New Director of Research and Evaluation

Dr Billy Wong, Associate Professor in Widening Participation at the Institute of Education, has been appointed by the University’s Access and Participation Committee (APC) as the new Director of Research and Evaluation (Access & Participation).

This new role will oversee the research and evaluation of access and participation works and projects related to the University’s Access and Participation Plan (APP), which sets out the university’s strategic approach to ‘improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups to access, succeed in and progress from higher education’ – and is monitored by the Office for Students (OfS).

On his appointment, which will be on a part-time basis, Billy said, ’I look forward to working with colleagues, especially in Global Recruitment, Student Success and Engagement, and the Career Services, to strengthen the research and evaluation of the range of activities we do in support of our APP. I am aware there is a lot going on already and hopefully we will be able to showcase the great work that colleagues have been doing’.

Dr Wong has extensive research experiences and publications on higher education issues, from access to success to outcomes. He is an Academic Advisory Panel member for TASO, which focuses on evidence-informed practice and evaluation in higher education.

Professor Peter Miskell, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Student Experience and Chair of the APC, said:

‘I’m delighted that Billy has been able to take up this new role. The appointment is timely, as the OfS is placing increased scrutiny on how universities evaluate the effectiveness of their Access and Participation Plans. We are fortunate to have someone with Billy’s knowledge and experience to lead our work in this area.’

Anne-Marie Henderson, Director of Student Success and Engagement, added: ‘This is a really important step for the University of Reading in ensuring our approach for supporting underrepresented students is successful. We need to be transparent about what works and what doesn’t and I’m really looking forward to working with Billy on this’.