Review of student destinations and outcomes data

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) has commissioned a piece of research by the Institute for Employment Research (IER) at the University of Warwick. HESA is leading a review to find out what future requirements there will be for data on the destinations and outcomes for students leaving HE. To help inform the Review, HESA wants to find out particular information from students and graduates and we would like to ask you to participate in an online or face-to-face focus group. You will be paid £10 for your participation.

What is the study about?

HESA has commissioned this research to find out from students and graduates: What information do they want now when considering and reflecting upon their future careers and next steps? What information do they want in terms of the value of HE? How did students and graduates identify or achieve their goals – and what role did HE play? Would graduates, with the benefit of hindsight, make different choices about their HE studies? What would graduates have wanted to know when studying or making study decisions in order to make these different choices? Thinking of the long-term future, what effects do students and graduates think their HE study might have, compared to others who didn’t undertake HE study?

What does the study involve?

We are conducting one face-to-face focus group and a series of online focus groups. If you are interested in taking part, please signify which you would prefer. For the face-to-face focus group, approximately 10 students will be asked to take part in a group (a room at the University of Warwick will be used for this purpose). You will not be asked for any personal information within the group itself but you may be asked to identify yourself using your first name or a pseudonym. For the online focus groups, we will use the VisionsLive platform, which allows both researchers and participants to have a free-flowing discussion. You will only be able to communicate by written text, not by webcam, and so you are not visible to the researchers or to other participants. The focus group will consist of approximately 8 participants and last up to 90 minutes.

Ethical issues, confidentiality and data management

If you are happy to take part in a focus group, please go to the online consent form which asks for some anonymised information about you (e.g., where you are studying, your age, gender, etc.) and asks you to confirm that you would like to take part. Only those people who have provided consent will be able to take part. The consent form will also ask you to choose a couple of dates and times for the focus group and we will get back to you to confirm.

You will not be asked for any further personal information and your consent form will be stored for 10 years on a secure server in a password protected folder in IER and then destroyed securely. The data you provide during the focus group will be recorded and may be used for the purposes of the research and for any further publications arising from the research but you will not be identifiable in anything we produce from the research.

What if there is a problem?

This study is covered by the University of Warwick’s insurance and indemnity cover. If you have an issue, please contact the Principal Investigator of the study:

Dr Clare Lyonette, C.Lyonette@warwick.ac.uk; Tel: 02476 151615.

Any complaint about the way you have been dealt with during the study or any possible harm you might have suffered will be addressed. Please address your complaint to:

Director of Delivery Assurance Registrar's Office University House University of Warwick Coventry, CV4 8UW

Complaints@Warwick.ac.uk.

Tel, 024 7657 4774

Who has reviewed the study?

This study has been reviewed and given favourable opinion by the IER’s Research Ethics Committee (IERREC) (IERREC Application Reference: 0002/2016).

What if I want more information about the study?

If you have any questions about any aspect of the study, or your participation in it, not answered by this participant information leaflet, please contact a member of the research team:

• Dr Clare Lyonette, C dot Lyonette at warwick dot ac dot uk, Tel: 02476 151615.
• Dr Sally-Anne Barnes, Sally-Anne dot Barnes at warwick dot ac dot uk, Tel: 02476 574397
• Gaby Atfield, G dot J dot Atfield at warwick dot ac dot uk, Tel. 02476 150419