Webinar Report
‘Focus on Effective and Efficient Transition Initiatives’
A Southern Regional Cluster Event
Sponsored by ‘The National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and
Learning in Higher Education
Hosted by E-Learning Development Support Unit at Institute of Technology
Tralee
Programme
"Focus on Effective and Efficient Transition Initiatives"
09.30 - 09.40
09.40 - 10.00
10.00 - 10.20
10.20 - 11.20
11.20 - 11.50
11.50 - 12.00
Introduction
- Tom Farrelly, Institute of Technology, Tralee
"Challenges in Evaluation of Transition and Engagement Initiatives"
- Liz Thomas, Lis Thomas Associates
"Insights into ISSE Student Engagement Findings that may Inform Transition
Initiatives"
- Sean O Reilly, Irish Survey of Student Engagement
”Tried and Tested Transition Initiatives @ IT Carlow”
- Diarmuid O ‘Se & Anne Carpenter, Institute of Technology, Carlow
"Evidence based transition initiatives at UCC"
- Nóirín Deady, University College Cork
“They said, we did.... trying and testing transition supports at CIT”
- Marese Bermingham & Róisín O'Grady, Cork Institute of Technology
"Effectiveness of WIT Transition Initiatives"
- Laura Keane, Waterford Institute of Technology
Discussion and Capture of Outcomes
Close
This seminar was delivered as a webinar run on the Blackboard Collaborate platform
and was recorded. The recording of the webinar is available as single recording and
also as a collection of the recordings of the 7 presentations.
C. 50 viewers participated in the Webinar on-line.
Tom Farrelly (E-Learning Development Support Unit, Institute of Technology,
Tralee) served as the Moderator for the webinar.
Tony Murphy (E-Learning Development Support Unit, Institute of Technology,
Tralee) Webinar Producer/Manager.
Links to Recordings
No. Time
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2.26.00
Time To
Presenter (Link)
2.50.50
0.08.30
0.31.00
0.57.00
1.26.00
1.45.00
2.13.00
2.26.00
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Full Webinar
T Farrelly - Introduction
L Thomas – Keynote
S o Reilly - ISSE
A Carpenter & D O Sé –Institute of Technology Carlow
N Deady – University College Cork
M Bermingham & R oGrady – Cork Institute of Technology
L Keane & A oToole – Waterford Institute of Technology
T Farrelly & Presenters - Discussion
The reader of this report is referred to the presentations for details. What is set out
below is a listing of some of the main points raised by the presenters and is not
intended to be a summary or précis
1. "Challenges in Evaluation of Transition and Engagement Initiatives"
Liz Thomas (Liz Thomas is an independent researcher and consultant for higher
education and Professor of Higher Education at Edge Hill University. She is visiting
professor of Academic Development at Staffordshire University.)
Main points raised in presentation:
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Opportunities and Challenges in Evaluation of Transition and Engagement
Initiatives
Retitled presentation to provide some insights into Opportunities as well as
Challenges
What we know about Transition in Higher Education from experience to date
The Role of Evaluation in Developing the Student Experience
Description of the Evaluation Logic Chain, Methods and Indicators
Opportunities are evident when addressing the Challenges
Examples from UK Higher Education
Focus on the development of the institution’s Academic and Administration Staff
understanding of Engagement
Development of Learners Experience that enriches Engagement
Implementation Strategies on Whole Institution Basis in process of Change
Focused on Evidence in developing Strategy, Implementation, Monitoring and
Evaluation
Significant Focus on changes in behaviours and development of Learner sense
of belonging
Insights into Interventions that improved engagement
Focus on benefits for Learner and whole Institution
2. "Insights into Irish Survey of Student Engagement (ISSE) Findings that may
Inform Transition Initiatives"
Sean O Reilly (Project Manager, Irish Survey of Student Engagement)
Main points raised in presentation:
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Outline of how the ISSE has been developed and rolled out across the HE sector
The ISSE project was piloted in 2012/13, run for the first time in 2013/14 and is
being run for the second time in 2014/15
Detail was provided on the types of information gathered
Significant data sets are not available to each institution on what is happening
within the home institution and across the HE sector
Over 100 questions are included in the survey questionnaire and the outputs
allow for the calculation of Indices of Engagement and Output as well as
responses to individual questions
Further insights are also provided by way of free text responses to two questions
in the survey
The data allows the Institutions to delve into what students are experiencing and
to look at what is impacting on engagement
Results are presented in such a way as the Institute can examine Indices of
Engagement and Outcomes and also drill down into what the students are saying
in response to particular questions that contribute to the Indices
The information provides Institutions with a rich source of insights that could help
inform interventions designed to enhance transitions and improve engagement
and retention
Examples of the types of data provided were presented
Insights were provided on how the findings could be explored with stakeholders
to establish what can be done to improve engagement by students and to provide
the Institute with the evidence required to make decisions about interventions
Reference is made to the reports that are available from ISSE
3. ”Tried and Tested Transition Initiatives @ IT Carlow”
Diarmuid O Sé (Academic Support Centre, Institute of Technology, Carlow)
Anne Carpenter (Coordinator Teaching and Learning Centre, Institute of
Technology, Carlow)
Main points raised in presentation:
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An overview was provided on how IT Carlow deals generally with matters around
student transition, engagement and retention
A case study was presented on various initiatives in the area of Computing and
Networking delivered by the Academic Support Centre
The initiatives include Induction, Tutor System, Systematic Monitoring, Early
Formative Assessment and Academic Support
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Activities are focused around induction at the start of the year and throughout the
year by working with the academic staff and following up with student needing
support
Measurement on the effectiveness and efficiency of the initiatives is problematic
as the environment has changed over the years
Retention rates and usage of the Centre are the main metric used and provide a
measure of support for the success of the initiatives used to engage student
Interesting insights were noted into the fact that students that drop out of
programmes are seen to continue in Higher Education and with may attributing
positive engagement with the Academic Support Centre for their decisions to
continue in higher Education
Lots of issues in measuring Effectiveness and Efficiencies are noted but none the
less the initiatives are considered to be having the desired impact for the students
in question and the Institute as a whole
4. "Evidence based transition initiatives at UCC"
Nóirín Deady (First Year Experience Coordinator, University College Cork)
Main points raised in presentation:
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Significant interest in finding evidence to support actions around transitions and
engagement
Important to identify the problems/challenges being faced by students that are at
a particularly challenging stage in life
Action Research approach employed in the evaluation how to develop and
monitor transition initiatives
Awareness of the nature and behaviours of the student learner is critical in
designing strategies and in measuring effectiveness
‘Failte Fest’ events programme introduced and developed based on evidence of
previous iterations and experience
Focus on the needs of individual students based on feedback from students
making the transition to University
Variety of engagement strategies pre-entry and post-entry are employed as
students have a variety of needs that requires a variety of responses
Coordination and integration of activities across all areas of the student
experience and various communication platforms makes for a rich student
experience
Factor affecting student retention are well understood and it is the range of
initiatives and how these are tailored that makes for effective transitions
5. “They said, we did.... trying and testing transition supports at CIT”
Marese Bermingham (Strategic Student Engagement and Retention/Head of
Teaching and Learning Unit, Cork Institute of Technology)
Róisín O Grady, (Student Engagement and Retention Officer, Cork Institute of
Technology)
Main points raised in presentation:
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Outline of the CIT Engagement and Transition commitments to date
Resources are available but it is important to look at how these can be most
effectively and efficiently deployed
Significant focus on evidence from staff and student experience of challenges in
engagement including working with focus groups and discussions with individual
students and academic staff
Adoption and Adaptation of good practice across HE nationally and
internationally in building a suite of initiatives
Strategy involves working with Academic Staff and Units
The CIT Strategic Student Engagement and Retention Initiative includes 10
significant programme including the Peer Assistance and Support (PALS)
Programme and Creativity, Innovation and Technology (CIT) Module for example
A Community of Practice is working on the Institute’s CIT module in the
engagement space
Insights were provided on a number of local initiatives including PALS
Metrics are being used to monitor effectiveness which have been developed
around retention and performance against various criteria and these hard data
confirm that the initiative are working collectively at least
Metrics available have a limited value but are encouraging in providing evidence
of effectiveness
The ‘They Said. We did..’ initiative is built around collaborative and integrated
engagement with the academic staff and units
Intention is to integrate the various engagement initiatives into the activities of the
Teaching and Learning Unit an Opportunities and Challenges in Evaluation of
Transition and Engagement Initiatives and with the Academic Programmes
The ‘Good Start’ Programme demonstrates the value of involving student in the
delivery of this CIT first 6 weeks programme
The ‘Good Start’ Programme was followed in the first year of operation by looking
for feedback suggesting that there was value in integrating the programme with
the individual courses that the students are enrolled on
While it was possible to point to objective metrics of effectiveness there was
substantial anecdotal evidence coming from students interviews that suggest that
the analysis of qualitative data needs to be looked at in more detail
6. "Effectiveness of WIT Transition Initiatives"
Laura Keane, (Head of Student Life and Learning, Waterford Institute of
Technology)
Aisling O Toole (Student Retention Office, Waterford Institute of Technology)
Main points raised in presentation:
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Overview provided of WIT’s Student Life and Learning initiatives around student
engagement
Presentation looked a transition initiative focused on one particular cohort
‘Mature Student Summer School’ provides a good example of a tailored response
to the need of Mature Students and has run for the past 20 years
The programme is integrated into the services that mature students engage with
pre-entry
A programme of workshops provide a lot of support around the practicalities in
entering higher education as a mature student
The Programme is integrated into the operations of the academic units and
supports students in their academic activities and covers areas such as
o Faculty and Programme Specific Sessions
o Campus Orientation
o Academic Skills
o Multiple Intelligences
o Career Services
o Q&A sessions
Evidence in support of the success of the programme is largely qualitative and is
gathered by interview, focus groups and questionnaires and is supported by
evidence from examination results and progression statistics
7. Discussion
Feedback from Liz Thomas
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Important to focus on positive and not just drop out/retentions
Important to have a Range of Methods and Range of Interventions
ISSE is valuable as an indicator to be followed up on by an conversation around
what the students are telling us
The partnership dimension across Academic Staff, Administration Staff and
Students are valuable dimension of what is going on in Irish HE
Feedback from Sean O Reilly
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Indicators are valuable depending on the context
Avoid external interpretation of a HEI’s indices
Two indices focused on in the national report as an example of how to use the
ISSE outputs and where chosen as there were unlikely to be contentious
It is possible for different users to focus on different findings as a starting point
Three files provided to each Institution have everything that is needed to mine the
findings
Indices pages gives lot of information that will be of particular interest to
academic and administration staff alike
Summary of Feedback from Presenters
The Moderator looked for further insights on the Seminar as a whole from the
presenters.
Generally it was recognised that there are challenges in evaluating effectiveness and
efficiency. It is evidence that the engagement with students and staff as part of the
range of diverse initiatives being delivered are clearly beneficial. It is arguable that
these are indeed indiscernible as a way of allowing students engage with their
Higher Education experience successfully.
It is important not to expect too much from students entering the HEI as their prior
experience of education may not equip them very well for the transition to higher
education and for different reasons if they are younger or older as the case may be.
It is evident that in a time of scarcity of resources it is important to point to the
financial benefits for the various transition initiatives. Retaining students has major
financial benefits. There is also a wide range of benefits that enrich higher education
for all learners which in turn improve the quality of higher education.
It is recognised that ISSE can be combined with other sources of evidence to show
that effectiveness and efficiency is being achieved across most initiatives.