The Open University

Professional biography

Current role: Academic Lead, Access Participation and Success in Faculty of Business and Law

Awarded OU Doctorate in Education 2023 for thesis entitled: 'Relationships, assets and social capital - a case study review of youth mentoring'.

Previous experience within OU includes academic strategy, student policy, module and qualification management and student experience management.

Employment history in telecoms, market research, business consultancy with PwC, central government with COI (Central Office of Information) and local government with St. Albans district Council.

Scholarship areas: impact of peer mentoring for students, inclusive curriculum tool, virtual internships, care leavers, using OU scholarship to identify interventions to address awarding gaps.

Research interests

Research interests include youth people and wellbeing; the benefits of mentoring relationships; social capital and young people; care experienced young people and the benefits of mentoring,

Teaching interests

Usage and benefits of inclusive curriculum tool

Interventions to close awarding gaps

Benefits of virtual internships

Peer mentoring and impact on students, mentors and tutors.

Co-creation of dashboard using predictive data to support student success

Impact and engagement

Volunteer youth mentor with a local authority since 2018.

Regular presentation of research findings to policy makers and youth mentoring organisations through journal articles, conference presentations and seminars.

Member of steering group for All Party Parliamentary Group for Mentoring

Publications

Journal articles

Evidence-based Good Practice for Youth Mentoring Programmes (2024)
Comfort, Catherine
International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring(18) (pp. 195-207)

Virtual internships in open and distance learning contexts: Improving access, participation, and success for underrepresented students (2023-05-14)
Reid, Kristen; Butler, Diane; Comfort, Catherine and Potter, Andrew
Distance Education, 44(2) (pp. 267-283)

Conference items

Induction for Student Access Participation and Success (2023-07)
Comfort, Catherine and Rhoden, Maureen
In : MKE Teaching Practice Conference 2023: Theme - Your Voice: Shaping the Future of Management Education. (7 Jul 2023, UCL, London, UK)

Thesis

Relationships, Assets and Social Capital: A Case Study Review of Youth Mentoring (2023-01-18)
Comfort, Catherine Jean
edd thesis The Open University

Other

PVC-Challenges Response: A student facing dashboard for online undergraduate students (2023-12)
Herodotou, Christothea; Shrestha, Sagun; Comfort, Catherine; Fernandez, Miriam; Andrews, Heshan; Mulholland, Paul; Bayer, Vaclav; Maguire, Claire and Lee, John
Quality Enhancement and Innovation, The Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.

The language and practice of student support for one another: Diverse options for diverse purposes. A practice insight working paper. (2022-01-28)
Forbes, Tina; Fox, Alison; Comfort, Catherine; Taylor, Louise and Mott, Natalie
CollectivED, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds.

Taking an ecological view of student (peer) mentoring (2022-01-28)
Fox, Alison; Comfort, Catherine; Forbes, Tina; Taylor, Louise and Mott, Natalie
CollectivED, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds.