Pre-arrival
Research shows that students who leave their programme early do so because of some perceived mismatch between themselves, the institution or their subject or programme.
Information available to applicants should accurately reflect the experience of studying on the programme, the content of the programme, the teaching styles and assessment requirements, etc.
Students can be informed of the following services and requirements prior to their arrival. Please note that much of the information below will be contained in University publications (e.g. prospectus, or the Crucial Guide) but appropriate reference can be made in any targeted conversion activities.
There are symbols next to each item which suggest methods by which students can be provided with the information. There is a key to the symbols below.
- Hb - handbook
- F2F - face-2-face
- web - website
- PG - peer group meeting
- AA - Academic Adviser
- Ic - in class
- BB - Blackboard
- Tc - targeted communication
- CG - Crucial Guide
Academic
Academic Adviser - Meeting with (F2F)
Academic Advisers represent a vital relationship between students and the University and are often a source of independent advice for students who are having difficulties with their studies. It is vital that students are informed at an early stage who their Academic Adviser is, what their role is and how they will be assigned an Adviser.
The Faculty has an ‘Academic Advisers Toolkit’ which is a web resource which provides links and signposts to sources of academic policy and procedure, and student support and services and is intended to provide a one-stop shop for Academic Advisers.
It is good practice:
- for students to be allocated an Academic Adviser at the start of their programme of study
- to indicate to students clear office hours and methods of contacting their Academic Adviser
- to publish mechanisms for changing an Academic Adviser
Feedback (expectations) (Hb, F2F, Web, AA, IC, BB)
Students need to be made aware of what constitutes feedback, how and when they will receive it and who to contact if they have any problems with the feedback provided.
There is a need to develop a greater understanding of students’ expectations of feedback, their perceptions of what feedback is and how they use the feedback they receive. Students should be made aware of what opportunities are available to them to ask further questions about the feedback received and their work.
The University’s Feedback Policy sets out the principles which will govern the development of mechanisms for providing feedback to students on their formative and summative work.
It is good practice to:
- clearly articulate the assessment framework and mechanisms for feedback at the start of each unit
- schedule a feedback session into the timetable (enabling students to have the time to ask for further clarification). This may help to enable them to build their understanding of the assessment criteria and would be of particular value to students in their first year at university
- use an appropriate feedback cover sheet which states the learning outcomes for the assignment
Course Unit selection & External Course Unit selection (Hb, F2F, Web, PG)
Provide students with more guidance before the deadline for changing course units.
Learning Support
Library(Hb, F2F, Web)
Provide students with a reminder of the Library's services, lists etc.