Supporting Positive Outcomes for Contextual Offer Students – Early Intervention: A Student Centred Approach to Supporting Success

13 Apr 2026

By Lynda Jones, University of South Wales

“Mindset privilege”, a term I first heard on The Diary of a CEO podcast has come to shape how I think about student success. It refers to the often unseen advantage of having the confidence and resilience to tackle challenges. In Higher Education, this mindset can make the difference between a student who thrives and one who struggles.

Of course, mindset alone cannot override systemic barriers such as racism, sexism, or the wider inequalities that students from protected groups continue to face. In fact, many students demonstrate remarkable resilience precisely because of the barriers they have had to overcome. Rather than assuming what obstacles students may face, the initiative creates space for authentic conversations that surface individual contexts, celebrate strengths, and highlight areas where additional support may be valuable. By combining mindset development with practical, structural support, we aim to ensure that students are not left to rely on resilience alone.

At the University of South Wales (USW), we launched an initiative to give more students access to that mindset privilege. Designed to provide early, proactive, and inclusive support during the crucial first six weeks, the project focuses on levelling the playing field for students from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Challenge: Transition and Inequality

In 2021, USW’s Demographic Analysis of Good Honours revealed disparities in degree outcomes by socioeconomic status, ethnicity, disability, and other factors. It was a call to action. Students who receive a contextual offer, are often those from POLAR 1 & 2 postcodes, care experienced individuals, and first-generation entrants who often face unique challenges, and too many arrive without targeted support to match.

Meanwhile, the Unite Student Applicant Index showed that 43% of applicants expected to struggle. Working class students were especially unsure about belonging and self-efficacy. Clearly, we needed to rethink what transition support really means.

From Idea to Implementation: A Holistic, Student-Centred Model

To Our initiative took shape around one simple idea: a meaningful conversation can change the trajectory of a student’s experience. To bring this to life, we equipped trained staff with a framework to hold structured but conversational “What Matters” meetings with Level 4 contextual offer students during their first six weeks. These conversations use appreciative inquiry and a strengths-based approach to assess both social and academic preparedness, helping students reflect on their learning needs, articulate challenges, and explore problem-solving strategies. This fosters self-efficacy and critical thinking skills, supporting the transition from structured learning to independent, inquiry-driven engagement at university.

Each conversation is guided by four key factors from the Factors of Student Success Model©, a framework I developed through my work at USW. We use these factors to shape conversations around purpose, agency, mattering, and belonging:

Sense of Purpose – Students have a clear vision of their goals and understand how HE will aid them in reaching those goals, fostering intrinsic motivation.
Sense of Agency – Students possess self-assurance in taking initiative and advocating for themselves. They identify areas for improvement and effectively implement necessary changes, promoting active engagement, autonomy, and access to support when needed.
Sense they Matter – When students perceive that their course team acknowledges and values them, it cultivates a belief in their potential and fosters resilience. Recognising that someone genuinely cares about their progress enhances students’ sense of their significance.
Sense of Belonging – Students who feel part of a community are more likely to feel a sense of connection with their course/institution.

While each factor plays a role, I believe purpose is the cornerstone. When students have direction, it strengthens their resilience.

Practical Support Meets Mindset Development

What sets this initiative apart is how it links mindset development with practical support. To achieve this, we designed a set of guiding questions aligned to my Factors of Student Success Model©, ensuring that each conversation explored the student’s sense of purpose, agency, mattering, and belonging. In practice, this meant asking about:

Academic confidence and study habits
Financial readiness
Mental wellbeing and social connection
Disability or neurodivergence
Career goals

Based on each student’s responses, staff and students work together to co-create the next steps. Using a social prescription model, students are connected to specialist services in ways that feel relevant and meaningful to them, such as:

Study Skills
Careers and Employability
Disability
Wellbeing
Student Money Advice

This collaborative approach helps students feel ownership of their support plan, making it more likely they’ll engage with services and build confidence in navigating university life. By integrating personal reflection with practical referrals, the initiative creates an inclusive, student-led support system that extends well beyond traditional academic support.

Collaboration and Training: Building Institutional Buy-In

To bring this vision to life, we collaborated across multiple departments. I worked with Faculty Heads, Subject Support Officers (SSOs), and central Student Services to develop the process, referral routes, and staff training.

Our training programme included:

Power, privilege, and intersectionality
Conversational skills and appreciative inquiry
Understanding support pathways
Digital tools like Microsoft Bookings for easy student scheduling

We also created an interactive digital handbook for staff, offering step by step guidance and embedded links to services.

Pilot Results and Reflections

Dr Mark Davies (Associate Professor in Learning and Teaching) supported with the ethics submission and qualitative data analysis.

We used a mixed-methods approach to capture both data and lived experience.

Student surveys (2023/24: n = 59, 2024/25: n = 56) give us broad insights into how the intervention was received.
Focus groups with staff (n = 7) and assets (n = 4) explore experiences in more depth, analysed using Braun & Clarke’s thematic framework.
End-of-year results let us compare feedback with academic outcomes to assess overall impact.

Together, these methods show not just what happened, but why it mattered for student success.

In 2023/24, we invited 467 students to participate. In terms of engagement, 65 responded, 60 booked meetings and 39 attended appointments. 41 referrals were made, spanning multiple services:

100% said it supported their transition to university.
45% were referred to additional services.
100% of those referred found the services helpful.

End of Year Results 2023/24

	Attended	Not attended
Pass/Continue/Proceed	87%	74%
Repeat	0%	6%
Discontinue	0%	5%
Interrupted Studies	8%	1%
Withdrawn	5%	11%
Intermediate Award	0%	2%

In 2024/25, we repeated the process with another 450 students. This time 66 responded, 66 booked meetings, and 49 attended. 59 referrals were made, spanning multiple services.

96% said it supported their transition to university.
54% were referred to additional services.
92% of those referred found the services helpful.

What We Learned from Staff and Support Teams

We undertook focus groups with staff and support teams to understand how the intervention worked in practice. Their feedback generated 24 codes and four emerging themes:

A Positive Mindset – building resilience and confidence.
The Support Ecosystem – making services easier to access and better connected.
Developing Relationships – creating genuine belonging through meaningful conversations.
Reaching Learners – cutting through the noise so students see the value and overcome any stigma in seeking help.

Two key challenges stood out:

Getting the Word Out – How do we make sure messages land at the right time, in the right way, and are recognised as valuable?
Operationalising Support – How do we streamline processes, reduce hoops, and create a truly holistic student experience?

Ultimately, the discussions highlighted that success begins with relationships. Meaningful connections help students feel they belong, while scaffolding resilience and autonomy ensures they can thrive long after the first meeting.

Lessons Learned and Looking Forward

Based on our evaluation, we made key improvements for 2024/25:

Redesigned communications to highlight student benefits upfront
Updated handbooks based on staff feedback
Delivered refresher training to ensure consistency
Streamlined booking and data tracking systems

Comparing the two years, response rates improved (65 responses in 2024/25 vs 36 the year before), suggesting our updated communications had an effect. However, conversion from booking to attendance remains an area for improvement.

We also learned more about non-attendance. Some students overlooked emails or were too busy with assignments and placements. Others already had existing support (e.g., Individual Support Plans, wellbeing, or disability provision) and didn’t see additional meetings as necessary.

These insights point to the importance of embedding “What Matters” meetings within induction timetables, rather than relying solely on student opt-in. Doing so could reduce timetable conflicts and strengthen participation.

Extending the Impact

Beyond the pilot, elements of the framework are now being used more widely. For example:

Staff across faculties are adopting the meeting format to build rapport.
Microsoft Bookings has been embraced as a tool for broader academic support.
The digital handbook remains a ‘go to’ resource for staff.

We shared our work at the Advance HE Retention and Success Symposium in May 2024, the SEDA Spring Conference in May 2025 and the NEON Summer Symposium in June 2025, receiving strong interest from colleagues across the sector.

Strategic and National Relevance

The initiative supports USW’s critical success factors, particularly around student experience, retention, and equity. It aligns with the strategic aims of Medr and responds directly to the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2022.

By proactively supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds, this initiative strengthens our institutional commitment to widening participation, not only in access but in outcomes.

Final Thoughts

This initiative has shown that timing, empathy, and connection matter, especially in the first few weeks of university. Across two years, the meetings have not only provided referrals to specialist services but also reassured students already engaged with support. For some, the value lay in confirmation and encouragement; for others, it was the first step in navigating complex challenges that required multiple forms of help.

The 2024/25 results revealed a growing need for joined-up support, with several students referred to two or more services. At the same time, non-attendance data highlighted persistent barriers: timetable clashes, heavy workloads, and emails that went unnoticed. These findings reinforce the need to embed the initiative more firmly in induction activities, making participation the norm rather than the exception.

We also recognise that many students come to university with strong resilience precisely because of the barriers they have faced. That resilience is a strength, but it should not be the only thing students have to depend on. Early intervention provides a framework to pair student strengths with accessible, structural support, reducing the pressure to ‘go it alone’.

With the right support at the right moment, students can develop the confidence, resilience, and networks they need to succeed. Early intervention isn’t just about catching problems, it’s about opening doors, reinforcing belonging, and showing students that we see them, believe in them, and are committed to walking alongside them throughout their journey.

The Challenge: Transition and Inequality

From Idea to Implementation: A Holistic, Student-Centred Model

Practical Support Meets Mindset Development

Collaboration and Training: Building Institutional Buy-In

Pilot Results and Reflections

End of Year Results 2023/24

What We Learned from Staff and Support Teams

Lessons Learned and Looking Forward

Extending the Impact

Strategic and National Relevance

Final Thoughts

Further Reading