Key Findings

The key findings of the project included:

• Satellite students face additional barriers and challenges on their way to success and completion related to accessibility, affordability and accountability.
• The key enablers for satellite programmes identified through the study were motivation, relationships and cultural recognition, and the way in which the satellite programmes built and sustained these.
• For most students, the biggest challenges were to do with either their home life, or work commitments. The cost of the course and the loss of income was significant, but had been considered well before enrolment, and was not seen by most as a barrier to study.
• For providers, a central point of note is the importance of the ‘fit’ of the teaching staff with the students and community as the face of the organisation. Students were very clear that their rapport and relationship with tutors was a paramount reason for their growth in confidence, and ultimate success.
• While satellite programme delivery will always be highly context and provider specific, four other considerations for BoPP, as well as other tertiary providers, arising from the project included the role of specialist liaison staff, the importance of partnering with community and other organisations, use of external contractors to provide pastoral support, and student access to technology.

Key Recommendations

The project raised the following recommendations for consideration:

Appoint a specialist liaison person | Consider appointing a specialist liaison person to oversee all satellite programme delivery, to coordinate scoping, planning and implementation activities, and as a key contact for stakeholders and staff. This would free teaching staff from some administrative functions and allow more class and student contact and better student access to teaching staff.

Foster relationships with stakeholders | Continue to foster relationships with community stakeholder and partner organisations beyond the lifespan of the original programme, to consider alternative programmes for the future and to promote a continuity of presence in the town and region.

Provide pastoral care and out-of-class support | Investigate contracting local people and/or organisations to provide pastoral care and out-of-class support for students. This again frees up tutor time, but also means that the students have a contact person ‘on the ground’ outside the two days a week of scheduled classes.

Supply computing equipment | In areas where there is no suitable ‘technology hub’, such as local libraries, the provider should consider supplying computing equipment, or assisting students to purchase this at a subsidised rate and have longer term plans in place for plans for installation, maintenance and replacement.