The challenge
When the University of Exeter launched its degree apprenticeship programmes, they faced the challenge of building new systems to support a rapidly growing learner population. “When we started in the world of apprenticeships at Exeter, we had to transform a lot of the systems that were in place at the university or adapt and overcome because they had never done anything like an apprenticeship before,” explained Professor Sarah Tudor, Associate Professor in Leadership and Degree Apprenticeships. Starting with just 16 apprentices in 2016, Exeter now supports 3,800 learners, with an ambition to reach 5,000 by 2028. Professor Sarah Tudor shares, “When we were looking at actually understanding our apprentices better and understanding their starting points, then obviously we needed to lean in and look very carefully at initial assessment… for me a bigger part of that is knowing a bit more about what sort of support all of our apprentices need and how that varies across the whole population.” Cognassist was introduced as part of Exeter’s induction process, ensuring every apprentice received personalised support from the start. “It happens at induction for us… it starts the conversation about what would help, what do you think the barriers are, Cognassist is suggesting this, do you agree with that? Do you think this would help?” said Professor Tudor. Academic mentors play a key role, using the platform to open supportive discussions and ensure apprentices receive the right help in their first module, rather than halfway through a programme. Cognassist assessments became integral at induction, not before, to avoid creating barriers. “I didn’t want it to feel like a gateway or that we were judging them before they even started the programme“. Adoption included continuous mentor training, ensuring conversations around support remained open and learner led.
- Understanding learner starting points accurately
- Growing apprenticeship programs significantly and rapidly
- Maintaining exceptional success rates
The solution
Exeter’s apprenticeship achievement rates are consistently above the national average. “Lots of organisations use different tools, but Cognassist is a key factor for us and one part of the reason for our high achievement rates - currently over 80% - above the national average. Cognassist is going to be pivotal for us. Our ambition is always to improve our achievement rates, and we can only do that if we support learners effectively throughout their programme” said Professor Tudor. While Exeter acknowledges more could be done to rigorously track Learning Support Funding, the university has already embedded Cognassist into its financial processes. “Financial constraints make us more focused on it. They are claiming support funding for apprentices identified as needing additional support from the start. It wasn’t a focus at all a few years ago but now it is. Cognassist is critical for us in this process, alongside other tools. Unless someone self-discloses or has a pre-existing diagnosis, these are the main tools we use to identify support needs. It’s really critical“. With a learner-first approach, the University of Exeter has built a scalable and inclusive model of support, underpinned by Cognassist. “Cognassist helps us understand early on what their starting point and support needs are, so we can track learners and improve achievement rates,” said Professor Tudor. For the University, Cognassist is a key part of growing an inclusive, ambitious apprenticeship provision, enabling staff and learners to thrive. “I always recommend it as it helps understand our apprentices from the start. Lots of organisations use different tools, but Cognassist is a key factor for us and part of the reason for our high achievement rates - currently around 83%, above the national average.” As the university aims for 5,000 apprentices by 2028, Cognassist remains at the core of its strategy for equitable learner journeys, continued improvement, and sector leadership.