Hi Paul,
I have been thinking about  this one for a while and the only thing I
can suggest is that 'humanist' students like others can self organise
into their own group and the university provide facilities for them to
meet in. If you have multi-faith facilities, then this can be made
accessible to all groups. The issue with chaplaincies/other faith
leaders  is that they are not actually employed by universities
(although I cannot be sure about this in regards to other universities).
Their own faith groups make them available for the university and pay
their salaries, and the university provides facilities within which they
can operate. In my university, the faith groups actually provide their
own facilities for respective chaplaincies.
I would be interested to hear what happens in other institutions. 

Regards

Anne 

-----Original Message-----
From: HE Administrators equal opportunities list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Paul Browne
Sent: 27 June 2007 10:14
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Establishment of chaplaincy facilities for faith groups

Good morning.

This is my first time using this forum. I hope you can assist me.

The Registrar has asked me to bring forward proposals in regard to the
recognition of students holding Humanist Beliefs and the provision of a
chaplaincy for them.

Has anyone tackled this challenge?

Has anyone drawn up guidelines for the establishment of a chaplaincy
service?

I would be delighted to hear from them.

Please contact me by e-mail at [log in to unmask] or ring 02890971045.

Thank you.

Paul Browne
Equal Opportunities Manager
Queen's University Belfast.


-----Original Message-----
From: HE Administrators equal opportunities list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Katya Hosking
Sent: 27 June 2007 09:58
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Data analysis for impact assessment: summary of responses

Dear all,

Responses to my question about data analysis lead me to ask another: In
preparing for impact assessment do you have, or have access to, someone
with expertise in statistics or data analysis?

Here is a summary of responses (my original email is at the bottom).
Progress ranges from not-yet-started to finished-and-published, but at
some universities people are definitely finding it difficult to extract
the relevant data from their internal systems.  From informal exchanges,
one problem seems to be that the section or department within the
university which manages the database sometimes sees itself as a
gatekeeper, and unless that section is convinced of the need for E&D
monitoring it will not facilitate it.  Another problem seems to be lack
of knowledge about databases and statistics resulting in a lot of false
starts, or discussion about the relevant fields, before the right data
emerges.  

1. Two universities had not yet begun tackling student data.  One added
that they had had no problems extracting data from the staff system.

2. For UG admissions, one university purchases the UCAS conversion data
set which can be downloaded periodically.

3. "At xxxx impact assessment is carried out by the Department that
holds central responsibility for the policy (as opposed to those
responsible for implementing it), following training and with support
from the Staff and/or Student Equality and Diversity Adviser.  The lead
assessor for the Assessment Policy is the Senior Assistant Registrar
(Recruitment and Admissions). 

"I have just received a first draft IA of our Admissions Policy.  The
data used for this was applications data held on the university
admissions database.  This predominantly relates to undergraduate & PGCE
applications only, but does also include some postgrad applications
info.  With the help of a statistician the assessor has looked at
applications to offers (conditional & unconditional) by gender, age,
disability and ethnicity. The statistician carried out a chi square test
of association on the faculty data to identify whether or not there was
an association between offer rates and demographic characteristic.
Consideration was also given to looking at who has applied to study at
the university, but it was decided that this was more relevant to the
Widening Participation Policy than the Admissions Policy.

"As far as I'm aware the raw data wasn't difficult to get hold of (I
deal with staff data only, but I gather that our student data system is
fairly
good).   However, there is the issue that no info was available
on most postgraduate applications meaning that there's a potential gap
in the draft IA.  

"The IA has not yet been finalised, but the limits of statistical
analysis are acknowledged within the draft, particularly in relation to
difficulties with small variances and to statistical significance
findings within a large sample. Attention is also drawn to the need to
compare university data with national benchmarks of educational
attainment/HE participation, in order to put any findings into the
national context."

4. "I have also started to ask some questions around the information
that we have on the students that apply to us and have also been told
that the data may not be readily available.  I deal mainly with staff
issues but also increasingly with students so it something that I will
need to pick up on.
So no real answer to your questions but just to let you know you are not
alone."  

5. "In undertaking our initial data collection work on this we have used
both internal data (essentially the enrolment data for first year
students as of 1.12.07) which is generated from our internal student
record system, but a more substantial analysis of the admissions process
was undertaken from data from UCAS (I understand that this is supplied
on CD to all university admissions officers annually in about February,
for the previous years admissions process year).  This included data on
applications, offers and acceptances (but not on all equality
variables)."  This university has published the relevant reports and
also the initial screenings.

6. "We have had no difficulties in getting the relevant data from our
student records system. We have looked at ethnicity, gender, disability
and age.  Age was the most difficult area because of very small numbers
in the older age groups.

"A number of people have been involved in analysing the data including
the Head of our disabled student support services and our Impact
Assessment Co-ordinator. We have been able to identify areas where there
are statistically significant differences and this information will be
used when addressing policy and practice."

Best wishes,
Katya

>>> Katya Hosking <[log in to unmask]> 13/06/2007 11:29:14 >>>
Dear all,

We're currently conducting an impact assessment of admissions, and it
has proved surprisingly difficult to extract and analyse the relevant
data from the student information management system.  There seem to be
various reasons for this, some of them technical ones which I don't
pretend to understand.
I'm wondering whether this is a common experience across the sector, or
whether it is something to do with our particular information management
systems.

Questions:
What (quantitative) data have you been able to analyse for use in impact
assessments?
Has it been difficult to get hold of the raw data, that is, to extract
it from the system?
Who has been responsible for analysing it, and have they encountered any
major problems?

I'd be very interested to hear your answers, and will compile a summary
for the list if anything useful emerges!

Best wishes,
Katya

_______________________________________________
Katya Hosking  (029) 2087 9218
Accessible Curriculum Officer
Registry, Cardiff University
30-36 Newport Road, Cardiff CF24 0DE
www.cardiff.ac.uk/learning/themes/access/index.html


*****************************************************************************************
To view the terms under which this email is distributed, please go to http://www.hull.ac.uk/legal/email_disclaimer.html
*****************************************************************************************