Steering Transition and Advancement of Tertiary Underrepresented Students

<< Background >>The project was initiated in response to the evolving role of HE, which has increasingly focused on producing human capital tailored to labour market demands, often at the expense of its critical social mission. The undervaluation of HE’s role in promoting DEI and democratic values has contributed to persistent educational inequalities, particularly in regions like SEE. Despite inclusion being a top priority in policies, there is a lack of strategies/comprehensive approaches to social inclusion in HE within partner countries. Vulnerable groups face significant barriers to accessing, succeeding in, and completing higher education. Issues such as high dropout rates, lack of basic skills, mental health challenges, and discrimination further exacerbate these gaps. Our project aimed to address these challenges by enhancing the social dimension of HE, aligning with the Bologna Process and the CoE’s recommendations. It sought to support HEIs in fulfilling their broader societal roles, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and ultimately contributing to more cohesive and knowledge-based economies.<< Objectives >>STATUS wanted to address the persistent issue of low enrollment and academic achievement among underrepresented students in HE. It aimed to tackle both institutional and student-related challenges. On the one hand, many HEIs struggle to fully support all students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. On the other hand, students from these groups often do not fully utilise the opportunities that HEIs offer.Specific objectives:• To increase access for Roma and other underrepresented students in European HEIs. Although financial support such as loans and scholarships is widely available, comprehensive support measures remain insufficient across regional HEIs. STATUS sought to bridge this gap by offering academic guidance, enhancing links between secondary schools and HEIs, and providing psychological counselling.• To improve academic achievement and prevent ESL in HEIs. The project developed tailored support services, including targeted assistance, innovative teaching methods, staff training, and peer support mechanisms. The deliverables are readily available and can be adapted to the specific needs of vulnerable student groups to enhance their educational success.<< Implementation >>The STATUS project was structured around five planned project results/deliverables, four multiplier events, and four transnational project meetings. The implementation was carried out through 3 project phases: inception, development and closing phases. STATUS consortium implemented the following activities:A) THE INCEPTION PHASE:A1) The project coordinator developed the Project Work Plan which was adjusted to realistic possibilities of all project partners and which outlined all activities and tasks, along with their expected implementation timeline, to achieve the desired results and outcomes. Likewise, the coordinating institution created a project webpage (https://status.uskolavrsac.edu.rs/). A2) All project partners have signed the STATUS Partnership Agreements (PA), bilateral agreements between each partner and the coordinating institution. The latter had previously signed the agreement with the National Agency which was the basis for drafting the PAs.A3) The coordinator also presented the partnership with STATUS Project Financial Management, Rules & Procedures (+recommended timesheet template) to ensure transparency, accountability, and compliance with funding requirements in a project. The presented set of documents helped the coordinator and partnership as a whole to track expenditures, allocate resources efficiently, and prevent financial mismanagement. A recommended timesheet template standardised time tracking, ensured accurate reporting of labour costs and adherence to budgetary guidelines.A4) CESIE developed the Communication & Dissemination (C&D) Plan followed by a set of tools such as a C&D matrix where one can encounter all C&D activities performed by each partner throughout the project lifetime, as well as a C&D stakeholder map which served as an internal project database of potential target groups, beneficiaries and stakeholders that partners can resort to to secure the project sustainability through established networks and stakeholder infrastructure. CESIE was also a lead in producing the project logo, supported by the entire partnership. A5) WEBIN developed the Project Quality Architecture facility which is a tailor-made quality assurance tool equipped with guidelines and instruments used to measure the quality level of each aspect of the project implementation, i.e. the quality of results, and outcomes, events, management, and C&D processes.A6) A virtual project Kick-off meeting was held on 27-28 January 2022 at the Google Meet platform with the participation of all project partners. The meeting was used to discuss contractual arrangements (GA & PA), project design, distribution of roles, method of coordination and communication, evidence keeping and reporting. During the kick-off meeting, training on PQA facility setup and implementation was carried out. The C&D matrix was presented and partners agreed on the identification of stakeholders and filling the matrix. By organizing the Kick-off meeting, the inception phase was completed, and the development phase commenced. Full documentation is uploaded on the Beneficiary space (incl. agenda, ppt, screenshots, and meeting minutes).B) DEVELOPMENT PHASE:B1) The development phase started with opening WP.1 - the repository of good practices. All partners engaged in the activity of mapping good practices in the country and beyond, and have distributed the identified good practices to PTTC. The first version of the repository was presented in January 2023 at the following link: status.uskolavrsac.edu.rs. The result was evaluated in February, and recommendations were presented for the improvement of the result. B2) On 05-06 May 2022, the first Transnational Project Meeting (TPM) was held in Vršac. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the progress in realization of R1 and discuss opening R2 and R3. All the partners participated and made good contributions to collaborative work. Full documentation is uploaded on the Beneficiary space (incl. agenda, ppt, attendance lists, photos, and meeting minutes).B3) The ongoing permanent activity taking place throughout the entire developmental and closing phase was the implementation of the C&D plan which, among other things, served as a platform for ensuring the sustainability of project results through established networks of stakeholders and various interested parties. On the basis of the C&D plan, CESIE and WEBIN developed a C&D log where all C&D activities conducted by partners were registered along with verification sources. An additional document created after the social network profiles of the project were introduced on FB and LinkedIn was the Excel file Publishing Calendar, where publishing activities were registered. B4) Development of HEI teaching and non-teaching staff training programme was opened as part of WP.2. All partners contributed to the development of 4 modules making the Result 2: HEI teaching and non-teaching staff training programme. In each country, at least 2 workshops were organized to collect feedback on the draft materials for R2. In Italy, the workshop with 12 participants was held on 21 November 2023 at the University of Palermo. The facilitator was prof. Gianna Capello. In Romania, 1 workshop with 7 participants was held on 24 November, and 1 focus group was held on 29 November 2023 with the participation of 2 respondents. In Portugal, the workshop was held on 29-30 November 2023 with the participation of 21 HE staff and students. In Serbia, 1 focus group was held in Vršac at PTTC on 09.02.2024 (6 participants). Full documentation is uploaded on the Beneficiary space (incl. agenda, ppt, attendance lists, photos, and reports).B5) In October 2022 UMa requested to open WP.4 and start with the development of Tolkit on peer support and active inclusion of underrepresented students. Even though this activity was not on schedule for this period, UMa justified this initiative with the momentum created by UMa students, and the initiative was accepted by the consortium. Thus the WP.4/R4 activity started in October 2022. B6) On 04-05 May 2023 the second Transnational meeting was held in Palermo, hosted by UNIPA and CESIE. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the final version of R1, progress achieved in R2, present peer support games created by UMA students within WP4, and discuss baseline data for R3 prepared by WEBIN and CESIE. Full documentation is uploaded on the Beneficiary space (incl. agenda, ppt, attendance lists, photos, and meeting minutes).B7) Development of CS-HE cooperation toolkit on increasing access and supporting achievement of underrepresented students in HE started in 2022. During TPM #2 in Palermo, the baseline data were discussed and guidelines were set for the continuation of the process. The partners agreed on workshop designs, implementation period and reporting form. All the partners conducted workshops with CSOs and HE staff and collected feedback for the finalization of the toolkit. Toolkit was presented on numerous occasions including the national conferences (multiplier events). B8) Training of HEI teaching and non-teaching staff on increasing access and supporting the achievement of underrepresented students in HE were held in all 4 countries. In Romania, a 2-day training was held on 28-29 November 2023 with participation of 36 participants. In Serbia, the 2-day training was held on 14-15 December 2023 at the Preschool Teacher Training College Vršac with the participation of 23 HE and admin staff. In Italy, training was held on 29.01.2024 with the participation of 18 HE teaching and admin staff. In Portugal, training was held on 15.12.2023 with the participation of 24 HE staff. For all these sessions the full documentation is uploaded on the Beneficiary space (incl. agenda, ppt, attendance lists, photos, and reports). B9) Third Transnational project meeting was held on 12-13 October 2023 in Madeira with the participation of all project partners. The purpose of this TPM was to discuss progress and issues related to R2, R3 and R4 and to discuss the baseline for R5. Full documentation uploaded on the Beneficiary space (incl. agenda, ppt, attendance lists, photos, and meeting minutes).B10) Once the R3 was prepared as a pre-final version, each partner country hosted a minimum of one training session to test the toolkit and collect feedback from mixed teams of participants (CSO activists and HE academic and non-academic staff). The series of face-to-face, hybrid and virtual training for CSOs and HEIs on CS-HE cooperation in increasing access and supporting the achievement of underrepresented students was implemented in the period from April 2023 to April 2024. In Romania, a training workshop was held on 01 and again on 13 April 2023 with the participation of 14 face-to-face participants from HE and an additional 20 virtual participants from HE and CSOs. In Portugal, the workshop was held on 13 March 2024 with the face-to-face participation of 6 HE staff and the additional participation of 7 virtual participants via the ZOOM platform. In Serbia, a workshop was held at OPENS on 21.02.2024 with the participation of 14 CSO representatives, and another workshop was held in Vršac on 09.03.2024 with the participation of 18 HE staff. In Italy, the workshop was held on 11 March 2024 with the participation of 9 face-to-face participants and 8 additional ZOOM participants. Documentations are uploaded on the Beneficiary space (incl. agenda, ppt, attendance lists, and photos).B11) Development of a Toolkit on peer support and active inclusion of underrepresented students started in October 2022. The development process was managed by a team of 11 staff members from 6 partner institutions. The process was fruitful and resulted in a complex result consisting of 4 segments: Toolkit, games, tutorial and presentation. In total almost 400 pages of training and pedagogical materials. This material was tested at 8 training workshops with the participation of 187 students and teaching staff from 4 partner HEIs. The workshops are presented under B12. B12) Skills workshop for students on peer support and active inclusion of underrepresented students. In Italy, 2 sessions were held on the R4 toolkit: first on March 27 2024, a training session for student organizations and HE staff was held in Palermo with the participation of 31 participants. The second training was held on 22 October 2024 in Palermo, with the participation of 22 participants. In Romania, 3 training sessions on R4 were held. The first one was on 10 April 2024 with the participation of 20 students, the second was on 12 April 2024 with the participation of 17 participants, and the third was on 28 June 2024 with the participation of 15 teaching staff. In Portugal 2 training sessions were held for students, the first one on 27 September 2024, with the participation of 26 students, and the second training on 04.10.2024 with the participation of 34 students. In Serbia, a workshop for students was held on 04.12.2024 at the amphitheatre of PTTEC, with the participation of 32 students. Documentations are uploaded on the Beneficiary space (incl. agenda, ppt, attendance lists, and photos).B13) Fourth Transnational project meeting was held on 4 –5 April 2024 in Alba Iulia Romania, with face-to-face participation of teams from Romania, Serbia and Portugal and virtual participation of teams from Italy. The purpose of the meeting was to finalize R2 and R3, and to discuss progress with R5. Full documentation is uploaded on the Beneficiary space (incl. agenda, ppt, attendance lists, photos, and meeting minutes). The plan for national and European promotion and distribution was agreed.B14) The process of creation of European policy brief/recommendations for improving the social dimension of teaching and learning in European HEIs was intensified during TPM #4 in Alba Iulia. The UAB finalized European policy bires after each partner provided contributions and feedback on the initial master version of the European Policy Brief. The final master version of the policy brief was distributed to national partners to develop national tailor-made versions in local languages. The promotion and distribution plan agreed upon at Alba Iulia was executed.C) DEVELOPMENT PHASE:B15) In the period from October to December 2024, in all 4 countries national conferences were hosted to promote and disseminate project results to various stakeholders. The first National Conference in Serbia was organized on 29/10/2024 at the Preschool Teachers College in Vršac with 33 face-to-face participants and 21 virtual participants. The stakeholders included professors from HE colleges in Niš, Pirot, Prokuplje, Kruševac, Novi Sad, Sremska Mitrovica, the Provincial Ombudsman in Novi Sad, the Association of Roma students from Novi Sad, OPRE Roma movement, KIC Pralipe, VET school, National Council of Roma, etc. The conference was used to present all 5 results to a Serbian audience. Romanian ME event was organized in Alba Iulia on 03.12.2024, with 51 face-to-face and 40 online participants, including representatives of associations working with students and vulnerable youth and teaching and admin staff from different faculties and universities, as well as their students and members of student organizations providing services and inclusion activities to international and vulnerable students. The conference was used to present all 5 results to the Romanian targeted audience. The National Conference in Italy was held on 25/11/2024 in Palermo, with the participation of 38 participants representing various target groups, including Danilo Dolci, Associazione Instituto, vulnerable youth, city officials, CSOs, VET educators, etc. The conference was used to present all 5 results to the Italian targeted audience. The National Conference in Portugal was held on 18.11.2024 in Madeira with the participation of 32 students and members of staff from other faculties, including students working in student support organizations. The conference was used to present all 5 results to the Portuguese audience.B16) Distribution and promotion of policy brief through social networks was carried out in the period from September to December 2024 and continued after the end of the project. Each partner was responsible for the promotion and distribution of their national versions of the policy briefs, while UBA and WEBIN were responsible for the promotion of the European Policy Brief to European Instances. Country policy briefs will be distributed to national educational and social inclusion stakeholders by email (such as Ministries, regional and local authorities, schools, CSOs, partner universities, rectors conferences, student unions, etc.). The policy briefs will also be promoted through social media. In Serbia, a policy brief was distributed to: Mr. Aleksandar Jović, assistant minister of education, prof. dr Branislav Jeremić, Vice Chair of the National Council on HE, Ms. Zdravka Simić, member of the National Roma Council, Coordinator for Education, Provincial Ombudsman Dragana Ćorić, Ms. Sabina Golubović, Programme officer at Roma Education Fund - Belgrade office, Mr Nenad Vladisavljev from the Association of Roma students in Novi Sad, Mr Vukašin Grozdanović and Ms Katarina Živanović and Jelena Karać, all 3 from Association of Youth NGOs OPENS Novi Sad, Ms. Anja Jokić from KOMS Serbian Youth Council.In Romania, a policy brief was distributed to Robert Santa, a Policy Expert on Minorities and Social Inclusion at UEFISCDI - Romanian Agency on Higher Education and Research in Bucharest.In Italy Ms. Gloria Albertini from Centro Studi Immigrazione, Ms. Valeria Carlini from Italian Refugee Council (CIR Migrare).In Portugal Ms Elisa Seixas, a member of the Regional Government Parliament.At the European level, the policy brief was distributed to Ms. Iris Kimizoglu, President of the European Students Union in Brussels, and Mr. Jakub Grodecki, Policy and Project Manager at EURASHE. B17) Drafting the final project report - Likewise, all partners provided their contribution in drafting this final report, as well as in securing project sustainability through activities which are ongoing and which will continue to keep STATUS relevant. The lead partner with the support of WEBIN developed the reporting matrix and set the guidelines for partners on how to approach reporting activities, analyze their documentation created during project implementation and how to proces and present data. The partners had 40 days to prepare their contributions and upload them to the project drive. The PTTC with the support of WEBIN then compiled the data into a master version of the project report and shared it with the partners for corrections, clarifications, further contributions and modifications. The final version of the report was approved by the Steering Committee of the project.<< Results >>The concrete results/deliverables of the project were as follows:Result 1: European HEI e-repository of good practices related to socially inclusive learning culture and EWS (Where do we come from and where do we go from here?) The e-Repository is a database of good practices related to socially inclusive learning culture and EWS.Made available at the internet address https://status.uskolavrsac.edu.rs/, hosted by the lead partner Preschool Teacher Training College Vršac. The Repository is fully available in English, while some sections are available in partner languages and minority languages too. These sections are those on national HE systems. The Repository has 5 main pages, including:HOMEHIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEMSREPOSITORYWHY THIS E-REPOSITORY?HOW E- REPOSITORY WAS CREATED?A page presenting Higher Education Systems contains a short presentation of the systems in 4 partner countries in English, national and minority languages.Page REPOSITORY contains a presentation of 23 practices from 9 European countries (UK, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Serbia, Lithuania, Germany, France, Romania), where each practice is presented on a new page with a comparable matrix structure.In the vertical menu, the repository user may see the practices per country and student cycle phase (enrollment, during studies, employment).When it comes to the fulfilment of the result-related indicator, both sub-indicators are exceeded. There are 23 identified good practices (5 planned), and the satisfaction of the reviewers with the result quality is 100% (80% planned).Result 2: HEI teaching and non-teaching staff training manual and programme R2 comprises two different segments. One segment is the training manual (electronic document) which has 295 pages and offers a series of theoretical insights and practical activities related to intercultural, gender and communication issues so that HEI staff (both teaching and non-teaching) can improve their competence in developing strategies and initiatives to increase the enrolment rate and academic performance of underrepresented and vulnerable students. It contains three modules:Module 1 (which is divided into two parts): Interculturality. (In)visible borders and potentials and the second part – Heuristics and interculturality - Meeting point. Module 2: Gender stereotypes in the media, online culture and language Module 3: Edges and margins of interculturality. Students from socially disadvantaged areas on the move.The second segment of R2 is the training program (electronic document) developed along with the Manual. The programme is available in Serbian, Romani, English, Portuguese, Romanian and Italian languages.Result 3: CS-HE cooperation toolkit on increasing access and supporting achievement of underrepresented students in HE This 79-page toolkit encompasses a set of materials for both civil society organisations and higher education institutions, recognising the need and opportunity to join efforts in increasing access and supporting the achievement of underrepresented students in HE. It is designed to guide and practically assist cooperation development and synergies between HEIs and CSOs with a focus on inclusive educational culture. Toolkit mainly targets CSOs working with vulnerable groups (programmes and provision of services), that could benefit from matching their programmes/services and activities of HEIs towards the underrepresented students. On the other hand, the toolkit is meant for HEIs who wish to improve cooperation with the relevant CSOs representing or working on behalf of vulnerable groups with limited access to higher education. The toolkit could be used to direct the CSOs to match their services and programmes for vulnerable groups with support activities carried out by HEIs towards underrepresented students. From such matching, the CSOs should improve the relevance and impact of their services on the social inclusion of vulnerable groups, while the activities of HEIs should result in increased access of underrepresented students to their programmes and their completion, while also improving competencies of teaching and non-teaching staff to work with this population in an inclusive manner. It is designed in the form of e-publication in English, while selected units are made available in partner languages – Serbian, Italian, Romanian, and Portuguese. In addition to the Toolkit, this result also includes the creation of 10 video testimonials, the implementation of workshops in 4 partner countries, and the interactive material Genial.ly in all partner languages, including Romani. The result aims to develop more inclusive educational practices, helping both sectors to create an environment that reduces barriers to success in higher education.Result 4: Toolkit on peer support and active inclusion of underrepresented students consists of 3 segments: 1) Tutorial - The Tutorial is an electronic document consisting of 253 pages and providing guidelines for students to understand concepts such as intercultural competence, challenges of working in different environments, best practices and other relevant information. The tutorial is available digitally in English, with selected materials translated into partner languages, namely Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, Serbian and Romany. It has also been printed in 2000 copies in Portugal.2) Intercultural environment analysis tools is a 19-page electronic document that helps students to separate internal and external intercultural influences, fostering a deeper understanding of their work environment. 3) Intercultural competence training games that offer structured scenarios for teamwork, allowing students to experience different intercultural situations similar to those they may face on their academic and professional journeys. Games created: game #1: Bolo do Caco studio (page 31); game #2: Geo Basket Surfers (page 41). These resources aim to improve students’ intercultural and interpersonal skills, enabling them to navigate the intercultural challenges they encounter during their studies. At the same time, the toolkit aims to strengthen students’ employability and readiness for the labour market.Result 5: European policy brief/recommendations for improving the social dimension of teaching and learning in European HEIs consists of 4 segments: European Policy Brief is a 26-page electronic document addressing Romanian and European educational stakeholders. National Policy Brief for Serbia (Sažetak praktične politike - Raznovrsnost, jednakost i inkluzija u visokom obrazovanju: društvena dimenzija i pripremljenost za internacionalizaciju) is a 14-page long electronic document distributed to Serbian national authorities (Ministry, Council on HE), National University authorities (KONUS and KASS), minority advocates (National Roma Council, REF, Provincial Ombudsman) and national NGOs (Udruženje Romskih studenata). National Policy Brief for Portugal is a 54-page electronic document addressing regional educational authorities in Portugal. National Policy Brief for Italy: ‘’The Social Dimension of Teaching and Learning in European Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)’’ is a 9- page electronic document prepared and distributed to Italian Universities and NGOs working with migrant students. The policy brief is available in the English language. National tailor-made briefs are available in Portuguese, Italian and Serbian languages