The Journey Begins: A Holistic Institutional Approach to Reviewing and Enhancing the First Year

1. The Journey Begins: A Holistic Institutional Approach to Reviewing and Enhancing the First Year Ginny Saich (email v.a.saich@stir.ac.uk) Derek Young (email derek.young@stir.ac.uk) University of Stirling

2. Aims of the Session • to share experiences to date and gain feedback on progress made (at an early stage of development); • to draw upon the experience/expertise of colleagues working in the field; • to enter into a dialogue about the approach being taken and the influence of various contextual components and institutional constraints; • to discuss future potential opportunities for further enhancement and any related requirements (including resources) 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

3. Themes Addressed • Context • Drivers and influential factors • Challenges faced • Approaches taken • Future potential development 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

4. UK Context • Widening Participation Agenda (50% target) • Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) require Progress Files http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/progressFiles/guidelines/progfile2001.asp#what • the transcript (record of a student’s learning and achievement) • a student’s personal records of learning and achievements, progress reviews and plans used to clarify personal goals • Personal Development Planning (PDP) – structured and supported processes to develop the capacity of individuals to reflect upon their own learning and achievement, and to plan for their own personal educational and career development • Increasing research on the First Year and Retention eg. commissioned by The Higher Education Academy (HEA) (http://www.hea.ac.uk) • Maturation of HE agenda of widening participation, shifting focusfrom initial access to student retention and progression 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

5. Scottish Context • Scottish Credit Qualifications Framework (SCQF) (http://www.scqf.org.uk) – 2001 • QAA in Scotland (http://www.qaa.ac.uk) new Quality Enhancement Framework (QEF): • Public data set • Enhancement-led Institutional Review (ELIR) • Subject level review by institutions • Student participation (national development service - SPARQS – Student Participation in Quality Scotland – http://www.sparqs.org.uk) • Sectoral-wide enhancement themes (http://www.scottishenhancement.ac.uk) (No ring-fenced funding for enhancement initiatives) 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

6. Scottish Enhancement Themes 2003/4: • Assessment • Responding to Student Needs (Induction, First Year curriculum, Personal Tutoring, Integrating Support Systems) 2004/5: • Employability (including PDP) • Flexible Delivery 2005/6: • Integrative Assessment • The First Year (literature reviews, ‘live’ case studies, institutional events/debates, engagement by the Steering Group with senior management within institutions) 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

7. External Facilitators • Increasing research evidence on the importance of the first year • UK widening participation agenda shifted towards retention and progression • QAA directives and guidance • July 2006 HESA Statistics show 1 in 10 Scottish students drop out of university and college in the first year http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=58&id=1975792005 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

8. Institutional Context • Four year honours degree programmes (3 year bachelors and general degrees) • Modular, flexible, degree structure • Campus-based institution (~ 8000 FTEs) • Nearly all students work during semester time (including in their first year) • Active in widening participation – diverse student population (except in ethnicity) • Institutional strategy of internationalisation (emphasising recruitment) • Organisational development – restructuring underway 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

9. Institutional Challenges 1. A ‘first year curriculum’ Implementation of SCQF → modules largely assigned to levels 8 and 10 Institutional policy to maximise flexibility within the curriculum to maintain student choice Resistance to ‘competing’ modules Few truly interdisciplinary modules Increasing institutional and departmental emphasis on research Finances tight - very limited resources for enhancement initiatives 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

10. Institutional Challenges 2. • Few rewards for engagement with students and enhancement of the learning experience • Most prestige for honours/postgraduate teaching • Little synergy between pockets of innovation and institutional policy and practice • International students particularly tend towards minimal socialisation – tending to retain cultural groupings (possibly linked to linguistic limitations) 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

11. Institutional Facilitators • Pockets of excellence, innovation and expertise • Web Portal with increasingly personalised ‘views’. • New student system (integrating systems) • Highly collaborative ethos institutionally • High level of student participation in institutional activities and decision-making • QAA ELIR in October/November 2006 • reconsidering some of its processes and revisiting structures and processes (including use of SCQF levels and credit rating) • preparation involves critical self-reflection including on engagement with sectoral quality enhancement themes • Institutional debates/consultations (including input from international, external expertise - Betsy Barefoot from the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition in Brevard, South Carolina) 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

12. Institutional Developments1 Institutional consultation/debate – including student voice – issues identified: • Identity and student cohort • Flexibility vs confusion over curriculum • The notion of a ‘programme’ and ‘first year’ • Widening participation, support needs and the need for appropriate support • Internationalisation and related support needs (socialisation/acculturation and support for language development) • Core curriculum components – ‘fitting them in’ Induction/Orientation Working Group 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

13. Institutional Developments2 Enhancing connectivity and collaboration: • integrated student support and reduced ‘referrals’ eg. one-stop shop Information Centre established in the Library, student support services linked under one Director • joint appointments eg. disability and learning support advice, library/IT support • peer support among first year advisors/personal tutors (regular meetings to share/discuss issues) • collaborative curriculum developments (academic staff, support staff and students) 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

14. Institutional Developments3 Enhancing student ‘belonging’ to: • the University and its wider community • Pre-entry visits/assessment/support for students with disabilities (follow-up on entry) • Community service learning and active learning in the community credit-bearing modules (engaging with the local external community) • Developing credit-bearing module on “making the most of your university experience” - reviewing options, critical reflectin, development of personal development plan (PDP) • a cohort of students/peers • Developing credit-bearing module providing relevant training and enabling recognition/reward for student engagement with enhancement of the university experience through • peer tutoring • peer mentoring (international?) • course representation • ambassador roles • personal learning assistants etc. 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

15. Institutional Developments 4 Enhancing student engagement and empowerment through the curriculum: • Improved marketing of learning strategies modules (and the Student Learning Service) to first year students • ESL support sessions (including cultural issues) • Provision of support and reinforcement (not just handbook) on academic expectations and practices eg. plagiarism, attendance at lectures, use of email etc. • PDP Working Group • Staff development opportunities on engaging students with their learning through the use of peer and self assessment Supporting the development of staff expertise with first year students: • Review of advisor of studies scheme – departmental team based approach, regular team meetings to be held • Explore opportunities through the teaching-research nexus for introducing students to the culture of a research university (exploratory, enquiry-based learning etc.) 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

16. Institutional Developments5 Inclusive, collaborative mechanism for self-study and evidence-based decision-making (Stirling Institutional Research Network - SIReN) • Identify student expectations and experiences on entry • Explore: • curricular choices (influential factors?) • awareness of departmental and university facilities/support • use of departmental/university facilities/support • decisions made by students (influential factors?) • Develop an awareness of how students spend their time • Analyse data by specific groups of students eg. international students, mature students, first-generation students, student parents, students with disabilities etc. • Contrast with staff views/perceptions 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

17. Institutional Developments 6 Developing strategies for eliciting the student voice on the student experience (particularly in the first year) • a student competition to relay information about their student experience (particularly their first year). Specific themes may be suggested eg. making choices, residences, outside the classroom, settling in etc. Open format to encourage creativity eg. essay, film, poem, song etc. Elicited information to be used to inform future developments and enhancements to the first year Developing new level 7 modules (and/or realigning existing modules to level 7) Bridging/Access programmes, Schools programmes and FE/HE articulation agreements 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

18. Desirable Developments Requiring cultural/institutional change: • Enhance prestige/recognition/reward for teaching and supporting first year • Enhance student ‘belonging’ to their discipline/department through departmental ‘events’, greater staff/student interaction out of class 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto

19. Possible Future Developments • Developing a core interdisciplinary first year module (with delivery and income shared by a number of departments), exploring the same key issue/theme through a diverse range of disciplinary lenses • Expansion of emerging web site for first year students to include more guidance and support required beyond admission/registration and the first few weeks of the year eg. development of FAQs • Living-learning communities – making use of campus-based student residences 19th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Toronto