“Degrees of Success” – Working Paper 2 (2008)
Investigating the Transition to Higher Education:
Descriptive analysis of a questionnaire survey
Harriet Dunbar-Goddet and Hubert Ertl
This working paper reports on the analysis of a questionnaire administered as part of the
HEFCE-funded TLRP project Degrees of Success: The Transition between Vocational
Education and Training and Higher Education (henceforth referred to as Degrees of Success).
This questionnaire was one element of the investigation of the learning experience of students
who make the transition from Vocational Education and Training (VET) to Higher Education
(HE).
The paper discusses the rationale of the questionnaire, reports on the analysis of the data
generated, and develops some preliminary findings, building on the description of the general
context and the discussion of the qualitative research conducted as part of our project which
was set out in the working paper published in May 2007 (Dunbar-Goddet & Ertl, 2007).
Findings of further parts of the investigation of the learning experience of students coming to
HE through the vocational route will be discussed in future working papers.
1. Researching the student learning experience in higher
education
A substantial amount of research on the student learning experience in Higher Education (HE)
has been carried out in recent years. This can be seen as a reaction to the focus of HE policies
on this topic and also as an outcome of an agenda driven by bodies such as the Higher
Education Academy (HEA) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)
(see HEA 2007 and HEFCE 2005, 2007a). The student learning experience also figures
prominently in the mission statements and promotional literature of individual Higher
Education Institutions (HEIs).
A literature review conducted for the HEA in 2006-07 has mapped this field of research and
has discussed the methods and findings of this research by analysing over 250 pieces of
writing (see Ertl et al., 2008). This interest in the student learning experience has a varied
provenance, related both to institutional and systemic change within the HE sector, and
broader political agendas. The continuous expansion of HE, growing concerns regarding
quality assurance, the increasingly competitive market for students, and the emphasis on
student retention are some of the wider issues that have made the student learning experience
an important area of research.
Degrees of Success aims to build on previous studies in terms of both concepts used to
describe the student learning experience and methods used to investigate it. The review of
relevant literature mentioned above found that most studies in this area do not go beyond the
investigation of a single course at a single HEI, either interviewing some students or
surveying students with a quantitative questionnaire (Ertl, et al., 2008). Our design ensures
that the experience of groups of students at different institutions and in different disciplines
can be compared. Furthermore, the research combines quantitative and qualitative methods of
investigation (questionnaires and interviews) and its findings are discussed in the light of an
analysis of national datasets (see Dunbar-Goddet & Ertl, 2007 and Hoelscher & Hayward,
2008).
Degrees of Success conducted two questionnaire surveys with the entire intake of students in
three subject areas (Business, Computing and Nursing) at five UK HEIs for the 2006-07
academic year.
2
Five HEIs were selected using the following criteria:

Sufficient enrolment of students with a vocational background;

Appropriate mix of student body in terms of gender;

Relative size and availability of subject groups;

Regional diversity;

Type of institution.
Applying these criteria resulted in the following sample of institutions:
HEI 1 is a medium-sized Post-92 University in South East England with an intake of students
with a varied qualification background and achievable entry standards from a fairly local
catchment area.
HEI 2 is a large, Pre-92, campus University in the East of England with high entry standards
whose intake is of students from across the UK.
HEI 3 is a large, Post-92, city-based University in Scotland with a predominantly local
catchment area and a well-stated widening participation agenda, some popular subject areas
(such as the ones in this project) do not have students with varied qualification backgrounds
however, and they have high entry requirements.
HEI 4 is a small FE College in North West England which takes students from a fairly local
catchment area with very few prior qualifications, and provides opportunities for them to
progress through the levels and into HE at the college, in partnership with local universities.
HEI 5 is a large FE College in Scotland which takes students from a fairly local catchment
area with very few prior qualifications, and provides opportunities for them to progress
1
through the levels and into HE within or outwith their institution.
One set of student questionnaires was administered at the beginning, and a further set towards
the end, of students’ first year of HE studies. The first instrument in our study was an
1
For further information about the selection of institutions and subjects, see Dunbar-Goddet & Ertl (2007).
3
exploratory questionnaire regarding student transition into Higher Education. The second
questionnaire looked at the ways in which students describe their experience during their first
year of studies. Both questionnaires were administered during a core lecture or in large
seminar groups by the research team and/or our project contacts. The focus of this working
paper is the discussion of the first of our two questionnaires: the Transition to Higher
Education Questionnaire.
2. The ‘Transition to Higher Education’ questionnaire
The Transition to HE Questionnaire was administered during a core lecture, or in large
seminar groups, by a project researcher, to all 1st year students on Business, Computing and
Nursing courses (a possible 1502 – 657 Business, 380 Computing and 465 Nursing –
students) at five institutions, towards the beginning of their HE experience (October 2006January 2007), and in some cases also to students who were admitted to the third or final year
of a course due to their prior qualifications (a possible 235 – 55 Business and 180 Computing
– students).
1106 Transition to HE Questionnaires (out of a possible 1737, resulting in a return rate of
64% overall) were thus collected at the beginning of the academic year, one of which
subsequently had to be removed as it had been filled in by a student studying on a course
which we had not selected for this project. Of the remaining 1105 questionnaires, 359 were
from Business students, 369 were from Computing students and 377 were from Nursing
students, providing the study with an even distribution of responses across the three subjects,
despite the Nursing course at HEI 3 withdrawing after the project had started. Of those 1105
responses, 354 were from HEI 1 students, 205 were from HEI 2 students, 288 were from HEI
3 students, 61 were from HEI 4 students, and finally 197 were from HEI 5 students. This
distribution reflects the different sizes of institutions in our sample.
The Business course at HEI 2 was the largest, but unfortunately many of the students were
absent at the lecture when the questionnaires were administered. Despite trying an email
follow up return rates for Business and HEI 2 remained low, as can be seen in Table 1, below,
4
which provides an overview of subject and institutional distribution, as well as the relevant
2
return rates .
Table 1: Distribution of students in our sample and Response Rates according to Subjects and Institutions
HEI 1
HEI 2
HEI 3
HEI 4
HEI 5
Total
Response
Rates
Business
91
73
132
15
31
359
50%
Computing
108
73
156
12
37
369
66%
Nursing
155
59
-
34
129
377
81%
Total
354
205
288
61
197
1105
74%
46%
67%
68%
69%
Response
Rates
Key: HEI 1: Post-92 English University; HEI 2: Pre-92 English University; HEI 3: Post-92 Scottish University;
HEI 4: English FE College; HEI 5: Scottish FE College.
2
The calculation of response rates has proved difficult as some courses had difficulties in providing us with
exact intake figures. There was also a complication with students who were accepted for the second, or third,
year of a course. As we were interested in students in their first year of studies in HE (which was not necessarily
the same as the first year of a course) these students were included in some cases in our sample. Wherever we
could, we included students accepted for the second and third year of a course in the overall student number,
thereby potentially under-estimating response rates.
5
3. Descriptive analysis: student characteristics and context
We will first look at the overall population and the demographic information we have
collected in the first section of the Transition to HE Questionnaire. We gathered some baseline data about the population in our sample (e.g. gender, socio-economic background,
educational background, etc) in this first questionnaire. This data will complement the
national data from UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) and HESA (Higher
Education Statistics Agency) datasets which has been gathered in the quantitative part of
Degrees of Success (see Hoelscher & Hayward, 2008). It allows us to assess our data in terms
of its representativeness for the student body as a whole.
The data collected in our questionnaire also allowed us to identify some particular issues
relevant for students with a vocational background; these were followed up in interviews that
were carried out over the course of the 2006-07 academic year, with students and staff at each
of the institutions, and which will be reported in more depth in a future working paper. These
issues included the students’ motivations for studying at HE level, their reasons for choosing
to study a) their subject and b) at their current HEI, and the transition from previous to HE
studies. Additionally the questionnaire data enabled us to pre-select interesting cases to
interview in order to generate in-depths data, for instance, on the ways VET students decide
on HE study.
Gender and age
54% of the students who responded to the Transition to HE Questionnaire are female, 46%
male. Table 2, below, gives the gender distribution of the questionnaire respondents by
subject and by institution.
6
Table 2: Gender distribution of students in our sample according to Subjects and Institutions.
Gender
Business
Computing
Nursing
HEI 1
HEI 2
HEI 3
HEI 4
HEI 5
Overall
Female
198
51
324
200
88
114
41
130
573
56.6%
14.4%
90.5%
59.2%
44.7%
40.3%
71.9%
69.5%
54%
152
303
34
138
109
169
16
57
489
43.4%
85.6%
9.5%
40.8%
55.3%
59.7%
28.1%
30.5%
46%
350
354
358
338
197
283
57
187
1062
Male
Total
Key: HEI 1: Post-92 English University; HEI 2: Pre-92 English University; HEI 3: Post-92 Scottish University;
HEI 4: English FE College; HEI 5: Scottish FE College.
As might be expected, the distribution is different across the three subject areas: in Business
57% are female and 43% male, in Computing, a traditionally male-dominated subject area,
only 14% of our respondents are female, whilst in Nursing, a traditionally female-dominated
subject, 91% of our respondents are female. This is in-line with our criteria for choosing these
three subject areas in particular, which was to select subject areas with different composition
patterns.
It is also interesting to note that across institutions the gender breakdown is different i.e. in
both FE Colleges (HEIs 4 and 5), females clearly outnumber males. This can be explained by
the sample sizes in the three different subjects, and in particular the numbers of Nursing
students in those two institutions, compared to the numbers of Computing students at the
same institutions.
The students who responded range in age from under 18 (7%) to over 30 (11%) with the
majority (65%) being aged 18-21 and the remaining 17% falling in the two categories of 2225 and 26-30. The breakdown by subject area and institution is presented in Table 3, below.
Of note is the large proportion of under-18 students at the English FE College (HEI 4). This
can be explained both by the large number of students at that institution studying for a
Diploma in Nursing post-GCSE, and the fact that many students at FE Colleges (HEIs 4 and
5) have come straight from school to do their 6th form in College. The same is the case for
7
Scottish students (HEIs 3 and 5), who start their HE studies a year younger, on average, than
their English counterparts, due to the differing education system. We should also note though
that the Scottish FE College with a pronounced widening participation agenda has attracted
22% of students who are over 30, whilst the English FE College has none. This highlights
diversity in the intake patterns and possibly in missions of Colleges.
Table 3: Age distribution of students in our sample according to Subjects and Institutions.
Age
Business
Computing
Nursing
HEI 1
HEI 2
HEI 3
HEI 4
HEI 5
Overall
Under
15
25
35
4
1
24
22
24
75
18
4.2%
6.8%
9.3%
1.1%
0.5%
8.4%
36.1%
12.2%
7%
18-21
296
241
181
251
154
196
33
84
718
82.9%
65.8%
48.1%
71.3%
75.1%
68.8%
54.1%
42.9%
65%
39
48
40
53
18
34
4
18
127
10.9%
13.1%
10.6%
15.1%
8.8%
11.9%
6.6%
9.2%
12%
5
15
36
12
7
8
2
27
56
1.4%
4.1%
9.6%
3.4%
3.4%
2.8%
3.3%
13.8%
5%
Over
2
37
84
32
25
23
0
43
123
30
0.6%
10.1%
22.3%
9.1%
12.2%
8.1%
-
21.9%
11%
Totals
357
366
376
352
205
285
61
196
1099
Range
22-25
26-30
Key: HEI 1: Post-92 English University; HEI 2: Pre-92 English University; HEI 3: Post-92 Scottish University;
HEI 4: English FE College; HEI 5: Scottish FE College.
Term-time place of residence and commitments
In the overall sample over 56% of the students are living at home, 21% living on campus, and
a further 20% are living in private housing. In Table 4, below, this information is presented by
institution.
8
Table 4: Distribution by term-time place of residence of students in our sample according to Institutions
Term-time place of
HEI 1
HEI 2
HEI 3
HEI 4
HEI 5
Overall
98
104
24
0
3
229
28.3%
51.5%
8.4%
-
1.6%
21%
93
38
50
3
31
215
26.9%
18.8%
17.5%
5%
16.1%
20%
142
53
198
56
155
604
41%
26.2%
69.2%
93.3%
80.3%
55%
13
7
14
1
4
39
3.8%
3.5%
4.9%
1.7%
2.1%
4%
346
202
286
60
193
1087
residence
On Campus
Private Housing
At Home With Family
Other
Totals
Key: HEI 1: Post-92 English University; HEI 2: Pre-92 English University; HEI 3: Post-92 Scottish
University; HEI 4: English FE College; HEI 5: Scottish FE College.
It is not surprising that a large proportion of the students studying at the FE Colleges (HEIs 4
and 5) are living at home as one of the reasons for choosing to go to an FE College is often its
proximity to home (Hoelscher et al, 2008). Moreover, FE Colleges do not usually provide
accommodation. We also mentioned earlier in this paper that the Scottish University (HEI 3)
has a very local catchment area, as can be seen by the proportion (69%) of its students who
are living at home, and a notably small proportion (8%) in that institution who are living on
campus. This contrasts strongly with the Pre-92 university (HEI 2) in our sample, where over
half of students live on campus.
It is worth relating this finding to the information in the previous table (Table 3: age) and the
following table (Table 5: demands) as the younger (under-18, for example) students, who are
over-represented at the English FE College (HEI 4), can be expected still to be living with
their parents, but the older students (over-30, for example), who are over-represented at the
Scottish FE College (HEI 5), are more likely to be living with their own dependents (37% of
them state they have family responsibilities in Table 5, below).
9
Table 5: Time Demands (other than studying) reported by our students according to Subjects and
Institutions
Demands
Business
Computing
Nursing
HEI 1
HEI 2
HEI 3
HEI 4
HEI 5
Overall
Work
228
191
182
162
88
200
35
116
601
63.5%
51.9%
48.3%
45.9%
42.9%
69.4%
57.4%
58.9%
54%
Family
76
115
150
111
62
85
10
73
341
Respons-
21.2%
31.3%
39.8%
31.5%
30.2%
29.5%
16.4%
37.1%
31%
Extra-
141
145
109
102
104
119
14
56
395
Curricular
39.3%
39.5%
28.9%
29%
50.7%
41.3%
23%
28.4%
36%
84
88
59
74
47
74
8
28
231
23.4%
24%
15.6%
21.1%
22.9%
25.7%
13.1%
14.2%
21%
ibility
Activity
Other
Key: HEI 1: Post-92 English University; HEI 2: Pre-92 English University; HEI 3: Post-92 Scottish University;
HEI 4: English FE College; HEI 5: Scottish FE College.
Another point to note, in Table 5 above, is that the Scottish University and both FE Colleges
(HEIs 3, 4 and 5) who cater more for the non-traditional, widening participation students,
have a majority of students who are working as well as study full-time, as opposed to the Preand Post-92 English Universities, and in particular the Pre-92 institution (HEI 2) which has
the largest proportion of students who engage in extra-curricular activities.
The Nursing students have a very different profile from the Computing and Business students.
While 99% of the students who responded report that they are studying full-time, many also
report that they have other demands on their time, other than studying, such as work (54%),
family responsibilities (31%), extra-curricular activities (36%) or other (non-specified)
demands (21%). Greater numbers of Nursing students, however, as can be seen in Table 5,
above, report having family responsibilities (40%) and as a group, they engage less in extracurricular activities (29%).
In the first section of the questionnaire we also aimed to gather information about the level of
study of the students. The students who responded to our first questionnaire are studying
towards a variety of qualifications, the majority towards a degree (70%) and a further 23%
towards a DipHE. These are mainly Nursing students (64%) as explained previously.
10
Having looked at the base-line data gathered in the first section of the Transition to HE
Questionnaire we can clearly see two different factors emerging: subject (Nursing students cf.
computing and Business students) and institution (students at FE Colleges cf. students at the
Pre-92 University).
Nursing students are older with family responsibilities, and therefore have less time to spend
on extra-curricular activities and other aspects of more traditional student life than the
Business and Computing students seem to have. The students at the two FE Colleges (HEIs 4
and 5) are more diverse in terms of age ranges, as we have already mentioned, but they are
more similar to each other than to the other university students, i.e. they are more likely to be
living at home with their families than the university students. The group of students at the
Pre-92 institution (HEI 2) stands out in terms of the demands on their time, and their place of
residence. In comparison to the students at the other two universities (HEIs 1 and 3), they tend
to live on campus and engage in other activities, and are less likely to be working alongside
their studies.
11
4. Students’ expectation and preparation
The second and third sections of the Transition to HE Questionnaire deal with the students’
course and institution and their plans for the future. The questions the students answered in
these sections are a mixture of open-ended and 5-point scale questions (see Dunbar-Goddet &
Ertl, 2007 for further details on the questionnaire design).
Looking first of all at the students’ plans for the future, at this point, about half (54%) of the
students answered ‘yes’ to the question ‘Do you know what you want to do when you finish
this course ‘ (13% answered ‘no’ and the remaining 33% responded that they were not sure).
Whilst the distribution across institutions does not throw up anything significant, the
distribution across subject areas shows, as one might expect, that the Nursing students are
already focused on their careers as nurses, with 73% of them responding that they have an
idea of what they want to do on finishing their course.
Turning now to the subject and institutional data regarding student transition into Higher
Education, in the second and third sections of the questionnaire, the students were asked to
express their degree of agreement with three statements concerning their preparation for their
course, expectations of their course and expectations of their HEI (survey items 12a, 15b and
18b, given below). The students answered on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (‘unprepared/not
met’) to 5 (‘well-prepared/completely met’), and additionally, in items 12b, 12c, 15a and 18a,
they were also asked to give further details about their response.
12a. Please indicate, on a scale of 1 to 5, how prepared you feel for your current course:
• 1 unprepared • 2
• 3 partly prepared
•4
• 5 well-prepared
12b. Please tell us what makes you feel prepared
12c. Please tell us what makes you feel unprepared
15a. Please tell us what expectations you have of your new course
15b. Please indicate, on a scale of 1 to 5, how far those expectations have been met to date:
1 not met
2
3 partly met
4
5 completely met
18a. Please tell us what expectations you have of your institution
18b. Please indicate, on a scale of 1 to 5, how far those expectations have been met to date:
1 not met
2
3 partly met
4
5 completely met
When one looks simply at the distribution of students in terms of percentages of students who
indicated 3, 4 or 5 on each of the three items (see Table 6, below) we can see that in item 12a,
12
in the overall population, the students have reported that they are, to some extent, prepared for
their course (combined percentage of 93%). In the same way, for the other two questions,
items 15b and 18b, broad groupings by percentages show that the students’ expectations, both
of the course (combined percentage of 86%) and the institution (combined percentage of
92%), have been met, to some extent. We will analyse this data in greater detail in Table 11.
Table 6: Percentage of responses to items 12a, 15b and 18b on 5-point scale
Items
1
2
3
4
5
Total
1.8
5.3
37.3
42.9
12.7
100%
6.4
7.9
39.9
35.6
10.2
100%
2.3
5.6
33.6
40.6
17.9
100%
12a. Please indicate, on a scale of 1 to 5, how prepared
you feel for your current course (1=unprepared, 5=wellprepared)
15b. Expectations of course:
Please indicate, on a scale of 1 to 5, how far those
expectations have been met to date (1=not met,
5=completely met)
18b. Expectations of HEI:
Please indicate, on a scale of 1 to 5, how far those
expectations have been met to date (1=not met,
5=completely met)
We will now look at each of the follow-up questions to items 12a, 15b and 18b in order to
gain a little more insight into the students’ assessment of ‘preparedness’ or ‘unpreparedness’,
and their initial expectations of their course and institution.
The students in the sample gave a variety of reasons in answer to the follow-up item 12b
‘Please tell us what makes you feel prepared [for your current course]’ which grouped into the
following six categories:

3
Feeling prepared through academic preparatory work they do, e.g. 0126: ‘Reading notes BEFORE
lectures. Practice tests (in maths), writing on notes’
3
Students who stated that they felt prepared through academic preparatory work that they do gave examples
such as taking lecture notes, reading before class, and other work that they carry out in preparation for their
course, now that they are at their HEI. On the other hand, the students who reported feeling prepared through
their prior qualification mentioned work that they did prior to coming to their HEI.
13

Feeling prepared through their prior qualification, e.g. 0086: ‘As I had all ready done A Level maths it
has helped me a lot’

Feeling prepared through advice and guidance given to them at their institution, e.g. 0083: ‘Lots of
information and guidance on course content and access to support if needed’

Feeling prepared through their personal motivation and/or family support, e.g. 0927: ‘Confidence and
support from family’

Feeling prepared through their prior work experience, e.g. 0073: ‘Previous job gave me a good insight
into the subject’

Feeling prepared through their organization of time and activities, e.g. 0997: ‘I try to organize my time
every week’.
The breakdown by category of the responses is shown in Table 7, below.
Table 7 Categorisation of responses to item 12b: what makes you feel prepared [for current course]
Category
n
%
Academic preparatory work
92
19.3%
Prior qualification
112
23.5%
Advice and guidance
85
17.8.%
Motivation and family support
64
13.4.%
Prior work experience
50
10.5%
Time and activity organization
74
15.5%
Total
477
100%
The students in the sample also gave a variety of responses to item 12c ‘Please tell us what
makes you feel unprepared [for your current course]’ which group into the eight categories
below.

Feeling unprepared through their lack of personal organisation and/or motivation, e.g 0244: ‘Not being
organised, being late, not having all the information and resources’.

Feeling unprepared through their lack of academic skills and/or confidence, e.g. 0097: ‘Not knowing as
much programming/maths as I feel I should.’

Feeling unprepared through their lack of practical experience, e.g 0020: ‘Not having any previous
experience on wards or in the community like other students on my course.’

Feeling unprepared through a lack of information and/or guidance at their institution, e.g. 1014: ‘Not
being given information on how to complete exams and course work.’

Feeling unprepared due to workload and/or pace of the course, e.g. 0286: ‘Finding it hard to keep up
with pace of course.’
14

Feeling unprepared due to financial issues, e.g. 0018: ‘Nothing really. Other than my financial
situation. The bursary hasn’t lasted long!’

Feeling unprepared due to external reasons, e.g. 0128: ‘Personal commitments interfering.’

Feeling unprepared due to practical reasons at the institution, e.g. 0057: ‘Unorganised from university
side.’
There were also a small group of students who reported that they did not feel unprepared, or
that nothing made them feel unprepared, for their course, e.g. 0033: ‘Do not feel unprepared.’
4
as can be seen in Table 8, below .
Table 8 Categorisation of responses to item 12c: what makes you feel unprepared [for the course]
Category
n
%
Lack of personal organisation and motivation
89
22.8
Lack of academic skills and confidence
115
29.4
Lack of practical experience
17
4.4
Lack of information and guidance
60
15.4
Workload and pace
25
6.4
Financial issues
10
2.5
External reasons
15
3.8
Practical issues
40
10.2
Do not feel unprepared
20
5.1
Total
391
100%
One aspect which is worth considering in more detail is the information, advice and guidance
categories which come up in the responses of the students on what makes them feel prepared
and unprepared for their course. For example these are answers about what makes students
feel prepared:

0004: ‘Information in advance, which is easily accessible’

0009: ‘Being organized, having information’

0083: ‘Lots of information and guidance on course content and access to support if needed’

0774: ‘Amount of information I am given, given information in good time’

0811: ‘Support and guidance’

0812: ‘A lot of support & guidance’

0880: ‘Getting all the information regarding the course’
4
These are written answers that fall into the category ‘do not feel unprepared’ not blank answers. Therefore
5.1% are explicitly of the opinion that they feel prepared for their course.
15

0991: ‘Studynet tells me my lecturers and times, full of resources’
These answers are about what makes students feel unprepared:

0002: ‘no job, so financially unprepared, also have been given little information on aspects of the
course’

0004: ‘Changes at short notice. An inability to plan due to lack of information’

0008: ‘I find the level of support and direction unnerving, being used to teachers and school learning,
and I find writing essays difficult’

0009: ‘Lack of information, not knowing what is required’

0055: ‘Less guidance than college’

0297: ‘Lots of red tape with little advice + guidance. Little communication with lecturers regarding
work outside of the classroom’

0774: ‘Not knowing what’s going on, not being given information’

0811: ‘Not enough resources to help’

0812: ‘Not enough resources or teacher support’

0880: ‘Not getting enough information, communication and reflecting’

0881: ‘Just sometimes not having enough information at times before lectures’

0894: ‘Sometime the lack of information’

0899: ‘Lack of information from the University teachers’

0915: ‘Lack of support’

0973: ‘Lack of information, when it is given to us it is given at inappropriate times’

0991: ‘Not knowing my personal tutors very well, feeling unsure of where to look for support, amount
and level of work’
Some of the individual responses are mirror images of each other, for example the nursing
student 0009 says that being organized and having information makes her feel prepared and
lack of information and not knowing what is required makes her feel unprepared for her
course.
One of the other open-ended questions, item 15a, was about the students’ expectations of their
course: ‘Please tell us what expectations you have of your new course’. The responses
gathered grouped into the five categories below:

Will learn about the profession, e.g. 0093: ‘To best prepare me for a successful career in IT’

Will learn about the subject and/or skills, e.g. 0309: ‘I hope to gain a practical and appliable working
knowledge of Business that will be an asset to my working life’

Will provide a qualification, e.g. 0883: ’To be able to achieve all my learning expectation and and be
able to graduate and pass all my exams’
16

The learning experience will be challenging or enjoyable, e.g. 0223: ‘To deepen and formalise my
knowledge and to “stretch” my intellect’

Will provide support and guidance or good teaching, e.g.0789: ‘Good standards of teaching and
support’
In Table 9, below, we can see how the 509 statements across the sample grouped into the five
categories of expectations of the course. Again, there was a small group who said they had no
expectations (e.g. 0117: ‘I didn’t really have any. I went in a bit blind’).
Table 9 Categorisation of responses to item 15a: expectations of the course
Category
n
%
Preparation for the profession
129
25.3
Development of subject knowledge and/or skills
96
18.9
Provide a qualification
106
20.8
Provide a learning experience
85
16.7
Provide support and guidance
71
14.0
No expectations
22
4.3
Total
509
100%
The other open-ended, follow-up question, item 18a, was about the students’ expectations of
their institution: ‘Please tell us what expectations you have of your institution’. The responses
gathered grouped into the five categories below:

Will gain qualification and/or future opportunities, e.g 0310: ‘To help me achieve a high degree level
and prepare me for the world of work. Also help me to find a suitable job once graduated’

Will provide good learning environment and/or education, e.g. 0070: ‘To be taught and tested at a high
academic level’

Will provide support and guidance, e.g. 0027: ‘To be supportive and helpful in different situations’

Will provide good facilities and/or resources, e.g. 0843: ‘Good academic support and facilities’

Will provide good social environment, e.g. 0287: ‘A good social life’
In Table 10, below, we can see how the 446 statements across the sample grouped into the
five categories of expectations of the institution. Once again, there was a small group who
stated that they had no expectations (e.g. 0272: ‘No expectations’).
17
Table 10 Categorisation of responses to item 18a: expectations of the institution
Category
n
%
Provide a qualification
91
20.4
Provide a learning environment
158
35.4
Provide support and guidance
91
20.4
Provide facilities or resources
41
9.2
Provide a social environment
35
7.9
No expectations
30
6.7
Total
446
100%
For more detail about all three questions, we now need to look at the mean score on those
three items, and the answers given in the open-ended follow-up questions, by subject and by
institution. We will first look at the subject differentiation and will return to the institutional
breakdown afterwards.
Subject differentiation
Table 11, below, shows the subject distribution, for all three of the items about ‘preparedness’
and expectations, as a mean score (and standard deviation in brackets). Mean scores of 3 or
higher indicate agreement with the statements, the higher the mean score the stronger the
5
agreement .
5
A small number of students did not state which subject they were studying so their data has not been included
in the following tables.
18
Table 11: Mean Scores (and Standard Deviations) by Subjects for items 12a, 15b and 18b
Item
Business
Computing
Nursing
Overall
prepared you feel for your current course
3.44
3.64
3.70
3.59
(1=unprepared, 5=well-prepared)
(.84)
(.88)
(.78)
(.84)
Please indicate, on a scale of 1 to 5, how far
3.17
3.44
3.42
3.35
those expectations have been met to date (1=not
(.97)
(1.04)
(.94)
(.99)
Please indicate, on a scale of 1 to 5, how far
3.51
3.75
3.72
3.66
those expectations have been met to date (1=not
(.84)
(.92)
(.96)
(.91)
12a. Please indicate, on a scale of 1 to 5, how
15b. Expectations of course:
met, 5=completely met)
18b. Expectations of HEI:
met, 5=completely met)
Notable differences can be seen between the Business students and the other two subject areas
in Table 11, above. The Business students have given consistently lower scores than their
colleagues in Computing and Nursing.
Having found these differences, we went on to carry out further statistical procedures to test
for the significance of these differences. There are significant differences (p<.01) between
subject areas on how the students responded to all three questions, however the variance
6
within the subjects is much higher . The measure of association (Eta squared) shows that only
between 1 and 2% of variance can be attributed to the different subjects alone for these three
items.
If we look at the responses to the follow-up, open-ended question, item 12b: ‘Please tell us
what makes you feel prepared [for your current course]’, we can see what kinds of differences
there are between the students’ feelings of preparation in the different subject areas. In Table
7, we saw how the 477 statements across the sample grouped into the six categories of what
makes students feel prepared, whilst below, in Table 12, we can look at the responses to item
6
These, and later results are based on ANOVAs. However, as most group variances were not homogeneous,
more appropriate non-parametric tests were also carried out. These confirm that the differences are highly
significant overall but cannot test for differences between specific groups.
19
12b ‘Please tell us what makes you feel prepared [for your current course]’ according to the
subject area of the students who responded to this item.
Table 12 Categorisation of responses to items 12b: what makes you feel prepared [for the course] by
Subject
Subject
Category
n
% within subject
Business
Academic preparatory work
45
31.5
Prior qualification
32
22.4
Advice and guidance
28
19.6
Motivation and family support
18
12.6
Prior work experience
8
5.6
Time and activity organization
12
8.4
143
100%
Academic preparatory work
20
18.4
Prior qualification
44
40.4
Advice and guidance
10
9.2
Motivation and family support
13
11.9
Prior work experience
15
13.8
Time and activity organization
7
6.4
109
100%
Academic preparatory work
26
11.7
Prior qualification
34
15.3
Advice and guidance
47
21.2
Motivation and family support
33
14.9
Prior work experience
27
12.2
Time and activity organization
55
24.8
222
100%
Total
Computing
Total
Nursing
Total
Many of the Business students state that they feel prepared for the course because they had
previously done A-level Business i.e. 0299: ‘I’ve already done a lot of the course as I did A
level Business and so I have a good background knowledge of what I’m doing now’. Other
Business students report that advice and guidance are what prepares them for the course i.e.
0811: ‘A lot of support & guidance’, whilst another Business student reports several of the
categories above: 0866: ‘Studying business at A-Level/The help staff give/The resources at the
university’. The Business students report to the greatest extent (31% of their responses) that
the academic preparatory work they do is what makes them feel prepared for their course.
20
Many Computing students also report that having done Computing before (whether at A-level
or at work) prepares them for their course i.e. 0195: ‘2 years at A level computing, lots of
programming experiences’ and 0073: ‘Previous job gave me a good insight into the subject’.
Indeed the Computing students are the ones who report to the greatest extent that their prior
qualification is what makes them feel prepared (40% of their responses).
The Nursing students report much more about their personal organization, motivation, and
support from friends and family (25%, 15 % and 21% of their responses respectively). For
example: 0226: ‘Knowing that I have the motivation to do all the work I need to do to pass,
and that there are always people to help me here’ or 0995: ‘Because I feel supported by tutor,
family and friends. And have previously worked in healthcare’ and 0962: ‘I have managed to
organize myself quite well’.
The differences in the role of academic achievement in the self-belief of students reflects the
differences in qualification patterns in the pre-HE education sector and possibly also
differences in perceived status between academic and vocational education pathways.
Table 13 Categorisation of responses to items 12c: what makes you feel unprepared [for the course] by
Subject
Subject
Category
n
% within subject
Business
Lack of personal organisation and motivation
33
34
Lack of academic skills and confidence
24
24.7
Lack of practical experience
0
0
Lack of information and guidance
17
17.5
Workload and pace
6
6.2
Financial issues
0
0
External reasons
1
1
Practical issues
13
13.4
Does not feel unprepared
3
3.1
97
100%
Lack of personal organisation and motivation
15
15.5
Lack of academic skills and confidence
42
43.3
Lack of practical experience
6
6.2
Lack of information and guidance
6
6.2
Workload and pace
4
4.1
Financial issues
5
5.2
Total
Computing
21
External reasons
7
7.2
Practical issues
4
4.1
Does not feel unprepared
8
8.3
97
100%
Lack of personal organisation and motivation
41
20.9
Lack of academic skills and confidence
49
25
Lack of practical experience
11
5.6
Lack of information and guidance
37
18.9
Workload and pace
14
7.1
Financial issues
5
2.6
External reasons
7
3.6
Practical issues
23
11.7
Does not feel unprepared
9
4.6
196
100%
Total
Nursing
Total
In Table 8, we saw how the 391 statements across the sample grouped into the eight
categories of what makes students feel unprepared, whilst above, in Table 13, we look at the
responses to that item according to the subject area of the students who responded to the
question.
Of note in Table 13, above, is that very few students, in any subject, report that they do not
feel unprepared. Across all three subject areas the students report that a lack of academic
skills and confidence creates a feeling of ‘unpreparedness’, although for the Business students
this is less important than a lack of personal organisation and motivation, which is reported in
34% of their responses (e.g. 0304: ‘Lack of commitment to work and attendance’), compared
to 16% and 21% of the responses for Computing and Nursing students respectively.
Both Business and Nursing students report a lack of information and guidance, for example
this Computing student 0122: ‘I didn’t get a reading list beforehand or anything they would
inform me of what I was going to be doing’. Business students did not report a lack of
practical experience nor any financial issues.
In Table 9 we saw how the 509 statements across the sample grouped into the five categories
of expectations of the course. In Table 14, below, we can look at the responses to that item by
subject area.
22
Table 14 Categorisation of responses to item 15a: expectations of the course by Subject
Subject
Category
n
% within
subject
Business
Preparation for the profession
35
26.7
Development of subject knowledge and/or skills
30
22.9
Provide a qualification
24
18.3
Provide a learning experience
13
9.9
Provide support and guidance
21
16
No expectations
8
6.1
131
100%
Preparation for the profession
27
20.6
Development of subject knowledge and/or skills
38
29
Provide a qualification
25
19.1
Provide a learning experience
17
13
Provide support and guidance
13
9.9
No expectations
11
8.4
131
100%
Preparation for the profession
65
26.5
Development of subject knowledge and/or skills
28
11.4
Provide a qualification
57
23.3
Provide a learning experience
55
22.5
Provide support and guidance
37
15.1
No expectations
3
1.2
245
100%
Total
Computing
Total
Nursing
Total
Of note in Table 14, above, is that, whilst preparation for the profession and providing a
qualification is reported across all three subject areas, there is a difference between the
Nursing students and the Business and Computing students with regards to providing a
learning experience, which is important to Nursing students like this one: 0016: ‘To be
interesting and learn new things’ and developing subject knowledge and skills, which is
important to Business and Computing students like these ones: 0292: ‘To give me the
knowledge and skills so that, that high position in a big company is a realistic goal’ and 0124:
‘To gain me a deep understanding of computing and prepare me for a job in the industry’.
In summary, distinctly different patters in students’ assessments of levels of expectation and
preparation and of sources for feeling prepared for HE study can be identified. The strongest
23
differences can be observed between Nursing students and the other students in terms of
drawing strengths primarily from personal context (Nursing students) or from academic
preparation (Computing and Business students).
7
Institutional Differentiation
Turning now to the question of institution, Table 15, below, shows the institutional
distribution, for all three of the items about ‘preparedness’ and expectations, as a mean score
(and standard deviation in brackets). Mean scores of 3 or higher indicate agreement with the
statements, the higher the mean score the stronger the agreement.
The notable difference which can be seen in the table is the difference between the FE
Colleges and the Universities. For example the FE College students (HEIs 4 and 5) have
higher expectations of their institutions (item 18b).
Table 15: Mean Scores (and Standard Deviations) by Institutions for items 12a, 15b and 18b
Item
HEI 1
HEI 2
HEI 3
HEI 4
HEI 5
Overall
how prepared you feel for your current
3.63
3.46
3.47
3.93
3.75
3.49
course (1=unprepared, 5=well-prepared)
(.79)
(.94)
(.85)
(.77)
(.77)
(.84)
Please indicate, on a scale of 1 to 5, how far
3.21
3.20
3.35
3.36
3.72
3.35
those expectations have been met to date
(.91)
(1.12)
(.98)
(1.08)
(.87)
(.99)
Please indicate, on a scale of 1 to 5, how far
3.35
3.70
3.65
4.02
4.05
3.66
those expectations have been met to date
(.94)
(.90)
(.84)
(.80)
(.82)
(.91)
12a. Please indicate, on a scale of 1 to 5,
15b. Expectations of course:
(1=not met, 5=completely met)
18b. Expectations of HEI:
(1=not met, 5=completely met)
Key: HEI 1: Post-92 English University; HEI 2: Pre-92 English University; HEI 3: Post-92 Scottish University;
HEI 4: English FE College; HEI 5: Scottish FE College.
7
Annexe 1 provides a breakdown of responses to item 18a by subject area.
24
Significant differences according to HEIs were found in the sample. For instance, HEIs have
statistically significant (p<.01) mean scores in level of agreement with the statement ‘How
prepared do you feel for your current course’. However the measure of association (Eta
squared) shows that only 3% of variance can be attributed to the different institutions alone.
FE College students (HEIs 4 and 5) feel significantly more prepared than those in HEIs 2 and
3, whilst HEI 1 is in between. Furthermore, we can see in Table 16, below, that the students at
different institutions reported different reasons for feeling prepared and unprepared for their
course.
The mean score of the item ‘How far have your expectations of your current course been met
to date’ indicated a statistically significant difference (p<.01) in level of agreement with the
statement among HEIs. Again we can note a difference between the FE students and the
University students: students from HEIs 1, 2 and 3 report that their expectations of their
course have been met to a significantly lower extent than those of HEI 5 (the Scottish FE
College), whilst HEI 4 (the English FE College) is in between.
The mean score of the item ‘How far have your expectations of this institution been met to
date’ indicated a statistically significant difference (p<.01) in level of agreement with the
statement among HEIs with once again that difference being between FE and University
students: HEI 1 and 3 students have reported that their expectations have been met to a
significantly lower extent than those of the FE Colleges (HEIs 4 and 5), whilst HEI 2 is in
between.
In Table 7, we saw how the 477 statements across the sample grouped into the six categories
of what makes students feel prepared, whilst below, in Table 16, we can look at the responses
to item 12b: ‘Please tell us what makes you feel prepared [for your current course]’, broken
down according to the institution the students who responded to this question attend.
Interestingly, the students at the Post-92 University (HEI 1) report to a greater extent that their
academic preparatory work, and advice and guidance, is what makes them feel prepared for
their course, whilst the students at the Pre-92 institution (HEI 2) feel that the main reason they
feel prepared is the work they did for their prior qualification. This can be explained by the
higher level of academic qualifications students bring to Pre-92 Universities (see analysis of
educational pathways in a forthcoming working paper).
25
Meanwhile, the students at HEI 4 report that their own motivation and family support, as well
as their time and activity organization, is what makes them feel prepared for their course. We
might also surmise that the admissions procedures at HEI 2 have an affect on how prepared
students feel at the beginning of their course, as it is the institution with the highest entry
requirements.
Table 16 Categorisation of responses to item 12b: what makes you feel prepared [for the course] by
Institution
Institution
Category
n
% within
institution
HEI 1
Academic preparatory work
62
23.05
Prior qualification
46
17.1
Advice and guidance
62
23.05
Motivation and family support
38
14.13
Prior work experience
25
9.29
Time and activity organization
36
13.38
269
100%
Academic preparatory work
23
15.44
Prior qualification
58
38.93
Advice and guidance
18
12.08
Motivation and family support
12
8.05
Prior work experience
23
15.44
Time and activity organization
15
10.07
149
100.01%
Academic preparatory work
7
11.86
Prior qualification
8
13.56
Advice and guidance
5
8.47
Motivation and family support
14
23.73
Prior work experience
2
3.39
Time and activity organization
23
38.98
59
99.99%
Total
HEI 2
Total
HEI 4
Total
Key: HEI 1: Post-92 English University; HEI 2: Pre-92 English University; HEI 4: English FE College.
Having looked at what the students in different institutions reported made them feel prepared
for their course, let us turn now to what makes them feel unprepared.
In Table 8, we saw how the 391 statements across the sample grouped into the eight
categories of what makes students feel unprepared for their course, whilst below, in Table 17,
26
we can look at the responses to that item according to the institution which the students who
answered this question attend.
Of note in Table 17, below, is that the students at the FE College, and to a lesser extent those
at the Post-92 institution (HEIs 4 and 1), report that a lack of personal organisation and
motivation makes them feel unprepared for their course, whilst the students at the Pre-92
University (HEI 2) reported that to a much lesser extent, but reported to a large extent that a
lack of academic skills and confidence made them feel unprepared, although one would
expect them to have more academic skills and confidence. The students in HEI 4 had reported
that what made them feel prepared was time and activity organisation, so it is not surprising to
see that what makes them feel unprepared is a lack of personal organisation and motivation.
Table 17 Categorisation of responses to item 12c: what makes you feel unprepared [for the course] by
Institution
Institution
Category
n
% within
institution
HEI 1
Lack of personal organisation and motivation
56
25.69
Lack of academic skills and confidence
55
25.23
Lack of practical experience
5
2.29
Lack of information and guidance
33
15.14
Workload and pace
19
8.72
Financial issues
4
1.83
External reasons
10
4.59
Practical issues
28
12.84
Does not feel unprepared
8
3.67
218
100%
Lack of personal organisation and motivation
11
8.66
Lack of academic skills and confidence
52
40.94
Lack of practical experience
11
8.66
Lack of information and guidance
19
14.96
Workload and pace
4
3.15
Financial issues
6
4.72
External reasons
4
3.15
Practical issues
12
9.45
Does not feel unprepared
8
6.3
127
99.99%
Lack of personal organisation and motivation
22
47.83
Lack of academic skills and confidence
8
17.39
Lack of practical experience
1
2.17
Total
HEI 2
Total
HEI 4
27
Lack of information and guidance
8
17.39
Workload and pace
2
4.35
Financial issues
0
0
External reasons
1
2.17
Practical issues
0
0
Does not feel unprepared
4
8.7
46
100%
Total
Key: HEI 1: Post-92 English University; HEI 2: Pre-92 English University; HEI 4: English FE College.
The breakdown of the responses to item 15a: ‘expectations of course’ by the students’
institution is given in Appendix 1, for information, as it is more interesting to look at the
responses the students gave about their expectations of the institution by their HEI. Therefore,
in Table 18, below, we can look at the responses to item 18a: ‘Please tell us what expectations
you have of your institution’, by the institution which the students who answered this question
attend, already having seen, in Table 10, how the 446 statements across the sample grouped
into the five categories of expectations of the institution.
Points of interest in Table 18, below, include the fact that students at all three institutions
mentioned to a large extent having expectations of the learning environment, but only
students at the Pre-92 institution (HEI 2) reported in any great numbers having expectations
of the social environment. The students at HEI 2 are the ones who reported the most that they
spend time on extra-curricular activities, so this does indeed seem to be a function of the
institution.
Table 18 Categorisation of responses to item 18a: expectations of the institution by Institution
Institution
Category
n
% within
subject
HEI 1
Provide a qualification
62
24.7
Provide a learning environment
92
36.65
Provide support and guidance
58
23.11
Provide facilities or resources
20
7.97
Provide a social environment
8
3.19
No expectations
11
4.38
251
100%
Provide a qualification
22
14.57
Provide a learning environment
48
31.79
Provide support and guidance
27
17.88
Provide facilities or resources
16
10.6
Provide a social environment
24
15.89
Total
HEI 2
28
No expectations
14
9.27
151
100%
Provide a qualification
7
15.91
Provide a learning environment
18
40.91
Provide support and guidance
6
13.64
Provide facilities or resources
5
11.36
Provide a social environment
3
6.82
No expectations
5
11.36
44
100%
Total
HEI 4
Total
Key: HEI 1: Post-92 English University; HEI 2: Pre-92 English University; HEI 4: English FE College.
29
5. Summary and Discussion
This paper presents data from a questionnaire survey of first year students in three different
subjects and at five different HEIs. The descriptive analysis of the data illustrates how diverse
the student body has become in a highly diversified HE system. For instance, our data shows
significant differences in the age and gender composition of the student body across the three
subjects (Business, Computing and Nursing) and across types of institutions (Pre- and Post-92
Universities, FE Colleges). Substantial differences also exist in terms of the life context of
students and the way they spend their time outside their studies.
The combination of these dimensions results in stark contrasts between groups of students.
For instance, students in Nursing, who are over-represented in the two Colleges in our
sample, are on average older than the students enrolled in the other two subjects. Nursing
students (and other students at FE Colleges) are less likely to engage in extra-curricular
activities, they do not live on campus, and they have family commitments. There are also
significant differences between other sub-groups of our sample (Pre- vs. Post-92 university
students, Computing vs. Business students). These differences are essential for understanding
the underlying reasons for the increasingly diversified student experience in UK Higher
Education (as indicated, for instance in the National Student Survey, cf. Surridge, 2007).
A more fine-grained analysis of the preparation and expectations with which students enter
HE also produces a highly differentiated picture. Questionnaire items using 5-point scales
aimed at identifying students’ assessment of the levels of their ‘preparedness’ for studying in
HE and of levels of fulfilment of students’ expectations regarding their course and their HE
institution indicate a high level of similarity across different subjects and institutions. The
broadly positive assessment of the context in which they study (as measured by fulfilment of
expectations) is in line with the findings of the National Student Survey (HEFCE, 2007b).
However, open-ended questions in which students were asked to specify sources of their
‘preparedness’ and the nature of their expectations reveal a much more differentiated picture.
The categorisation of open-ended answers was developed by grouping responses in emergent
themes, rather than by imposing pre-conceived categories. This process resulted in a rich
tapestry of patterns in student responses which highlights the diversity of students’
backgrounds, assumptions about, and perceptions of, Higher Education.
30
Differences in these areas can be related to the subject students study. Most importantly, the
analysis of responses according to subjects studied shows that Nursing students are much
more likely than other students to draw on advice and guidance, on family support and their
own motivation, and on organisational skills when studying in HE. This contrasts starkly with
Computing and Business students, who mainly draw on previous academic work and previous
qualifications. This is clearly a reflection of the different educational pathways that lead to
studying different subjects in HE, a perspective that will be systematically taken up in the
next working paper.
In summary, our findings from the questionnaire discussed here not only demonstrate how
diverse the student body has become and how different the contexts in which different groups
of students pursue their studies are. They also indicate how important prior experiences and
achievements in education are in the phase of transfer to HE; an issue which does not seem to
be sufficiently considered in the wider debate on widening participation in HE.
31
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Appendix 1
Table 19 Categorisation of responses to item 18a: expectations of the institution by Subject
Subject
Category
n
% within
subject
Business
Provide a qualification
30
24.39
Business
Provide a learning environment
40
32.52
Business
Provide support and guidance
16
13.01
Business
Provide facilities or resources
14
11.38
Business
Provide a social environment
15
12.2
Business
No expectations
8
6.5
123
100%
Total
Computing
Provide a qualification
17
14.91
Computing
Provide a learning environment
53
46.49
Computing
Provide support and guidance
11
9.65
Computing
Provide facilities or resources
14
12.28
Computing
Provide a social environment
7
6.14
Computing
No expectations
12
10.53
114
100%
Total
Nursing
Provide a qualification
44
21.15
Nursing
Provide a learning environment
64
30.77
Nursing
Provide support and guidance
64
30.77
Nursing
Provide facilities or resources
13
6.25
Nursing
Provide a social environment
13
6.25
Nursing
No expectations
10
4.81
208
100%
Total
Table 20 Categorisation of responses to item 15a: expectations of the course by Institution
Institution
Category
n
% within
subject
HEI 1
Preparation for the profession
72
24.49
HEI 1
Development of subject knowledge and/or skills
47
15.99
HEI 1
Provide a qualification
69
23.47
HEI 1
Provide a learning experience
49
16.67
HEI 1
Provide support and guidance
48
16.33
HEI 1
No expectations
9
3.06
294
100.01%
Total
HEI 2
Preparation for the profession
44
28.03
HEI 2
Development of subject knowledge and/or skills
40
25.48
33
HEI 2
Provide a qualification
21
13.38
HEI 2
Provide a learning experience
23
14.65
HEI 2
Provide support and guidance
17
10.83
HEI 2
No expectations
12
7.64
157
100.01%
Total
HEI 4
Preparation for the profession
13
22.41
HEI 4
Development of subject knowledge and/or skills
9
15.52
HEI 4
Provide a qualification
16
27.59
HEI 4
Provide a learning experience
13
22.41
HEI 4
Provide support and guidance
6
10.34
HEI 4
No expectations
1
1.72
58
99.99%
Total
Key: HEI 1: Post-92 English University; HEI 2: Pre-92 English University; HEI 4: English FE College.
34