St Mary’s Shortlisted for Two Times Higher Education Awards

St Mary’s University, Twickenham has been shortlisted for two awards recognising initiatives in widening participation at the 18^th Times Higher Education (THE) Awards.

The annual award ceremony, often called the Oscars of Higher Education, celebrates achievements in universities across the country in a range of academic, outreach, student success and professional services categories.

St Mary’s has been shortlisted in two categories this year, Widening Participation or Outreach Initiative of the Year and Outstanding Support for Students.

In the Widening Participation category, St Mary’s has been shortlisted for its annual Get Set for Success programme. Celebrating its tenth year, Get Set for Success is a pre-induction initiative for new students. It is specifically designed to provide increased support for students from non-traditional or low participation backgrounds to help them get the most out their time at university.

The St Mary’s Cares initiative has been shortlisted for the Outstanding Support for Students award. The initiative is designed to support care leaver, care experienced or estranged students, who are amongst the least likely to achieve in HE, not through lack of potential, but because of the significant barriers their life-experiences create. St Mary’s Cares provides a holistic package of support to addresses financial, emotional, pastoral, transition, employability, and accommodation issues and includes staff development activity at its heart.

Speaking of the nominations Anthony McClaran, St Mary’s Vice-Chancellor, said, “Congratulations to our brilliant colleagues in Widening Participation and Student Services who work diligently to ensure all our students have the tools they need to access and succeed in Higher Education. The two categories we have been nominated in are part of our core mission as a university and have a direct impact on the outcomes of the students they support.”

The Award Ceremony will take place in November in Central London.

THE Editor John Gill said of the awards, “This is the 18th year that the THE Awards will celebrate the best that UK higher education has to offer, across 20 categories covering all aspects of university activity. Once again, the shortlists reflect universities doing extraordinary things in extraordinary times, during the 2020-21 academic year, when the pandemic continued to force higher education and all who work in it to respond to an unprecedented challenge.”