TIPS stands for Transition Induction and Progression Strategies and is a project which offered additional support and guidance to students from non-traditional backgrounds who had very little family experience of higher education.

The University obtained funding from the European Social Fund for a developmental project Transition, Induction, Progression Strategies, from the period January 2003 until December 2004. The project involved an innovative approach to pre-entry support, followed by support during the first year of study, targeting specific student groups at particular risk of drop out or lack of success. It was hoped through these strategies to improve retention and success rates of those groups.

Targeted groups were drawn from Greater Manchester, Stoke-on Trent and Crewe Excellence Challenge/Excellence in Cities cohorts, Access students and the University's own Foundation Year applicants. They received pre-entry guidance and support in order to boost the skills they require for a successful higher education experience, maximise best fit between student interests/experience and degree course, and raise confidence levels, orientating them to the nature and demands of higher education.

The Project has been directed by the Head of Student Services, Sheila Aynsley-Smith and the Head of Widening Participation, Rob Halsall. The TIPS Co-ordinator appointed to the Project was Karen Duggan who worked as part of a team with two appointed Personal Advisors, Gill Rice and Martin Edwards. They had administrative support from Pamela Berry.

We hope that staff and students saw this project as complementing existing provision and that the downloadable materials on the website are valued as useful resources.