Dr
Tony Cook
Project Leader
University of Ulster
Cromore Road
Coleraine
N. Ireland
BT52 1SA
Tel:
+44 028 7032 4453
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Prior to Entry Guidelines
| 1.1 |
Information
about campuses and courses should be accurate and lead to realistic
student expectations. |
| 1.2 |
Teachers,
careers advisors, family members and other educational institutions
are important clients of the institution and should receive up-to-date,
accurate and relevant information. Two-way communication should
be promoted. |
| 1.3 |
Support should be available prior to study particularly where problems
of transition may be predictable. |
A complete version of these
guidelines is available here
Early
Leavers
Much research shows that many early leavers leave their course because
of some perceived mismatch between themselves and the institution, subject
or course. Thus students may leave to join other institutions, to join
other courses in the same institutions or not re-enroll for year 2 even
though they could proceed, Others just leave citing the unsuitability
of the course as a reason.
Sound
judgements by students when choosing their institution or course should
be based on sound information which accurately reflects the experience
of studying the subject in the institution in the location.
A Student Timeline
TIME LINE
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UNIVERSITY PRACTICE/ OPPORTUNITY |
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University mission statement, clear distinctive,
relevant and articulated for students, widely shared.
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Course material (hard copy and web) to reflect
accurately the content of the course, teaching style and assessment
arrangements, etc.
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First contact
A Common Message
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- To be a successful student at this institution you will (behave
in this way)… (clear, open statements based on sound institutional
research)
- Consistent messages coming from all parts of the organisation.
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Period of negotiating between
prospective student & institution
institution & student.
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- Avoid buyers’ remorse early
- Relevant, accessible, accurate information e.g. web tours, interactive
engagement, contact with present and/or former students.
- Provision of self-administered filters (Is this what I really
want to do?) to promote positive decision making.
- Honest advice: "perhaps you should think of ....................instead?"
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Discipline,
Programme / Course
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Provision of clear, accurate information
on the nature of the discipline/ programme/ course, the teaching
styles and the nature of the work involved. e.g. taster courses.
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Matching student to tutor
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Case Studies
1.
Prior to Entry Guidance - This project offers impartial pre-entry
community based guidance to adults considering entry to Higher Education.
The guidance and information offered aims to make people more aware about
how the Higher Education experience might affect them, thus reducing the
incompatibility between expectation and actual experience.
2. Prior to Entry Literature - Institutions
are not entirely responsible for the expectations of students. To the
extent that they are, however, they should ensure that the information
passing between themselves and their prospective students is as representative
of the actual student experience as possible. There are many ways of achieving
this and the one discussed in this case study is the use of literature
generated by a group of courses and made available to all who apply.
3. Udecide - Helping Learners Make SMART Decisions
- This project aims to develop a programme to assist students to make
appropriate educational decisions at key points in their lives. Workshop
sessions are organised in further and higher education institutions with
the intention of informing potential students about the nature of Higher
Education and improving their decision-making skills.
4. Visit Days - Students making well-informed
decisions about both the institutions and the courses that they will join
are less likely to regret making that decision later. The purpose of the
Visit Day is to bring applicants onto the campus in groups and to give
a realistic view of what the Faculty has to offer. The use of student
ambassadors to guide applicants around the Faculty and to discuss student
life with them during the wait for the interview encourages the formation
of realistic decisions.
5. Supporting your Student
- Family members, particularly parents, help prospective students
make choices both of institution and their subject of study. This case
study outlines the actions taken by two institutions to ensure that family
members are as well informed as possible about the events that both they
and the prospective student will experience during their University years.
6. SureStart The School of
Biomedical Science runs a Pg.Dip/Msc in Biomedical Science entirely though
distance leearning. Prospective students accept places on this course
from March and enrol in the following October. In 2003/4 approximately
9% of students who had accepted places subsequently failed to enrol. In
response to this a newletter was introduced which kept those students
who had already accepted a place on the course in contact with the University
and updated them about the expectations of the course and the history
of some of its past graduates. In 2004/5 only 2% failed to enrol. Students
responded very positively to the distribution of the newsletter and felt
it prepared them well for the course to come.
Background information
Pre-entry qualifications
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