Experience and expectations of transition to higher education: a qualitative exploration

Abstract

Transition to higher education is challenging, and may be more difficult for some groups than others. The transition from level 3 foundation year into level 4 offers the opportunity to explore student perspectives. Qualitative survey and focus group data were collected from current and previous Level 3 students, to ascertain student perceptions about induction, level of belonging, confidence about Level 4 and to identify useful support sources. Over a third of eligible Level 3 students (n=102) participated, but numbers of eligible participants from Levels 4, 5 and 6 were limited. Despite the heterogeneous nature of Level 3 students the majority of students recognised the value of the foundation year. Data suggested that Level 3 students did not identify with the university. Those who did highlighted the importance of social outlets such as clubs and societies. A major cause of dissatisfaction was perceived lack of clarity about the foundation year, including the programme, subjects and physical location of the course. This was apparent across all ethnicities, age groups and both genders. Among previous Level 3 students, personal sources of support were uniformly valued although the precise source varied by year of study. Support from academic staff, via office hours and as personal tutors, was rated as most important. Enabling academic staff to offer support to students throughout their study, and clear consistent information available throughout an ongoing transition, may help to minimise these issues.

Staff and student perspectives of online teaching and learning; implications for belonging and engagement at university – a qualitative exploration

“…Respondents also identified good relationships with academic staff and the feeling that students mattered individually to staff as hallmarks of high quality HE (Dicker et al, 2017(Dicker et al, , 2018 this an important consideration in the competitive world of education provision. Rather like Ahn and Davis (2019), we have also found that there is an element of 'place' in belonging: that geographical location affects belonging in Level 3 (foundation) students (Goldring et al, 2018) and that the physical space on campus helps to develop belonging in undergraduate students (Mulrooney and Kelly, 2020b). This is unsurprising, since the nature of the physical space will influence how easily social interactions within and between staff and student groups occur.…”

Transition to higher education; prospective and retrospective student experiences

“…The majority agreed that what they studied in the foundation year was appropriate. Qualitative data were previously reported in depth (Goldring et al, 2018).…”

“…It does highlight the importance of ensuring that foundation students feel welcome and integrated within the university, not just the college. This was not always the case, mostly because of the geographical location of the first year (Goldring et al, 2018). Those who did comment that they felt either at home at the university or at home both in the college and university, tended to be those who had engaged with extracurricular opportunities such as societies and clubs (Goldring et al, 2018).…”

“…This was not always the case, mostly because of the geographical location of the first year (Goldring et al, 2018). Those who did comment that they felt either at home at the university or at home both in the college and university, tended to be those who had engaged with extracurricular opportunities such as societies and clubs (Goldring et al, 2018). Whilst these are clearly helpful in managing transition, they should not be relied on.…”