hea what works final report 2012

8/12/2019 HEA What Works Final Report 2012

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Building student engagement

and belonging in Higher

Education at a time of change:final report from the

What Works? Student Retention & Success programme

Final Report

By Professor Liz Thomas

July 2012


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WhatWorks?StudentRetention&Success

Acknowledgements

Iamgratefulfortheinputofalargenumberofpeopletothisprogrammeof

work.FirsttothePaulHamlynFoundationforinitiating,developingand

implementingworkinthisarea,andforthecollaborationwiththeHigher

EducationFundingCouncilforEngland(HEFCE)(asco-funders)andtheHigherEducationAcademyandActiononAccess(astheSupportand

Co-ordinationteam).IamespeciallygratefultoDrHelenMayforherwork

supportingprojectsandco-ordinatinganalysisanddisseminationduringthe

firsttwoyearsoftheprogramme.Withoutthesevenprojectteamswhohave

workedtogetherandindependentlyforoverthreeyearstherewouldnotbea

finalreporttopublish.TheAdvisoryGroup,chairedbyProfessorPatricia

Broadfoot,hasbeenveryhelpfulinguidingtheprogrammeandsupporting

thedisseminationofthefindings.Therearemanyindividualswhohave

contributedtothisstudyinawiderangeofways,andIamgratefultoallof

them.Thankyou.


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1Contents

ContentsIntroduction 4 Thechanginghighereducationlandscape 4

StudentretentionandsuccessinEnglandandtheUK 5

The What Works? Student Retention & Successprogramme 8

Methods 8

Outputsfromtheprogramme 10

Building engagement and belonging 12

Belonging 12

Engagement 13

Nurturingbelonging 14

The What Works? model: building student

belonging, engagement, retention and success 16 Earlyengagement 17

Engagementintheacademicsphere 17

Developingthecapacityofstudentsandstafftoengage 18

Institutionalmanagementandco-ordination 19

Practical implications: lessons learned,case studies and recommendations 20

Engagingpractice:Characteristicsofeffectiveinterventions

andapproaches 20

Pre-entry 21

Pre-entrycasestudiesofeffectivepractice 23

MatureStudentsWelcomeLunch,UniversityofHull

StudySkillsSummerSchool,UniversityofHull

Induction 25

Inductioncasestudiesofeffectivepractice 27

Thet-shirtinductionactivity,SchoolofChemicalEngineering

andAdvancedMaterials,NewcastleUniversity


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2WhatWorks?StudentRetention&Success

WelcomeWeek,NottinghamTrentUniversity

PeerGuides:studentssupportingstudentsthroughtransition

andbeyond,BangorUniversity

Learningandteaching 31

Staff/studentrelationships

Curriculumcontentsandpedagogy

Assessmentandfeedback

Learningandteachingcasestudiesofeffectivepractice 39

Engineeringteams,SchoolofMechanicalandSystemsEngineering

(MSE),NewcastleUniversity

Problem-basedlearningingroups,DepartmentofPsychology,

UniversityofSunderland

Fieldtripduringinductionweek,DepartmentofTourism,Hospitality

andEvents,UniversityofSunderland

Academicdevelopmentandsupport 42

Personaltutoring

Academicdevelopmentandsupportcasestudiesofeffectivepractice 45

PASS:PersonalandAcademicSupportSystem:proactivesupport

forstudents,DepartmentofBiologicalandMedicalSciences,

OxfordBrookesUniversity

Writingmentors,AstonUniversity,LiverpoolHopeUniversityand

LondonMetropolitanUniversity

Friendshipandpeersupport 48

School,departmentorprogrammeintegration

Accommodation

Clubs,societiesandsocialevents

PeermentoringFriendshipandpeersupportcasestudiesofeffectivepractice 56

Studentssupportingstudents,UniversityofSheffield

TheSandboxStudio:acourse-specificsocialspace,Department

ofPsychology,UniversityofSunderland

Curriculum-relatedfundraisingactivities,BA(Hons)Childhood

Studies,FacultyofEducationandSociety,UniversityofSunderland

Professionalservices 60

Professionalservicescasestudiesofeffectivepractice 62

Studentadvisers,AngliaRuskinUniversity


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3Contents

PASSIntervention:Mentoringpoorlyperformingfirst-yearstudents,

DepartmentofBiologicalandMedicalSciences,OxfordBrookes

University

Studentcapacityforparticipationandbelonging 64

Staffcapacityforinvolvingstudentsandnurturingacultureofbelonging 65

Recognition

Supportanddevelopment

Reward

Usingdata 66

Modules,programmesanddepartments

Monitoringstudentengagement

Strategic implications and recommendations 69

Institutionalreflectivechecklist 70

Conclusions 72

Whattodonow 73

Appendix 1: The What Works? projects 74 Project1:Acomparativeevaluationoftherolesofstudentadviser

andpersonaltutorinrelationtoundergraduatestudentretention 74

Project2:Pathwaystosuccessthroughpeermentoring 76

Project3:Belongingandintimacyfactorsintheretentionofstudents 80

Project4:Dispositionstostay:thesupportandevaluationofretention

strategiesusingtheEffectiveLifelongLearningInventory(ELLI) 82

Project5:HERE!Highereducationretentionandengagement 84

Project6:Comparingandevaluatingtheimpactsonstudentretentionof differentapproachestosupportingstudentsthroughstudyadviceand

personaldevelopment 88

Project7:Goodpracticeinstudentretention:anexaminationofthe

effectsofstudentintegrationonnon-completion 91

References 93


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IntroductionThisreportisasynthesisofthekeymessages,findings,implicationsand

recommendationsemanatingfromtheprojectsfundedthroughtheWhatWorks?StudentRetention&Successprogramme2008-2011,and

includescasestudiesofwhatworks.Followingthisintroductorysection,the

reportprovides:

asummaryofkeymessagesbasedonasynthesisoftheevidencefrom

thesevenprojects;

presentationoftheWhatWorks?modelforimprovingstudent

engagement,belonging,retentionandsuccess;

afulldiscussionaboutthepracticalimplicationsoftheresearch

programme,includingillustrativeexamplesofspecificwaysinwhichhigher

educationinstitutionshaveimprovedstudentengagement,belonging,

retentionandsuccess;

considerationofthestrategicimplicationsofadoptingtheWhatWorks?

approachtoimprovingstudentretentionandsuccess,includingan

institutionalreflectivechecklist;

conclusionsfromtheresearchprogrammeandsomesuggestionsofhow

institutionscanusethelearningfromtheWhatWorks?programmeto

enhancestudentengagement,belonging,retentionandsuccess.

The changing higher education landscapeThisreportislaunchedatatimeofimmensechangeinthehigher

educationsector.

ThereviewofhighereducationfundingpublishedbyLordBrowne(2010)

maderecommendationsforchangestothefundingarrangementsforHEin

England,aswellasthearrangementsforstudentfinance.Thesubsequent

WhitePaperStudents at the Heart of the System (DepartmentforBusiness,

Innovation&Skills,2011)aimstousestudentchoice(informedinbypriceand

qualityofthestudentexperience)asamajordriverinshapingHEprovision,

andputsthequalityofthestudentexperiencecentrestage.Inordertodo

this,studentswillhavegreaterinformationaboutuniversities,includingdataonretention,completionandemploymentoutcomes(seeSuttonTrust,2010).

Thepolicychangesshiftresponsibilityforfundinghighereducationawayfrom

thetaxpayertowardsstudentsdirectly:studentfeesareduetoincreasetoa

maximumof9,000peryearfrom2012-13(Cable,2010)andtheHEFCE

recurrentgrantforteachingandresearchinfinancialyear2012-13willbe

reducedby12.8%fromthepreviousyear(BISannualgrantlettertoHEFCE,

20111).Therewasalsoacutintherecurrentteachinggrantinthefinancial

year2011/12by6.1%incomparisontothefinancialyear2010-11(BIS

annualgrantlettertoHEFCE,20102).

1 AnnualgrantlettersfromtheSecretaryofStatetoHEFCEareavailablefrom:http://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/invest/institns/annallocns/governmentgrantletter/.

2 Recurrentgrantforteachingexcludes132millionone-offfundingprovidedfor2010-11throughtheUniversityModernisationFund.Thisisbecausethefundingwasallocatedasasinglesumin2010-11coveringthefulldurationoftheadditionalcourses.
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/invest/institns/annallocns/governmentgrantletterhttp://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/invest/institns/annallocns/governmentgrantletter


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5Introduction

Theseandrelatedchangeshavethepotentialtoaffecthowstudentsengage

withtheprogrammeinwhichtheyareenrolledandwiththewiderinstitution.It

hasbeenspeculatedthatwhenfeesrisein2012-13,studentswilldevelopa

strongerconsumermindsetandexpectationswillincrease,changingthe

focusoftheirattentiontowhatdemonstratesvalueformoneyincludingthe

numberofcontacthourswithtutors(Docherty,2011).Indeed,theNUS/HSBC

survey(NUSConnect,2010)foundthat65%(n=2,511)ofstudentssurveyed

saidtheywouldhaveevenhigherexpectationsoftheirexperienceat

universityasaresultofariseinfees.Furtherpossibleconsequencesof

increasedstudentfeesmayincludemorestudentschoosingtocontinueto

liveinthefamilyhomeratherthanwiththeirstudentpeers;morestudents

combiningpart-timestudywithemployment;andstudentspostponing

enteringHEandthusstudyingasmaturestudents.Astheevidencefromthe

WhatWorks?projectsshowsallofthesefactorsmakeitmoredifficultfor

studenttofullyparticipate,integrateandfeelliketheybelonginHE,whichcan

impactontheirretentionandsuccess.

Student retention and success in England and the UK

IntheUKtwomeasuresofstudentretentionarecommonlyusedinrespectof

full-timeundergraduates:

The first is the completion rate the proportion of starters in a

year who continue their studies until they obtain their qualification,

with no more than one consecutive year out of higher education. Ashigher education courses take years to complete, an expected

completion rate is calculated by the Higher Education Statistics

Agency A more immediate measure of retention is the proportionof an institutions intake which is enrolled in higher education in theyear following their first entry to higher education. This is the

continuation rate.

(NAO, 2007, p. 5)

DataarecollectedfromhighereducationinstitutionsintheUKannuallybythe

HigherEducationStatisticsAgency(HESA)onbehalfofthefourUKhigher

educationfundingbodies.Thisinformationhasenabledthetwomeasures

describedabovetobepublishedforeachinstitutiononanannualbasisinthe

UKhighereducationperformanceindicatorssince1999.Additionally,the

performanceindicatorshaveincludedretentioninformationrelatingtopart-timefirstdegreestudentssince20103.

3Furtherinformationontheretentionmeasureforpart-timestudentsisavailablefrom:http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2064&Itemid=141.
http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2064&Itemid=141http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2064&Itemid=141


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Theperformanceindicatorscanbeusedtoprovideanoverviewofretention

amongfull-timefirstdegree4studentsinEngland5:

theaveragenon-continuationratewas8.4%forentrantstoEnglishhigher

educationinstitutionsin2009-10;

non-continuationratesvariedbetweenEnglishinstitutionsbetween1.2%

and21.4%in2009-10;

theaveragecompletionrateforstudentsenteringinstitutionsinEnglandin

2009-10wasprojectedtobe78.4%;

completionrateswereprojectedtovarybetweeninstitutionsbetween

53.8%and97.2%in2009-10.

Additionally:

theaveragenon-continuationratewas15.2%forfull-timeother

undergraduateentrantstoEnglishhighereducationinstitutionsin2009-10;

non-continuationratesforthesestudentsvariedbetweenEnglish

institutionsbetween1.7%and32.6%in2009-10.

Itisrecognisedthattheprofileofstudentsstudyingvariessignificantly

betweenHEIs,andthattheprofileofaninstitutionsstudentswillbeshaped

byarangeoffactorsincludingitsmission,history,programmesoffered,

geographicallocation,reputationanddemandandpotentiallyinthefuture

thefeescharged.Thecontinuationandcompletionratesincludedwithinthe

performanceindicatorspublishedbyHESAareaccompaniedbybenchmarks,

whichaidinterpretation.Thebenchmarkstakeaccountofthestudentsentry

qualifications,ageandsubjectareaofstudy,andgiveinformationaboutthesortofvaluesthatmightbeexpectedifnofactorsotherthanthoseallowed

forwereimportant6.

TheUKisoftencitedashavinghighratesofstudentretention,progression

andcompletioncomparedtointernationalcomparators.Itis,however,very

difficulttomakesuchcomparisonslargelyduetothenon-standarddefinitions

oftheseterms,anddifferingdatacollectionpractices(vanStolket al.,2007).

Duty(2012)discussesthefactthatwhenthecomparativelylate(December)

datacensuspointistakenintoaccount,andgiventhatmorewithdrawal

happensearlyoninastudentsHEcareer,theUKratesofretentionarenot

significantlybetterthanretentionratesintheUSfour-yearinstitutions.Weko

(2004),however,indicatesthatthedegreeofflexibilityavailabletostudentsintheUSseemstoresultinratesofretentionandcompletionthatare

substantiallylowerthanthoseintheUK.

4 ThedefinitionofafirstdegreeincludesHonoursdegrees,ordinarydegreesandintegratedMastersdegrees,butitdoesnotincludefoundationdegrees.Notethatthetermfirstinthiscontextdoesnotnecessarilyimplythatitisanindividuallearnersfirstinstanceofstudyona

degreeprogramme.ThedefinitionofanotherundergraduatequalificationincludesHNCs,HNDsandothercertificates,foundationdegrees,diplomasandcredit-bearingcoursesatundergraduatelevel.

5 Datarefertoallfull-timeentrants.ExtractedfromperformanceindicatorstableseriesT3andT5,publishedbyHESAandavailablefrom:http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2064&Itemid=141.

6 Thecorollaryofthisisthatwheredifferencesdoexist,thismaybeduetotheinstitutionsperformance,oritmaybeduetosomeotherfactorthatisnotincludedinthebenchmark.
http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2064&Itemid=141http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2064&Itemid=141


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7Introduction

ThereisconcernintheUKcollectivelyandEnglandinparticulartoensurethat

studentretention,progressionandcompletiondoesnotworsenasstudent

numbersanddiversityincrease,andtomakeeffortstoimprovetheserates

asthereareoftennegativeconsequencesforstudentsandtheirfamilies,

institutionsandsocietywhenstudentsleavebeforecompletingtheirtarget

award.Indeed,therearearangeofeconomicandethicalargumentsasto

whyinstitutionsshouldbeconcernedaboutstudentretentionandsuccess.

Inrelationtoeconomics,whenastudentleavesaninstitutionbefore

completionoftheirtargetawardinEnglandthisrepresentslostincomeforthe

institution,whichcannoteasilybereplaced.From2012-13afull-time,non

residentialstudentwhowithdrawsinthefirstsemesterfromaninstitution

charging7,500feeswouldbeequivalenttoatleast24,300oflostincome

totheinstitutionoverthedurationofathree-yearcourse.Aresidentialstudent

wouldrepresentlostincomeintheregionof33,300overthesameperiod(if

institutionalaccommodationfeesare3,000perannum.Therearealso

economicconsequencesforthestudentandforsocietyinrelationtodebt,lowerlifetimeearningsandcontributionstohumancapital.Inaddition,

graduatesbringwiderbenefitstosociety,suchasincreasedcommunity

participationandbeinghealthier,whicharelostwhenstudentswithdraw

prematurelyfromtheiruniversitycareer.

Regardingethicsandsocialresponsibilityitseemsreasonabletoarguethatif

aninstitutionadmitsstudentstoHEithasanobligationtotakereasonable

stepstoenablethemtobesuccessful.InEurope,theBolognaProcess

designedtocreateaEuropeanHigherEducationAreaassertsthat:Access

intohighereducationshouldbewidenedbyfosteringthepotentialofstudents

fromunderrepresentedgroupsandbyprovidingadequateconditionsforthe

completionoftheirstudies(ConferenceofEuropeanMinistersresponsibleforhighereducation,2009).BamberandTett(2001)arguethat:Higher

educationmustacceptthattheimplicationsofofferingaccesstonon

traditionalstudentsdonotend,butratherbegin,atthepointofentry(p.15).

Furthermore,inthewordsofVincentTinto(2008),accesswithoutsupportis

notopportunity.Thus,institutionsrecruitingstudentsmustputinplacea

strategytosupportthemtobesuccessful.


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The What Works? Student Retention& Success programme

In2007theNationalAuditOfficeundertookareviewofretentioninhigher

educationinstitutions(HEIs)inEngland,andsubsequentlythetopicwas

reviewedbythePublicAccountsCommittee(PAC)intheHouseofCommons

(HouseofCommonsCommitteeofthePublicAccounts,2008).TheNAO

reportrecognisedEnglandsgoodstandinginternationally,buturgedtheHE

sectortofindwaysoffurtherimprovingstudentretentionandcompletion.The

PACfeltthatasignificantbarriertofurtherprogresswasthelackofevidence

aboutwhatactuallyworkstoimprovestudentretentionandcompletion.

Thereisawealthofresearchaboutstudentretentionandsuccess(see,for

example,Jones,2008;Troxel,2010;Krause,forthcoming).Itis,however,

difficulttotranslatethisknowledgeintoactivitiesthatimpactonstudentpersistenceandsuccess,andinstitutionaloutcomes:

Most institutions have not yet been able to translate what we knowabout student retention into forms of action that have led to

substantial gains in student persistence and graduation.

(Tinto, 2006b)

ThePaulHamlynFoundation(PHF),anindependentcharitableorganisation

respondedtothesechallengesbyinitiatingandsupportingthisprogrammeof

work.Theprogrammewassubsequentlyco-fundedbyPHFandtheHigher

EducationCouncilforEngland(HEFCE),providinginexcessof1milliontofundtheWhatWorks?StudentRetention&Successprogrammeandthe

SupportandCo-ordinationteam.Theprimarypurposeoftheprogrammewas

togenerateevidence-basedanalysisandevaluationaboutthemosteffective

practicestoensurehighcontinuationandcompletionratesthroughseven

projectsinvolving22highereducationinstitutions.Detailsandsummary

findingsfromtheprojectscanbefoundinAppendix1.

Methods

Eachoftheprojectshasundertakenextensiveresearchusingarangeof

methodstoaddresstheirtopicsofinvestigation.Moststudiescombinestudentsurveydata,qualitativeresearchwithstudentsandanalysisof

institutionaldata,aswellasliteraturereviewsandadditionalmethodsto

triangulatethedata.Someoftheinstitutionalsurveyshadlargenumbersof

respondentsand/orhighresponserates(seeTable1).Forfurtherdetailsof

themethodsandnumberofsurveyrespondentsandotherresearch

participantspleaseseetheindividualresearchreports.

Wherestatisticsfromtheprojectreportsarecitedwithinthisreport,both

percentagesandnumbersaregivenwherepossible.Wherenumbersare

given,Nrepresentsthetotalnumberofresponsesreceivedforthatsurvey

orquestion,whilenrepresentsthenumericalequivalentofthepreceding

percentage.


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9TheWhatWorks?StudentRetention&Successprogramme

Table 1: Survey responses across the projects

Project Survey tool or similar Number ofstudents

responding

Responserate

Project1 SurveyacrossHEIandtwopartnercolleges:thoughtsaboutleavingandsourcesofsupport

721

559fullycompleted

10%

Project2 Surveyacrossthreeinstitutions:valueofmentoringfromtheperspectivesofthestudentpeermentorsandmentees

1,950responses 19%

Project3 SurveyofundergraduatestudentsinEnglish,Biological

Sciencesandmedicine:universitylifequestionnaire

Earlyleaverssurvey

496students

113

Notreported

Notreported

Project4 Examinationofstudentlearningprofilesinrelationtodifferentissues

In-classvotingbyundergraduateBusinessStudiesstudentsonexpectationsofrelationshipswithacademicstaff

2,737studentprofiles

135

N/A

Notreported

Project5 Doubterspilotsurvey 1,059 16%

Surveyoffirst-yearstudentsin 873 From3%tothreeinstitutions:studenttransitionsurvey2009

9%

Trackingstudentsfromthe2009 433 Between48%transitionsurvey and58%

Onlinesurveyoffirst-year 1,063 From5.5%tostudentsinthreeinstitutions:studenttransitionsurvey2011

13.6%

Project6 Threesurveysofthefirst-year

studentsatoneinstitution

Threesurveysoffirst-yearstudentsatsecondinstitution

171

240

95

Notreported

6%

8%

4%

Notreported

Project7 Institutionalsurveysoftheprojectssamplegroups

142 Notreported

Twoonlinesurveyswith 103 82%Engineeringstudentsinreceiptofinterventions

36 35%

In-classvotinginEngineering

aboutexperienceofinterventions

59 57%

Postalsurveyof2009-10leaversinoneinstitution

32 13%


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Weareconfidentthattherangeofissuesexaminedusingmixedmethods

providespowerfulevidenceoftheimportanceofstudentengagementand

belongingtoimprovestudentretentionandsuccess.Thereareofcourse

challengesassociatedwithidentifyingcauseandeffect,buttheprojects

utilisedarangeofdatasources,includinginstitutionalandlocalretentiondata

inanattempttoconnectimprovementsinthestudentexperienceto

enhancedretention.ThesecondphaseoftheWhatWorks?programmewill

buildinrobuststatisticalevaluationwithinandbetweeninstitutionstofurther

examineimpacttoaddressthequestionofwhatworksinrelationtostudent

engagement,belonging,retentionandsuccess.

Thefinalreportsweresubjecttothreepeerreviews,andsignificantrevisions

weremadetothereportstoensurerelevance,clarityandevidence-informed

recommendations.Weadvisereadingtheindividualreportsforfurther

informationaboutmethodologyandspecificfindings;wehave,however,

shownallpercentagefiguresinthisreportasactualnumbersofrespondents

toowhereverpossible,toallowthereadertoassessthestrengthoffindings.TheSupportandCo-ordinationteamhaveundertakenacarefulreadingofthe

reportstoextract,combineandsynthesisethefindings.Thishasbeen

supplementedbyotherlearningfromtheUKsectorandbeyondthathas

takenplaceduringthisprogramme.Forexample,twodiscussionshavetaken

placewithgroupsofpro-vice-chancellorsandotherseniormanagersinHEIs

toexplorethestrategicimplicationsofthefindings.Keymessages,findings

andimplicationshavebeentestedthrougharangeofinformaldissemination

anddiscussionopportunities.ThefindingsfromtheWhatWorks?programme

arealsolinkedtothewiderresearchliteraturetosomeextent,bothtoindicate

howtheWhatWorks?findingscontributetothewiderbodyofknowledgein

thisfield,ortoindicatehowwiderliteraturecanextendunderstandingbeyondtheevidencegeneratedbytheWhatWorks?projects.

Outputs from the programme

Thisstudyhasconsideredbothstudentretentionandsuccess.Duringthe

courseofthisprogrammewehavesharpenedourunderstandingofsuccess.

Ithasbecomeincreasinglyclearthatsuccessmeanshelpingallstudentsto

becomemoreengagedandmoreeffectivelearnersinhighereducation,thus

improvingtheiracademicoutcomesandtheirprogressionopportunitiesafter

graduation(orwhentheyexithighereducation).Inlinewiththisunderstanding

ofsuccessandunderpinnedbytheWhatWorks?findingsthestudyadvocatesamainstreamapproachtoimprovingtheretentionandsuccessof

allstudents.Itcanbedifficulttoknowwhichstudentsaremostlikelyto

withdrawonthebasisofstudententrycharacteristicsalone;mainstream

approachesreachallstudents,particularlythosewhoareconsidering

withdrawing,andenableeachstudenttomaximisetheirsuccess.Thiscanbe

supplementedbypayingattentiontothewaysinwhichstudentsintegrate,

behaveandperformoncetheyareinhighereducationthrougharangeof

engagementindicators,andtheninterveningifnecessary.

Thefindingsofthisprogrammepresentacompellingcasethatinhigher

education,belongingiscriticaltostudentretentionandsuccess.Although

otherstudieshavepointedtothisandmanystaffinuniversitieswouldreadilyacceptthiscontention,wearguethattheimplicationsareveryoftennot

addressedininstitutionalpriorities,policies,processesandpractices.Where


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11TheWhatWorks?StudentRetention&Successprogramme

strategiesareemployedtobooststudentengagement,theyareoftenfocused

onnarrowgroupsofstudents,andsituatedoutsideoftheacademicdomain,

thusfailingtomeettheneedsofthemuchlargernumberofstudentsthatthe

WhatWorks?programmeindicatesmaybeatriskofwithdrawalor

underachievement.

Thisreportdrawstogetherandsynthesisesthesefindings,identifyingkey

principlesandapproachestoimprovingstudentretentionandsuccess,and

providingillustrativeexamplesofeffectivepractice.Workcontinuestoassist

institutionstousetheevidenceavailabletoimproveretentionandsuccess

withintheirowncontexts.Thisreport,andthesummaryreport,are

complementedbythesevenprojectreportsandassociatedtools,the

Compendium of effective practice: Proven ways to improve student retention

and success (Andrewset al.,2012)(firsteditionpublishedMarch2012,

secondeditionAutumn2012),atwo-dayconferenceinMarch2012anda

rangeofotherworkshops,seminarsandbriefings.Inaddition,aChange

Programmewillcommencein2012tosupportinstitutionalteamstoimplementthefindingsfromtheWhatWorks?programmeintotheirown

institutionalcontext.


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Building engagement and belonging

AlthoughintheUKonly1in12students,orjustover8%,intheUKleaveHE

duringtheirfirstyearofstudy,surveysundertakenbyWhatWorks?projectteamsfoundthatbetween37%(1/3)(Project5,n=873)and42%(2/5)

(Project1,n=237)ofstudentsthinkaboutwithdrawingfromHE(seealso

Project7inwhichthreesmallinstitutionalsurveysreportedbetween33%and

39%hadconsideredwithdrawing,N=142).Thismeansthatbasedon

evidencefromacrosssevenhighereducationinstitutionsofalltypesa

significantminorityofstudentsconsiderwithdrawing,andthusimproving

studentbelongingshouldbeapriorityforallprogrammes,departmentsand

institutions.Project5findsthatstudentswhothinkaboutleavingaremore

likelytodosothanthosewhohavenotconsideredwithdrawing.

StudentsidentifyarangeofreasonswhytheyhavethoughtaboutleavingHE

(Projects1,5and7)andmoststudentscitemorethanonereason;indeed,Project5foundanaverageof2.1reasonsperstudent.Surveydata(Projects

1,5and7)andqualitativeresearch(Project4)identifyacademicissues,

feelingsofisolationand/ornotfittinginandconcernaboutachievingfuture

aspirationsastheprimaryreasonswhystudentsthinkaboutleaving.Project5

findsthatstudentswhothinkaboutleavingarelesssatisfiedwiththeir

universityexperienceandappeartobelessengagedwiththeirpeersand

theirinstitution;studentswhodidnotthinkaboutleavingappearedtohavea

betterunderstandingoftheuniversityprocessesandweremorelikelyto

reportapositiverelationshipwithstaffandstudents.Studentsareparticularly

likelytoconsiderleaving(a)afterChristmasand(b)duringthefirstsemester

(Project5),whichsupportsthewiderevidencethatthemajorityofstudentswholeavedosoduringthefirstyear.Studentswhowithdrewhadthelowest

ratesofsatisfactionwiththeirhighereducationexperienceingeneral,and

theiracademicexperienceinparticular(Project5).

Theprojectsexaminedalternativeapproachestoimprovingstudentretention

andsuccessusingarangeofmethods.Theevidencefromacrosstheseven

WhatWorks?projectsfirmlypointstotheimportanceofstudentshavinga

strongsense of belonging inHE,whichistheresultofengagement,and

thatthisismosteffectivelynurturedthroughmainstreamactivitieswithan

overtacademicpurposethatallstudentsparticipatein.

Belonging

Belonginghasemergedasakeyideainthisresearchprogramme,andis

closelyalignedwiththeconceptsofacademicandsocialengagement.We

drawonbothpsychologicalandsociologicaltraditionstoinformour

understandingoftheseissues:thepsychologicalliteratureisusedtodefine

belongingattheindividuallevel,whilethesociologicalliteratureisusedto

explainhowthepotentialmismatchbetweenastudentsbackgroundandthat

oftheinstitutionmayresultinstudentsnotfeelingliketheybelong,and

leavingearly.

Attheindividuallevelbelongingrecognisesstudentssubjectivefeelingsof

relatednessorconnectednesstotheinstitution.Thisinvolvesfeeling

connected(orfeelingthatonebelongsinasocialmilieu)(Vallerand,1997,p.

300).Itmayrelatetheextenttowhichstudentsfeelpersonallyaccepted,


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13Buildingengagementandbelonging

respected,included,andsupportedbyothersinthe[school]social

environment(Goodenow,1993a,p.80).Belongingmaybecharacterisedby

regularcontactandtheperceptionthatinterpersonalrelationshipshave

stability,affectiveconcern,andareongoing(BaumeisterandLeary,1995).

Thusinterpersonalrelationsareessentialforsatisfyingtheneedtobelong.

Goodenow(1993b)describedsenseofbelongingineducationalenvironments

asthefollowing:

Students sense of being accepted, valued, included, andencouraged by others (teacher and peers) in the academic

classroom setting and of feeling oneself to be an important part ofthe life and activity of the class. More than simple perceived liking

or warmth, it also involves support and respect for personalautonomy and for the student as an individual.

(Goodenow, 1993b, p. 25)

Thisapproachtobelongingcanbeseentotakeanindividualisticviewof

studentretentionandsuccess,thusitisusefulheretodrawontheworkof

sociologists,suchasPierreBourdieutoexplorehowthisworksinrelationto

studentbackgroundsandinstitutionalcultures.BourdieuandPasserons

(1977)theoriesofculturalcapitalandhabitusviewtheproblemstructurally,as

beingembeddedinthewaythathighereducationinstitutionsfunction.

Culturalcapitalincorporateswaysofspeaking,behavingandinteracting,

whicharelearnedthroughinteractionswithfamilyandsocialinstitutionssuch

ashomeandschools(McLaren,1989;Meadmore,1999)andis,therefore,

class-related.Habitusisthedispositiontoactincertainwaysdeterminedby

culturalcapitalandistheembodimentofculturalcapital.Educational

institutionshaveanidentifiablehabitus(Reay,DavidandBall,2001),whichincorporatespracticesthatmutuallyshapeandreshapetheinstitutionswith

theirstudents,theircommunitiesandthewidersocio-economicculturesof

theircatchmentareas(Reay,DavidandBall,2001,para1.3).Studentswhose

habitusisatoddswiththatoftheirhighereducationinstitutionmayfeelthat

theydonotfitin,thattheirsocialandculturalpracticesareinappropriateand

thattheirtacitknowledgeisundervalued,andtheymaybemoreinclinedto

withdrawearly(Thomas,2002).

Engagement

Engagementdevelopsrelationshipswithothersandpromotesconnectedness,butasKelly(2001)pointsout,somepeoplewithalower

needtobelongmaybesatisfiedbyfewcontacts,whileotherswithgreater

needtobelongmayneedmanysuchcontacts.Kuh(2009,p.683)has

definedstudentengagementasthetimeandeffortstudentsdevoteto

activitiesthatareempiricallylinkedtodesiredoutcomesofcollegeand what

institutionsdotoinducestudentstoparticipateintheseactivities.Trowler

(2010)providesamorein-depthanalysisoftheterm,drawingon

internationalliterature.

Basedonanextensivereviewoftheliterature,Osterman(2000)indicatesthat

satisfactionoftheneedforbelongingineducationalenvironmentsis

significantlyassociatedwithstudentsacademicengagement.ThisissupportedbymuchliteraturefromtheUSandAustralia(TrowlerandTrowler,


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2010).ChickeringandGamson(1987)summarisedtheevidenceintoseven

effectivepracticesinundergraduateteachingandlearning:

student-staffcontact;

activelearning;

promptfeedback;

timeontask;

highexpectations;

respectfordiverselearningstyles;

co-operationamongstudents.

Krause(2011)extendsthenotionofengagementintheacademicsphereby

arguingthatlearningoccursinarangeofsettings,bothwithinandbeyond

theformalcurriculum.Itinvolvesdevelopingconnectionswithintheuniversityaswellasbuildingonpriorlearning,alongwithlearningthattakesplaceinthe

workplaceandcommunitysettings.Academicengagementisrelatedto

effectivelearning,andmaybesynonymouswith,ornecessaryfordeep(as

opposedtosurface)learning(Ramsden,2003,p.97).

Socialengagementcanbeseentocreateasenseofbelongingandoffer

informalsupportthroughinteractionwithfriendsandpeers.Social

engagementtakesplaceinthesocialsphereoftheinstitution,includingsocial

spaces,clubsandsocieties,thestudentsunion,instudentaccommodation

andthroughsharedlivingarrangements.Engagementintheprofessional

servicesphereincludesparticipationinacademic,pastoralandprofessional

developmentservices.Theseservicesoftencontributetodeveloping

studentscapacitiestoengageandbelonginhighereducationandbeyond.

Aswellasbeingengagedindifferentspheresoftheinstitution(academic,

socialandprofessionalservice),studentscanbeengagedatdifferentlevels,

fromengagementintheirownlearningtoengagementininstitutionaland

nationalpolicymaking7.

Nurturing belonging

TheWhatWorks?projectshaveevaluatedtheimpactofarangeof

interventionstoimprovestudentretentionandsuccess.Somespecificinterventionshavebeenshowntoimproveretentionratesbyuptoten

percentagepoints(seethecasestudiesofeffectivepracticeinthisreport).

Whilewedontrecommendoneinterventionoveranotherasdifferingcontexts

meanthatoutcomesmaynotbetransferable,ouranalysisofeffective

approachestoimprovingretentionandsuccessdemonstratesthatstudent

belongingisachievedthrough:

supportivepeer relations;

meaningfulinteraction between staff and students;

7 SeeHEAworkonDimensionsofStudentEngagement:http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/studentengagement/Dimensions_student_engagement
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/studentengagement/Dimensions_studenthttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/studentengagement/Dimensions_student


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15Buildingengagementandbelonging

developingknowledge, confidence and identity assuccessfulHE

learners;

anHEexperiencethatisrelevant to interests and future goals.

TheWhatWorks?projectshavefoundthateffectiveinterventionsaresituatedintheacademic sphere.Project7foundthattheimportanceofthe

academicexperienceinmakingstudentsfeelpartoftheuniversitycommunity

averaged73%(n=103),whiletheimportanceofthesocialexperience

averaged54%(n=76).Effectiveinterventionsstartpre-entry,andhavean

emphasisonengagementandanovertacademicpurpose.Theydevelop

peernetworksandfriendships,createlinkswithacademicmembersofstaff,

providekeyinformation,shaperealisticexpectations,improveacademicskills,

developstudentsconfidence,demonstratefuturerelevanceandnurture

belonging.

ThiscomplementsTintos(1993)studentintegrationmodel,whichidentifies

academicandsocialintegrationandinstitutionalandgoalcommitmentaskeyvariablescontributingtostudentsdecisionsaboutwithdrawing.Similarly,

Astinstheoryofstudentinvolvement(1984)foundthatstudentpersistence

isoftenrelatedtolevelsofstudentactivityandcontactwiththeinstitution

andpeers.


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The What Works? model: improvingstudent engagement, belonging,

retention and successTheWhatWorks?modelputsstudentengagementandbelongingatthe

heartofimprovingstudentretentionandsuccess.

Figure 1: What Works? model of student retention and success

Institutionalmanagement

andcoordination

Early engagement extends into HE and beyond

Staffcapacity

building

Studentcapacity

building

Academic

Social Service

Themodel(Figure1above)embodiesthefollowingfindings:

Early engagement: engagementtopromotebelongingmustbeginearly

andcontinueacrossthestudentlifecycle.(Thisisrepresentedbythe

arrowunderneaththediagram.)


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17TheWhatWorks?model:improvingstudentengagement,belonging,retentionandsuccess

Engagement in the academic sphere: engagementandbelongingcan

benurturedthroughouttheinstitution(academic,socialandprofessional

services),buttheacademicsphereisofprimaryimportancetoensureall

studentsbenefit.(Thisisrepresentedbytheoverlappingcolouredcircles,

theacademicspherebeingthelargest.)

Developing the capacity of staff and students to engage: the

capacityofstudentstoengageandstafftoofferanengagingexperience

mustbedeveloped,thusapartnershipapproachinwhicheveryoneis

responsibleforimprovingstudentbelonging,retentionandsuccessis

required.(Thecapacityofstudentsandstaffarerepresentedbythetwo

bluerings,labelledrespectively.)

Institutional management and co-ordination: attheseniorlevelthe

institutionmusttakeresponsibilityfornurturingacultureofbelongingand

creatingthenecessaryinfrastructuretopromotestudentengagement,

retentionandsuccess.Thisincludestheuseofdatatounderpinstudent

retentionandsuccess.(Thisisrepresentedbythelargestbluering,labelledinstitutionalmanagementandco-ordination.)

Early engagement

Theprocessofengagingstudentsshouldbeginearlyandextendthroughout

thestudentlifecycle.Itisessentialthatengagementbeginsearlywith

institutionaloutreachinterventionsandthatitextendsthroughouttheprocess

ofpreparingforandenteringHE.Pre-entryandinductionactivitiesshould

havearangeoffunctions,butinparticulartheyshouldfacilitatestudentsto

buildsocialrelationshipswithcurrentandnewstudentsandmembersofstaff,

andengagestudentswithinformationthatwillenablethemtoassesswhether

thecourseisrelevanttotheircurrentinterestsandfutureaspirations.Afuller

discussionaboutearlyengagementthroughpre-entryinterventionsand

inductionisavailableinthePracticalimplicationssectionofthisreport.

Engagement,however,mustcontinuethroughoutthestudentlifecycleto

avoidincreasedratesofwithdrawalanddiminishedsuccessatsubsequent

phasesofthestudentjourney.

Engagement in the academic sphere

TheevidencefromtheWhatWorks?programmeidentifiestheimportanceof

engagementinactivitieswithanovertacademicpurpose,throughhighquality

student-centredlearningandteachingstrategies.Suchapproachesfacilitate

staffandstudentinteraction,whichenablesstudentstodevelopacademically

andstafftodevelopabetterunderstandingoftheirstudents.Theselearning

approachesalsopromotepeerinteractionandthedevelopmentoflong-

lastingfriendships.Afullerdiscussionaboutnurturingbelonginginthe

academicspherethroughlearningandteachingispresentedinthePractical

implicationssectionofthisreport.

Engagement,however,cantakeplacebeyondtheacademicdomain,inother

spheresoftheinstitution,namelythesocialandprofessionalservices,and

canhaveapositiveimpactonstudentsretentionandsuccesstoo.VincentTintosinfluentialworkpointstotheimportancenotjustofacademic

interaction,butalsoofsocialengagement(Tinto,1993).Thisisstrongly

supportedbythefindingsfromtheWhatWorks?projects,andfromother


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institutionalresearchintheUK(Thomas,2002;Wilcoxet al.,2005).TheWhat

Works?evidencereinforcesthevitalroleoffriendshiptomanystudents,

especiallywhentheyfacedifficulties.Itisclear,however,thattheacademic

spherecanplayacentralroleinfacilitatingstudentstodevelopthese

friendships,especiallyforthosewhospendlesstimeoncampusbecause

theyliveathomeand/orhaveworkandfamilycommitments.Inaddition

technologyhasbeensuccessfullyusedtofacilitatesocialnetworkingbetween

students,especiallythosewhoarenotbasedoncampusbothpre-and

post-entry.Theroleoftheschool,departmentandprogrammeinpromoting

socialintegrationisdiscussedunderFriendshipandpeersupport,inthe

Practicalimplicationssection.

UKuniversitiesprovidearangeofprofessionalservices.Thesearedesigned

toattractandrecruitstudentstotheinstitution,providepastoralsupportand

developacademic,personalandprofessionalcapacities.Theevidencefrom

theWhatWorks?programmesuggeststhatprofessionalservicesmakean

importantcontributiontothedevelopmentofsomestudentsknowledge,confidenceandidentityassuccessfulHElearners,bothpre-andpost-entry.

Thisincludes,forexample,enablingstudentstomakeinformedchoicesabout

institutions,subjectsandcourses,andtohaverealisticexpectationsofHE

study.Manystudents,however,arenotawareoftheservicesand/ordonot

usethem.Professionalservicescanbeparticularlyeffectivewhentheyare

deliveredviatheacademicsphere,ratherthanrelyingonstudentsaccessing

theseservicesautonomously,duetoconstraintsoftimeoncampus.Thisis

exemplifiedinrelationtoemployability:increasinglyinstitutionsareembedding

activitiesdesignedtoincreasegraduateemployabilityintothecorecurriculum

inpartnershipwithcareersprofessionals,ratherthandeliveringservices

separatelythroughacentralcareerscentre(seeThomaset al.,2010).Inthe

pre-entryarena,weknowthataspirationraisingandtheprovisionofinformation,adviceandguidanceaboutHEismosteffectivewhenitisaligned

tostudentsschool/collegelearning(ActiononAccess,2008).The

contributionsofacademicdevelopmentandsupportandprofessional

servicesarediscussedinthePracticalimplicationssectionofthisreport.

Developing the capacity of students and staff to engage

TheWhatWorks?evidencedemonstratesthatstudentsdonotalways

recognisethevalueofengagement,orhavetheabilitytoengage.This

suggeststhatinstitutionsshouldworkwithstudentstodeveloptheircapacity

toengageeffectivelyintheirHEexperience.Thisincludesdevelopingstudentsknowledgeandunderstandingaboutthebenefitsofengaging

acrossthedifferentinstitutionalspheres,andexpandingtheirskillstodoso.

WhatWorks?projectresearchwithpart-time,matureandlocalstudents

foundahighlyinstrumentalapproachtoHE,whichcorrespondswitha

devaluingofsocialaspectsofanHEexperience,reflectedincommentsabout

notneedingmorefriends(Project7).Thisimpliesthatstudentsneedtobe

educatedaboutthevalueofwidespreadengagementintheirHEexperience,

andencouragedandfacilitatedtoengageinappropriateopportunities,and

giventhenecessaryskills.Thismay,forexample,includetheprovisionof

capacity-buildingmodulesinthecoreacademiccurriculum,orviathe

inductionprocess.Itshouldofcourseberecognisedthatindividualsneeddifferentlevelsofengagement,andprefertoengageindifferentwaysandin

differentspherestoachievesuccessontheirownterms.Thisrequires

institutionstoprovidearangeofopportunitiesforengagementacrossthe


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19TheWhatWorks?model:improvingstudentengagement,belonging,retentionandsuccess

institution.Thisincludesrecognisingthattherearedifferingdegreesof

engagementstudentsfeelcomfortablewith,differentlevelswithinthe

institutionwherestudentsmayprefertoengage(e.g.module,course,

department,faculty,institution)andarangeofsitesofengagement,as

discussedabove.Auniformapproachtoencouragingengagementmay

createpressureforconformityandresultinalienationanddisengagement

(Mann,2005).

Developingengagementopportunitiesthroughouttheinstitutionandacross

thestudentlifecyclerequiresallstafftobeinvolveditisnotataskthatcan

belefttoafewcommittedindividuals.Thenotionofengagementshouldbe

embeddedintotheinstitutionalvisionandreflectedinkeypolicydocuments,

andthismustbeactivelyendorsedbyseniormanagers.Thus,theinstitution

mustconsiderhowpoliciesandprocedurescanensurestaffresponsibility,

throughrecognition,supportanddevelopmentandreward,toenableallstaff

toengageandbeengaging.Thismayincludereviewingstaffrecruitment(e.g.

toensurethatresponsibilityforprovidingopportunitiesforengagementareembeddedintojobdescriptionsandselectionprocesses);updatinginduction

andtrainingfornewstaffandcontinuingprofessionaldevelopment;providing

resources,guidanceandothersupport;ensuringthatinstitutionalprocedures

requirestafftoengagewithstudents(e.g.throughvalidationprocesses)and

thatstaffperformanceandimpactaremonitoredandreviewed(e.g.through

theannualreviewprocess);andprovidingmechanismstorecogniseand

rewardstaffwhoexcelatengagingstudentsandofferthemappropriate

progressionopportunities.Intheempiricalresearch,somestaffreportthat

colleaguesundertakingresearchresultinginpublicationreceivemuchgreater

recognitionandrewardwithintheinstitutionthatthosewhomakeeffortsto

improvethestudentexperience.

Developingstudentcapacitytoengageandstaffcapacitytobeengagingis

discussedinrelationtoevidencefromtheWhatWorks?projectsandthe

widerliteratureinthePracticalimplicationssection.Thesearetwokeyareas

wherefurtherresearchandevidenceisneededaboutwhatworks.

Institutional management and co-ordination

Attheseniorleveltheinstitutionmusttakeresponsibilityformanagingand

promotingstudentengagementtoenhanceengagement,belonging,retention

andsuccess.Thisincludes:

buildingstudentengagement,belonging,retentionandsuccessintothe

corporatemission,visionandplanandaligninginstitutionalpolicies

towardsthispriority;

providingleadershipthatexplicitlyvaluesstudentengagementand

belongingthroughoutthewholeinstitutionandacrossthestudentlifecycle

andpromoteswholestaffresponsibilityforengagementandnurturinga

cultureofbelonging;

thedevelopmentofaco-ordinated,evidence-informedstrategy,

underpinnedbythemonitoringofprogrammesandofstudentbehaviour

andwithexplicitindicatorsandmeasuresofsuccess.

TheuseofdataisconsideredattheendofthePracticalimplicationssection.

Managementandstrategicdevelopmentoftheinstitutionisaddressedmore

fullyintheStrategicimplicationsandrecommendationssectionofthisreport.


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Practical implications: lessons learned,case studies and recommendations

Thefollowingsectionsconsiderpracticalimplicationsforbuildingengagement

andbelongingbydrawingmoreextensivelyontheresearchevidencefromthe

WhatWorks?projects.Itprovidescasestudiesofeffectivepracticedrawn

fromtheWhatWorks?projectsthatbothillustratethekeypointsandprovide

realexamplesofhowtomakeadifference.

Engaging practice: characteristics of effectiveinterventions and approaches

TheWhatWorks?projectsexaminedalternativeinterventionsandapproaches

toimprovingstudentretentionandsuccessusingarangeofmethods.Ouranalysisfindsthattheexacttypeofinterventionorapproachislessimportant

thanthewayitisdeliveredanditsintendedoutcomes.Allinterventionsor

activitiesshouldaimtonurtureacultureofbelongingthroughsupportivepeer

relations,meaningfulinteractionbetweenstaffandstudents,developing

studentsknowledge,confidenceandidentityassuccessfulHElearnersand

anHEexperiencethatisrelevanttointerestsandfuturegoals.Specific

interventionsandapproachesshouldbeplannedandinformedbythe

followingprinciples:

i. Mainstream: interventionsandapproachestoimprovestudentretention

andsuccessshouldasfaraspossiblebeembeddedintomainstream

provisiontoensureallstudentsparticipateandbenefitfromthem8.Thiswill

improvetheretentionofsomestudentsandcontributetomaximisingthe

successofallstudents.Anopt-outratherthanopt-inapproachshouldbe

thenorm,andparticularattentionshouldbepaidtostudentswhooptout,

withadditionalsupportprovidedifnecessary.

ii. Proactive: activitiesshouldproactivelyseektoengagestudents,rather

thanwaitingforacrisistooccur,orthemoremotivatedstudentstotake

upopportunities.Studentswhomostneedsupportaretheleastlikelyto

comeforwardvoluntarily(BaumgartandJohnstone,1977;Bentleyand

Allen,2006;ChickeringandHannah,1969;EatonandBean,1995).If

studentshavetooptinitisimportanttomakingittransparenthowstudentscanandshouldengage,andwhy.

iii. Relevant: activitiesneedtobeinformative,usefulandrelevanttostudents

currentinterestsandfutureaspirations;thepotentialbenefitsofengaging

shouldbeexplicittostudents.

iv. Well-timed and appropriate media: earlyengagementisessential,other

informationmaybebetterdeliveredatalaterdateorviaanalternative

mediaasstudentsneedswilldifferfromeachotherandovertime.Some

activitiesbenefitfromtakingplaceovertime,ratherthanone-off

opportunities.

v. Collaborative: activitiesshouldencouragecollaborationandengagementwithfellowstudentsandmembersofstaff.

8TatumandRasool(1996)arguethatretentionpracticeshouldbebuiltintothenormaloperationsoftheinstitution.


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21Practicalimplications:lessonslearned,casestudiesandrecommendations

vi.Monitored: theextentandqualityofstudentsengagementshouldbe

monitored,andwherethereisevidenceoflowlevelsofengagement

follow-upactionshouldbetaken.

Pre-entryEffectivepre-entryinterventionsincludesocialinteractionwithpeersand

currentstudentsandengagementwithstafffromacademicdepartmentsand

professionalservices.Theyprovideinformation,developrealisticexpectations

andhoneacademicskills.

Pre-entryinterventionscontributetoimprovingretentionandsuccessinHEin

thefollowingways(Thomas,2011):

a) providinginformation,knowledgeandskillstoimprovepre-entrydecision

makingandretention;

b) developingexpectationsandacademicpreparationpre-entrytoenhance

transition,retentionandsuccess;

c) fosteringearlyengagementtopromoteintegrationandsocialcapital.

Poorinstitutionalandcoursechoicecanimpactontheextenttowhicha

studentdevelopsasenseofbelongingtotheirprogrammeandinstitution.For

example,Project5foundthatthemostcommonreasonforthinkingabout

leavingwascourse-relatedissues(43%intwoinstitutionalsurveysand24%

inthethird,N=365reasonscitedby320studentsthinkingaboutleaving).UK

andAustralianresearchindicatesthatstudentshaveinsufficientinformationto

informpre-entrydecisionsandthisimpactsnegativelyonretentionand

success(McInniset al.,2000;Yorke,2000;Krauseet al.,2005;HarveyandDrew,2006).Studentshaveinsufficientinformationabout:HEingeneral;

differentinstitutions;disciplinesandspecificcourses.Pre-entryinformation

andpreparationforhighereducationincludestheprovisionofinformationto

informchoiceandshapeexpectationsabouthighereducation,theinstitution

andthecoursetoimproveretention(YorkeandThomas,2003;Dodgsonand

Bolam,2002).

Manystudentsfeelunderpreparedforhighereducation,andfindthattheir

academicexperienceisnotastheyexpectedittobe,andthismayleadto

earlywithdrawal(Richardson,2003;Forresteret al.,2004;LongandTricker,

2004;Quinnet al.,2005).Atoneinstitution(Project7)between65%(n=92)

and74%(n=105)ofstudentsreportedfeelingonlypartiallyornotatall

prepared,andthiscontributedtofeelingsofdislocationonarrival.Atanother

institution(Project3)34%(n=113)ofsurveyrespondentswhohadwithdrawn

reportedbeingdisappointedbytheamountofteachingandcontacthours

withstaffprovidedonmycourse,andthiswasatleastofsomeinfluencein

theirdecisiontoleave,andamajorinfluencefor12%(n=40).

Projectteams(Projects1,4,5and7)foundthatstudentsoftenhave

unrealisticexpectations,anditisimportantforstafftomakeexpectations

explicit(Projects4and6).Unrealisticexpectationstendtorelatetothe

academicexperience,assumingitwillbethesameasschoolorcollegeand

beingunderpreparedtobeautonomouslearnerswithresponsibilityfororganisingandstructuringstudy.Challengesalsorelatetolectureformat,size


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ofclassesandtheimpersonalnatureofHEstudy,andnotknowingwhatis

expectedinassessments,especiallyastheyreceivelesssupportand

feedbackwithassessmentsthantheywereusedto.

Studentsvaluedmeetingstaffandstudentsfrominstitutionstoprovidethem

withinformationabouttheinstitutionandthelearningexperiencepriortoentry.Studentsatoneuniversity(Project3)talkedaboutthebenefitsof

studentambassadors(existingHEstudents)astheywereperceivedto

providemoregenuineinsightsintotheHEexperience,havingrecentlybeen

newstudentsthemselves(seeAustinandHatt,2005).

I found it helpful having one of the ambassadors take us round; she

was very helpful and said to me if I wanted to go and chat to herabout doing English here then I was more than welcome to. So it

was really helpful that she was friendly and approachable. I thinkthat was the main thing, that people do seem friendly.

(Interview with first-year student, Project 3)

Itisinstructivetonote,however,thatProject1foundthat43.8%(n=245)of

surveyrespondentshadnotattendedanopendayorotherpre-studyevent.

AnalysisoftheWhatWorks?evidencesuggeststhatthemosteffectivepre-

entryinterventionscombinethefollowingroles:

a) providinginformation;

b) informingexpectations;

c) developingacademicskills;

d) buildingsocialcapital(linkswithpeers,currentstudentsandstaff);

e) nurturingasenseofbelonging.


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Pre-entry case studies of effective practice

Mature Students Welcome Lunch, University of Hull

The interventionThispre-entryeventhastakenplacesince2005onboththeHulland

Scarboroughcampusesintheweekpriortoregistration.Manymature

studentsexpressthatattendingpurelysocialeventsisdifficulttojustifysothe

lunchisamethodtoengagestudentssociallythroughintegratingthesocial

withacademicstructures.

Full-timematurestudentsareinvitedandthelunchoffersanopportunityto

learnmoreabouttheUniversityandachancetomeetothernew,aswellas

existing,students(UniversityofHullbookingleaflet,2010).Studentsare

allocatedplacesaroundcirculartablesaccordingtotheprogrammeonwhich

theywillbestudying.Interactionisencouragedthroughaquizaboutthe

Universityforwhichprizesareawarded.Thelunchprovidesasocialspacewithinwhichacademicand/orinformativecontentisbolsteredbyrelationship-

buildingexercisesandopportunitiestomixwithotherstudentsbeginning

relatedcourses.Asoneparticipantneatlydescribedit,itisasocialevent,but

withapurpose.

The impact on retention and progression

TheevaluationfoundthatstudentsvaluedtheWelcomeLunchasthe

beginningofintegratingandmeetingotherpeople:

... [it] was basically what has made it easier for me to integratebecause people I met there based on the one table I was sataround, are now the people Im now socialising with ... plus the

people that they then knew, so kind of increased the people I knowas well.

(Project 7, student)

Qualitativefeedbackfrommaturestudentsindicatedthat:

attendanceatpre-entryeventsincreasedstudentsconfidencewhen

attendinguniversityforthefirsttimeafterregistration;

pre-entryeventswereseentosuccessfullyintegratetheprovisionofpracticalandacademicinformationwithopportunitiestosocialise;

initialsocialcontactmadeattheWelcomeLunchoftendevelopedinto

deeperandlonger-termfriendships.

WelcomeLunchattendeeswhosubsequentlyregisteredandbegana

programmeofstudyweremorelikelytocontinuethanthegeneralmature

studentpopulace,witharound93%continuingbeyondtheirfirstyear.


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Study Skills Summer School, University of Hull

The intervention

TheStudySkillsSummerSchoolisafree,two-day,non-residentialcourse

heldonthemainHullcampus.Itisopentobothnewandcontinuingpart-timeandmaturefull-timestudentsanditfocusesonacademicandtransferable

studyskillsintandemwithsocialelements.Thetargetingofparticulargroups

facilitatesasenseofcamaraderieasstudentsformnetworkswithpeerson

theircourse.Manymatureandpart-timestudentsexpressthatattending

purelysocialeventsisdifficulttojustifyso,aswiththeMatureStudents

WelcomeLunch,theSummerSchoolisamethodtoengagestudentssocially

throughintegratingthesocialwithacademicstructures.

TheSummerSchoolincludesacombinationoflectures,seminarsand

practicaltasks,andaimstodeliveranauthenticuniversityexperiencewitha

focusonthedevelopmentofacademicstudyskills.Theseincludesessions

focusedoncriticalandanalyticalthinking,notetakingandessaywriting,aswellasreferencingandplagiarism.Asharedlunchpunctuateseachdayand

aimstoprovideanenvironmentinwhichinteractionbetweenstudentpeers,

andwithacademicandsupportstaff,cantakeplace.

The impact on retention and success

TheevaluationindicatedthattheStudySkillsSummerSchoolhelped

studentstofeelpartoftheircohortandtorealisethattheywerenotalonein

theexperienceofstartingtheircourse:

I felt much more able when I realised we all were learning this and

I wasnt the only one, and I now had people to share this with andkeep me going ... and they did when I needed it.

(Project 7, mature student)

Qualitativefeedbackfrommatureandpart-timestudentsindicatedthat:

attendanceatpre-entryeventsincreasedstudentsconfidencewhen

attendinguniversityforthefirsttimeafterregistration;

pre-entryeventswereseentosuccessfullyintegratetheprovisionof

practicalandacademicinformationwithopportunitiestosocialise;

initialsocialcontactmadeatpre-entryoftendevelopedintodeeperandlonger-termfriendships.

RetentionratesforthosewhoattendedtheSummerSchoolwerebetterthan

retentionratesforthosewhodidnot.Overthepastthreeyears(2007-08to

2009-10),between4%and6%ofnewSummerSchoolattendeeswho

subsequentlyregisteredandbeganaprogrammeofstudyhavesince

withdrawnfromtheUniversity.


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Induction

Aneffectiveinductionactivelyengagesstudentsratherthanbeingapassive

processofprovidinginformation,anditextendsoveralongertimeperiod

thanafewdays.Theactivitiesshouldallowstudentstomakefriends,getto

knowtheacademicstaff,understandtheexpectationsoftheinstitution,departmentandprogrammeanddevelopacademicskills.

Inductionactivitieshaveanimpactonretentionandsuccessthrough:

a) socialisationandformationoffriendshipgroups,whichprovideasupport

networkandpromotesocialintegration;

b) informingexpectationsofHEandhelpingstudentstobeeffectivelearners

bydevelopingtheirconfidenceandtheiracademicskills;

c) developingrelationshipswithmembersofstaff,allowingstudentsto

approachthemsubsequentlywhentheyneedto.

Accordingtothreeinstitutionalsurveys(Project2),themajorityofstudents

(70%,n=262)feltconfidentthattheyhadtheabilitytosucceedintheirchosen

areaofstudy,butmost(75%,n=281)wereworriedaboutmakingfriends

whentheystartedatuniversity.Thisissupportedbythequalitativeevidence

too,forexample:

Anyone that says theyre not scared is lying because there is thatfear. Everyone has those giant fears of am I going to be liked, am I

going to make friends, how am I going to feel living away fromhome you know youre afraid of everything, but youve got to

grow up some time.(Project 2, first-year UK student, male, mentee)

Formanystudentstheacademicshiftfromstudyingatschoolorcollege

leveltostudyingatahigherlevelcanbeverychallenging,indeedmany

experienceatypeofacademiccultureshock(Quinnet al.,2005).Students

whodidnotfeelthattheyunderstoodthedifferencesbetweenlearningat

school/collegeandhighereducationwerefarmorelikelytothinkaboutleaving

(62%)thanthosewhofelttheydidunderstand(35%)(Project5).StaffinHEIs

agreethatmanystudentsdonotknowwhatisexpectedofthemwhenthey

arriveatuniversity,andthattheycanplayanimportantroletohelpstudents

understandcourseandinstitutionalexpectations(Project4):

My job is to make it very clear to the students right on day one,

week one week zero orientation to say this is what we areexpecting of you, and this is how I can help you; this is how

everybody else can help you. So, my presentations are on studyskills, on group learning, on how to succeed in Medical School.

(Project 4, staff member)

Peermentoringwasalsofoundtobebeneficialinhelpingfellowstudents

learnhowtolearnatahigherlevel,andmakeexpectationsmoreexplicit

(Project2):


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The first thing she helped me about was when I had to start writing

essays for my coursework during the first time in the first term. Ihad no clue how to search for the electronic journals or books in

the library She showed me everything like how to do itelectronically, how to look for different types of topics in the library

where the sections are and everything, and it was so usefulbecause after her advice I was able to actually do it myself and start

preparing because otherwise I wouldnt have done anything.

(Project 2, first-year EU student, female, mentee)

AccordingtoHarveyandDrew(2006)inductionisregardedasasignificant

partofthepackagetopromotegoodstudentretention.TheWhatWorks?

projectsfoundthateffectiveinductionprogrammeshavethefollowing

elements:

a) takeplaceintheacademicspherewithotherstudentsfromthesame

programme;

b) takeplaceoveranextendedtimeperiod;

c) useicebreakerstohelpstudentsgettoknoweachother;

d) involvesmallgroupwork;

e) providestudentswithinformalopportunitiestogettoknowtheirteaching

staffortutors;

f) provideinformationonlineandreadilyaccessibletostudents;

g) engagestudentsintheprocessofunderstandingtheacademic

expectationsandprocedures.


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Induction case studies of effective practice

The t-shirt induction activity, School of Chemical Engineering

and Advanced Materials, Newcastle University

The intervention

TheSchoolofChemicalEngineeringandAdvancedMaterials(CEAM)at

Newcastlehastraditionallyheldawelcomereceptionforallnewstudentsin

thefirstweekofthefirstsemester.In2009-10,asaresponsetoincreasing

numbersofstudents(inexcessof100),thefocusofthiseventwaschanged

toonethatdeliberatelystimulatedstudentinteractionwithpeersand

academicstaff,withtheaimofformingstudentteamsthatwould

subsequentlyworktogetheronagroupassignment.Eachstudentis

presentedwithat-shirt,amarkerpenandmostimportantlyaclearsetof

instructions.Eachpersonisrequiredtodrawrepresentationsoftheirinterests

ontotheirshirtandtothenfindotherswithsimilarinterestsandformgroups.Participantsweregivenexplicitdirectionsregardingtheintendedmixof

genderandethnicityforeachgroup(herestaffcouldintervenetosteer

studentsawayfromtheircomfortzonesandtowardswiderinteraction).The

resultantactivitywasnothingifnotconvivial,aswasevincedbythelaughter

andgeneralairofenjoymentinthevenue.Theunderlyingnotionisthat

becausegroupsarelargelyself-selectingtheywillenjoyworkingtogetherin

thecomingmonthswhentacklingagroupdesignproject.


Theevaluationfoundthatstudentshadformedclosesocialbondswithpeers.

Thiscontributedtotheirsenseofbelonginginthedepartmentinparticular,andtheUniversitymoregenerally:

First year is bad because you dont know anyone here basically ... if

you dont set up the design group you have got to make friends,

where are you going to make friends kind of thing ... well youwouldnt usually ... and if it was all individual work. You have to stick

around to do the work and obviously if it is group work you areforced to meet people.


Itcannotbeprovedthatthet-shirtexercisehadadirectcausalimpactonincreasedratesofprogression,asratescouldalsohavebeenaffectedby

cohortdiversityorotherchangesthatmayhavetakenplace.However,

evidencesuggestsgroupsareanimportantcontributoryfactor.Insummary:

81%ofstudents(n=29)saidtheyalwaysormostlyfelttheybelongedin

theSchool;

allstudentseitheragreedorstronglyagreedthattheyhadformedclose

bondswiththeirpeers;

almostallstudentssaidtheirfriendshipgroupshadbeenaninfluenceon

theirsenseofbelonging;

oneyearon28%(n=10)ofrespondentswerestillsocialisingwithallanda

further58%(n=21)withmostofthemembersoftheirteams;


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32%(n=12)ofstudentsreportthattheyspendtimewithfriends(notteam

mates)workingtogetheronacademicprojectsandafurther44%(n=16)

saythatfriendshavebeenasourceofhelpandsupportwhentheydidnot

understandacademicwork;

followingtheintroductionofthet-shirtactivityprogressionfromStage1toStage2increasedfrombelow90%(85%,n=79,in2005-06and75%,

n=63,in2007-08)toinexcessof90%(94%,n=100),in2009-10;

retentionandprogressionhasimprovedsignificantlydespiteanincreasein

cohortsize.

Welcome Week, Nottingham Trent University

The intervention

Intheacademicyear2005-06,NottinghamTrentUniversityintroduced

WelcomeWeektoreplacethetraditionalFreshersWeek.WelcomeWeekisjointlydeliveredbyNottinghamTrentUniversityandtheStudentsUnionandis

specificallydesignedtohelpstudentsfeelthattheybelongtothewider

universitycommunityandtostartbuildingfriendshipsandpersonalsupport

networks,aswellastoaidstudentstransitionintotheacademic

environment.

WelcomeWeekinvolvestworelatedelements.Thefirstelementisa

programmeofover350academic,social,sportingandculturalactivities,

rangingfromsmaller-scaleeventssuchasreadinggroupsandbadminton

games,totheatretripsandnightclubevents,toanItsaKnockout-type

competition.UnliketraditionalFreshersWeekactivities,mostoftheseevents

donotinvolvetheconsumptionofalcohol.Inaddition,particularemphasisis

placeduponcreatingopportunitiesforstudentsnotlivinginhallsofresidence

andontheneedsofmature,internationalandlocalstudents.

ThesecondelementofWelcomeWeekisanimprovedprogrammeinduction

basedontheevaluationofstudentfeedback.Asaresultofthisfeedback,

mostinductionprogrammesandtimetableshavenowbeenplacedonline,

togetherwithinformationaboutenrolmentandorientation.Programmeshave

alsobeenencouragedtoreducetheproportionoflecturesandoffermore

activitiesinsmallgroups.Programmeteamshavebeenprovidedwithice

breakerresourcesandothersampleactivitiestoencouragehigherlevelsof

interactionatthisearlystage,andhavealsobeenencouragedtooffertheirstudentspre-inductionactivities.


I love the whole attitude in Welcome Week as it was just so easy to

make friends at a time when you feel most vulnerable as you areaway from all the people you know and trust.

(Andrews et al., 2012, p. 30)

WelcomeWeekappearstohavemadeapositiveimpactuponretentioninthe

firsttermatNTU.In2004,theyearbeforeWelcomeWeekwasdeveloped,

132first-yearstudentshadwithdrawnbytheendofthefirstterm(week10).

In2005,afterthefirstWelcomeWeek,first-yearwithdrawalsweredownto85


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bythesamepoint.In2006,earlywithdrawals(measuredtotheendofweek

9)haddroppedto59.

Anonlinesurveyoffirst-yearstudentsimmediatelyafterWelcomeWeekeach

yearshowsincreasinglyhighlevelsofsatisfactionwiththeiruniversityexperience.

In2005,80%ofstudentsreportedbeingsatisfiedorverysatisfiedwiththeirexperiencesofar;in2011,93%ofstudentsfeltthesameway.

Thesamesurveyasksstudentswheretheyhadmadefriendsduringtheirfirst

fewweeksatuniversity.Priorstudiestendtosuggestthatthemostimportant

locationformakingfriendsatuniversityisaccommodation.However,atNTU,the

mostfrequentlycitedlocationformakingfriendsistheacademicprogramme.In

2010,87%(n=863)ofrespondentsstatedthattheyhadmadefriendsthere.

Programmeinductiontimetablesforfull-timeundergraduateprogrammes

havebecomelonger,arelesslecture-basedandincludemorevariedactivities.

In2005,theaverageinductionprogrammelastedfor11hoursandstudents

spent62%ofthistimesittinginlectures.In2009,theaverageinductionprogrammelastedfor13hoursandonly39%ofalltimewasspentinlectures.

Therewasafarricherrangeofactivitiessuchasicebreakers,problem-based

learning,off-campusvisitsandsmallgroupwork.

Peer Guides: students supporting students through transitionand beyond, Bangor University

The intervention

BangorUniversityhasawell-establisheduniversity-widePeerGuiding

Programme,inwhichsecond-andthird-yearundergraduatesoffersupportto

incomingfreshersinallacademicschools.Theschemehasabroadcoverage

acrosstheinstitution:allnewundergraduatesareallocatedaPeerGuide

unlesstheystateotherwise.

Duringandfollowingthetransitionperiod,PeerGuidesmaintainclosecontact

withtheirgroupviasmallgrouporindividualmeetings.Theyarealsoexpected

tomaintainalessdemandinglevelofsupportforaslongasneeded.Peer

Guidestypically:aidsocialintegration;organise/attendarangeofsocial

activities;encourageparticipationinStudentsUnionactivities;accompanyto

and/orhelpwithinductionsessionsincludingBlackboardsessions,Health&

Safetytalks,libraryvisits;helpwithinformationsessions,moduleselections

andregistration;leadorientationtoursacrosstheUniversityandinBangoritself.Incaseswherenewstudentsneedadditionalsupport,PeerGuidesoffer

reassuranceandfacilitateswiftaccesstoprofessionalsupportservices.

TherecruitmentandtrainingofPeerGuidesisundertakenbyacentralco

ordinatorbasedinStudentSupportServicesandthepracticalimplementation

ofthePeerGuidingProgrammeisundertakenwithintheacademicschools.

Thisensuresitissufficientlyflexibletomeetacademicneedsandalsocreates

asenseofcommunitywithoutwhichitwouldbedifficulttorecruitthe

numbersrequired.Academicschoolco-ordinatorsallocateaboutfivenew

studentstoeachPeerGuide;wherepossible,studentsarealsomatchedwith

regardtodemographiccharacteristics,e.g.maturestudents,Welshspeakers

orinternationalstudents.

Inadditiontoprovidingamentoringservicetonewstudents,PeerGuides

alsohelpwithopendaysconductingtours,answeringquestionsandgiving


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astudentsperspectiveofBangor.Forsomethatcontactisthestartofthe

PeerGuidecycleasthevisitorsrememberthosefriendlyfacesandlookout

forthemwhentheyarriveasstudents.


Duringtheevaluation,studentsmadearangeofpositivecommentsabout

theirPeerGuidesandtheirimpact:

My Peer Guide made sure I was comfortable from the moment myparents left.


He made us felt as if we fitted in with the students of the secondand third years.


BothanecdotalevidenceandformalevaluationsindicatethatthePeer

GuidingProgrammeishighlyeffectiveandvaluedbystaffandstudentsalike.

Keystatisticsfromfirstyearrespondentstotheelectronicevaluationsurveyin

2011showed:

85%hadreceivedgeneralPeerGuidesupportwithsocialintegration,

orientationandgeneralinductionactivities;

79%ratedthatgeneralhelpasgoodorverygood;

71%hadreceivedsupportviasmallgrouporindividualmeetings;

62%hadratedtheirindividualPeerGuideasgoodorverygood;

31%hadbeenencouragedtoseekhelpfromstaff;

45%hadmetPeerGuidesatopendayvisits;

19%saidtheschemehadbeenimportantintheirdecisionto

chooseBangor.

Inaddition,95%ofPeerGuidesthoughttheschemewasapositive

experience.Whiletheywerelargelymotivatedtovolunteerforaltruistic

reasonstheydidrecognisethebenefitstothemselvesinskillsdevelopment:

78%citedincreasedcommunicationandinterpersonalskillsand75%increasedleadershipskills.

Oftheopencommentsreceivedonthesurveys71%werewhollypositivewith

ahighlevelofpraiseforthecommitmentofmanyindividuals.


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g) asenseofbelongingtoaparticularplacewithintheuniversity,mostusually

adepartmentalbuildingorasmallcampus(Project3).

Thesekeyelementsofbelongingarediscussedbelow.Thissectionconsiders

staff/studentrelationships,curriculumcontentsandpedagogy,and

assessmentandfeedback.TheAcademicdevelopmentandsupportsectionspecificallyconsiderstheroleofpersonaltutoring,andtheFriendshipand

peersupportsectionexaminespeerrelationsandhowtheyaredeveloped,

includingthroughacademicallyorientedactivitiesandtheroleofadedicated

socialspace.

ThefindingsfromtheWhatWorks?programmeabouthowlearningand

teachingenhancesretentionandsuccessreinforcesandextendsGraham

Gibbswork,Dimensions of quality (2010).Hisresearchconfirmsthe

importanceofteachingandstudentengagementasthekeyvalidpredictors

ofeducationalgains.Itisnotresourcesbutpractice,whoisteachingand

how,andthemanner/depthinwhichstudentsapproachtheirwork,thatbest

determinesachievementsinlearning.TheWhatWorks?programmeexplicitlylinksthistostudentretentionandwidersuccess.

Staff/student relationships

Manystudentsfinditdifficulttoapproachacademicmembersofstaff,but

theyvaluebeingabletoaskstaffforclarification,guidanceandfeedback.

Studentswhofeelthattheyhavealessgoodrelationshipwithacademic

membersofstaffaremorelikelytothinkaboutleaving.Goodrelationshipsare

basedoninformalrelationshipsthatrecognisestudentsasindividualsand

valuetheircontributions.

Studentscanfinditdifficulttoapproachmembersofstaffforinformation,clarificationandacademicsupport:

In my experience youre in a lecture with like 400 students whothey teach twice a week. Theyve not even seen your face before,

let alone know anything about you. So theres no sort of personalelement to it your lecturer you feel like it has to be quite a

significant question for it to be worthy of going to ask him.

(Project 2, first-year UK student, male, mentee)

I think if you ask help for lecturers, you need to see them in office

hours and you can only probably ask your lecturers about questionsabout your coursework or probably about the academic problems.

They dont know you. They have so many students.

(Project 2, first-year international student, female, mentee)

WhatWorks?surveyevidencefoundthatstudentswhoarethinkingabout

leavingfeelmoredistantfromtheirteachingstaffthanthosewhohavenot

consideredwithdrawal(Project5).Projects4and1respectivelyfound

exampleswherehighproportionsofstudents(75%inProject4,n=101)

reportedpoor,verypoorornorelationshipwithacademicstaffandwhere

nearlyafifthofsurveyrespondentswereunawarethattheyhadapersonal

tutorassignedtothem(Project1).Theevidencesuggeststhatagoodrelationshipwithstaffmotivatesstudentsandencouragesthemtowork

harderandachievemore,andviceversa:


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It lessens your motivation for the subject, because you dont feel

like youve got a full knowledge of it and you feel less motivated tolearn the full extent of the module if you feel you wont get help

from academic staff.


Studentsvaluerelationshipsthathavethefollowingcharacteristics:

a) staffknowstudents,includingtheirnames,andviewthemasindividuals

(Projects4and5):

I remember when I was going to India, two of my tutors asked tosend them an email when I reached India to know that I arrived

safe. This is something that I will cherish all my life.

(Project 4, student);

b) staffappearinterestedinstudentsandtheirprogress,notjusttheirproblems(Projects4and6):

So I think its important that they are not only friendly and

approachable but interested in your progress. I did ask my oldpersonal tutor for help once and she was a bit dismissive so I just

didnt want to approach her again, I just went to someone else whogave me the help that I needed.


c) staffareavailableandrespondtostudentscontactinanappropriateand

timelyway(Project4):

For some people it just doesnt seem legitimate. You know, like I

say, they think youre a bit stupid for asking the question.


I e-mailed a member of staff saying I dont really understand thisand he sent a really nasty horrible email saying you should

understand it I thought it was a bit out of order.


So I think being able to ask them about your subject and being able

to talk to them if youre confused about something rather than justwanting to crack on and power through their lecture.


d) staffvaluetheinputofstudentsandrespectthem,irrespectiveofdiversity

anddifference(Projects4and5);

e) studentsareabletoapproachstaffforsupport(Projects3,4and5):

They dont look like lecturers; they dont have that sort ofappearance, if that makes sense. They are quite approachable,

friendly people.



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Studentsrecognisethattherelationshiptheyhavewithstaffisdifferenttoa

friendship(Project4),buttheyareputoffbystaffwhoareunenthusiastic,

orwhoonlywanttoseethemiftheyhaveaproblem(Project6):

I dont think its a good thing if you see them too much as yourmate. But just understanding them as people thats where the

gem is.


f) studentswantrelationshipswithstaffthatarelessformal,likeamentor

(65%,n=87)ratherthanformallikeateacher(14%,n=18)(Project4).

Project4reportedthatstudentsfoundithardertohaverelationshipswith

staffwho:

a) donottreatstudentswithrespect;

b) donotrespondtoemails,oronlyveryslowly;

c) arrivelateatlectures;

d) donotacceptcriticismwell:

Youd have to be quite careful not to be attacking the way an

academic teaches; youd have to be quite careful they can feelquite vulnerable at times as if youre criticising them.


e) arenotinterestedinteaching;f) arenoteasilyavailableoralwaysseemtobeinahurry.

Student-centredlearningandteachingandpersonaltutoringarekeywaysin

whichstudentsinteractwithstaff,discussedinthesubsequentsections.

Curriculum-relatedactivities,suchasstudytrips,orsocialeventsorganised

andattendedbystaffwerepopular,andprovidedausefuladditionalwayfor

studentstogettoknowstaff.

Curriculum contents and pedagogy

Thecurriculumcontentsandpedagogycanmotivatestudentstoengageand

besuccessfulinhighereducation.Thisshouldbebasedonactiveandcollaborativelearning,withenthusiasticlecturers,andofferingarangeof

learningexperiences.

ThequalitativeevidencefromtheWhatWorks?projectsshowsthatengaging

studentsthroughthecurricularcontentsanddeliverymethodsareeffective

waysofmotivatingstudentsandimprovingretentionandsuccess.For

example,somestudentsmaybelessintrinsicallyinterestedinthesubject,but

engaginglearningandteachingstrategiescanigniteinterestandimprove

engagement(Project5).

I think the best things have been the programme, the contents of

the programme and the approach to teaching, [this] is veryengaging [for] students.

(Project 5, student who had thought about withdrawing)


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Strategiestomakelearningandteachingmoreengaginginclude:

a) activelearning:engagingstudentsinproblem-orpractice-basedlearning

drawingontherealworld(Projects4,5and7):

Every year we have lots of our students being involved working with

the National Trust, working with the RSPB doing practicalconservation work thats related to research work that were doing

here so I think they can see how it all joins up and I think thatsreally important its about preparing them for their life and that

they can take control of how they build that degree and thesurrounding experience to make it possible for them to live the

career and the life they want to lead.

(Project 5, staff member);

b) collaborativelearningandsmallgroupteaching,allowingstudentstoshare

theirownexperiences,bothintheclassroomandbeyond(Projects3,4,5and7):

Its not teaching in a great big lecture hall for a long time but getting

them into groups. Its getting them to discuss their own experiences,to value their experiences and what they bring to the learning so

listening to that and getting them to bounce ideas off one another.

(Project 5, staff member);

I like that you can work together and somebody can bring a piece

of information that youve never heard of, and you can bringsomething that somebody else has never heard of, and then youcan swap them and find out how they found it and whats in the

research. I like that.


In our block of flats we got some really good friends ... then moved

in together in the second year ... It was a really supportive house ...we all had essays due in at the same time we would make each

other cups of tea, wed have discussions ... on a Wednesday wedbuy the Guardian wed sit over cups of tea all afternoon discussing

the things in it that were really important for the courses that wewere studying.


c) enthusiasticandknowledgeablelecturers(Projects4and5):

I think I had two particularly fantastic professors one in Historyand one in Social Policy and I think what was good about them

was that they really knew their stuff so they were quite respectedwithin their field but they actually took time as well.


YorkeandLongden(2008,p.48)saythatthoseteachingfirst-year

studentsshouldhaveastrongcommitmenttoteachingandlearning;


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d) offeringarangeoflearningexperiences(Projects4and5);

Lecturers are very inspiring, they try to make every lecture asmemorable and interesting as they can. They use different activities

and show various topic-related videos which help to understand thematerial better and maintain the interest in the subject.


e) havingworkplacementsandfieldtrips(Projects3,4and7).Forexample,

TourismstudentsinProject7participatedincompulsorylocalfieldtrips:

I met people during the day yeah. We did a little run around the city,

getting into different things. I thought it was a bit tedious, but nowwhen I actually look back it was just getting people to familiarise

themselves with the city which was quite clever.


I feel more part of the group than before, which makes my courseeasier because I can ask anyone in my course if Ive got any

difficulties.

(Project 7, student).

Muchofthegoodpracticewehaveidentifiedinrelationtolearningand

teachingreflectsChickeringandGamsons(1987)seveneffectiveeducational

practicesthatimpactonstudentlearningandeducationalexperiences.This

canbeunderstoodasalearner-centredparadigm(HubaandFreed,2000),

whichallowsstudentstoconstructknowledgethroughamoreactiveandauthenticlearningprocessfacilitatedbytheacademicmemberofstaff,rather

thanrelyingonthetransmissionofknowledgefromteachertostudent.Such

anapproachutilisesmoreactivelearningstrategies,suchasgrouplearning,

engagingactivities,feedbackandformativeassessment(seebelow).

Hockings(2010)definesthisapproachasinclusivelearningandteaching:

Inclusive learning and teaching in higher education refers to theways in which pedagogy, curricula and assessment are designed

and delivered to engage students in learning that is meaningful,relevant and accessible to all. It embraces a view of the individual

and individual difference as the source of diversity that can enrichthe lives and learning of others.

(Hockings, 2010, p. 1, core definition)

Assessment and feedback

Studentswhohaveaclearunderstandingabouttheassessmentprocessand

expectationshavehigherconfidencelevelsandarelesslikelytothinkabout

leavingearly.WhatWorks?evidencesuggeststhatanunderstandingof

assessmentshouldbedevelopedearly,andstudentsneedtohavepositive

relationshipswithstaffsothattheycanaskforclarification.Feedbackon

assessmentneedstobehelpfultostudents,andtheyneedtobeguidedhow

touseittoinformfutureassessmenttasks.


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Studentsexpectationsandunderstandingofassessmentseemtocorrelate

withstudentsconfidenceaslearnersandthoughtsaboutleavingHE:

I hadnt failed them [assignments] but it wasnt as good as I

thought. So I was sort of going from school where I did A levels andgot quite good marks and then I was like sort of confused as to

why, why that had happened and I sort of expected a higher scoreand that knocked my confidence a bit.


Project5foundthat64.5%ofstudentswhohadnotthoughtaboutleaving

reportedthatassessmentwasastheyexpectedittobe;only34.4%of

studentswhohadthoughtaboutleavingfeltthesameway(basedonfigures

fromtheUniversityofBradford,N=128).Project1foundthat35%(n=196)of

surveyrespondentshadconsideredwithdrawingpriortoorfollowing

assessment,orfollowingafailure.

AnswerstoaProject1surveyquestionWhydidyouthinkaboutleaving?

offerinsightintotheimpactassessmentandfailurehasonthinking

aboutleaving:

Too many assessments due in too close together. I just dont have

time to do them and I expect next year will be worse.

because I was trying my best but it seemed it was not goodenough I wasnt getting the grade to pass.

Lack of support with assignments not being explained properly

and not much help if you do need it.

Because I was finding my homework hard and not getting anysupport from my tutors.

Studentswhohavelowerconfidenceandareunsureaboutassessment

expectationsandpracticesbenefitfromfeedbackontheirassessedwork

(Projects1and5):

At the beginning of the course I was a bit overwhelmed by theamount of people who were clearly very smart and I found myself

questioning my own academic abilities. After completing my firstfew a

hea what works final report 2012

Documents