The placement will be hosted by the Transitions Working Group (TWG), a standing sub-committee of the University of Glasgow’s Learning and Teaching Committee. TWG leads institution-wide work on understanding and addressing transitional risk factors that impact student retention and success. Recent NSS data analysis highlighted significant differences in survey responses between mature and traditional-age students. This project is part of our remit to identify and evaluate targeted interventions that support key student groups.

This placement will build on the University of Glasgow’s recent demographic subgroup analysis of the 2024 NSS. Notably, mature students (aged 21+) reported markedly more positive responses on questions such as timely assessment feedback and course organisation, while scoring lower on items related to opportunities to give feedback and access to staff and resources. The goal of the placement is to explore the lived experiences behind these quantitative trends.

The student will design and conduct qualitative research (interviews and/or focus groups) with mature students across disciplines. They will write an interview schedule informed by our existing analysis, finalise recruitment, collect and analyse data using appropriate qualitative methods (e.g. thematic analysis), and produce a final report of findings with recommendations for institutional interventions.