This academic year Ulster University achieved the prestigious 'University of the Year 2024’ Award at the Times Higher Education Awards.

Ulster is a regional multi campus university in Northern Ireland (NI) with a large and diverse student population across three campuses in Belfast, Coleraine and Derry~Londonderry. The University’s core values are enhancing potential, inclusion, collaboration and integrity and widening participation is embedded within the University’s People, Place and Partnership Strategy. Regionally Ulster supports the largest number of widening access and participation (WAP) students, from the most deprived areas of NI.

The University has a statutory requirement annually via its Widening Access and Participation Plan, to monitor and review the profile of its students and its performance in relation to statutory targets which have been set and agreed by Government. It therefore monitors in compliance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), WAP characteristics and demographics that may indicate widening access including household income, disability status, care experience, carer responsibilities, age and gender etc. During 2024-25, 37.4% of the undergraduate student population were from the most deprived quintiles using the NI multiple deprivation measure.

The University collects and utilises a wide range of internal and external WAP data sources to inform WAP policy and daily operations to support and enhance the experience of students who are considered widening access students, from pre-entry, throughout their studies at Ulster and beyond into employment or further study. It also uses data for business intelligence (BI) and continuous improvement and to ensure impact and the effective use of resources. Two key groups, a BI forum and a Widening Access, Participation and Outreach Group each with key stakeholders meet regularly.

Making sure WAP data is accurate, reliable and available in a format the WAP team can interrogate effectively is a substantial and regular ongoing task. How data is collected, and changes to Higher Education Statistics Agency data collection methods have presented new challenges recently. Local government is reviewing WAP planning and reporting in NI with changes expected soon, therefore we will need to respond promptly to new requirements.

Developing agile data dashboards has been a helpful method for the WAP team at Ulster to interpret WAP data promptly, efficiently and effectively. Each year the dashboards we develop vary and improve depending on WAP objectives and active interventions. We use WAP data regularly to understand profiles, student needs, to plan and evaluate the impact of active WAP interventions and to capture students success/learning gain. This year we are working in partnership with the Planning Department to develop and share more centralised Institutional data over time for the benefit of all key stakeholders whilst protecting individual protected characteristics. As stakeholders have different data needs, adopting a collaborative and partnership approach helps us design data sources that are meaningful, fit for purpose and used appropriately.

This oral session will showcase WAP data approaches at Ulster during 2024-25 and new plans for centralised Institutional data that are underway. It will also share opportunities, challenges and solutions during 2024-25 and offer a question-and-answer opportunity for delegates relating to WAP approaches.

Keywords: Widening access and Participation, WAP Policy, WAP practice, business intelligence, continuous improvement, agile data dashboards.