No abstract

One of the problems with working in the Learning Advisory sector is that it is very difficult to show that accessing Learning Advice for students has a positive impact on their retention and success. There is no evidence to suggest that any research has been conducted concerning the core work of Learning Advisors (LAs) in a tertiary context over a whole academic year. This study addresses this gap in the research as it considers the results of a year's cohort (2012) at the Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec), New Zealand. The rationale in choosing to capture a whole year was to ensure that a reasonable amount of data was available. Previous research has tended to focus on individual study programmes which although report their individual success are unlikely to accurately illustrate the day to day core work of Learning Advisors within a tertiary institute. Therefore this report shows how successful students are in their courses with or without learning advice, using quantitative data to demonstrate the possible effectiveness of learning advice for enhancing students' retention and success. The results of this study indicate that Learning Advice in 2012 did appear to have a positive impact on both student retention and success. However, overall results of statistical analysis reached only marginal levels of significance; therefore further investigations could be conducted to confirm such impact.

Ehara taku toa I te toa takitahi. Engari to te toa takitini.Success is not the work. It is the work of many. AbstractSince its inception in 2008, Ako Aotearoa (Ako), the National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence, has funded numerous research and development projects, nationally and within the three Regional Hubs: Northern, Central and Southern. Many of the Association of Tertiary Learning Advisors of Aotearoa New Zealand (ATLAANZ) members have been involved at some level: as team leaders, members, participants and reviewers. Their experiences and insights have been the subject of a number of conference presentations and papers. There is a natural link between Ako Aotearoa and ATLAANZ as both are focused on improving outcomes for students and fostering excellence in tertiary teaching and learning. A further endorsement of this close alignment of purpose can be seen in Ako Aotearoa's sponsorship of the annual ATLAANZ conference over the last few years. This research project is concerned with the underlying processes that contribute to the success of inter-institutional collaborative relationships within projects funded by Ako Aotearoa. This type of research is unprecedented in that firstly, it comprised of a national inquiry across all three regional hubs, and secondly, it was concerned with the strengths and sustainability of the collaborations themselves, rather than project outcomes and outputs. The survey of forty-four completed projects identified the key factors which participants believed had created 'good shelf-life', that is, where the relationship between team members had outlasted the project which brought them together in the first place. These findings have strong relevance for Learning Advisors, whose practice often calls for team initiatives and cross-disciplinary endeavours and whose access to students and inclusion in decision-making may rely on effective networking and professional connections.