First Year Experience - Briefing Paper
Introduction
Coming to university to do a degree can be a
challenging and possibly intimidating process.
Students will often be transferring from the
known world of school to an environment where
much more is expected of them. Particularly for
students who do not have a family background
of university study the process can be difficult.
The aim of this briefing paper is to support you
in developing how you induct, socialise and
retain students in your courses. It covers the
three areas separately although of course the
processes are interlinked and need to articulate
successfully together to give the students the
best possible start on their course of study.
Induction
It is important to try to imagine what the
experience of joining your courses is like for
students. Ask yourself: what is the first contact
students get from the department? Do the
language and tone of induction documents
make students feel welcome? How do students
learn about what is needed from the courses?
What provision is there to ensure that regular
contact is maintained with mentors? .. and so
on. You might seek specific feedback from
second year students about their initial
experiences in order to help you fine-tune how
you deal with first years.
Some Suggestions for Improving induction







Maximise
student-staff
interaction
particularly in the first six weeks after arrival.
Many students are lost in those first crucial
weeks.
Encourage year 1 students to attend:
 Fresher’s week plus subject-specific
induction activities
Welcome your student to the University faceto-face, via web or video-link
Introduce staff and explain their roles
Introduce your student to the campus and
study facilities
Build your students’ community through
social activities and field trips. Also:
 Introduce them to relevant staff
 Introduce them to other students eg over
coffee
 Introduce them to their mentors
Help them to understand what their course
involves



Discuss standards, including PDP system
Agree expectations – yours, your student’s
and the university’s
Remember that written information, either on
the web or printed, can only do so much,
and that students need to talk through things
in order to develop their understanding and
confidence.
Socialisation into Academia
When we speak about socialisation we do not
only refer to students’ social lives. It is equally
important that students are socialised into the
conventions of the learning environment in
which they are studying. In order to do this
students need to have clear your expectations,
and an understanding of the options open to
them, They can most easily make sense of
these if the teaching and learning is designed so
that they can interact with staff, other students
and learning activities in ways that support their
understanding and confidence.






At the start of the course/ module, divide
students into small groups, and give them 15
minutes to discuss the experience of starting
to learn on the course. Students will be
reassured to discover that they share similar
concerns.
Encourage (in subject or cross-subject
collaborative) group work.
Provide a range of support materials eg
VISION
Scaffold the teaching so that students get
more support at the beginning of courses
Design early assignments to give formative
feedback, and ensure that students are
given the opportunity to gain confidence in
their studies.
Consider the timing and nature of
assignments – do not set students up to fail!
Remember that the students will be
developing whole new approaches to study
as they settle into university life.
Questions about Student Expectations
Invite your students to answer the following
questions as a socialisation activity:


Why have you been successful in achieving
a place on this programme?
What are your expectations (thoughts) at the
start of your studies?
1





What are your main concerns, doubts and
fears?
What successes and learning experiences
can you bring from your earlier studies?
What are your personal goals for your
studies?
How will you achieve those goals?
What are the main skills you need to
acquire?
Issues to discuss with your
student:
Is your student settling in?


Discussed

Who the staff are and how they
can help
The nature of the degree award
The mentoring/ tutoring process
Expectations of how students
study in your subject at HWU
Library and other facilities
Skills they should acquire
during their studies and how
they can log these skills via
Personal Development
Planning (PDP)
Schedule for the year, and
timetable
The importance of attendance
and participation
Time commitments (eg class
contact versus independent
study time)
Opportunities for becoming part
of the scholarly community (eg
talks, clubs, societies, social
events)
What are their worries/ issues?



Have good procedures in place for
identifying ‘at risk’ students (eg nonattendees) and supporting them especially
through the difficult first stage. This might
include early individual tutorials, monitoring
attendance, early qualificatory assignments.
Be:
 Accessible, with clear availability
 Clear in communication
 Friendly and understanding - show
empathy where possible
 Knowledgeable – find out about your
student!
 Reliable – don’t make promises you can’t
keep
 As unhurried as possible – make time to
see your students
 Willing to deal with problems as they
arise
 Able to identify ‘at risk’ students
 Aware of diverse student needs (eg
mature, special needs, international)
Have in place a range of support of different
kinds:
mentors,
other
students,
administrative staff.
Ensure that your students are aware of other
sources of support in the university, both
academic and pastoral
Offer your students access to sources that
can help with study skills – see the Student
Scholarship guidelines for examples
These guidelines are based upon the
importance of a) having effective systems in
place and b) having staff attitudes that are
sympathetic, responsive and flexible to
accommodate different student needs. Each of
these is essential, but neither are sufficient on
their own.
In planning departmental
developments in this area both need to be taken
into account.
Case Study 1 – EPS Retention Pilot Project
Retention
Aims:
There will be many points at which students ask
themselves whether they really want to be on
this course or at this institution. The aim of
retention initiatives is to pick up problems at an
early stage and deal with them; to ensure that
students have an on-going sense of belonging
and being valued as course participants and to
have a range of processes in place through
which students are supported both academically
and pastorally.
The following are some
suggestions:
1.
2.
to identify students at risk of dropping out
and provide co-ordinated support between
academic staff and Student Welfare
Services (SWS).
to gain understanding of problems faced
by students in the transition to HE.
Process:

Academic staff refer students who are
causing concern to Student Welfare
Services for assessment
2


Mentors also see students about academic
issues
Academics and SWS meet to agree strategy
and co-ordinate support
Case Study 2 – The Missing Student
world to me – none of my friends and family had
degrees and I felt really out of my depth. The
staff were nice enough, and willing to answer my
questions, but most of the time I didn’t even
know what I needed to know, let alone the
answers!”
A Chinese undergraduate student didn’t sit any
of her first year exams. It was discovered that
she hadn’t attended any classes during the year.
She was allowed to resit the first year, and again
failed to attend classed during Term 1.
Administrative staff in the School then referred
her to SWS, and the Medical Centre, where her
issues were addressed. The question was then
asked: how did she manage to get through 3
terms the previous year without her absence
and lack of work being noted and followed up,
even though she was in a course with small
numbers? And how could the School ensure
that this didn’t happen again?
What could you do?
Case Study 3 – The International Student
Links
Leaving sunny Africa to study in Scotland, one
student nearly got on a plane to go home the
same day as he had arrived. Why? On the day
he arrived he said:
For a checklist on induction see HEA Induction
Audit web link:
http://www.ulster.ac.uk/star/resources/induction_
audit.doc
“It was cold and wet. I knew no-one and wasn’t
sure what to do when I got to the airport. When
I arrived at the campus, virtually no-one spoke
to me. I am used to a much more welcoming
culture!”
The first-year experience: literature review.
Professor Lee Harvey and Sue Drew
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/4887.htm
Imagine this is your student; what could you do
to help?:







Make sure new students get to meet second
years who can help them settle in and
understand what is happening
Introduce a buddy system
Check that welcoming social activities do not
exclude some students (eg they don’t take
place in the bar or at times when students
with family responsibilities need to get home)
Give written induction information in the form of
questions and answers and evaluate each year
whether you have included the right questions.
The First Year Experience Survey by Mantz
Yorke and Bernard Longden
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/FYEsurvey.htm
What to do now?
Ensure your student has been sent a prearrival pack with information on what to do
on arrival/the first few days after arrival
As soon as they arrive, introduce your
student to others eg over coffee
Orientate your student - take them on a
quick tour of the university
Make
sure
that
information
about
appropriate clubs and societies, both within
and outwith the university,
is made
available
Case Study 4 – The Non-Traditional Student
“After years of working at a dead-end job and
then completing my access course I was excited
about the prospect of coming to university. I
didn’t know what to expect and was a bit
intimidated when I arrived.
Everyone else
seemed to have made friends and to know what
was going on. University was a completely new
1. Using the Planning Tool, work out what
currently goes on in your course in trying to
engage students in their learning.
2. Decide which other approaches and
methods would work in your subject area.
3. Plan how they will map across the course,
developing engagement activities at each
level.
4. Make sure that the approach is explicit and
understood by students and colleagues: they
are more likely to engage with tasks if they
can see the point of them.
3