scholarly journals “My Uni Experience Wasn’t Completely Ruined”: The Impacts of COVID-19 on the First-Year Experience

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Loraine McKay ◽  
Steven O'Bryan ◽  
Ella R Kahu

The first year at university is always challenging, but particularly in 2020 when COVID-19 triggered lockdowns and a rapid shift to online learning. This mixed methods study tracked the wellbeing and engagement of 60 new students in an undergraduate teacher education program at an Australian university throughout the first trimester of 2020. Follow-up focus groups with 14 students used interview and photo elicitation to explore how COVID-19 influenced wellbeing and engagement. Quantitative results demonstrate both student wellbeing and student engagement dipped strongly at the start of lockdown but recovered towards the end of the trimester. Focus group findings illustrate the diversity of experience in terms of student access to time and space to study, their ability to sustain relationships online, and the cumulative stress of COVID-19. The findings lead to recommendations for supporting this cohort and for future research.

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fadime Yuksel ◽  
Safa Celik ◽  
Filiz Daskafa ◽  
Nilufer Keser ◽  
Elif Odabas ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
pp. 146978742090838
Author(s):  
Ella R Kahu ◽  
Catherine Picton

The transition from school to university is challenging and a greater knowledge of the first-year student experience will enable staff to better support their students. University- and government-run student surveys fail to capture the depth and breadth of the first-year experience and so qualitative research is needed to get a more nuanced and holistic understanding of students’ lives. The study described in this article used a photo elicitation method. We asked students to choose four images that represented their first year at university. The data – the chosen photographs and the students’ explanations of their choices – were thematically analysed, focusing in particular on the diverse metaphors students used to depict three dimensions of their experiences: life, university and learning. The findings highlight the dual nature of the transition to university – learning to be a university student and learning to be an adult – as well as the challenges and stresses of that process. The lack of agency that students felt is evident. The students likened their journey to a rollercoaster and talked of not being able to keep up with the fast-moving curriculum. They depicted themselves as passive acquirers of knowledge. The findings offer new ways for staff to understand the challenges that potentially disrupt student engagement in the first year. Both students and staff could benefit from recognising the metaphors in their thinking and, potentially, seeking new metaphors that might reveal different and more positive ways of experiencing the first year in higher education.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 472-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Hahn

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate new undergraduate student library engagement in the Minrva mobile app during the months of May 2015 through December 2015. Design/methodology/approach This research investigated what parts of a mobile app new students were using in their first semester after downloading the app. The quantitative study used application programming interface log analysis to better understand what parts of the app new students use in the mobile app. Findings By undertaking this study, the author has a better understanding about what students are finding useful within the app and what tools are not being used by this cohort in their first semester. Originality/value The value of this research is in helping system designers and first-year experience planners know what mobile support tools students are finding useful in their first semester. Implication for mobile interface design based on module popularity are discussed.


2000 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Anne Germain ◽  
Trudi E. Jacobson ◽  
Sue A. Kaczor

First-year experience (FYE) programs offer librarians opportunities to teach new students in a comprehensive fashion. However, large FYE programs can place demands on user education programs that are difficult to meet. Instruction librarians at the University at Albany sought to address this dilemma by developing a Web-based instructional module for one class session. The module was used by a segment of students in the Project Renaissance FYE program, whereas another segment received instruction by a librarian. The effectiveness of the two instructional methods was compared using pre- and post-tests, and was found to be equal. Analysis of the test scores also showed that instruction, regardless of format, makes a significant difference (p < .05) in the number of correct test answers.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Regina Ruane ◽  
Vera Lee

This study uses Critical Discourse Analysis and Social Network Analysis to examine an online peer mentoring site created to unite first-year and third-year preservice teachers enrolled in an undergraduate teacher education program. The peer mentoring site was developed to provide both first-year preservice teachers and more experienced peers the opportunity to discuss, share, and learn both from and with one another. The study demonstrated that the online peer mentoring site supported valuable interactions and professional communications among first-year and third-year students. In particular, the preservice teachers engaged with one another to share their experiences and learning as they prepared to be teachers. This study has implications for the field of undergraduate education in its demonstration that an online peer mentoring site can allow for the cultivation of learning, ideas and knowledge exchange, and support of students learning in informal environments. This research also has implications for future research to determine how different populations of students use an online peer mentoring site to interact with their peers and the outcomes that emerge. Such data could inform future development of peer mentoring sites and similar learning spaces.


Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Crissman

Research has shown that two effective programs that positively impact upon new students' retention are first year seminars and clustering two or more academic courses together. This article discusses the results of one institution's approach to increasing student retention. The study analyzed the impact of clustering a first year seminar with an English composition course on new students' retention rates at a small, independent college in the northeast. The study, using multivariate regression models, showed no statistical difference in retention rates between students taking a clustered first year seminar and students taking a nonclustered first year seminar. This article discusses reasons that may account for the inconsistency with the literature, and closes with implications of the study and future research ideas.


Author(s):  
Jennifer Miles ◽  
Michael Miller ◽  
Daniel P. Nadler

New student orientation programs are importance components of institutions delivering a set of expectations to their new students. These programs and subsequent first-year experience courses convey both practical strategies for surviving on campus, but also convey a sense of institutional norms about behavior, including involvement. The current study explored the practical strategies orientation directors perceived to be effective in incresing student involvement in self-governance activities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genevieve Du Pont-Thibodeau ◽  
Kim-Anh La ◽  
Tine Francois ◽  
George Gerardis ◽  
Karen Harrington ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa M. Kern ◽  
Mangala Rajan ◽  
Lisandro D. Colantonio ◽  
Evgeniya Reshetnyak ◽  
Joanna Bryan Ringel ◽  
...  

Abstract Background More fragmented ambulatory care (i.e., care spread across many providers without a dominant provider) has been associated with more subsequent healthcare utilization (such as more tests, procedures, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations) than less fragmented ambulatory care. It is not known if race and socioeconomic status are associated with fragmented ambulatory care. Methods We conducted a longitudinal analysis of data from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, using the REGARDS baseline visit plus the first year of follow-up. We included participants ≥65 years old, who had linked fee-for-service Medicare claims, and ≥ 4 ambulatory visits in the first year of follow-up. We used Tobit regression to determine the associations between race, annual household income, and educational attainment at baseline and fragmentation score in the subsequent year (as measured with the reversed Bice-Boxerman Index). Covariates included other demographic characteristics, medical conditions, medication use, health behaviors, and psychosocial variables. Additional analyses categorized visits by the type of provider (primary care vs. specialist). Results The study participants (N = 6799) had an average age of 73.0 years, 53% were female, and 30% were black. Nearly half had low annual household income (<$35,000) and 41% had a high school education or less. Overall, participants had a median of 10 ambulatory visits to 4 providers in the 12 months following their baseline study visit. Participants in the highest quintile of fragmentation scores had a median of 11 visits to 7 providers. Black race was associated with an absolute adjusted 3% lower fragmentation score compared to white race (95% confidence interval (2% lower to 4% lower; p < 0.001). This difference was explained by blacks seeing fewer specialists than whites. Income and education were not independent predictors of fragmentation scores. Conclusions Among Medicare beneficiaries, blacks had less fragmented ambulatory care than whites, due to lower utilization of specialty care. Future research is needed to determine the effect of fragmented care on health outcomes for blacks and whites.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document