Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education

What Works LGBTQ+

Existing evidence shows that heterosexual higher education (HE) students are more likely to continue from first year into second year than LGBTQ+ students. Furthermore, LGBTQ+ students are more likely to be the target of negative comments and conduct from other students. Unfortunately, little research exists on interventions that work for improving the experience and outcomes of LGBTQ+ students. TASO has only recently been established and is reflecting on how it can best respond to this relative lack of evidence. One project we have just commissioned is to develop guidance that will support HE providers with the methodological and theoretical challenges faced when evaluating the impact of activities with small cohorts of students. This will involve translating and testing a range of evaluation methods with small cohorts. We are hopeful this will be beneficial to the sector, including small organisations, in improving the evidence base on interventions which support LGBTQ+ students. TASO are a committed member of the What Works Network LGBTQ+ working group and are very much open to opportunities to collaborate with other What Works centres to further develop our work in this area.

Sarah Chappel 

Sarah Chappell is a Research Officer at the centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in higher education (TASO). Sarah works on TASO’s research programme to develop a better understanding of what works to support widening participation and student success. She supports the commissioning of new projects as part of a programme of external research involving practitioners, evaluators and researchers from multiple institutions, managing and monitoring progress, collating findings, analysing data and helping to steer the overall research programme.