New Research Project – Partnering with Students to Better Prepare Them for What to Expect at University

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Express your interest to participate – closing June 3rd

I am excited to be leading this research project in an area that I have become very passionate about – student transition. This project aims to gain a deep insight into how students experience transitioning into first year university, particularly those coming directly from high school, and their perceptions about how they may be better prepared for this transition.

This project has been initiated in response to research studies, statistics and anecdotal evidence that show high rates of students failing to complete their studies, coupled with elevated rates and risk of mental health issues. Some studies suggest that this may be in large part due to the discrepancy between students’ expectations before commencing university and their actual experiences after commencement. There is a lot of research about student transition to university but most of it focuses on interventions after commencement. This project fills the gap by concentrating on how students can be better prepared for their transition prior to starting at university, and aims to ensure a high degree authenticity and relevance by focusing on students in their first year as the participants.

We will use a Students as Partners (SaP) approach for this research. SaP aims to include students equally with staff in all aspects of the project. Rather than students acting solely as information sources, SaP involves reciprocal learning between staff and students, collaborative decision making, and relationships of mutual respect.

Intended benefits of the research project:

1) Students participate as equal partners in a series of discussions where they can share their experiences and insights without judgement, and have their voices heard

2) Develop in-depth insights into how first year students experience transitioning from high school to university compared to their prior expectations

3) Conceptualise effective interventions and resources as a collaborative effort with students from the target cohort.

More information and expressions of interest to be part of this research project can be found here: https://forms.gle/CJ38anLuMsQurPS57

Research conducted at the University of Melbourne

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Widening Student Participation – again

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Recently, the Universities Accord final report was released. This is the government’s new guiding document for higher education in Australia. It includes key targets for participation in tertiary education, including increasing the proportion of Australians aged between 24 to 35 with a university degree from 45% to 55% by 2050. When I first started my doctorate, the Review of Higher Education Report, more commonly known as the Bradley Review, was the current guiding document at the time. Released in 2008, it recommended that the percentage of the Australian population aged between 24 to 35 years old holding a Bachelor degree should rise to 40% by 2020, compared to 29% at the time of writing the report, and that 20% of these degree holders should be from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds. The Universities Accord builds on and echoes this. It aims to achieve what it terms ‘participation parity’ by 2050 through encouraging people form disadvantaged backgrounds to attend university. I completely support this as an ideal. Everyone deserves the opportunity to attend university no matter what their background is. Yet, too often, I have heard university academics complaining that widening student participation makes their work harder and dumbs down standards. The vital aspect here is that the students from disadvantaged backgrounds – be they first-in-family, low SES, rural and remote, or from society’s marginalised groups – are fully equipped to succeed and thrive in the university environment. The participation of students from disadvantaged backgrounds like these must be celebrated!

Photo by Nicole Baster on Unsplash

Concerning statistics about university student wellbeing

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Almost 25% of students who enrol in university leave without completing a degree

“Of the students who first started a bachelor degree in Australia in 2013, 24.6 per cent left without completing a degree in the following nine years. Of the others, 4.8 per cent were still enrolled, and the remaining 70.5 per cent had completed a degree (not necessarily the one they started)” – Norton, A. 2023 Mapping Australian Higher Education.

In 2022, 19% of all undergraduate students were thinking about leaving. The most prominent reason was health or stress.

“Undergraduate students considering early departure from higher education by citizenship – All 19%, Domestic 20%, International 14%” ; “Reasons for considering early departure from current institution as given by undergraduate students who considered leaving (2021) % – Health or stress 50%” – QILT Student Experience Survey 2022.

More than 1 in 2 students don’t feel a sense of belonging at their university

“The Learner Engagement focus area relates to students’ experiences interacting with their peers in and outside of study requirements, as well as their sense of belonging to their institution. Had a sense of belonging to your institution – 46.5%. Worked with other students as part of your study – 60.6%. Interacted with students outside study requirements – 35%” – QILT Student Experience Survey 2022.

We need to do better by our young people. They enter university with all their hopes and dreams, and years of effort behind them. These students are our future, and these figures show that many are struggling at university.

Photo by Štefan Štefančík on Unsplash

Norton, A. (2023). Mapping Australian Higher Education. ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods. https://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/research/publications/mapping-australian-higher-education-2023
Quality Indicators for Teaching and Learning (QILT). (2023). 2022 Student Experience Survey: The Higher Education Student Experience. https://www.qilt.edu.au/surveys/student-experience-survey-(ses)