West London Lifelong Learning Network Project Evaluation

Pre-entry study skills programme

Executive Summary addressing required sections

The Higher Education Preparation (HEP) course was a joint initiative between Brunel University and the West London Lifelong Learning Network (WL-LLN). The course ran between the 15th and 19th of September 2008. It was a week long course of sessions on learning development (including, in particular, maths skills) designed to bridge the gap from further to higher education. It was designed with an emphasis on encouraging social bonding between a group of undergraduate students with non-traditional qualifications.

A Contributions to the WL LLN Delivery Plan targets

This project is relevant to the following targets:

2. An increase in progression of vocational learners into HE of 20% (using 2005/2006 baseline data)

It is expected that the simple knowledge that such a pre-entry course as this was available might have played a part in reducing any tendency for students who were doubtful about their ability to progress successfully into HE to decline their place at the last moment. However, it is not possible to quantify this effect on the achievement of this target.

3. A proportionate increase in retention and achievement of vocational learners on HE courses of 5% (using 2005/2006 baseline data).

Similarly, the aim of the course was to increase retention by aiding with the initial phase of transition into HE. At the time of writing this evaluation report, data on achievement is not yet formally available. In terms of first year retention, the data indicates that of the 45 HEP students, only 2 have left the University. This is approximately 4%, comparing very well with generally reported figures about drop-out during the first year. For the remaining 43 students, tracking data from u-Link (Brunel’s VLE) indicates that they have all accessed it since the Christmas vacation. This suggests that they are actively engaging with their studies and that there are no “hidden” (not yet recorded) drop-outs within that group. There is also important anecdotal evidence that students who attended the course are indeed engaging with their studies.

Second, some of the students have maintained a presence on campus that indicates that they are taking part in valuable extra-curricular activities (e.g. acting as student ambassadors and taking part in the peer mentoring system). Furthermore, of the HEP students who are taking part as mentees this year some have already indicated their desire to be a mentor for first years in the coming year. We believe this to be a significant indicator of the development of confidence that was one of the project’s aims.

Third, feedback from the HEP students suggests that the course achieved its target of providing those students with some of the relevant skills for successful study in HE. Many students also commented that they felt they had greater confidence as a result of the week and that making friends was also very valuable.

The overall impact of the HEP course on achievement (and progression into the second year) of their degree programme will be evaluated at the end of the academic year after the relevant examination and progression decisions. .

5. 1200 learners benefitting from Level 4 support provision.

The project had a target of 50 learners benefitting from this additional and bespoke provision. In the event, the course was attended (in part or whole) by 45 students although 54 had confirmed their attendance on the course in writing prior to its start-date. In addition, it may be the case that the take-up of existing Level 4 support has been enhanced through a greater awareness on the part of the HEP students of the Effective Learning Advice Service and its provision – either through take-up by them or their dissemination to their student colleagues of what is available and its usefulness.

B Reflective evaluation of what has worked and what hasn’t

A detailed reflective report is attached here as Appendix 1. Recommendations for change are:

§ The PDP and reflection sessions should be moved from the end to the beginning of the day. Students found the sessions valuable but difficult to fully exploit after a full day of classes. The type of activities used would be better suited to the first session of the day.

§ Travel expenses do not seem to have been so great an incentive as other factors and therefore constitute an area where savings could be made in future.

§ Providing lunch was an important incentive for certain students.

§ From the low attendance figure for that session, it seems that students had a negative conception of the presentation on the last day of the course. This could be because of the implication of formal assessment. Therefore in future it would seem advisable to stress that there is no formal assessment as part of the HEP course.

§ Telephone contact with students was an essential part of the recruitment process and should be continued in future.

§ More and earlier contact with the FE colleges in the WLLLN would help to build a rapport with the core students that the HEP course was designed to target.

§ Students who attended the course should be invited to a social event at the end of the Autumn Term so that their experience at Brunel can be assessed ….

C Impact of WL LLN support

The support of the WL LLN was essential to the success of the project. The resources it provided allowed us to employ an administrative assistant to specify and analyse data that needed to be specifically-requested from our planning office and to make individual contact with students. This resource was not otherwise available to us and the level of resource needed in this area was not quantifiable in advance. Thus, it would not have been possible to institute this course without the financial support of the WL LLN.

It was useful, at the planning stage, to have discussions with colleagues at other institutions (either within the network or recommended by a member of the network) who had delivered similar “bridging” programmes before.

It was useful to be able to refer to the support of the WL LLN when discussing local requirements for the course to run successfully (e.g permission to use space).

Central support colleagues always viewed this as a valuable initiative and contributed willingly. It did not prove possible to involve staff from the University’s Schools, mainly as the target group, in the end, came from across all the disciplinary areas represented thus creating a very diverse group. It is noteworthy that academic colleagues in Schools which had not initially been in the target group were disappointed that they were not included in the first instance.

Network colleagues in FECs were supportive of our planning and we believe that they will be prepared to encourage their students to attend the equivalent course in the future. The timing of the project was not conducive to engaging staff from the ‘feeder’ FECs as much as was desirable.

D Next steps

It is envisaged that the course will be provided again in the coming year and planning has commenced on that basis. It is regarded as a very worthwhile extension of previously existing provision. There is now a clear picture of the planning and commitment of staff resource that is required. Costs which could now be considered to be ongoing costs of existing services can be established reducing the one-off overhead required for the pilot. However, university budgetary decisions to be taken with regard to the 2009/2010 academic year have yet to be taken and organisational changes that may impact on decisions regarding priorities for service delivery are in process.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1: Detailed Report

Pre-entry STEM Support for Vocational Learners - Higher Education Preparation Course (HEP)

Project Report for the West London Lifelong Learning Network

Linda Murray and Dominic Mahon

January 2009

Contents

West London Lifelong Learning Network Project Evaluation 1

Pre-entry study skills programme 1

Executive Summary addressing required sections 1

A Contributions to the WL LLN Delivery Plan targets 1

B Reflective evaluation of what has worked and what hasn’t 2

C Impact of WL LLN support 3

D Next steps 3

Appendix 1: Detailed Report 4

Executive Summary 6

Introduction 7

Design 7

Recruitment 8

Contact with students Prior to the Course 10

Programme 11

Attendance 16

Feedback 17

Recommendations 20

References 21

Appendices 22

Appendix 1-a: Original Project Proposal 23

Appendix1-b: Letters 27

Appendix 1-c: Telephone Script 40

Appendix 1-d: Timetable of Sessions with Aims, 42

Objectives and Learning Outcomes 42

Appendix 1-e: Topics for the Group Presentations 47

Appendix1-f: Feedback Questionnaire 48

Executive Summary

The course had a target of 50 learners. 242 students were invited to the course in the summer of 2008. 54 students confirmed their attendance on the course in writing prior to its start-date and 45 of these students attended part or all of the course.

Feedback from the students who attended the course suggests that it was very well received and achieved its target of providing those students with some of the relevant skills for successful study in HE and giving them the opportunity to make friends. Many students commented that they felt they had greater confidence as a result of the week. The overall impact of the HEP course on retention will be evaluated at the end of the academic year.

Appendix 1

Introduction

The Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning initiative was a mandate to increase student numbers and access to higher education for students from a broad range of backgrounds. As a result, UK universities have enjoyed a growth in the number of non-traditional students from diverse backgrounds. Amongst these students are those with qualifications other than A Levels, and mature students. However, with the growth in the number of students entering higher education (HE), there has also been a growth in the number of students withdrawing prematurely from their programmes. As a result, retention is an important issue for many UK HE institutions. At Brunel University, the proportion of non-traditional students withdrawing is far higher than that of standard students. Within the Schools of Health Sciences and Social Care and Engineering and Design the average drop out rate of students in this category from 2004/05 to 2006/07 was 23%[1].

The West London Lifelong Learning Network (WL-LLN) is a government funded partnership aiming to increase the number of vocational learners progressing to and through Higher Education. Brunel University is part of the WL-LLN and, on application, funding was provided to develop and pilot a learner support initiative aimed at increasing the retention of non-traditional students. A pre-entry or bridging course was chosen as there is strong evidence to suggest that such courses increase retention in other student populations. (For the original project proposal see Appendix 1).

This report details the design of the HEP course, the recruitment procedure, information regarding the nature of the sessions provided during the course, student numbers, feedback and recommendations for future implementation of the HEP course.

Design

Two of the main causes for students withdrawing from study in HE appear to be a lack of understanding of the skills required to become independent learners (bridging the gap between FE and HE) and a sense of not belonging at university (Thomas, 2002; Young et al,2007; O’Donnell and Tobbell, 2007; Lowis & Castley, 2008). Therefore, the HEP course was designed to address the learning development needs of students whilst at the same time providing them with an understanding of the campus, knowledge of where to go for support and an opportunity to make friends.

In order to address these areas, FE and HE partner institutions within the WL-LLN and beyond were contacted for their ideas and suggestions with regard to the design of the course. Bucks New University and the University of Westminster had both run bridging courses in the past. During meetings with these institutions, successful elements such as the type and length of session were discussed and these ideas influenced the design of the HEP course. Discussions with the FE colleges revealed information about the needs of the students who would be coming to Brunel and also the main areas of difference in the student experience between FE and HE. Most significant amongst these were the demands of independent learning.

The HEP course had a target of 50 students as it was felt that a group of this size would not be overwhelming for students. During normal induction, thousands of new students descend on the campus at the same time and as a result it is a very common experience for students to feel lost and alone in the crowd. Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence suggests that, rather than being a support for transition into HE, student induction organised for large entry cohorts are not effective