Claire Burrell

With over ten years’ experience in Further Education (FE), designing and leading programmes in Hospitality and Business, I joined the University of Portsmouth in 2019. I currently lead the Academic Skills Tutoring team within the Faculty of Business and Law, where I oversee curriculum-embedded academic development, targeted student support initiatives and institutionally aligned learning enhancement projects.

My work focuses on student transition, belonging, academic literacies and inclusive approaches to learning development within Higher Education. Earlier research explored the experiences and support needs of international postgraduate students studying in the UK, particularly in relation to transition, academic expectations, and academic integrity.

My current doctoral research examines the use of learning analytics and data-informed interventions to identify and support students considered academically ‘at risk’ within Higher Education. While universities are increasingly able to identify risk through engagement and performance data, my research explores the experiences that sit behind these indicators and investigates how institutions can respond in ways that are relational, ethical, inclusive and effective.

Alongside my research, I lead projects focused on student continuation, assessment engagement and reducing barriers to success through early intervention and curriculum-embedded academic support. This includes working with university teams towards the development of learning analytics dashboards and collaborative approaches to supporting transition into Level 4 study.

I regularly contribute to institutional and sector-wide discussions around student belonging, assessment and feedback practice, academic integrity, inclusive curriculum design, and learning development practice. My work has been presented at conferences including Advance HE symposiums, the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Conference and the QAA Quality Insights Conference.