Anthony Cook, University of Ulster
Helen Richardson, University of Manchester
Ben Goldblum, University of Manchester

SUMMARY

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. At the University of Manchester applicants are interviewed prior to an offer being made. This interview is formal but has little influence on the subsequent offer for the vast majority of candidates. The purpose of the interview 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.

Keywords: student retention, student attrition, interview, university prospectus.

INTRODUCTION

Most students who leave University before the end of their programme do so before having had the opportunity to fail academically. Surveys of students who have left often show that a common reason cited is an incompatibility between the course on which they found themselves and their own personal goals and capacities. Thus, in a survey of 2152 early leavers, Yorke (1999) found that the five most common reasons cited for withdrawing were, 1) Chose the wrong field of study, 2) Lack of commitment to the programme, =3) Financial problems, =3) Programme not what I expected, 5) Teaching did not suit me. Many of these problems have their roots in information available before entry and are, therefore, predictable. They are therefore, also potentially soluble when students make decisions about which institution to attend and what course to apply for and review the resources that will be available to them.

At first sight interviewing applicants may appear to be a staff intensive selection process that could be achieved more efficiently in other ways. Viewed, however, as a mechanism for improving the match between student and course then, it has the potential to ensure that students make the correct decisions in their choice of University and course and that admissions tutors also make appropriate decisions in making offers. Proper record keeping would also ensure that decisions about lowering the intake requirements for applicants after the summer results are known could be made in the light of the knowledge gained at interview.

The School of Biological Science at Manchester has interviewed its applicants for many years. In 2001 a Student Recruitment Manager was employed. He reviewed the then current practice and instituted changes which have resulted in a more student-centred selection process. It has added little to the workload of academic staff and has greatly impressed prospective students as judged by their feedback.

Applicant feedback has included:

Student feedback through focus group meetings has included that, for most, the visit day had a major influence on their decision to come to Manchester, e.g.

RELEVANCE TO THE STAR GUIDELINES

At its outset the STAR project researched, produced and published a set of guidelines based on the causes of student attrition and which pointed the way towards possible good practice. The STAR guideline relevant to this case study is 1.1.

THE PRACTICE

APPLICATION TIMELINE

The application timeline in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Manchester starts by providing information for the University prospectus and with the production of a school brochure that is designed for pre-application students. All degree programmes and most first year modules are outlined. Potential students who are interested then attend an open day during which they hear about the School facilities and talk to admissions staff and student ambassadors. Information given includes a lot more detail than can be found in the brochure. Students who then apply are short listed on the basis of their UCAS form (personal statement and past and predicted performance). Short-listed applicants are invited to a visit day. Before the visit day they receive a booklet which describes the visit day events. This is designed to encourage them to attend without indulging in too much hyperbole. During the visit day, until 2004/5, they received a CD-ROM which contained a detailed description of all aspects of the course including module choices, video clips of field courses, etc. (This has been discontinued during 2004/5 as feedback indicated that the CD-ROM was hardly being used). It is during the visit days that applicants are interviewed.

THE VISIT DAY

Applicants are invited to 1 of 15 visit days in groups of up to 120. In 2003/4, approximately 1200 applicants were interviewed. An outline programme of a typical visit day is in appendix 1.

About half those who attend are accompanied by guests, normally their parents. They are neither encouraged nor discouraged to come with guests.

About half those who attend are accompanied by guests, normally their parents. They are neither encouraged nor discouraged to come with guests. There is a different programme for guests and applicants and these diverge immediately, so applicants are quickly separated from the guests. This account concentrates on the process available for the applicants, although the outline programme in appendix 1 also indicates how the guests spend the day. The experience of parents is considered elsewhere (STAR case study: Supporting your student). An initial talk is based on 11 topics from which the audience selects about 5 or 6 to cover in detail, and the rest are covered in outline during the question and answer session if desired. This format has developed to give the applicants more ownership of what they hear.

The session is based on the principle that it is the applicants’ day to use as an information tool, and feedback has been much more positive, than before applicants selected the topics to cover.

The students attend the initial talk and are then taken to lunch (provided free) with the Chief Admissions Officer, the Student Recruitment Manager and Student Ambassadors (drawn from all years of the various courses). After lunch, students are divided into two groups for the interviews. One group has their interview first, followed by a tour of the campus with the student ambassadors. This gives applicants an opportunity to ask ambassadors about student life. It is the other way round for the second group. A lounge is available for applicants waiting to be interviewed, and during this time they chat to the student ambassadors and admissions tutors.

Members of academic staff from the subject area to which the applicants have applied conduct interviews.

At the end of the day there used to be a coach tour which took them out to the student accommodation, but from 2004/5, this has been replaced by a virtual tour.

Evaluation of the day is conducted with a form which is distributed on the day, and sent back using a postage prepaid envelope.

THE STUDENT AMBASSADORS

Ambassadors are drawn from all years of the various degree programmes offered in the Faculty. They are recruited through a process that begins in October with an email invitation to all students. They can collect an application form from the Undergraduate School Office, a copy of which is included in appendix 2. Generally all applicants are interviewed. An applicant’s suitability for the role is judged on the basis of his/her perceived people- and communication-skills, and ability to speak enthusiastically about the Faculty, University and student life in Manchester. . About 75% of those interviewed are normally appointed. They receive a half-day training which is a combination of presentations and team building activities, and includes sessions on how to talk to the public. They are also briefed on what the Faculty expects of them. Honesty is stressed as their most important attribute. The Faculty prides itself on its honesty and transparency throughout the visit day and information sharing process. A specification of the role of student ambassador is included as .appendix 3.

The role of the student ambassadors is mainly to escort applicants around the department on visit days and to answer any questions about the course, the University and the City. They are also involved in the editing of the Faculty literature, so that the Faculty can ensure that its information accurately reflects the student experience.

In 2003/4, there were about 50 ambassadors. Each ambassador may help on up to 15 visit days. The Faculty keeps a record of who helps on each visit day and in 2003/4 each ambassador was paid £30 for each visit day attended. Each ambassador claims payment on a University expenses form, and payment is made into his/her bank account 3 times during the visit days period.

Applicants’ appreciation of the ambassador role is indicated by replies to the question ‘What was most useful thing about the day?’ These included:

THE INTERVIEWS

A member of academic staff interviews each applicant. Overall, fifty academic staff act as interviewers, but no individual is committed to more than about two hours contact time for six afternoons each year. Each receives a rota indicating dates s/he is required (appendix 4). Each interview lasts for about 30mins including the time during which the interviewee is collected from a central point and returned there by the interviewer afterwards (This was reduced to 20 minutes in 2004/5, as interview rooms are now generally closer to the central point than in previous years). During the interview the staff work from a proforma which is supplied centrally. Some of the questions are very general, and some are tailored to suit the course for which the applicant applied. Typical questions are:

Questions tailored for individual programmes encourage applicants to talk about biological issues in the news. For example, they may be asked to outline any science documentaries that they have watched or articles they have read that have inspired them, and to explain why.

Interviewers are also provided with answers to the most common applicant questions. These responses include aspects of personal support (personal tutor system), the technicalities of assessment (coursework proportions etc), the teaching system (balance between the various teaching activities) and the extent to which students can change degree programme after they have started.

The interviewer makes a brief record of the interview on a sheet provided (appendix 5).

Feedback from staff indicates a high level of satisfaction with the role of student ambassadors, and general satisfaction with arrangements for interviews. Some concern has been expressed with the recent reduction in interview duration to 20 minutes. There is a sense that, as this time includes ‘collecting and returning’ applicants, it leaves too short a time to interview satisfactorily. This will be kept under review.

ORIGINS

The current practice has developed from visit day practice that itself had evolved over many years. A previous version of the visit days involved interviews but had a stronger academic focus. In about 1999/2000, some activities such as laboratory tours were dropped and individual interviews were replaced by small group ‘interviews’, as management changed, and as academic staff with many years of visit days experience retired. Group interviews had less successful outcomes: conversion rates fell and retention also fell. Individual interviews were re-introduced. In 2002/3, the School appointed a Student Recruitment Manager who had experience of admissions in a new University. He reviewed practice, built on successful elements of existing practice, and has continued to evolve practice in the light of experience.

Student Recruitment Manager

The process evolves each year. As a result of feedback from the 2002/3 session, the main changes were:

And from 2003/4 session:

The previous practice also tended to ignore the role of guests.

Student Recruitment Manager

Although this is an exercise in recruitment, it is also an exercise in attempting to recruit those students who are most likely to stay because they are given the opportunity to make a well-informed choice. For example, when, as noted above, the Faculty identifies a major reason given by students leaving early, information about that aspect is given in literature, and emphasised in visit day talks, to help applicants to be more informed about the degree programmes.

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EFFECTIVENESS

There is good evidence that the changes in practices have had a positive effect on the retention rate.

Student Recruitment Manager

In the visit day questionnaire replies from 2002/3, (for which 59 returns were received from about 350 distributed over 5 visit day sessions), 95% of respondents said the visit day was more likely to make them put Manchester as 1st or 2nd choice.

STUDENT AWARENESS / OPINION

Students’ views of the visit days and the part played by ambassadors in particular are very positive. Asked what they remembered about their visit day at recent student focus group meetings (representing several cohorts), students’ replies included

the opportunity to ask questions’, and ‘information being given by students’, who were ‘welcoming’, ‘friendly’, ‘real people’ and that it was ‘not just an academic focus’.

the atmosphere’ was good, as well as the people and that it was ‘good to get separated from parents’, as it made them talk to other people.

“You hear the ‘real’ view, you want to hear about the night life, how you meet people, you get to hear about it from people who are living it, “

RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

Although this sounds like a resource intensive process it actually only involves academic staff for up to two hours contact time for a maximum of six times a year. Each interview is of about 30 min (20 minutes from 2004/5) and each staff member interviews four applicants in an afternoon. Non-academic staff do most of the organisation.

The School employs a full time Student Recruitment Manager and resources the 15 visit days. Although these arrangements represent a Faculty cost, they are felt to be cost effective, as they free academic staff from undertaking these less academic, more routine tasks. Furthermore, students are deployed as ambassadors and thus save academic staff time. The added benefit of the involvement of students in, for example, building or campus tours, is that there is the somewhat intangible value added of providing motivation to both applicants and student ambassadors. This enhances ambassadors’ personal development, through opportunities for improving their interpersonal and communication skills and contributes to their CVs.

INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

University of Manchester - The University of Manchester has recently merged with UMIST. The information related here refers to the activities of the School of Biological Sciences in the former unmerged University of Manchester. The original Victoria University of Manchester was founded as Owen's College in 1851.

BROADER CONTEXT

THE IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION

Institutions do not have control over all the information on which applicants make their decisions. The information over which they do exercise control however, should be as broad as possible and focus on being realistic and appropriate to the decisions being made by applicants. In a pre-entry survey of students coming to the University of Ulster the top 10 reasons for coming were as given in the table below in descending order of popularity.

Statement agreed with	Aspect classification
To develop new or existing skills	Personal
To gain a recognised qualification	Career
For intellectual growth and stimulation	Personal
To broaden horizons	Personal
To expand knowledge and skills	Personal
To study a subject of interest	Personal
To learn about and discuss new ideas	Personal
To meet new people	Social
To get better job	Career
For personal development	Personal