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Student Retention 2002-2007: 

Student Retention 2002-2007 Dr Paula Wilcox University of Brighton

Introducing the Context 2002: 

Introducing the Context 2002 Why is student retention an issue? National targets: widening participation, bear down non-completion (Department for Education and Skills, 2002: 14) University concerns: quality student experience; financial costs withdrawal School of Applied Social Science

Student Numbers in SASS: 

Student Numbers in SASS

What Does the Literature Tell Us?: 

What Does the Literature Tell Us? Withdrawal complex; lack of preparedness; incompatibility (Ozga and Sukhnandan, 1998) Student experience: Learning, teaching and assessment strategies (McInnis, 2001; Tinto, 2002; Yorke and Thomas, 2003) Quality of relationships between academic staff and students (McGivney, 1996; National Audit Office, 2002; Thomas, 2002) Process of establishing friendship networks (Rickinson and Rutherford, 1996; Thomas, 2002).

School Applied Social Science Approach: 

School Applied Social Science Approach ‘Academic and social integration’ Mechanism/s rarely explored in depth Ideal of HE student as able to think and act for themselves, self-motivated, high degree of autonomy Previous research tended to be quantitative Qualitative approach to explore social facets Multi-faceted research approach Withdrawal not conceptualised as ‘failure’ but nevertheless entails costs (emotional/financial)

Research Projects: 

Research Projects Phase 1 Retention Project Qualitative Research into Students who Leave and who Stay 2002-date Student Support & Guidance Tutor 2002-date Phase 2 Student Messenger 2004-date Personal Tutor Project 2005-6 Learning Groups 2006-date

Students who Leave or who Stay 2002-2006: 

Students who Leave or who Stay 2002-2006 Aims: To improve retention level 1 students; research factors affecting withdrawal in this student group Study of first year Applied Social Science students Elicit narrative within time frames / contexts Qualitative interviews with ‘stayers’ and ‘leavers’ ‘Stayers’ interviewed three times to capture the process of transition Constant comparative analysis

Student Support and Guidance Tutor (SSGT): 

Student Support and Guidance Tutor (SSGT) SSGT provides a first point of contact for level 1 students SSGT follows-up level 1 students whose attendance is poor or who fail to submit assessed work SSGT sends messages to students via text

Students and SSGT: 

Students and SSGT SSGT is introduced to level 1 students on the first day of the autumn term Responds to student questions via email/phone/text messaging Provides a confidential drop-in service Refers students to Student Services or Academic Staff if necessary Complements Personal Tutoring

Issues Raised with SSGT by Students: 

Issues Raised with SSGT by Students Financial problems; student loans Course worries: catching up with academic work Withdrawal, intermission, internal course transfers Accommodation problems Study skills, e.g. essay writing, note-taking, reading Conflicts between course and employment

Overview Research Findings: 

Overview Research Findings Choice of course/L&T important but equally social relationships/support Initially chose to focus on social support as far more research on L&T Role of social support Reconceptualising student motivation Towards an integrated model of student non-completion Later stage – student messenger - personal tutoring – learning groups

Social Support: 

Social Support Emphasis needed on successful integration into social as well as academic contexts Importance of friends made through living arrangements Relationships with personal tutors important but provide instrumental, informational and appraisive support Family support in appropriate forms and at right times can be helpful

Importance of Friends at University: 

Importance of Friends at University … because at home you have got the support of your family and stuff and your friends aren’t so important I guess. But like here your friends are like your friends and your family and everything really. … But yes I guess making good friends is really important, rather than making like loads and loads of friends it’s making ones that you really care about is really important here. (Beth, 20, stayed, her emphases)

Concluding Remarks Phase 1: 

Concluding Remarks Phase 1 Enhancing the student experience (and hence retention) needs greater attention to social aspects of integration and learning Withdrawal is about relationship between social, material and academic factors Further work needed in SASS: Student messenger project Personal tutor role Social aspects of L&T- small learning groups Theorising ‘student motivation’

Phase Two: SASS Retention: 

Phase Two: SASS Retention Student Messenger 2004 Personal Tutors 2005 Learning Groups 2006 Theorising student motivation as ‘social motivation’ (ongoing)

Student Messenger 2004: 

Student Messenger 2004 Relevance of mobile phones/text messaging the technology of choice for the current generation of undergraduates with studies showing 90% use in the UK for people aged 14-35 (ONS) Social impact expectations of students: immediacy ‘perpetual contact’ of an ‘always on’ society Virtues of text versus voice asynchronous communication emotional buffer chance to collect thoughts Student messenger given to personal tutors, admin staff and SSGT

Students’ Response to Texting: 

Students’ Response to Texting A sense of belonging “It was nice. I don’t know, cos university is such a big place, you sometimes feel a bit de-individualised so it is quite nice to know that someone is thinking about you or if you have got any worries when your drop in times are.” (Julia) “I think they (the text messages) are beneficial for a number of reasons, one as I said earlier is about giving you the feeling of belonging, we are in this altogether, that sort of thing” (Peter) Accessibility “cos everyone has got a phone, so everyone will know, everyone has got the same information” (Fiona)

Personal Tutoring Project: 

Personal Tutoring Project 2005 Brighton HEFCE funding introduction professional teaching standards SASS 24 UG PTs interviewed (50%) Focus groups x 6 (37 L2 and L3 students) Some tutors have adapted but no room complacency Additional personal tutorial for L1 mid-semester Additional talks from colleagues in Student Services L2 students to meet with personal tutor as group Induction Week L3 students as above next year Staff need greater support in personal tutoring role One member of staff overall responsibility personal tutoring

Learning groups: 

Learning groups Introduced across each L1 module Groups of 5 students; 3 per PD group Same learning group in each module Exchange contact details Meet 3 times a week once for each module Structured tasks each week Any problems contact Personal Tutor

Learning Groups: preliminary questionnaire:: 

Learning Groups: preliminary questionnaire: My experiences of learning groups as a way to learn and study have been mostly 61% positive 23% negative 14% no opinion My experiences of learning groups as a way to make friends have been mostly 79% positive 10% negative 11% no opinion

Learning group: positive experience; (female 17): 

Learning group: positive experience; (female 17) Can you tell me more about your experience of your course? Did you meet your learning group? I met my learning group that was cool. I went to my introductory course thing – that was good. I know you haven’t experienced any teaching but can you tell me about the quiz in induction week? Yeah, it was good. To be honest our learning group met up when we just had a drink in the café and just tried to do the questions and it was good to get a chance to get to know the learning group better. So it was cool

Learning group: mixed experience (male 18-20): 

Learning group: mixed experience (male 18-20) How would you describe your experience with learning groups? There should have been more lectures and less time in learning groups. We pay and do not get enough time. How easy was it to make friends with people on your course? Was there anything that helped you make friends with people on your course (eg. Induction Week activities, learning groups etc)? It was easy to make friends especially with the people of the learning group. There were nice people.

Theorising student motivation: 

Theorising student motivation Academic motivation reinforced or obstructed by other motivations in everyday lives Shaped by social contexts, including relationships with others and material factors Motivation for independent study problematic suggests more focus on ‘interdependent’ study Need to reconceptualise student motivation as social and relational

Jane: 

Jane ‘I didn’t expect that you were just kind of left to it on your own, you do things when you want to do them and if you don’t want to do it then it’s just your problem. … if I haven’t got anyone saying you have got to it now, then I won’t do it’. ‘I’ve got loads of free time, I could do some reading but I just don’t. Wednesday is a day off, so I just go shopping or something’. independent study: ‘You go away and do it yourself and go to the library and find information’. Interviewer: How do you think that you learn best? ‘Actually having an involvement in it rather than sitting and just writing things down, like when you discuss things’.

Student non-completion: 

Student non-completion Withdrawal factors originate before and after entering university need draw on models of transition conceptualise pre- and post-entry as a single process Extend to include process and outcome of withdrawal Integrated model must take into account inter-relationships between academic factors and the wider social context Role of parents in students’ decision-making, before and after entering HE an important aspect of the social context for many younger students

Concluding remarks: 

Concluding remarks Withdrawal outcome of interplay between academic and material and social aspects More pro-active engagement with applicants prior to entry After entry more pro-active contact with poor attenders (SMS text messaging) Accommodation on campus for all first year students, inc. late applicants Extend range of people students can approach with ease; eg SSGT Research involvement of parents after students have entered higher education

People Involved in Retention SASS 2002-2007: 

People Involved in Retention SASS 2002-2007 Marylynn Fyvie Gauld, SSGT & Research Officer (2002-3) Dave Harley, (Student Messenger 2004-date) Sarah Pemberton, SSGT and Research Officer (2003-6) Stephanie Fleischer, SSGT and Research Officer (2006–date) Dr Dawn Stephen, (Personal Tutor, Learning groups 2005-date) Mike Hall, (Personal Tutor, Learning groups 2005-date) Paul O’Connell, (Personal Tutor, Research Officer 2005-date) Dr Paula Wilcox, (Student Retention 2002-date) Dr Sandra Winn, (Student Retention, Learning groups 2002-2006)

References : 

References Wilcox, P., Winn, S. and Fyvie Gauld, M. 2005 ‘“It was nothing to do with the university, it was just the people”: the role of social support in the first year experience of higher education’ Studies in Higher Education, Vol. 30(6): 707-722. Winn, S., Harley, D., Wilcox, P. and Pemberton, S. 2007 ‘Reconceptualising student motivation: accounting for the social context beyond the classroom’ Learning and Teaching in the Social Sciences LATISS, 3.2. Harley, D., Pemberton, S., Winn, S. and Wilcox, P. 2007 ‘The role of SMS text messaging in supporting transition to university’ Innovations in Education and Teaching International Under consideration Wilcox, P., Winn, S., Pemberton, S. and Harley,D. ‘Towards an integrated model of undergraduate non-completion’, Journal of Further and Higher Education