Conley Readiness Index
The online student skills analysis tool
Equip your students with self-awareness and support their transition into university and beyond, with this 30-minute online skills analysis tool
How does this student skills assessment tool work?
The Conley Readiness Index (CRI) is a 30-minute online skills analysis tool that assesses students’ strengths and weaknesses and identifies gaps between their aspirations and aptitudes.
The CRI analysis generates outputs, actively encouraging students to adopt cognitive behaviours or seek resources to remediate skills gaps and core competencies. When the diagnostic assessment is repeated, it can guide students from the start of their university journey all the way through their studies and into their careers.
Complementing the interventions you already have in place for your students' learning process, you can use individual reports generated upon completion of the CRI to offer personalised feedback at scale.
Students can take the CRI at any time but is best used initially as an early diagnostic within the first few months of starting their higher education studies, and then taken again later in the course to measure progress.
Accessing and using CRI is straightforward:
- Students access the CRI tool via a unique url embedded into your VLE;
- Students are asked a series of competency-based assessment questions, which take around 30 minutes to complete;
- A personalised report is provided for each individual student focusing on the skills they need to develop further, which they can then share with a tutor, academic adviser or study skills tutor.
You can use the data and reports to offer students individual, personalised feedback that better supports their needs, whether they are studying online, part-time or on campus. It also provides insights you can adapt to your existing courses or approach to university transition.
Improving chances of student progress and success
Research has consistently shone a spotlight over the years on how many students feel inadequately prepared for university life when they start their degree course, impacting their confidence, engagement and, ultimately, dropout rates. And with blended and online learning becoming an established feature for most courses, the challenges around creating a sense of belonging, reducing student stress levels and managing their expectations are further amplified.
In conjunction with Wonkhe1, we surveyed students during a year-long study in 2021 on belonging and inclusion. The research found that, while 72% of students who agree they belong feel confident in their academic skills, only 34% of respondents who disagree still feel that confidence.
Help students assess their key skills and competencies
The CRI is built on over a decade of research in the US, tailored to UK universities requirements. The Conley Model is based on 42 ‘actionable’ skills and competencies that students and educators can focus on in order to improve readiness for higher education and career success.
These skills and competencies are organised into 4 broad areas called the Four Keys:
- Key Cognitive Strategies
- Key Content Knowledge
- Key Learning Skills & Techniques
- Key Transition Knowledge & Skills
The CRI is built on over a decade of research in the US and has been tailored to UK universities. Over 100,000 students have used CRI, and their feedback shows that they value the role of CRI in helping them to identify areas beyond basic content knowledge in need of improvement and better understand their readiness to learn and succeed.
Learn more
Please get in touch using the form below to find out more about the Conley Readiness Index.
Sample extract from a CRI report
