Conference programme

Click below to download the full conference programme

Welcome to our 7th Biennial International Conference on Access, Participation and Success, taking place on 26 and 27 April 2023. We are delighted to provide delegates with a full agenda including a selection of workshops and seminars each aligned to one or more of our conference themes:

Theme 1: Student engagement including co-creation, representation, and student voice
Theme 2: Inclusion including curriculum, assessment, tuition, and communication
Theme 3: Accessibility including student support, digital inclusion, and service delivery
Theme 4: Student outcomes including motivation, equity and employability

Please click on the session titles to view the abstracts and presenter biographies.

An accessible version of our complete conference programme can be downloaded here.

Day one
Day two

Day one - Wednesday 26 April

09:00 - 09:30	Login (posters on display)
09:30 - 09:35	Welcome Address: Professor John Butcher, Professor of Inclusive Teaching in Higher Education (WELS), The Open University
09:35 – 10:05	Opening Keynote Presentation: Dr Liz Marr, Former Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Students), The Open University
10:05 - 10:10	Move to workshops (posters on display)
10:10 - 11:10	Workshops
	Room 1	Room 2	Room 3	Room 4
	Exploring level 5 student’s lived experiences of the barriers to their progression and attainment Dr Emma Whewell and Lee Waters University of Northampton, UK Themes: Student Engagement	IDEAS for developing an inclusive curriculum Dr Wendy Fowle and Nicola Beer Oxford Brookes University Themes: Inclusion	Let us work together: Working with students and staff to contribute to a whole-institutional approach to positive change for underrepresented students Janet Lindley, Mary-Jayne Wilton, Helen Williams and Sally Storr The Open University Themes: Inclusion	Come to Test & Learn from the new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Learning Analytics Dashboard Miriam Fernandez, Paul Mulholland, Vaclav Bayer, Martin Hlosta and Christothea Herodotou The Open University, UK Themes: Inclusion, Student outcomes
11:10 – 11:20	Break (posters on display)
11:20 - 12:20	Seminars (2 x 30 minutes)
	Room 1	Room 2	Room 3	Room 4
	“The bridge between school and uni, that’s the bit that’s missing”: Improving Access to Higher Education for Care-Experienced Students Hannah Bayfield and Lena Smith Cardiff University Themes: Accessibility	Shaping the OU Websites and systems of the future with student research Jade Matos Carew, Kirsty Baker and Paul Hambidge The Open University Themes: Student Engagement, Accessibility	Introducing ‘Learn, grow, connect’: a group intervention to support students with Mental Health needs Chrissie Farley and Harminder Kaur The Open University Themes: Inclusion	The careless academy? Making space for carers and parents in higher education Dr Rachel Spacey, Rebecca Sanderson and Amy Zile University of Lincoln Themes: Inclusion
	Building a student panel to improve support for independent students Kirstyn Kedaitis, Jon Datta and Kerrie Portman University of Cambridge Themes: Student Engagement, Inclusion	Inclusive Curricula and Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies Morag Duffin The University of Law Themes: Inclusion	Developing a toolkit for teaching sensitive topics at a distance learning university David Morrison The Open University Themes: Student engagement, Inclusion, Accessibility	What do we know about the impact of an Access programme? Prof John Butcher The Open University Themes: Inclusion, Student outcomes
12:20 – 13:05	Lunch (posters on display)
13:05 – 14:05	Seminars (2 x 30 minutes)
	Room 1	Room 2	Room 3	Room 4
	Supporting Disabled Students Journeys: Transition into Higher Education (HE) Tahera Mayat and John Hague Go Higher West Yorkshire Themes: Student engagement, Accessibility	Making online synchronous collaborative learning more accessible for students with sensory impairments Jo Buxton The Open University Themes: Student engagement, Accessibility	A view through the looking glass: co-creation and innovation - a recipe for success Sarah Mander, Amber Fensham-Smith, Nichola Connolly and Yasmin Reeve The Open University Themes: Student engagement	Digital inclusion beyond the pandemic: call to action for a sector-wide strategy Freddie Quek Times Higher Education Laila Burton The Open University Themes: Inclusion, Accessibility, Student outcomes
	Moving into a new socially just and equal ‘normal’- the lessons Higher Education must learn from its disabled students Dr Suanne Gibson University of Plymouth Dr Zeta Williams-Brown University of Wolverhampton Themes: Student engagement, Inclusion	Embedding accessibility into the curriculum: an Accessibility Tool as a checklist Rhiannon Edwards University of Bath Vanessa Moore The Open University Themes: Accessibility	The ‘Learning pathways for carers’ programme Dr Nichola Kentzer, Dr Chris Kubiak and Prof Mary Larkin The Open University Themes: Student engagement, Accessibility	Joining the Dots: Learnings from a university transition programme Hannah Thomson and Sarah Zukernain The Brilliant Club Themes: Student outcomes
14:05 - 14:15	Break (posters on display)
14:15 - 15:15	Seminars (2 x 30 minutes)
	Room 1	Room 2	Room 3	Room 4
	The non-negotiable: how student-led academic spaces foster adaptable, accessible and inclusive learning within the shifting landscape of HE Joshua Manning, Cara Baer, Liz Staples and writing mentors (TBC) University of Plymouth Themes: Accessibility	Value, Motivate, Support, Inspire - Enhancing Undergraduate Student Success at the University of Birmingham Leanne B.M. Campbell, Pete Collins, Jenny Mullins-White and Polly Harper University of Birmingham Themes: Student outcomes	The Extended Project Qualification and Widening Participation Students: Creating Equity, Improving Awarding Gaps, and Developing Research Skills Dr Victoria Yuskaitis University of Southampton Themes: Accessibility, Student outcomes	Building communities and helping students to succeed: Early interventions for student success Dr Scott McKenzie, Alayla Castle-Herbert, Anne Verries-Wade and Hanna Silk The Open University in Wales Themes: Student engagement, Student outcomes
	Value, visibility and belonging: exploring the impact of staff/student reverse mentoring within higher education Steve Gleadall and Associate Prof Rachael O’Connor University of Leeds Themes: Student engagement	Employability and student success: Virtual internships for underrepresented students Catherine Comfort, Andrew Potter, Diane Butler, Flavia Ranzolin Navas, Kristen Reid and Trinny Western The Open University Themes: Student outcomes	Attracting under-represented groups to train to teach in Wales Sarah Stewart and Catherine Bleasdale The Open University Themes: Inclusion, Student outcomes	Collaborating to Increase Inclusion in Graduate Recruitment and Success Angela Scanlon, Ursula McTaggart and Shauna McCloy Ulster University Themes: Student outcomes
15:15 – 15:25	Break (posters on display)
15:25 – 16:25	Panel Discussion Host: Prof Ian Pickup, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Students), The Open University Panel members: Rehana Awan, Staff Tutor - STEM,Computing & Communication, The Open University Natalie Baker, Vice President, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, The Open University Student’s Association Prof Eva Cendon, Professor of Adult and Continuing Education: FernUniversität in Hagen, Germany Prof John McKendrick, Commissioner for Fair Access to Higher Education for Scotland, Glasgow Caledonian University Adaora Nwaka, BAME Advocate, University of Hertfordshire
16:25 – 16:30	Close – Chair: Shona Littlejohn, Deputy Director (Student Experience & Widening Access), The OU in Scotland

Day two - Thursday 27 April

09:00 - 09:30	Login (posters on display)
09:30 - 09:35	Welcome Address: Mychelle Pride, Associate Dean, Teaching Excellence (WELS), The Open University
09:35 – 10:05	Opening Keynote Presentation: Professor Ross Renton, Principal, Anglia Ruskin University, Peterborough
10:05 - 10:10	Move to seminars (posters on display)
10:10 – 11:10	Seminars (2 x 30 minutes)
	Room 1	Room 2	Room 3	Room 4
	Towards Accessibility in Digital Electronics for the Visually Impaired. A b-learning experience Jorge Pérez Martín , Alejandro Rodriguez Ascaso and Félix de la Paz López Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain Themes: Accessibility	Exploring the experiences of students of minoritised ethnicities through a longitudinal community of enquiry Prof Samantha Broadhead and Dr Laura da Costa Leeds Arts University Themes: Student engagement, Inclusion	Empowering minoritised students through scholarship: A staff-student collaborative approach to understanding the experience of Black distance learning students Jim Lusted, Shannon Martin and Ola Fadoju (with additional input from OU students Denise Hamilton-Mace and Ola Omotosho) The Open University Themes: Student engagement, Inclusion	Understanding the BAME awarding gap at The Open University by means of quantitative and qualitative data analytics Miriam Fernandez, Martin Hlosta, Tracie Farrell, Vaclav Bayer and Fidèle Mutwarasibo Knowledge Media Institute, The Open University Themes: Inclusion, Student outcomes
	ONCE Foundation Channel at UNED - an Open Training Resource in Design for All Cecile Finat, Antonio Juano, Elisa Molanes-López, Jorge Pérez-Martín, Miguel Ángel Artaso, Emilio Letón and Alejandro Rodriguez-Ascaso Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) Themes: Accessibility	Students Supporting Students – improving student outcomes through peer mentoring Catherine Comfort The Open University Themes: Student engagement, Student outcomes	Conversations of Creating Change: Widening Participation to Higher Education through working-class voices Dr Abigail O'Brien University of Plymouth Themes: Inclusion, Accessibility	Language Technology in the workplace: an A.I. student co-creation project Dr Andrew Gargett, Dr Mirjam Hauck, Joseph Kwarteng, Mychelle Pride and Tracey Inverary The Open University Themes: Inclusion
11:10 – 11:20	Break (posters on display)
11:20 – 12:20	Workshops
	Room 1	Room 2	Room 3	Room 4
	Not all Inclusive Curriculum Reviews are Equal: Findings from the OU’s Inclusive Curriculum Student Consultant Pilot Project Dr Caroline Derry, Steph Dunne and Dr Sukaina Haider The Open University Themes: Inclusion	Sharing insights from reverse mentoring in HE: the power of listening and learning for developing authentic staff/student relationships Associate Prof Rachael O’Connor University of Leeds Prof John E. Goldring, Liz Cain, Adam Westall and Dr Helen Smith Manchester Metropolitan University Themes: Student engagement	Going beyond Consultation: Co-Production with Widening Participation students across the student lifecycle Emma Hall, Abigail Cattlin and Mazvita Kadzirange Edge Hill University Themes: Student engagement	How can we maximise equity and diversity in student partnerships? Lorna Sibbett and Renu Bhandari The Open University Themes: Student engagement, Inclusion
12:20: - 12:25	Return to main session
12:25 – 12:30	Keynote introduction: Diane Butler, Associate Dean (Academic Excellence) (STEM), The Open University
12.30 - 13:00	Keynote: Mette Anwar-Westander, Founder and CEO of Disabled Students UK
13.00 - 13:05	Conference close: Diane Butler, Associate Dean (Academic Excellence) (STEM), The Open University
13:05 – 13:30	Break (posters on display)
13:30 – 14:15	Stay in the main conference room to be placed in a breakout room for an informal discussion on matters raised in the conference
14:15 – 15:00	Poster discussion rooms open: click to join a meeting below with poster authors
	Discussion room 1	Discussion room 2	Discussion room 3	Discussion room 4
	Closing the awarding gap - listening to our Black students Louise MacBrayne and Jennie Bellamy The Open University	Creating flexible accessibility for distance-learning students while developing a remote coaching and mentoring service Enya-Marie Clay and Richard Peat The Open University	Working Towards a More Inclusive Learning Journey Tracey Inverary The Open University	‘Towards Inclusivity’ – A practical, community-based approach to enhancing inclusive design, using data and learning design’ Jannah Aljafri and Rafael Hidalgo The Open University
15:00	Conference end

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Conference programme

Day one - Wednesday 26 April

Day two - Thursday 27 April

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