Engaging, supporting and retaining academic at-risk students in a Bachelor of Nursing: Setting risk markers, interventions and outcomes

Abstract

Student attrition from nursing programs impacts on sustainability of the profession. Factors associated with attrition include: lack of academic capital, extracurricular responsibilities, first generation tertiary students, and low socioeconomic or traditionally underrepresented cultural background. Successful Australian government reforms designed to advance equity in higher education have increased student population diversity, which is accompanied by a rise in the incidence of risk factors for attrition (Benson, Heagney, Hewitt, Crosling, & Devos, 2013).This prospective study examined commencing nursing students in their first semester to track critical risk markers associated with attrition, and implemented timely interventions to support subject completion or enrolment perseverance in the event of subject failure. Students who attended orientation, accessed blended learning, attended early tutorials, submitted and passed first assessment items, and studied part-time were significantly more likely to pass the subject overall. Interventions based on good practice principles for student engagement and support resulted in increased retention.

Screening for burn-out in Australian medical students undertaking a rural clinical placement

“…It remains unknown whether rural students’ cumulative experiences influence stress responses differently. Potential factors could include dislocation from home, financial pressures and reduced academic capital in their social networks leading to academic stress 31. Although some studies suggest that students in their first year of university studies experience higher levels of stress, it is well recognised that the transition to clinical training is stressful for medical students 32.…”

“You Want Me to Come to Your Office?!”: Student experiences of Moving from Failure to Success in a Nursing Course

“…As this study demonstrated, and literature supports, students frequently do not seek out help from educators until it is too late to alter a declining academic situation (Jeffreys, 2014). What constitutes an at-risk student may be related to grades, attendance, participation, or the educator recognizing a pattern of behaviour (Tower et al, 2015). This early and proactive intervention may best be delivered as a form of feedback that supports careful self-appraisal and builds self-efficacy and study habits (Bulfone et al, 2019;Lammers, 2016).…”

“…A proactive stance is also needed for educators to actively support at-risk students early in a nursing program (Elliot, 2016;Harding, 2012;Jeffreys, 2014;Liem & Martin, 2012;Tower et al, 2015). Proactive strategies to identify students early and provide interventions at key transitional times in a program can work to prevent failure or withdrawal (Jeffreys, 2014).…”

“…We believe that early feedback focused on students at risk can mitigate the chances of failure in a specific course and that intentional and directed feedback is a catalyst for academic success. In addition, when students receive constructive and thoughtful feedback, they tend to gain a richer and deeper understanding of concepts (Tower, et al, 2015). The goal of feedback is to minimize conceptual gaps and decrease the discrepancy between students' understanding of course content and the desired course expectations (Freitas & Leonard, 2011;Parker & Winstone, 2016).…”

Intra-university partnerships improve student success in a first-year success and retention outreach initiative

“…A further implication evidenced by the improvement in the 2017 CFY cohort's WAM is that holistic, integrated support is more beneficial than a subject-based approach, although any intervention appears to be better than none, including contact via SMS and email. The integrated model described here provides an important point of difference to similar programs used at other universities (Barnes et al, 2015;Nelson et al, 2009;Potter & Parkinson, 2010;Tower, Walker, Wilson, Watson, & Tronoff, 2015), which typically identify and support students on the basis of individual subjects. Even those examining the student experience across multiple subjects typically report their data on an individual subject basis, which we believe may conceal the benefits that come from taking a whole-ofstudent approach to appreciative advising modelled here in the CFY example.…”