Through the one-year Personal Coaching for Academic Success pilot, 41 students were coached for up to six weeks on areas such as organisational skills, self-confidence, time management, self-awareness and future planning, all with the aim of encouraging, inspiring and motivating them to be able to succeed academically.

Of the students who saw an increase in their average marks over the course of coaching, 78% moved from a 2:2 to a 2:1 and are now on track to receive a higher degree outcome.

Students who received coaching as part of the pilot said:

“Since partnering with Success Coaches at the start of my final year, I have seen my results soar.”​

“The past six weeks have allowed me to grow in confidence which has proven that I can achieve what I set out to achieve so long as I put in the effort to implement these changes. The changes that I have made are changes that I hope are long term and will benefit me even beyond my university years.”​

“Coaching has helped me become a much more organised person who knows their strengths and weaknesses and how I can use those to my advantage. I feel much more confident going into my final semester than I did at the start of the year and I will continue to use the skills I have developed after I graduate. For anyone considering coaching I cannot recommend this enough, it has been an amazing help and I don't where I would be without it.” ​

The Personal Coaching for Academic Success concept will now be upscaled to form part of the new ‘Student Success Academy’ to provide tailored support for specific student groups at every point in the higher education journey.

Professor Rachel Thomson, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching) said: “I was really delighted to see the outcome of this successful pilot, and I am very grateful to everyone involved for contributing to the positive outcomes in support of our students. I am very much looking forward to us developing this offer further in the forthcoming academic year.”