scholarly journals Improving Student Retention by Providing Targeted Support to University Students who do not Submit an Early Assessment Item

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Linden
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
First Year ◽  
Early Assessment ◽  
Retention Model ◽  
Student Groups ◽  
Assessment Item ◽  
University Retention ◽  
The University

The Charles Sturt University Retention Team has developed, tested, evaluated, and refined a retention model through 14 action-research cycles from 2017-2021. The project has expanded from a small pilot in one faculty to monitoring the engagement and submission of an early assessment item for over 70% of all commencing undergraduate students across the University. The Retention Model synergistically overlays curriculum design and student support and ensures academics embed best practice transition pedagogy and learning engagement activities into key first-year subjects. By monitoring the submission of early assessment items, the team can accurately identify and proactively contact students who are not engaged in their studies prior to their first census date. Every aspect of this program supports equity student groups that are over-represented at our regional university. This work has significantly improved commencing progress rates across the institution.

scholarly journals Peering into the crystal ball of the disengaged: What happens to students that do not submit an early assessment item?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Linden ◽  
Neil Van Der Ploeg ◽  
Ben Hicks ◽  
Prue Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Support Services ◽  
Early Response ◽  
First Year ◽  
Early Assessment ◽  
Crystal Ball ◽  
System Activity ◽  
Assessment Item ◽  
Response Systems ◽  
The University

Established first year design principles highlight the need to provide early response systems for students who appear to be disengaging with targeted communication regarding available support services. One thousand, one hundred and s students were identified in session 1 that either: did not submit a pre-census early assessment item; or had limited learning management system activity. These students were then offered timely support, including on-the-spot advice and referral to other pre-existing support structures within the University. Students were identified from 77 subjects offered to commencing students, taught across 182 offerings. Of the students identified, 607 chose to defer or withdraw from their studies while 554 students remained. This raises the question, what became of those remaining students?

scholarly journals Ghostbusters: Using Learning Analytics and Early Assessment Design to identify and support ghost students

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Linden ◽  
Neil Van Der Ploeg ◽  
Ben Hicks
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Analytics ◽  
First Year ◽  
Early Assessment ◽  
Student Behaviour ◽  
Assessment Item ◽  
Assessment Design ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Australian Universities

Ghosting is a student behaviour characterised by enrolling in a subject but never participating. Hence, a ghost student who remains enrolled receives a zero-fail grade. From 2022, the Job ready Graduates Package will require that only genuine students have access to Commonwealth assistance at Australian Universities and an institution may need to refund the fees of what are referred to as non-genuine students. In 2019 and 2020, 382 first-year subjects were monitored to identify disengaged students in weeks 3 and 4 of the session using learning analytics and nonsubmission of an early assessment item. Disengaged students were contacted via phone and 2-way SMS and offered timely and targeted support pre census. The total number of domestic undergraduate students receiving a zero fail has decreased during this time. To further reduce the number of ghost students, once identified as disengaged, an engagement should be mandatory to remain in the subject.

Correlating entrance data and first year academic performance of students enrolled in the Integrated Master in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Porto

2021 ◽  
pp. 030641902110156
Author(s):  
TMGP Duarte ◽  
AM Lopes ◽  
LFM da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
First Year ◽  
Female Type ◽  
The University ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Over Time

Understanding how the academic performance of first year undergraduate students is influenced by home, personal and institutional factors is fundamental to delineate policies able to mitigate failure. This paper investigates possible correlations between the academic performance of students at the end of high school with their achievements at the end of first year university. Data for students in the Integrated Master in Mechanical Engineering (MIEM) program within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto are analysed for the period 2016/2017 to 2019/2020. The students’ performance is measured by two metrics and the students are structured as a whole and by groups, according to their gender (Male/Female), type of secondary school (Public/Private), living place (Away/Home) and the rank of MIEM in their application list of options (Option 1/Option 2–6). The information is organized statistically and possible correlations between the data are investigated. The analysis reveals limited correlation between the two metrics, meaning that all students may exhibit good or poor results at the end of first year in MIEM, independent of their status at entrance. An unanticipated pattern is exhibited for the group Option 2–6, since it shows that, despite entering into MIEM without top application marks, the students in this group can perform as well as the others. This behavior is consistent over time.

scholarly journals Bridging the Gap: Understanding the Differing Research Expectations of First-Year Students and Professor

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meg Raven
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Research Students ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Instruction Strategies ◽  
Research Instruction ◽  
The University

Objective: This study sought to better understand the research expectations of first-year students upon beginning university study, and how these expectations differed from those of their professors. Most academic librarians observe that the research expectations of these two groups differ considerably and being able to articulate where these differences are greatest may help us provided more focused instruction, and allow us to work more effectively with professors and student support services. Methods: 317 first-year undergraduate students and 75 professors at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, NS were surveyed to determine what they each expected of first-year student research. Students were surveyed on the first day of term so as to best understand their research expectations as they transitioned from high school to university. Results: The gulf between student and professor research expectations was found to be considerable, especially in areas such as time required for reading and research, and the resources necessary to do research. While students rated their preparedness for university as high, they also had high expectations related to their ability to use non-academic sources. Not unexpectedly, the majority of professors believed that students are not prepared to do university-level research, they do not take enough responsibility for their own learning, they should use more academic research sources, and read twice as much as students believe they should. Conclusions: By better understanding differing research expectations, students can be guided very early in their studies about appropriate academic research practices, and librarians and professors can provide students with improved research instruction. Strategies for working with students, professors and the university community are discussed.

scholarly journals Academic Misconduct: An Investigation into Male Students’ Perceptions, Experiences & Attitudes towards Cheating and Plagiarism in a Middle Eastern University Context

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bilal M. Tayan
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Dishonesty ◽  
Information Source ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Academic Misconduct ◽  
The Internet ◽  
First Year ◽  
Male Undergraduate ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
The University

Academic misconduct in many educational institutions in the Middle East is an inherent problem. This has been particularly true amongst the university student population. The proliferation of the Internet and the ownership of mobile and electronic devices, have, in part, witnessed rates of cheating, plagiarism and academic misconduct cases steadily increase across higher education contexts. Though the growth of the Internet as an information source and gateway to knowledge has increased substantially in recent years, it has, however, opened up a plethora of varying forms and rates of academic dishonesty. This study was conducted through an online Likert scale questionnaire. Its purpose was to investigate first year male undergraduate students’ attitudes, experiences and perceptions towards plagiarism and cheating in a university located in Saudi Arabia. The study aimed at addressing themes in relation to the meaning, forms, source, frequency and reasons of cheating and plagiarism. The study indicates that cheating and plagiarism is common among students, while a need to address student awareness and clarify student expectations towards academic integrity was also identified. The study also proposes several recommendations to alleviate the levels of academic misconduct, be it cheating in exams or plagiarising content, in the Saudi university context.

Developing e-learning for interprofessional education

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 102-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tunde Varga-Atkins ◽  
Helen Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Interprofessional Education ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
First Year ◽  
Team Working ◽  
Content Development ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Development Evaluation ◽  
Online Format ◽  
The University

An evidence-based, interprofessional educational course involving first-year undergraduate students studying medicine, nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy has been piloted at the University of Liverpool. Part of the content was developed in an online format. To capture the development process and the e-learning writing experience, a focus group was arranged for the content writers. The session was audio-recorded and tapes were transcribed. All the data were subjected to thematic analysis. Twenty-three sub-themes were identified in the 72 comments. These were grouped under six themes, corresponding to the developmental stages of e-learning. The highest number of comments fell under the theme of preparation, followed by content development, evaluation, general design and structure, and finally delivery. Team working contributed to the success of the writing process, reflecting the theme of working interprofessionally.

scholarly journals A comparison of a first and third year UG enterprise unit: lessons from experiential learning and interdisciplinarity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Sanchez-Romaguera ◽  
Robert A Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Interdisciplinary Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Enterprise Education ◽  
Growth Of Knowledge ◽  
The University ◽  
University Of Manchester

Drawing from several years of experience, this work describes lessons learnt in designing, delivering and assessing two interdisciplinary enterprise units offered undergraduate students from any discipline studing at the University of Manchester (UK). Both units are electives (optional). One unit is delivered to first year undergrdaute students whereas the other unit is delivered to third/fourth year undergraduate students. Experiential learning and interdisciplinary cohorts are core aspects of both units. Students work on ‘real-world’ projects to develop a credible and competitive solution within a tight dead-line. In this paper, findings are drawn from data collected from staff and teaching assistants observations, students’ reflective diaries and students’ feedback. Findings showed that in general, students at both levels, year 1 and year 3/4, regarded the experience challenging at first due to the ‘unusual’ learning environment when compared to the education that most students have experienced prior to the units here discussed. However, most students highly regarded the interdisciplinary experiential learning experience. The paper contributes to the growth of knowledge and aids understanding of how experiential learning and interdisciplinarity have been effectively combined and introduced in the university curriculum. Although this works focused on enterprise education the experience-based guidance here described is also applicable to a much wider range of situations and academic areas of study. Keywords: Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education; Employability; Experiential learning; Interdisciplinary education;

scholarly journals Sense of belonging and first-year academic literacy

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 116-142
Author(s):  
Steve Marshall ◽  
Mingming Zhou ◽  
Ted Gervan ◽  
Sunita Wiebe
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
Mixed Method Study ◽  
First Year ◽  
Language And Literacy ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Literacy Course ◽  
The University

In this article, we analyze a broad range of factors that affect the sense of belonging of undergraduate students taking a first-year academic literacy course (ALC) at a multicultural, multilingual university in Vancouver, Canada. Students who fail to meet the university’s language and literacy requirements are required to pass ALC before they can enrol in writing courses across the disciplines. Consequently, many of those students feel that they have yet to be accepted as fully legitimate members of the university community. We present data from a two-year, mixed-method study, which involved asking students in surveys and interviews about their sense of belonging, as well as analyzing their reflective writing samples for issues related to their sense of belonging. We found that the participants’ perceptions of sense of belonging are multilayered and context-dependent, relating to changes in time and space, classroom pedagogy, and other social, cultural, and linguistic factors. Implications for higher education are discussed.  

scholarly journals Assessment in First Year University: A Model to Manage Transition

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-38
Author(s):  
J. A. Taylor ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Education Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Specific Content ◽  
The University ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Engineering Computing

For most students assessment guides their study and learning practice. Yet in the literature associated with the first year of study at university, few have mobilised the power of assessment to develop and engage first year undergraduate students. This paper presents a model of assessment for first year students which separates the semester into three overlapping assessment phases: assessment for transition, assessment for development and assessment for achievement. The implementation and usefulness of the model is supported by examples from mathematics, engineering, computing, communication and nursing studies at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). Particular attention is paid to assessments for transition which occur early in the semester and are linked more closely with processes than specific content. Evidence is collated on the success of assessments in improving the participation of students, especially distance education students.

scholarly journals Understanding Barriers to Student Success: What Students Have to Say

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Kuley ◽  
Sean Maw ◽  
Terry Fonstad
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
College Of Engineering ◽  
The University

This paper focuses on feedback received from a set of qualitative questions that were administered to undergraduate students in the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, as part of a larger mixed methods study. The larger study aims to identify what characteristics, if any, can predict or are related to student success; The “start-stop-continue” method was utilized to assess student perceptions about  their success in the college as a whole. The students were asked: Are there any specific things that you can think of that act/acted as barriers to your success in engineering (stop)? What could the college do/change to make first year more successful for engineering students (start)? Is there anything in your engineering degree so far that you feel is done well and helps students succeed (continue)? Students identified the quality of instruction early in their program as well as adjustment to college workloads and self-directed learning as the most significant barriers tostudent success.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document