Enhancing student retention, progression and attainment at Level 1 in Arts and Humanities by increasing student recruitment to the Access programme: an investigation into declining student numbers on Y031

The purpose of the project is to carry out an investigation into reasons for declining student numbers on Y031 J and B presentations. While there was some fluctuation across presentations in the first five years of the module, the overall trend since 2018J has been a marked decline in student numbers. We want to explore this issue by finding answers to the following questions:

• What advice/guidance do enquirers with an interest in the Arts and Humanities receive?
• Why does A111 attract large numbers of students but not Y031; what attracts students towards entering Level 1 study in Arts and Humanities without doing a preparatory access module?
• Why do students choose to study Y032 before DD102 but students on A111 don’t choose to study Y031?
• What perceptions do students have of Y031 (content, employability, title) and does this impact on their decision not to study the module?
• How does government policy impact on registrations for Y031; are our numbers reflective of the sector?
• How is Y031 marketed currently and what do we know about students who choose Y031 (and students who don’t)?

We hope to identify reasons for the decline in student numbers on Y031 and propose changes as necessary to achieve increased student registrations over the remaining lifetime of the module. We will also use our findings to inform future module design as we plan for updating Y031 or replacing it when the module comes to an end in 2025.