Does online delivery impact programme engagement and outcomes as part of a Widening Participation intervention?

This study examines whether programme engagement and outcomes differ based on the mode of delivery (in person versus online) for a UK-based Widening Participation (WP) programme during the Covid-19 pandemic. In total, 2507 school students attended academic in-person tutorials, and 2505 attended academic tutorials online. The findings show that tutorial attendance did not significantly differ based on the mode of delivery. We also see similar programme outcomes for both in-person and online programmes. However, the completion of the 'baseline assignment' , which was the first piece of work undertaken by students on the programme, was negatively impacted by the online setting (i. e., lower submission rates). This suggests that further considerations are needed to engage students with activities that happen early in the online programme. As part of the study, we also collected feedback from programme staff about their reflections of running a WP programme virtually. Based on these insights, we make suggestions for how WP can best utilise digital forms of delivery in the future.