multi-campus university in Northern Ireland (NI) with a diverse student population. It has over 27,000 students and 2,700 staff across three campuses in Belfast, Coleraine and Derry~Londonderry. Regionally it has the largest number of widening access and participation (WAP) students, from the most deprived areas.

The University has a statutory requirement annually via its Widening Access and Participation Plan, to monitor and review the profile of its students and performance in relation to statutory targets which have been set and agreed by Government. During 2023/2024, 37.9% of the undergraduate student population were from the most deprived quintiles.

Widening participation is embedded within the University’s People, Place and Partnership Strategy and the University’s core values are enhancing potential, inclusion, collaboration and integrity. Ulster values equality, diversity, and inclusion.

The University collects and uses WAP data for business intelligence purposes, for continuous improvement, to inform policy/practice and to support/enhance the WAP student experience from pre-entry, throughout studies and beyond. A new virtual learning environment is being rolled out in 2024/25 which aims to be more inclusive and will provide new data opportunities.

The WAP strategy for NI is currently under review and Ulster staff have been working with the Department for Economy (DfE) and other HEI’s to make recommendations for revised approaches for the future. The author of this paper had chaired a WAP Data and Evidence task and finish group as part of the DfE NI Forum for WAP. Various recommendations have been put forward including exploring if there is scope and/or budget to develop regional WAP data approaches and dashboards going forward.

Each academic year the University uses a wide range of data sources in compliance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to design new and/or improved interactive WAP data dashboards.

Developing agile dashboards annually has proven to be a very effective way of helping Ulster University to interpret WAP data promptly, efficiently and effectively. It can help recognise/identify successes and cold spots to influence WAP Policy and Practice. WAP stakeholders across the University require different levels and modes of data for WAP. Using a collaborative and partnership approach helps Ulster ensure that the design, collation, interrogation and visualisation of data is meaningful, fit for purpose and used appropriately.

This oral session will showcase a range of WAP data sources that have used and developed by the WAP Policy and Research unit during 2023/24. Each year the dashboards that are created vary depending on key objectives and active WAP workstreams/projects.

WAP data is used by colleagues annually to help: better understand profiles and student needs; make effective WAP decisions; plan/evaluate the impact of WAP interventions and capture students success/learning gain. Aggregated data is shared which protects individuals but helps inform, inspire, motivate, drive, direct and steer stakeholders to work together to make a difference for WAP objectives.

This session will also provide discussion opportunities to compare and share meaningful experiences of using WAP data across Higher Education to inform WAP policy and practice as well as offering a question-and-answer opportunity for delegates to share opportunities and challenges.

Keywords: WAP Policy and Practice, business intelligence, continuous improvement, data analytics, interactive data dashboards.