This HE case study presentation was delivered by Amanda Osborne during the Widening Participation workshop of the May 2016 Learning Networks event held in Manchester.

1. Amanda OSBORNE
Study Abroad Manager/Erasmus+ Institutional Co-ordinator
Global Engagement
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/study/studyabroad/

2. Study Abroad at Warwick: looking at two examples of funding
opportunities (how they support engagement and the longer term impact on
opportunities for students)
• University of Warwick
• Background
• Student population
• Internationalisation
• Study Abroad at Warwick
• Strategy: Internationalisation University level
• Study Abroad Strategy
• Participation
• % of student population
• Numbers
• Departments
• Nationalities
• Training: Intercultural,
• Erasmus+ Widening Participation
• In the beginning
• In practice
• Additional Financial Support
• Warwick Bursary for Study Abroad
• Warwick – Monash Alliance
• Background
• Study Abroad and the Alliance
• Erasmus+ Funding (KA107 HE ICM)
• In practice
• From the Students
• Lessons
• EMPLOY
• TBC

3. University of Warwick
4 Faculties
Arts 13%
Science 35%
Social Science 46%
Medicine 6%
Student body:
UG 13,864
PG 9,540
Located on the
outskirts of
Coventry, West
Midlands
19
Departments
in the UK
top 10
Graduates 3rd
most targeted by
UK employers
Staff body
5,926
2,318 - 41%
of staff are
non UK
Go
Global
IGGY
University of Warwick 1965 - 2016
Students Non
UK
9,363
UG 3,931
PG 5,432

4. Goal one: Enable our students to succeed
Provide a life-changing education, an outstanding student
experience, a global perspective.
Objective 6: Global citizens
We will
✓ Increase the global mobility and awareness of students through our
international partnerships, so as to offer more international opportunities and
placements as integral elements of degrees.
✓ Launch flexible and distinctive transnational degrees with our international
partners, providing an outstanding global learning experience for our students.
Warwick strategy

5. Warwick Study Abroad
Goal 1
Study at Warwick: Provide a
life-changing education, an
outtanding student
experience, a global
perspective
20% of the
undergraduate
students to study
overseas by 2020
Review barriers to
mobility:
Academic
Risk
Funding
Oportunities
Governance: review the
credit transfer policies
Learning Experience:
flexible opportunities
for study abroad
Creation of a Study
Abroad Moodle
Erasmus+:
International
Parntership Funding
Service: innovative and
supportive service to
enhance the student
experience

6. Erasmus+ Student Mobility
Erasmus+ Worlwide Mobility [ICM] - outound
Worldwide Outgoing Placement Nos
Visiting Outgoing Placement Nos
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 *2015/2016
(expected)
Erasmus+ Student Mobility Erasmus+ Worlwide Mobility [ICM] - outound
Worldwide Outgoing Placement Nos Visiting Outgoing Placement Nos
Outbound Mobility 2012 - 2016

7. Outbound
0
50
100
150
Social Sciences
Outbound
0
5
10
15
Sciences
Outbound0
20
40
60
80
Arts
Faculty/Departmental Participation

8. Erasmus+ study students eligible for WP
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016
Percentage of cohort Eligible for Erasmus+ students
eligible for disadvantaged student grant
Eligible
0
200
400
Study Abroad Cohort
Eligible Study Abroad Cohort

9. Encouraging and supporting mobility for all
Open day presentations and stall at
the fair
Information sessions Autumn Term
Pre-departure sessions Spring term
Study Abroad Team drop-in sessions
Intercultural Training
MOODLE

10. The inclusion of the Widening Participation element within the
structure of Erasmus+ grants in 2011/2012 helped with support for
mobility.
Erasmus+ Widening Participation
The eligibility of students for the additional
Widening Participation funds is established
through the Warwick student finance team,
who receive regular updates from Student
Finance England, and are able to easily
identify eligible students.

11. Any student who is not identified as eligible at the beginning of the
academic year, are directed to the student finance team
• They must submit a revised finance application to provide
evidence of their change in status
Students are paid the Widening participation grant at the same time
as their Erasmus+ grant unless there is a change of status during the
year
• Students who are not funded under Student Finance England are
assessed on an individual case by case basis and are required to
submit evidence of household income.
In practice

12. Students who are ineligible for WP, may become financially disadvantaged
during their Erasmus+ year. The University of Warwick protects funds
from their Erasmus+ OS grant to support them.
Students must submit a form through their departmental co-ordinator
who needs to assess and authorise the request. Funding up to an amount
of €500 can be granted to the student.
The limit of €500 was set to match the €500 WP grant in the first year of
introduction. This has proved acceptable as a standard amount, but can
be exceeded in exceptional circumstances.
Additional financial support

13. Authorised requests for additional financial support have
been in regards to:
- issues with accommodation
- medical emergencies requiring support outside of that
covered by insurance
- Crisis situations requiring immediate travel home, or
preferred travel home due to individual reactions i.e., the
bombings in Paris where some students wished to return
home to overcome their feelings of shock and panic

14. In addition:
The University of Warwick has initiated a bursary to provide a reduced
tuition rate for Erasmus students that have an income assessed by SFE as
being below £25k. This is a specific Warwick Bursary initiative.
Additional support will be offered to Warwick Bursary students going
abroad under the Erasmus+ Programme (whose family incomes are less
than or equal to £25,000) to cover the amount of fees charged for that
Erasmus year (£1,350 for 2016/2017). For Warwick Bursary students
whose family incomes are between 25,001 and £35000, a reduce fee
waiver of £650 will be offered in their year abroad.
Warwick Study Abroad Bursary

15. Lessons and impact
Best left forgotten and is the
communication in which we
introduced the identification of the
Widening participation grant in
2011/2012.
An email was sent to all students to
say that we had finance set aside and
that requests could be made by
students who felt financially
disadvantaged. This caused an influx
of forms requesting additional
financial support.
Few of these requests were because
of genuine financial need, and many
were because the student felt they
should be able to travel and wanted
support for this. Many student were
left disappointed by our inability to
fund their vacation time travels.
Identifying the team that has access
to the information that Student
Finance England have on eligible
students for the WP grant and
developing a sound working
relationship with them.
This is the same finance team who
manage the payment of Erasmus+
grants. They have a comprehensive
understanding of the process
The ability to offer students financial
support in crisis situations, is vital and
can act as the main impetus for a
student remaining on placement.
Providing a level a financial security or
the means to return home following a
crisis may help the student maintain
their emotional position to allow
them to continue.

16. The Warwick – Monash Alliance
“We look at everything the Universities do
and ask the question: Is it better done
together?”
“We look at everything the Universities do and ask the
question: Is it better done together?”

17. Background to the Alliance
• Developing since 2009
• Launched Nov 2012
• Joint University chairs
• Joint UG, PG courses and doctoral research supervised by
academics in both institutions
• Joint alumni, fund-raising, communications
• Shared systems, shared best practice
• Reinforcing each other’s global links

18. The Alliance is designed to ensure that both universities are
positioned to compete in a changing environment and offer global
opportunities to students, faculty and staff
The strategic potential associated with this global partnership is
continually evolving, as new models for education delivery emerge
and develop and, perhaps, new institutions join the alliance

19. Study Abroad and the Monash Alliance
• Warwick's student mobility programme with Monash is an
essential part of the broader Alliance
• A key aim of the Alliance is to help meet the increasing
student, industry and government demand for universities
to produce graduates with a global education
• Student mobility opportunities are strategically important
to both universities as students from both the UK and
Australia increasingly recognise the intercultural and
employability benefits of study abroad
• From an ambitious start of 10 places each year, the
numbers have grown at a remarkable rate and in 2015
could exceed over 90 students going out from Warwick
from 15 different departments

20. It is recognised that not all students will be able to take up this opportunity, and
this was one of the drivers for the Erasmus+ bid for funding for 2015/2016
Support through Erasmus+ (KA107 HE ICM) would provide greater scope to
encourage as many students as possible to take up the opportunities available to
them to experience study abroad:
• boost participation in study abroad at Warwick from the current levels of 16%
of our undergraduate population to our target of 20%
• help to grow the numbers of incoming exchange students to Warwick from
Australia, helping to enrich and internationalise an already-diverse campus
community

21. Erasmus+ Funding
Warwick was successful in 2015/2016 in the Erasmus+
Programme Countries bid for funding for:
– Students to and from our partner institution
Monash, Melbourne Australia
– 8 students each way received amounts of:
Outbound from Warwick €650 per month for a maximum of 4
months 27 days, plus €1100 towards travel expenses
Inbound to Warwick €850 per month for a maximum of 4
months 27 days, plus €1100 towards travel expenses

22. From the students
The process for the selection of the successful students for the
Monash Erasmus Grants:
• Confirmation of their participation in publicity events and
marketing materials
• Expectation to attend two study abroad sessions
• The successful candidates have created a blog and are actively
engaging with this providing excellent materials for the Study
Abroad opportunity

23. In practise
Integration of Erasmus+ programmes and Worldwide
University exchanges
- Diversity
- Equal opportunities
- Higher level of cross team support
- Simplification of Study abroad team responsibilities = increased and
consistent provision of support for
Students
Partners
Colleagues across the University
- Consistent overarching processes
- Consistent responsibilities and
requirements for all Study Abroad
students

24. Integrating systems and unifying programmes is hugely
beneficial and the positives definitely outweigh the
negatives, despite difficulties this is definitely worth
pursuing.
Be prepared to protect the time needed to be spent
working through how the different programmes can be
simply administered using the same processes.
Erasmus+ forms which are perceived by Erasmus+ students
as onerous, are now used for all Study Abroad Students.
This has helped us manage our essential monitoring points
for all Study Abroad students whilst bringing the process
into line. It means that any study abroad student has a
responsibility to complete the forms, with the exception of
the Erasmus+ student contract and grant receipts.
BEWARE of the differing academic calendars across the
world!
Lessons and impact