1. Realising Opportunites
Ementoring Programme
Tanya Harrison
Assistant Project Manager

2. Outline
• Background and overview of Realising Opportunities
(RO)
• RO ementoring programme including:
– Aims
– Recruitment
– Training
– Matching
– Ementoring framework and delivery
• Discussion groups
• Maximising engagement and student/ementor support
• Evaluation
• Quality assurance
• Future developments/planning

4. Overview of RO

5. What does RO involve?
The RO Programme
• Launch event
• Ementoring
• National Student Conference
• An academic element - Extended
Project Qualification (EPQ) or the
RO Academic Assignment
• Skills4uni – an online study skills
module
• Events and activities at RO
universities (must attend at least
one).
Benefits
• Many partner universities will
potentially give an alternative RO
offer for successful applications to
them through UCAS, worth up to 2 A
Level grades, 40 UCAS points or 4 IB
points.
• All RO universities will give
additional consideration to an
application to them through UCAS
• Skills development
• Informed decisions about future
• Understand what a research
intensive university can offer
• Access to careers information from
professionals employed in the field

6. Progress to date
• Accolades
– Awards
– Times Higher
– Brightside Ementoring Awards
– Government reports
* Recruiting Autumn 2013

7. RO Ementoring
Aims
To underpin all aspects of the RO programme
including skills4uni
Offer consistent and sustained support
Offer a structured programme with the flexibility
individual students need
To be student focussed
To cover key issues/topics at key times that are of
real use to students
To provide a student perspective on university
To offer a safe and secure online environment for
exchanges

8. Who are our ementors?
• Undergraduates at RO Partner
universities
• Variety of subject areas
• Some are previous RO students

9. Recruitment of Ementors
• Recruited by RO Partner Universities
• Follow HR/student worker recruitment practices
• Job description and person specification advertised
• Case studies
• Application form and potentially an interview
• CRB check
• Employment contract with recruiting university
• Paid Ementor position (part time)

10. Training
• Aims
– Increase understanding, skills development, clarify role
and responsibilities, practical sessions
• Content
– Overview of RO
– Understanding and awareness of target group
– Understanding and awareness of RO Partners
– Ementor role and responsibility
– Ementoring framework/programme (input from former
ementor)
– Child Protection
– Ementoring boundaries and code of conduct
– Online ementoring system and practice session
• Other training resources
– Mentor handbook
– Ementoring Site Guide

11. Matching
• Matched by RO Central Team
• 1:7 ratio
• Subject match (if possible)
• Encourage geographical mobility

12. RO Ementoring Framework
• Main structured programme (compulsory)
– February of year 12 to end of December of year 13
• Extended programme (voluntary)
– January of year 13 to end of August year 13 (after results
day)
• Structure programme of key topics at key times
• New topic each month
• Supported with interactive articles and resources
(Brightside and RO) and professions ‘experts’
• Using Brightside online
secure portal.

13. Role of RO Ementor
• Log in at least once a week
• Guide students through the ementoring programme
• Support with skills4uni online study skills module
• Respond to students’ needs
• Provide support for the programme as a whole –
information and advice
• Support at RO National Student Conference
• Use own experiences
• Be impartial and supportive
• Positive role model
• Work within the boundaries outlined in Code of
Conduct and maintain professionalism

14. Challenges
• Engagement
• Student/ementor
• Hours of work (insufficient)
• Remote nature
• Ementor leaving post
• Matching
• Evaluation

15. Discussion topics
Group 1
•What constitutes good engagement?
Group 2
•How can we maximise on engagement? (Student and
ementor)
Group 3
•How can we measure and evaluate meaningful
outcomes?

16. Maximising Engagement
• Clear, structured programme reflecting student need
• Sufficiently flexible to accommodate individual need
• Content of programme
– Clear link to topics of importance to students
– Key topics at key times
• Manage expectations
• Interactive and engaging
• Paid post for ementor
• Good training for ementors
• Share experience of former ementor
• Compulsory part of RO for students
• Agreed log in time
• Engagement reviews with follow up emails to students
• Good communications between all stakeholders
– Monthly update emails and student KIT calls
– Teacher updates
– Partner updates

17. Support
Students Ementors
Ementoring Programme 
Programme Guide (including RO ementoring) and
student timeline

Monthly updates from Central Team  
Resources on Brightside site (activities & articles)  
Resources on RO website 
RO Central Team  
RO team at Partner University  
Brightside (technical support)  
Child Safeguarding
Training
Designated Senior Persons
Out of hours Child Safeguarding Service





Facebook  

18. Evaluation
Project Area Data Sources
Contextual Data
• POLAR2/3 Data (postcode checker)
• NS-SEC Parental Occupation (coded by HEFCE)
• GCSE Point Score data (verified, National Pupil Database (NPD)
• Free School Meal data (verified, NPD)
• Parental Higher Education Qualification data (self declared)
Student
Aspirations
• Student Attitude Questionnaire - baseline and follow up (NFER Cohorts 1,
2 and 3; IEE Cohort 4 onwards)*
• UCAS data. Summary report from UCAS detailing progression rates of
RO students matched against a national dataset of similar students.
UCAS
Decisions
• UCAS data on each RO student.
• UCAS summary reports
The Programme
• Student Questionnaires*
• Ementor Questionnaires*
• Case Studies*
• Engagement Reports*
• Spring and Summer Health Check phone calls*
Student
Progression
• Data to be provided by each of the Partner universities (Cohort 1 students
will complete 3 year degree programmes in 2014, Cohort 2 in 2015).
The Partnership
• Partnership documents
• Partnership meetings
• Interviews with Partner colleagues
• Data indications performance against targets – UCAS data and student
data
* Provide specific feedback on ementoring

19. Quality Assurance
• 3 year pilot to test model
• Governance and management structures
• Partner expertise and best practice
• Evaluation by independent researcher
• Evaluation informed planning
• Robust recruitment processes
• Child Safeguarding
– Training
– CRB checks
– Designated Persons and Out of Hours Service
• Full training
• Regular engagement reviews and KIT calls
• Feedback from students, ementors, schools/colleges,
RO Partners

20. Future Developments/Planning
• Future post 2016
• Expansion (partners/students)
• Review RO programme and ementoring
programme – continued fit for purpose
• Working hours
• Discussion forums (subject specific)
• Evaluation
– What works
– Beneficiaries

21. Student comments
“My ementor is someone almost
guaranteed to understand what I
am going through and someone
who can give me real advice from
a place of experience.”
“It increasingly helped to build
my confidence and helped me
to understand what would be
expected of me in university.”
“It was really comforting
knowing I had instant access
to someone who’d been in
my position once.”