Transcript Learning From the Data

Learning From the Data
Overview
• What is the HERE! Project?
• And who are we?
• Focusing on the data – what have we learnt?
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Curriculum Design
Institutions and Partnerships
Student Experience
Extra curricular activities
• Outcomes and methodology
• What can you take away?
• What will you do?
Who are we?
Christine Keenan
Natalie Bates
Becka Currant
Ruth Lefever
•Previously worked together on Learnhigher CETL
•All engaged in transition support strategies
•Develop Me, Stepping Stones 2HE, Welcome Week
Ed Foster
Sarah Lawther
What is the HERE project?
2 strands:
1. Student doubters
– Why do some students have doubts about their experiences and yet stay,
when others withdraw?
– What lessons can we learn from doubters to make leavers more ‘robust’?
– Previous surveys 20% - 40% of students have doubts
2. Programmes with excellent rates of retention
– Significant differences between retention rates across programmes
– Identify programmes with consistently good rates of retention and explore
what takes place within the programme that may have an impact on retention
– First year students
Doubters
• Outputs
– Hypothesis is that doubters are more likely to leave than non-doubters
– Reports on the experiences of doubters, leavers and non-doubters
– Recommendations for institutional practice & guidance for students
• Methodology & Progress
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Pilot study (NTU)
Transitions Survey (all partners)
Students’ Union survey (Bournemouth)
Focus Groups (NTU)
– Apart from pilot, we only have data on doubters at this juncture
Programmes with excellent retention
• Outcomes
– Develop a self audit tool for programmes to use
– Report on factors associated with better retention & make
recommendations
• Methodology & Progress
– Identify programmes with better rates of retention
– Work with programme staff & students to identify practices having a
positive impact
– 2 pilot studies conducted at Bournemouth
– Programmes identified at all partners
– We are looking to test the audit at other institutions
Approach to developing the audit tool
1. Develop audit questions
Student Retention
Literature (incl HEA
HERE! Strand One:
Student doubters
retention synthesis)
Improving student retention
and success: four areas
identified
Quantitative and
Qualitative research
Limitations
Voluntary
responses
Generalisation?
Do doubters
become
leavers?
Pilot & further develop audit
questions
2. Identify programmes
Institutional data
Consider factors that are known
to influence retention
Methodological
issues
Similarities and
differences between
institutions?
Accuracy of data
Methodological rules
for consistency
Identify programmes for study
Common first year?
3. Working with programmes
Institutional data & grey literature
“…in databases at institutional and system–level, there are
valuable data that could be exploited … What is needed is an
appreciation of what might exist in such databases and the
capability to produce something valuable from them” (Yorke,
2006, p 201).
Staff Interviews
Methodological
issues
Pilot study to
develop
methodology
Limiting data
gathered
Consider analysis
Consistency
between
institutions
Students
Is it enough for a “credible basis for action?” (Yorke, 2006, p212)
Audit tool format
Institutional level
Programme level
Individual
level
How do we present our
findings and
recommendations in a
useful way?
Institutions
ensure
students are
sufficiently
prepared to
make the
transition
into HE
The student
learning
experience is
managed and
co-ordinated
to promote
student
success
The
curriculum is
designed and
delivered to
promote the
success of all
students
Formal and
informal extracurricular
activities
support
students and
promote their
engagement in
HE
Session Structure
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Look at each of 4 key areas identified in the HEA study
Present some findings
Discuss how findings are driving development of tool
Opportunities for discussion, feedback and thoughts
The curriculum is designed and delivered
to promote the success of all students
Ed Foster & Sarah Lawther
Nottingham Trent University
Strand One: Student Doubters
Student Transition Survey
– May 2009 (Bournemouth, Bradford & NTU)
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Questions
– How many students had doubts about staying on their current programme?
– Why have some students thought of leaving?
– Why have doubters decided to stay?
– Student priorities and satisfaction with their experiences of university
• in particular, those experiences that have been shown to affect retention in previous research
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Limitations
– Voluntary responses
– May not be accessing students not engaged with university
– Don’t know yet whether doubters become leavers
Withdrawing from Studies (NTU)
Over a third (37%) of sample say they have considered withdrawing from their
studies at some point so far in their first year.
63% have never considered leaving
28% have considered leaving but have since decided to stay at NTU
8% have not yet made up their minds about whether to stay or leave
1% have decided to leave NTU
8%
1%
28%
63%
Base = 656 (doubters = 243, non-doubters = 413)
Never considered
withdrawing
Considered withdrawing
and decided to stay
Still undecided whether to
stay or leave
Considered withdrawing
and decided to leave
Comparing Experience with Expectations
(NTU All students)
85%
91%
86%
89%
82%
87%
83%
84%
My subject is interesting
Completing my degree will help me achieve future goals
I have easy acess to University resources
My family is supportive
67%
I have enthusiastic lecturers
63%
I'm confident that I can cope with my studies
82%
59%
My course is well organised
81%
57%
Feedback on my work is useful
81%
Agree
59%
My taught sessions are interesting
80%
66%
Lecturers are accessible
47%
I'll have enough money to finish my course
I have an enjoyable social life
My fellow students are supportive
50%
I know where to go if I have a problem
49%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
77%
74%
74%
73%
70%
68%
68%
60%
Assessment on my course is what I expected
I feel valued by teaching staff
Importance
74%
59%
I like where I am living
Base = 656
83%
60%
68%
67%
70%
80%
90%
100%
% respondents rating each statement 4+ on a scale of 1-5 (5= strongly agree)
Profile of doubters (NTU)
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250 male students answered the survey: 78 (31%) are doubters
406 female students answered the survey: 165 (41%) are doubters
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Older students more likely to have doubts
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Disabled students more likely to have doubts (50%)
Some variation by home location (more doubters from City of Nottingham)
Ethnicity highly varied
39% of first generation students had doubts/ 35% with family experience of HE
Accommodation type
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19-21 yr old (37% doubters) 26-44 yr old (44%)
Living with relatives - 30%
Living in private halls - 42%
Clearing 45% doubters
First choice of university – 38% doubts, not first choice 31%
Reasons Why Students Considered Leaving (NTU)
HERE Project (March - May 2009)
(263 responses from 219 individual respondents)
120
112
100
80
60
40
38
28
20
26
22
13
7
7
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Please tell us what made you consider leaving NTU?
The course and the lecturers. I felt that i
wasn’t getting the help i needed.
the stress of so much work was getting
too much
poor value for money, lack of
tutor contact eg lecture/seminar
Organisation of course
Wasn’t sure if i would be good enough for the
course when we were told what all we had to
do and what would be expected of us
didn't know if i
was doing the
right course
I can’t carry on with the course which i
wanted to study due to the fact that i
haven't selected that route at the start of
the year
The course material is very
similar to A level msaterial
hence it became
demotivating for me
Subject interest
• Amongst all students, having an interesting subject was the
most important factor
– 91% of students said that it was important
– 85% of all students felt that their subject was interesting
• 93% of students who actively disagreed with the statement
‘My subject is interesting’ had doubts about being on the
course
• Doubters were also far less likely to find the taught sessions
interesting
Accuracy of institutional information
• A small number (36) found the information
provided by the programme before they
started inaccurate
– 70% had doubts
• Only 27% of those who found it accurate had
doubts
Coping with studies
• ‘I feel confident I can cope with my studies’
– 78% of students who disagreed had doubts
– Only 23% of those who agreed had doubts
– For doubters, this factor was the largest gap between
importance and experience and the biggest difference
between them and non-doubters
• How hard are you working?
– Very hard (38% doubters)
– Fairly hard (30%)
– Not at all (69%)
Academic Aspirations
• 54% of respondents are aiming for a 1st when
they graduate
– (only 27% for the 1st year though)
• High aspirants less likely to have doubts
– 35% of those aiming for a 1st have doubts
– 100% of those aiming for a 3rd have doubts
Relationship with staff
• Doubters were less likely to say that they
– Had enthusiastic lecturers
– Had accessible lecturers
– Were valued by teaching staff
• When answered negatively, are very likely to be
doubters
• Contrasts with our research into post-16
teaching
– Much more contact and guidance available
Understanding the nature of HE
• Only 52% of students felt that since starting, anyone
had explained the differences between post-16 & HE
• Those with an explanation had lower incidences of
doubting
– (33% compared to 42%)
• If students didn’t feel they understood the
differences, they were more likely to have doubts
– (62% compared to 30%)
Audit question areas
• Support in the first year
– Gradually changing over the duration
• Understanding student motivation for being on the
course
• Feedback
• Support when a student fails
How do we develop the curriculum
to support these students?
• Do these findings coincide with your experiences/
observations?
• How does your institution develop the curriculum to support
these students?
• What are the key questions that need embedding into the
audit tool to help develop the curriculum?
• How do we develop these approaches without appearing to
be dumbing down?
Institutions and partnerships ensure that students
are sufficiently prepared to make the transition into
Higher Education
Christine Keenan
Bournemouth University
Institutions and Partnerships
Early findings from our research suggest that the following areas require
consideration during students’ transition into Higher Education:
• Information prior to arrival e.g. course information, Stepping Stones
2HE
• Support (pastoral, academic and financial)
• Opportunities to form friendships – increasing a sense of belonging
• Academic expectations of students – independent study new to most
• Information overload
• The role of personal tutors
• Working in partnership with the Students Union
Institutions and Partnerships
• How can students be empowered to manage their transition to
Higher Education with greater confidence?
• What are the most effective ways of communicating academic
expectations to students during the first term of the first year?
• What strategies could be developed by institutions to help freshers
avoid information overload and have more opportunities to meet
other students?
• How could transition support be improved by working in
partnership with sixth forms and FE colleges?
The student experience is managed and
coordinated to promote student success
Becka Currant & Ruth Lefever
Bradford University
What is the Student Experience
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What is the student experience?
Who/what are modern students?
A vision of students today Wesch (2007)
Engaging Students at Bradford (Currant, 2009)
What issues do they face?
What challenges does this pose for us?
How do we respond to differences from the
‘norm’?
The student learning experience is
managed and co-ordinated to promote
student success
• Use of institutional data
• Policy development and integration
• Institutional processes and reporting
structures
• Quality management and enhancement
• Staff Engagement
University of Bradford data
Withdrawing from studies
• 29% of students said they had considered withdrawing at
some point during their first year at Bradford
• 71 % had never considered leaving
• 23% have considered leaving but since decided to stay
• 4 % had not made their minds up yet as to their future plans
What made students consider leaving?
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Personal – family, health
Homesickness
Pressures of work/exams, hard to cope
Financial reasons
Accommodation
Employment issues – balancing with studies, finding p/t work
Dislike city of Bradford
University campus/atmosphere
Lack of social opportunities, activities
Course not what they expected/not satisfied
Course not challenging or interesting
Problems with lecturers, communication
What has helped students decide to stay
at Bradford?
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Friends and course mates
Family
Future goals/career
Drive and ambition
Tutor/staff support, ability/enthusiasm
Course – interesting, enjoying, materials
The university – atmosphere and reputation
Students were asked what was important to them in
relation to their experience)*:
*% who rated the answer 4 or 5 – important or very important
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Enthusiastic lecturers – 95.1%
Useful feedback – 95.1%
Course well organised – 94.3%
Easy access to resources (IT, books etc) – 91.9%
Accessible lecturers – 89.3%
Feeling valued by teaching staff – 85.4%
Staff Engagement
Data suggests the importance of spending time engaging with
students
• At Bradford issues relating to staff did not feature as a very common reason
for students who had considered leaving uni, but when looking at what had
helped students to stay on the course, approximately a fifth of responses
included tutor/staff support or interaction as a factor:
The wonderful department: I really enjoy the
subjects taught, they are interesting and
engaging, lecturers are very professional and
supportive
Our course leader is very helpful and is
always on hand to provide extra information
and support. He seems interested in the
students and I feel confident that I can
approach him with any questions I may have
I am very happy at this
university because of how
it teaches students and I
like the way staff treat
students
Staff Engagement
Although many of our students provided positive comments about staff, when
asked about improvements to academic or pastoral support a significant number
of respondents suggested items related to staff engagement.
Issues of time, access and availability were common, including wanting more
regular/structured meetings but items relating to approach or attitude were also
important – such as:
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A more personal approach – talking to students ‘at their level’ or as friends
Hands on, proactive
Take an interest and make/keep in contact
I am yet to be contacted by my tutor –
Value the students
this shows detachment on their part
Be approachable
Responsible – reply to emails and turn up when supposed to
[Be] more interactive, it seems we (students) are just numbers and not real
people
Quality/processes issues
• Staff and students understand the role of the personal tutor and what is
expected of it and them – agreed provision, consistency
• Group size
• Monitoring of student progress
• Assessment feedback
• Timetabling
Student feedback:
• Staff/student events
• Opportunities to air views
• Effective SU
• Asking previous students about their experiences to inform change
What has the wider data told us?
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Identify student expectations of University
Make explicit institutional requirements
Demystify the complex, codified structures
Provide holistic induction experience
Implement a supportive assessment process
– Provide early formative assessment
– Engage with curriculum to inspire learners
• Define curriculum engagement
• Support Academic, Social and Professional
integration
Discussion points
• How can staff engagement/awareness be improved?
• What resources, training/development are needed?
• Accountability?
• Effective quality assurance processes
Formal & informal extra-curricular activities support students
and promote their engagement in Higher Education
Ed Foster & Sarah Lawther
Nottingham Trent University
Pilot study
Reasons why students remained on their
courses despite having doubts (prior to
October 2008)
Survey conducted at NTU in October 2008
302 responses from 215 respondents
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Reasons why Student Doubters stay at
University
HERE Project March - May 2009
NTU data 198 responses from 171 first year respondents
55
50
34
24
14
6
3
0
What has helped you decide to stay at NTU?
The people i live [with] and the friends i have made with are so lovely and i live
so far away from them, i worried i'd never see them again.
friends at uni
Friends, seminar buddies
my family and
friends
I have a lot of
friends here
my friends and my family after discussion
My family and
flatmates
have made some
great friends
Perhaps what makes students leave isn’t
what makes students stay
Why?
The question, ‘How is it that students
persist?’, “…bears upon the question about
non-completion, but is far from being the
same question expressed in a different way. It
is rather a different order of question”
(Barnett, 2007, p2)
Hygiene factor? (Herzberg)
• What motivates people to work (motivator factors) isn’t the
same as that which makes people dissatisfied with work
(hygiene factors)
• Are ‘course related factors’ as identified by students hygiene
factors?
• Are they are expected to be there and so in themselves are
not enough to motivate students to stay?
Although my course is satisfactory enough, I don't LOVE it. I think my good
friends in halls/good friends in my seminar group/social life have kept me
here.
I have found that the workload at times is too much to cope with,
not the difficulty but the volume. Also i really dont like some of my
tutors/lecturers, they should be more supportive and encouraging.
It has been the social side of it that has kept me here
Under-reporting of friends as a factor to leave?
Student Union Leavers Survey June 2009 Bournemouth University
• Six students who left cited homesickness, hating the lifestyle, unhappy in a flat and
Bournemouth nightlife among reasons why they had left
Four of these students went on to answer further questions about friendships..
• They all agreed that it was important to make friends so that they didn’t feel alone
• Two students said they had made the kinds of friends that they would have like to, two said
that they hadn’t made any close friendships
• They all said that they didn’t go to any student union events: one student said this was
because they didn’t have anyone to go with and two students said that they would have gone
if they had known about them as this would have given them the chance to meet new people
Were friendships a factor in their decision to withdraw?
• Three students said that friendships had no impact on their decision to withdraw.
• One student said that it had a little influence on their decision to withdraw.
Focus groups
Focus groups May 2009 (NTU)
4 focus groups (1 hour workshops, 13 students in total)
– Control group of non-doubters
– Selection of doubters
– STEM subject doubters
– Mature student doubters
Limitations
– All students that we spoke to were female.
– Four students were mature students, one student was a mature international
student, one student was an international student and one student was a
home student with English as a second language.
– This is therefore not representational of the profile of the total respondents.
Belonging: non doubters
All of the students who had never had doubts could all describe the time when
they felt that they belonged to the university, either through societies, or again,
through recognising others
“I think it starts when you walk down the street and you see someone and you go
hey … I know them from University and that’s what made me feel like it [like I
belonged]”.
“The more people you know through other clubs and stuff the more you feel part of
the University”.
“It’s hard to recognise people though when you are walking up and down
Shakespeare Street you will just recognise people but you don’t know them and
haven’t said hi to them. It’s from lectures and you think ‘Oh you are in my lecture’”.
Belonging: doubters
Theresa, had had doubts and still describes herself as having difficulty ‘fitting in’.
She has stayed because she doesn’t feel she has much choice.
“I don’t seem very involved with the University to be honest”. A theme that
emerged here was one of recognition, that “probably if I see my tutor on the
road, he wouldn’t recognise me”.
Charlie, on the other hand, who had had doubts but made a positive decision to
stay, described that now she could recognise places and people,
“I feel better now because now I feel like I know where everything is and I always
see someone walking around that I know if I want to stop and talk to them”.
Discussion
• Do any of these findings chime with your
experiences?
• What have you done along these lines?
• Are there any areas that you feel we have
missed?
• Do you think students over-report course
factors?
• Other questions for the audit?
Audit questions
• Do you know if (and if so how many) students take part in
volunteering/have been student ambassadors? Is this
something you know about/tell students about?
• How much group work do students take part in? How are the
groups chosen?
• How often do students get a chance to get to know each
other/work together in sessions?
• Do you do ice breakers in induction?
Audit Tool Discussion Session
Output From Discussions
• Is there anything outside of these 4 areas that
you think affects retention/students staying?
• How can you influence change?
• What are the most important things that need to
be changed?
• What are the barriers to implementing these
changes?
• How might you use this tool in your institution?
Thanks very much for your time