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Research Projects

Chloe Cox

Current PhD Student

Higher Education for All - Provision of full-time online education to maximise access, participation and success for students who cannot attend on campus

Miss Chloe M. Cox is a PhD Student at the Institute of Technology Sligo (since 2019). Miss Cox’s research interests are focused on exploring the facilitators and barriers to transitioning to higher education. Additionally, Miss Cox is interested in researching how institutions can improve their support services for online learners and enable academic success.

Prior to joining IT Sligo, Miss Cox was awarded a Distinction in her MSc in Applications of Psychology at the University of Suffolk (2018-2020; England) and obtained a First Class Classification in her BSc (Hons) in Psychology and Criminology at the University of Suffolk (BPS Accredited, 2015-2018; England). Miss Cox received an additional award for Best Dissertation in PSYC Routes at the University of Suffolk. Miss Cox has skills both of a quantitative and qualitative nature, as her MSc adopted a mixed methods approach. Miss Cox also has expertise in utilising data manipulation and analyses packages such as, SPSS, NVivo and Atlas.ti.

Previous to beginning her PhD, Miss Cox worked at Cygnet Colchester Hospital (2018-2019) which provides intensive support and rehabilitation services. Miss Cox worked closely with males with learning disabilities and/or diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in conjunction with a variety of mental health conditions. Miss Cox has also volunteered at, The Haven Project (2019), a charity that supports individuals with personality disorders. Miss Cox’s role was to facilitate and observe group sessions based on Dialectic Behavioural Therapy and life skills. Additionally, Miss Cox volunteered as an Activity Support Volunteer at Mid and North East Essex Mind (2018-2019), a charity that provides support to individuals that suffer with substance/alcohol misuse and mental ill health.

Project:

At IT Sligo we are introducing an innovative model of full-time online learning, in order to better facilitate equality of opportunity for access and inclusion in higher education. The overall project aims and objectives are; 1) to identify effective strategies to maximise access, participation and success for students who cannot attend on campus and 2) to inform the development of best practice and increasing access and participation in higher education, through online learning for traditionally under-represented groups. There are a variety of reasons why some groups would find it too challenging to attend an on-campus course such as: caring responsibilities, disability, social communication barriers, cost or geographical isolation. The expected outcome of this research is to inform the development of best practice in terms of facilitating access and full participation in higher education. Miss Cox’s research will inform IT Sligo of the support services required and desired by students, to ensure they are more enabled to undertake an online course in higher education, and subsequently more likely to succeed.

Presentations

Oral presentations

Miss C Cox & Dr S Brady. Higher Education for All: Provision of full-time online education to maximise access, participation and success for students who cannot attend on campus courses. Jun 14, 2020. Oral Presentation at the AdvanceHE Online Curriculum Symposium 2020, Ireland. Link – https://youtu.be/R-Y88Ruoxr8

Poster presentations

Miss C Cox, Professor J McCormack, Ms L O’Gorman & Dr A Gillen. Higher Education for All: Provision of full-time online education to maximise access, participation and success for students who cannot attend on campus courses. Jan 17, 2020. Poster Presentation at the Connacht-Ulster Alliance (CUA) Research Symposium 2020, Sligo Park Hotel, Sligo, Ireland.

Miss C Cox, Professor J McCormack, Ms L O’Gorman & Dr A Gillen. Higher Education for All: Provision of full-time online education to maximise access, participation and success for students who cannot attend on campus courses. Dec 11, 2019. Poster Presentation at the HELLIN Conference 2019 “Lifelong Learning: Preparing for Our Future World” Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford, Ireland.