Liz Thomas is professor of higher education at Edge Hill University, and an independent higher education researcher and consultant. She has been researching widening participation and student success for over twenty years. Current work includes piloting interventions to improve students’ belonging and success, researching student retention and withdrawal in public sector professional education programmes, and research and institutional development to improve the engagement, experience and outcomes of commuter students. Liz is committed to using her research to improve student experiences and outcomes, and has organised and facilitated many change programmes for cross-institution teams, and is currently supporting a number of higher education institutions to develop their approach to improving the diversity and success of their students. Liz is a widening participation expert for the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework main panel, helping to ensure that the TEF processes and assessors take account of the experiences and realities of non-traditional students in judgements about teaching excellence.
