The overlooked cohort? – Improving the taught postgraduate student experience in higher education

Abstract

Nutritional Sciences programme where she teaches across a number of human nutrition undergraduate and postgraduate modules. Research interests concern micronutrient deficiencies, in particular the impact of restricted diets on micronutrient status. Pedagogical interests include understanding and improving the education and experience of postgraduate taught students.Rachel Jessop is Director of Internationalisation for the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham. Rachel works with staff across the school to develop and promote internationalisation, including international teaching partnerships; incoming and outgoing student and staff mobility; international student support; working with the School's Director of Research regarding developing international research collaborations; and disseminating information about international activities.Pauline Maden is the Faculty of Science Careers and Employability Consultant at the University of Nottingham, where she leads a team of careers professionals working in partnership with academic colleagues to deliver expert careers services. Areas of expertise include career decision making, emerging careers in science and technology and the future of work.Gavin White is an Assistant Professor of Animal Nutrition and also Course Director for the MSc programme in Animal Nutrition where he teaches across a number of modules on livestock, zoo and pet nutrition. His pedagogical research interests include gaining a better understanding of student experiences and challenges specifically with regard to the transition from undergraduate to taught postgraduate study. 2The overlooked cohort? -Improving the taught postgraduate student experience in Higher Education Taught postgraduate students in the UK have a limited timeframe for study compared with other student groups, with most full-time taught postgraduate courses requiring intense scholarship, typically over a 12-month period. Many of these students often face a number of challenges and concerns with regard to the transition from undergraduate to taught postgraduate study as they adapt to a new learning environment with a higher level of academic expectations. In this paper, we discuss the results of a new experience survey, designed to capture a holistic view of taught postgraduate student feedback beyond the traditional academic content and to also capture self-reported challenges experienced during their studies. This article also describes the development of a new collaborative support programme in response to student feedback. The programme has been designed to offer a cohesive package of workshop sessions around academic skills, personal wellbeing, support and career development. The importance of providing a targeted support framework for this specific, and often overlooked population of students within the HE sector is discussed.

Feedback in Postgraduate Online Learning: Perspectives and Practices

“…What is also necessary to note, for our purposes here, is that the evolution of postgraduate habits of mind typically represents, for the students concerned, a metamorphosis-a step-change in learning demands from those encountered in undergraduate studies. The 'challenging negotiations' this transition can call for (Tobbell et al 2010) have been highlighted in various studies (Heussi 2012;West 2012;Mirador 2018;Bamber et al 2019;Coneyworth et al 2020), running counter to the pervasive assumption that the transition to postgraduate study will be unproblematic. Indeed, examining the challenges feedback presents, Scott et al (2014: 134) observed:…”

Students’ Experiences of English-Medium Instruction at the Postgraduate Level: Challenges and Sustainable Support for Success

“…Most current EMI studies focus primarily on students at the undergraduate level, but postgraduate students differ from undergraduates in many aspects, including age, educational background, work experiences, learning styles, attitudes, and language proficiency levels [20,21]. The length of undergraduate studies is around three to four years, while a typical postgraduate programme lasts only one to two years, giving students an intensive curriculum and high academic demands [1,11]. Postgraduate students are often assumed to have more expertise, knowledge, and related academic skills than undergraduates, so they may receive less support in their induction into the university [22].…”

“…Postgraduate students are often assumed to have more expertise, knowledge, and related academic skills than undergraduates, so they may receive less support in their induction into the university [22]. A survey of postgraduate students in the UK found that more than 80% of international participants reported challenges in transitioning to their postgraduate studies and the new learning context [11]. The challenges include unfamiliar teaching approaches, language use, and academic writing.…”

“…Usually, postgraduate programmes are shorter than undergraduate programmes, lasting approximately one to two years of fulltime study, and they are often self-funded. The content of the programmes tends to be more advanced than an undergraduate degree, requiring a higher level of understanding, greater independence, and more specialist knowledge and skills pertaining to university education-e.g., academic writing [11]. As a result, postgraduate degree holders tend to be considered more highly qualified.…”

“…This study, by exploring the experiences and perceptions of one cohort of full-time postgraduate Mainland Chinese students during their first semester studying for a one-year Master of Education (MEd) degree in English for Language Teaching (ELT) at an EMI Hong Kong university, aimed to understand better the challenges associated with studying in an EMI context at the postgraduate level, and to propose possible sustainable support strategies that can help such students succeed. The focus on MEd: ELT students can shed light on the challenges faced by an overlooked group, postgraduate students at EMI universities [11], and how they can be sustainably supported to adjust and succeed in an EMI context. In addition, it can help us consider the often challenged but common belief that language proficiency is the primary prerequisite for learning academic subject content (i.e., education theories, linguistic knowledge, and pedagogical skills) in English [2].…”