Education for life

Strategic priorities

Our ambition is to provide all our students with an education for life that engages, challenges and supports our students to discover and fulfil their potential both while they are studying with us and once they have graduated. To deliver this commitment we have three strategic aims:

◼ place student education experience at the centre of our planning ◼ provide sustainable research-based education

◼ build digital capabilities that enable flexible provision

Measuring progress

Student continuation: continuation and completion rates of students who choose to study with us Attainment gap: supporting student success and progress for students irrespective of background Graduate destinations: what our graduates do and the proportion in graduate-level employment Student feedback: the feedback from students across all levels of study and at each campus location

82.3%

of our graduates are in high-skilled employment and/or graduate-level further study within 15 months of graduating (Graduate Prospects – Times Good University Guide 2023)

93%

of our graduates progressed to employment or further study within 15 months of graduating

(Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019–20 graduates)

Progress during the past year with an eye to the future

Student education experience at the centre of our planning

Without doubt, the past two years have been an exceptionally difficult time for our students. The ongoing impact of the pandemic has contributed to feelings of isolation and disconnectedness and has seen a sharp rise in mental health issues. The disruption to their university experience was further compounded by industrial action, and now they are facing yet more challenges brought on by the rising cost of living. All these factors have contributed to our disappointing performance in the National Student Survey (NSS) and, to a lesser extent, the Postgraduate Taught Survey and Research Culture Survey. However, we take very seriously the fact that those factors were shared across the sector, and our relative position remained poor. Our overall satisfaction performance in the NSS has fallen from a top-quartile full-service institution position in 2018 to 2nd quartile in 2019, 3rd quartile in 2020, and 4th quartile now, at 68%, well below our top-quartile target. The results also reflect a downward trend in recent years around the core academic experience. We were 3rd quartile in most areas, except for learning resources (2nd quartile), assessment and feedback (4th quartile) and academic support (4th quartile). The University is committed to addressing the cultural issues that underlie the results and we are routinely challenging ourselves to test all decisions for their impact on our students’ education experience.

Graduate destinations

Graduate employment is measured using the relatively new Graduate Outcomes survey and dataset, for full-time, first degree, UK domiciled graduates. Our outcome (using the new data measure based on Graduate Prospects in the Times Good University Guide) is that 82.3% of graduates were in high-skilled employment and/or graduate-level further study 15 months after graduation. This is within the top 20% of providers and is above the sector median of 72.8%.

Awarding gaps

Work to reduce awarding gaps has been underway for some time, and the target for narrowing the awarding gap between black and white students is now formally regulated by OfS through our Access and Participation Plan. Whilst progress on this measure is encouraging, base numbers are historically small, although growing. The internal target we have set in relation to continuing to narrow awarding gaps between low participation neighbourhoods quintiles recognises, despite currently relatively small gaps, the need to maintain focus on this measure for a number of reasons including increasing proportions of lower quintile students and the uncertain reliability of centre assessed grades for the 2020 intake.

Sustainable research-based education

We are implementing a review of our education portfolio to develop new and innovative programmes attractive to UK and international markets, and to stop the delivery of outdated, low-demand courses. We have initiated a programme of work on assessment using agile methodologies to ensure our assessment is pedagogically robust and appropriate to the needs of students and stakeholders. We are developing more diverse pathways into and through higher education via the expansion of flexible level 4 and 5 courses, and degree apprenticeships in areas of research strength.

Building digital capabilities that enable flexible provision

We have appointed a Dean of Digital Education to enhance the use of digital technologies to support education and to further develop our capabilities in online and technology-enhanced education. We are implementing learner analytics for use by students and personal tutors to support progression and success, and have invested in our data insight capability to join up student datasets, and understand and improve the student education experience and outcomes. We are initiating a new Digital Student Experience project to understand the risks and issues to the student education experience relating to our old and fragmented systems, and will develop a plan to address the change needed. The PARTNERS programme has been running since 2000 and is one of the most well-established supported entry routes to higher education of its kind. It aims to support students in their journey to higher education, who have faced barriers to their education, including those who are less likely to go to university because of their family background, low income or lack of access to information and support about universities and application. Over 8,000 students have studied at Newcastle University via the PARTNERS programme. It offers a range of support and opportunities to help prospective students make a successful application to Newcastle including an annual Summer School. The PARTNERS programme supported entry route is the cornerstone of Newcastle University’s work with students from underrepresented groups, and is integral to our Vision and Strategy.

PARTNERS academic summer school