Tag: Making

  • Making SEISA official | Wonkhe

    Making SEISA official | Wonkhe

    Developing a new official statistic is a process that can span several years.

    Work on SEISA began in 2020 and this blog outlines the journey to official statistics designation and some key findings that have emerged along the way. Let’s firstly recap why HESA needed a new deprivation index.

    The rationale behind pursuing this project stemmed from an Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) report which noted that post-16 education statistics lacked a UK-wide deprivation metric. Under the Code of Practice for Statistics, HESA are required to innovate and fill identified statistical gaps that align with our area of specialism.

    Fast forward almost six years and the UK Statistics Authority have reiterated the importance of UK-wide comparable statistics in their response to the 2024 Lievesley Review.

    Breaking down barriers

    While higher education policy may be devolved, all nations have ambitions to ensure there is equal opportunity for all. Policymakers and the higher education sector agree that universities have a pivotal role in breaking down barriers to opportunity and that relevant data is needed to meet this mission. Having UK-wide comparable statistics relating to deprivation based on SEISA can provide the empirical evidence required to understand where progress is being made and for this to be used across the four nations to share best practice.

    In developing SEISA, we referred to OSR guidance to produce research that examines the full value of a new statistic before it is classed as an ‘official statistic in development’. We published a series of working papers in 2021 and 2022, with the latter including comparisons to the Indices of Deprivation (the main area-based measure utilised among policymakers at present). We also illustrated why area-based measures remain useful in activities designed to promote equal opportunity.

    Our research indicated that the final indexes derived from the Indices of Deprivation in each nation were effective at catching deprived localities in large urban areas, such as London and Glasgow, but that SEISA added value by picking up deprivation in towns and cities outside of these major conurbations. This included places located within former mining, manufacturing and industrial communities across the UK, like Doncaster or the Black Country in the West Midlands, as well as Rhondda and Caerphilly in Wales. The examples below come from our interactive maps for SEISA using Census 2011 data.

    An area of Doncaster that lies within decile 4 of the English Index of Multiple Deprivation (2019)

    An area of Caerphilly that lies within decile 5 of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (2019)

    We also observed that SEISA tended to capture a greater proportion of rural areas in the bottom quintile when compared with the equivalent quintile of the Index of Multiple Deprivation in each nation.

    Furthermore, in Scotland, the bottom quintile of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation does not contain any locations in the Scottish islands, whereas the lowest quintile of SEISA covers all council areas in the country. These points are highlighted by the examples below from rural Shropshire and the Shetland Islands, which also show the benefit that SEISA offers by being based on smaller areas (in terms of population size) than those used to form the Indices of Deprivation. That is, drawing upon a smaller geographic domain enables pockets of deprivation to be identified that are otherwise surrounded by less deprived neighbourhoods.

    A rural area of Shropshire that is placed in decile 5 of the English Index of Multiple Deprivation (2019)

    An area of the Shetland Islands that is within decile 7 of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (2020)

    Becoming an official statistic

    Alongside illustrating value, our initial research had to consider data quality and whether our measure correlated with deprivation as expected. Previous literature has highlighted how the likelihood of experiencing deprivation increases if you are a household that is;

    • On a low income
    • Lives in social housing
    • A lone parent family
    • In poor health

    Examining how SEISA was associated with these variables gave us the assurance that it was ready to become an ‘official statistic in development’. As we noted when we announced our intention for the measure to be assigned this badge for up to two years, a key factor we needed to establish during this time period was the consistency in the findings (and hence methodological approach) when Census 2021-22 data became available in Autumn 2024.

    Recreating SEISA using the latest Census records across all nations, we found there was a high level of stability in the results between the 2011 and 2021-22 Census collections. For instance, our summary page shows the steadiness in the associations between SEISA and income, housing, family composition and health, with an example of this provided below.

    The association between SEISA and family composition in Census 2011 and 2021-22

    Over the past twelve months, we’ve been gratified to see applications of SEISA in the higher education sector and beyond. We’ve had feedback on how practitioners are using SEISA to support their widening participation activities in higher education and interest from councils working on equality of opportunity in early years education. The measure is now available via the Local Insight database used by local government and charities to source data for their work.

    It’s evident therefore that SEISA has the potential to help break down barriers to opportunity across the UK and is already being deployed by data users to support their activities. The demonstrable value of SEISA and its consistency following the update to Census 2021-22 data mean that we can now remove the ‘in development’ badge and label SEISA as an official statistic.

    View the data for SEISA based on the Census 2021-22 collection, alongside a more detailed insight into why SEISA is now an official statistic, on the HESA website.

    Please feel free to submit any feedback you have on SEISA to official.statistics@hesa.ac.uk.

    Read HESA’s latest research releases and if you would like to be kept updated on future publications, you can sign-up to our mailing list.

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  • Making Higher Education More Affordable: The Role of Financial Aid Strategies

    Making Higher Education More Affordable: The Role of Financial Aid Strategies

    Key Takeaways:

    • Financial aid optimization transforms financial resource allocation into a strategic enrollment tool, aligning affordability for students with institutional goals.




    • By leveraging real-time data and tools like Liaison Othot, institutions can craft tailored financial aid strategies that address individual student needs and enrollment strategies.




    • Optimization enables proactive adjustments to financial aid strategies, ensuring accessibility while supporting student retention and institutional sustainability.




    • Strategic financial aid leveraging balances affordability for students with long-term enrollment and revenue objectives.

     

    The rising costs of higher education and fear of long-term debt have left many prospective students and their families questioning whether they can afford to pursue their academic dreams. For institutions, this presents a dual challenge: attracting diverse students and ensuring enrollment goals align with their mission. An effective and aligned financial aid optimization strategy offers a powerful tool to meet a campus’s enrollment goals. By combining institutional funds with federal and state resources effectively, colleges and universities can increase access and affordability in higher education while achieving broader enrollment objectives.

    From offering enough aid to make tuition manageable to continuously refining financial aid strategies based on real-time information, optimizing plays a pivotal role in strategic enrollment management (SEM). It transforms financial aid awarding from a static process into a dynamic tool that not only attracts and enrolls students but also supports their retention by effectively meeting their financial needs.

     

    What Is Financial Aid Optimization?

    Financial aid optimization transforms the allocation of financial resources into a critical enrollment tool. By aligning the overall enrollment leveraging strategy—regularly and in real-time at the individual level—optimization allows campuses to address student affordability needs in a unique and tailored way.

    At its core, optimization is a dynamic, data-informed process. Institutions develop annual plans for allocating financial aid (leveraging), basing decisions on previous cycles’ successes and challenges. Unlike traditional static leveraging models, modern optimization approaches incorporate continuous adjustments informed by real-time data. This lets colleges and universities respond proactively to shifting enrollment trends and keeps their financial aid strategies effective throughout the year.

     

    How to Make Higher Education More Affordable and Accessible

    More accessible higher education starts with understanding the financial challenges students face. For many undergraduates, the cost of tuition, housing, books, and other expenses can make college seem out of reach, even with federal and state aid. For example, a student from a low-income household may find that even the maximum Pell Grant award leaves a significant financial gap. Similarly, a middle-income family might struggle to cover tuition despite not qualifying for significant need-based aid.

    Financial aid leveraging allows institutions to tackle these challenges head-on by creating tailored aid packages that remove financial barriers for students. This approach relies on a mix of need-based and merit-based strategies, often informed by tools like FAFSA data and predictive analytics.

    One of the key advantages of financial aid optimization is its flexibility. Institutions can use data to fine-tune aid offerings based on unique student needs and behaviors. For instance, Liaison’s Othot platform, a cloud-based predictive and prescriptive analytics tool designed specifically for higher ed, can analyze factors such as a student’s location, academic profile, and campus engagement to build aid packages thatneeds. This granularity ensures that the financial aid awarding strategy not only meets the affordability threshold for students also aligns with the overall enrollment strategy being employed on the campus. An aligned optimization approach ensures that the affordability component is integrated into the strategy for specifically targeted cohorts or students, maximizing the likelihood of their enrollment.

    Optimization also lets institutions adapt aid policies for entire cohorts or demographic groups. For example, schools can address rising inflation in high school GPAs by recalibrating merit-based awards to prioritize equity and maintain fairness in their financial aid distribution. This adaptability keeps aid plans relevant as the dynamics of higher education continue to shift. By relying on data and continuously streamlining their financial aid models, institutions can make higher education more attainable for all students while maximizing their impact.

     

    The Strategic Impact of Financial Aid Optimization

    Financial aid optimization goes beyond simply helping students cover tuition—it’s about achieving a delicate balance between affordability for students and sustainability for institutions. By carefully crafting aid packages that meet the financial needs of students without overextending institutional resources, colleges and universities can enhance their enrollment efforts while maintaining financial health.

    For example, reallocating funds for strategic distribution among students could result in higher net tuition revenue (NTR) without sacrificing enrollment numbers. This demonstrates how strategic adjustments can yield significant results when financial aid decisions are guided by data, tailored to meet institutional priorities, and aligned to overall enrollment strategies.

    Retention and persistence are critical factors to consider when determining how to optimize financial aid. An effective leveraging model doesn’t stop at enrollment and the conclusion of a successful first year—it considers the long-term success of students. By analyzing which cohorts are more likely to persist and graduate, institutions can refine their aid offerings to improve outcomes for all students. This approach ensures that financial aid strategies not only attract students but also support their success throughout their academic journey.

     

    Aligning Financial Aid With Student Success and Institutional Goals

    Financial aid optimization is a powerful way to make higher education more accessible while helping institutions achieve their objectives. By combining institutional, federal, and state resources with data-driven optimization tools, colleges and universities can craft aid strategies that address affordability, bolster student retention, and maximize their impact.

    Institutions looking to enhance their financial aid and enrollment can benefit from Liaison’s suite of solutions, including Othot. Whether your team is just beginning to explore financial aid leveraging or has years of experience, Liaison’s tools provide the flexibility and insights needed to meet your unique goals. From devising an initial plan to optimizing existing processes, our solutions are designed to assist schools at every stage of their journey. Contact us today to learn more.

     

     

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  • Making Sense of the Loneliness Epidemic – CUPA-HR

    Making Sense of the Loneliness Epidemic – CUPA-HR

    by Julie Burrell | August 21, 2024

    Editor’s Note: This is the first of two posts that will explore the loneliness epidemic and practical ways HR can help combat it in the workplace.

    Loneliness can be as bad for you as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to a Surgeon General’s report from last year.

    The report identifies loneliness as a national epidemic experienced by about one in two adults. Loneliness is “associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.” That means human connection is as necessary for your long-term survival as food and water.

    Feeling isolated can also decrease general well-being. People who say they’re lonely are more likely to experience sadness, worry, stress, anger and physical pain, according to a recent Gallup poll. Their research shows that over one in five people globally feel lonely “a lot.”

    When Loneliness Is Worrisome

    Of course, we have all felt lonely sometimes, when changing jobs, getting a divorce, moving to a new city, or recovering from an illness. But when does a temporary feeling of loneliness become chronic?

    Chronic loneliness occurs when the feeling of isolation goes on for a long time and the inability to connect to other people is constant or prolonged. Chronic loneliness can occur even among very social people — you can still feel lonely in a crowd — and is often connected to self-doubt or low self-esteem.

    Taking Away the Stigma 

    Feeling lonely can come with a sense of shame. However, it’s important to understand that loneliness isn’t about who you are, but about a lack of deep social connection driven by factors in our sociocultural environment.

    Even though loneliness has been on rise since before COVID-19, the pandemic and recent political divisiveness have contributed to the epidemic. Social media is likely exacerbating the problem. People who report more than two hours of social media use a day are twice as likely to report feelings of isolation (versus people who use social media less than a half hour).

    The good news is that loneliness can be addressed in part by deliberately strengthening engagement in our workplaces, communities and other social networks.

    While workplace changes alone won’t combat political and social divisions, it’s still a key starting point for helping to decrease loneliness — especially considering how much time we spend at work. When implementing programs targeted at the loneliness epidemic, it can be best to frame your efforts as a positive: increasing social connection.

    One Small First Step

    Efforts to boost connection may help increase employees’ job satisfaction. The Surgeon General’s report stresses that “supportive and inclusive relationships at work are associated with employee job satisfaction, creativity, competence, and better job performance.” Connection at work prevents stress and burnout and can even be linked to fewer missed days of work after injury or illness.

    In the next post in this two-part series, we’ll focus on concrete steps that higher ed HR can take to combat loneliness at work, including for hybrid and remote employees.

    But you can take a meaningful first step by making a small personal change, such as tracking how much time you spend on social media, practicing short mindfulness sessions, or scheduling one phone-free lunch per month with a work friend. Even a positive interaction with a colleague you don’t know well, a barista or cashier, or someone in line with you at the coffee shop can have lasting mental health benefits by expanding your “relational diversity” — the variety of relationship categories you have daily.



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