There have been an increasing number of students entering the university at Level 5 and 6 over the past 5 years from a range of partners’ institutions including BMET (Stourbridge), Heart of Worcestershire College, TCAT and transfers from other HEI’s. There are a number of key transition stages for students within higher education. Transition stages can highlight perplexing times for students, these could be an adjustment in academic activities or a transition within their personal and/or social life. These key transition points could be entry into the first or second year of study or even a top-up into the final year of study (Whittaker, 2008). It is important to engage early within the transition process in higher education, to establish methods for effective learning and ensure sustained retention throughout undergraduate programmes (Tinto, 2009).
Data collected from focus groups in an OCAP (Online Centre for Achievement and Progression) project reflected a need for further support in this process from the application phase to the formal transition into ISES within the university. Students during the focus groups alluded to the fact that all the information they received was from their lecturers but was not as detailed as it could have been. Some had not been to the university or met any lecturers and the level 6 entry students did not know that you had to find an independent study supervisor. This was particularly pertinent for direct entry and partner college students.
Change can happen quickly within a student’s academic journey, when confronted with adjustment the transition process takes longer to achieve (QAA, 2015). Due to a rise in retention, higher education institutions are developing more formalized support mechanisms, one of these being peer mentoring. Student mentoring is not a new phenomenon and has be used extensively within a variety of vocational and educational settings to support and facilitate learning (Level & Mach, 2005). The overall aim of the project was to begin to understand what mechanisms work for transition students that top-up into a level 5 or 6 undergraduate programme, in particular peer mentoring.
Five Level 6 students studying on a range of undergraduate programmes within ISES were recruited to mentor the ‘transition’ students (n=48). The mentor was required to support the mentee throughout their transition into a UoW undergraduate programme. The mentor made initial contact with their mentees via email and arranged to meet as a collective group or on a 1 to 1 basis. Their role was to support the mentee as another point of contact rather than an academic member of staff. The mentors also set up a ‘Yammer’ group to support the whole group with FAQ’s.
The findings of the project suggested that 50% of students (mentees) found that the mentor initiative was effective with 33.3% stating no it wasn’t and 16.7% stating it may be effective. The SAM’s felt that they would have benefitted from a mentor scheme when they transitioned into an undergraduate programme. Leese (2010) supports this notion as it has been suggested that ‘new students’ within universities are often unable to engage in group networks of support which in turn hinders their transition.
The project has enabled the institute to support the students accordingly for 17/18. The following recommendations have been made in relation to this project and how as an institute we can support the transition students on their new journey; bespoke welcome week programme, peer mentors, designated PAT and support with module selection process. All of these have been implemented and further evaluations of their success will be measured at the end of the academic year.
Jaime Guinan, Teaching Fellow in Sport Studies, Coaching & PE
References
Leese, M. (2010) Bridging the gap: supporting student transitions into higher education, Journal of Further and Higher Education, 34 (2), 239-251. doi: 10.1080/03098771003695494
Level, A. V. & Mach, M. (2005) Peer mentoring: one institution’s approach to mentoring academic librarians, Library Management, 26 (6/7), 301–310. doi:10.1108/01435120410609725
Tinto, V. (2009). Taking student retention seriously: Rethinking the first year of university. Paper presented at the FYE Curriculum Design Symposium, Brisbane, Australia.
QAA. (2015) Transition Models and how student experiences change. Enhancement Themes. Available at: http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/pages/docdetail/docs/publications/transition-skills-and-strategies—transition-models-and-how-students-experience-change (Accessed: 9 June 2017).
Williams, E. (2017) Student Retention and Achievement Annual report 2016-2017. Internal UW report. Unpublished.