Context

There is evidence of a strong positive correlation between participation in sandwich courses and employment. This also extends to the quality of employment, as sandwich courses also correlate with high quality ‘graduate level’ work as a student destination (Mason, Williams & Cranmer, 2009).

A study conducted with students from the University of Bath (Crawford and Wang, 2016) found that a cohort of students on a specific course achieved similar outcomes in their first two years of study, although those that embarked on a work placement in year three subsequently outperformed those that went straight onto their final year.

Kerrigan, Manktelow and Simmons (2018) conducted secondary analysis on HESA Graduate Outcome surveys and found sandwich courses significantly improved employment outcomes post-graduation and sandwich courses reduce gaps in employment outcomes for disadvantaged students.

Despite the positives of a sandwich degree and the direct link to increased educational outcomes and increased employment outcomes, Widening Participation (WP) students are less likely to enrol in a sandwich degree than their peers. This project will explore the reasons for this.

Evaluation Questions

• What barriers to participation are underrepresented groups of students facing when considering a work placement or study abroad opportunity?
• What value do students see in doing a work placement or study abroad year and what motivated them to do or not do one?
• To what extent are unpaid or low-paid work placements impacting participation in placement programmes and eventual outcomes?
• Is there a correlation between participation in the work placement or study abroad year and increased degree outcomes for underrepresented student groups?
• Is there a correlation between participation in the work placement or study abroad year and increased graduate outcomes for underrepresented student groups?

Methodology

• Exploration of current literature
• Secondary data analysis of institutional data on work placements and student groups defined as from a Widening Participation (WP) background
• Survey analysis – qualitative and quantitative questions provided to all home students that have/had the opportunity to undertake a work placement. A separate survey will go to recent alumni
• Four focus groups with Year 2, Year 3 non-placement courses and Year 4 placement courses from WP and non-WP groups to understand reasons for taking/not taking part in placement opportunity and understand any differences in decision making.
• WP students will be defined by lower socio-economic status background, ethnicity and disability.

Type of evaluation evidence

Using the OfS standards of evidence this project will produce Type 2 (empirical evidence)

References

• Crawford, I., & Wang, Z. (2016). The impact of placements on the academic performance of UK and international students in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 41(4), 712-733. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2014.943658
• Kerrigan, M., Manktelow, A., & Simmons, E. (2018). Sandwich placements: Negating the socio-economic effect on graduate prospects. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 20(4), 81-107. https://doi.org/10.5456/WPLL.20.4.81
• Mason, G., Williams, G., & Cranmer, S. (2009). Employability skills initiatives in higher education: what effects do they have on graduate labour market outcomes?. Education Economics, 17(1), 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645290802028315

Published report

At the end of the project timeline, a report will be published on this webpage.