Transition

What are the best ways to help students with the transition to higher education once they are in university? Are there specific bioscience issues? Different types of support can be provided to students as they progress from semester to semester or year to year which can also contribute to and impact student retention. Transition can also include employability as students enter the workforce upon a successful progression through higher education.

What might affect transition to HE?

A successful transition from school or college to a higher education university relies on a collection of supportive individuals and programmes to help assist a student as they enter, participate and engage in a programme of study, and exit the university. Transition generally applies to the entry of a first year student, although it can be extended into other areas of the academic experience, e.g. transition to work, mature students, leavers, etc.

Successful student progression through a course of study will depend on many different things, some of which are within a department's or university's control. Individual student success or failure depends on if the individual interacts with the department or university in a successful manner. There is not a prescriptive solution to assist with transition that can be both unique and personalised. Instead a broader, less personalised approach is often the beginnings of a transition programme that assists groups of students if a student struggles during a course, either academically or personally, there is a greater possibility of non-continuation if an individual interaction is not implemented. The result of a successful transition relies on transition and retention strategies aimed at both groups and individual students with the aims of completion of a degree. Without retention, the result becomes one of an unsuccessful transition and non-completion.

Areas to consider:

• prior to entry - STAR project strategies
• induction
• curriculum/course design - STAR project information and Supporting Students Through Course Design
• assessment
• staff support/development - STAR project booklet
• first year seminars - STAR project booklet chapter 'The First Year Seminar: a Distant Solution to a Universal Problem'
• social networks
• previous learning experiences
• retention

A set of general guidelines, Guidelines for the Management of Student Transition, developed under the STAR Project examine the transitional phase of students under the induction umbrella. Additionally there is also the Supporting Students: Extended Induction which looks at ways to continue the induction/transition process. Overall there are 12 STAR Project booklets which contain information and project outcomes that will be invaluable to those interested in transition.

What can institutions or departments do to support student transition?

As each institution and department is unique, the issues and approaches around a successful student transition can also be varied. There are a number of institutions and departments that have been successful in this area. Some of what has been developed is based on a particular programme while other approaches have developed resources to support a particular programme.

Examples from institutions:

• Flying Start Project, a NTFS project at Liverpool Hope University, is a collaborative programme to assist students entering HE from FE with writing skills
• LeedforLife project is aimed to enhance the academic experience of students and provide innovative induction and mentoring schemes at the University of Leeds.
• Supporting Transition from the University of Durham work associated with the Formative Assessment in Science Teaching (FAST) project
• A series of transition to university fact sheets at the University of Tasmania for first year students: 'Preparing for University' and 'Getting started the first semester'
• University College London maintains a very extensive transitions mentor-based programme and web page which includes student blogs
• 74 Possible Retention-Related Actions/Strategies from University of Louisiana at Monroe. Suggestions from Noel Levitz.
• Report on Transition Programme 2005 Pilot at the University College London
• University of Leeds based MathTutor programme has developed mathematics resources specifically for the bioscience student
• Pegasus Success Program, administered by the Student Academic Resource Center, is a specialised 6-week program offered by University of Central Florida to selected students during a summer term prior to their first year.

Examples from schools or departments:

• A practical guide to student retention from the School of Arts, Design, Media and Culture at the University of Sunderland shared on the STAR Project web site

Other examples

Managing the transition into higher education: An on-line Spiral Induction Programme (onSIP) developed at Southampton Institute aimed to provide students with real-time support as needed.

How can the Centre for Bioscience support you?

Centre Events

• 2008 Bioscience Reps Forum Introducing the Student Experience Project presentation by Jon Scott and The Use of Motivational Interviewing in the Support of Underperforming Students presented by Chris Baldwin both examine support techniques for First Year students
• Transition Issues for Bioscientists/Scientists 2008 event held at the University of East Anglia
• 2007 Science Learning and Teaching Conference Proceedings: Back to school: educating ourselves about students’ previous learning experiences and Exploration, experience and evaluation: Peer Assisted Study Scheme (PASS), sharing the experience of The University of Manchester
• First-Year students' Experiences of Learning and Teaching in the Biosciences Dai Hounsell, Keynote at Reps Forum 2006
• The Bioscience First Year: putting research in to practice (2004) at the University of Paisley and the University of Brighton

Centre Resources

Visit the Centre web pages on Widening Participation for suggestions on how to provide a more accessible admissions process.

Induction Audit Tool from the STAR Project can be used to evaluate good practice and areas of change that might need to be addressed.

Examine the topics of induction and retention through additional Centre web based materials.

Centre Publications

Short guides

The Centre has produced a Short Guide: Transition to Higher Education that supported the 2008 Transition Issues for Bioscientists/Scientists event at the University of East Anglia.

Bulletin articles

Successful Transition, Bulletin 23, 2008

1st Year Bioscience Lab Classes, Bulletin 23, 2008

The Passport Scheme Bridging the Gap Between School and University, Bulletin 18, 2006

Bioscience Education e-Journal

• Student Failure in First Year Modules in the Biosciences: An Interview Based Investigation, volume 10, 2007

Centre Funded Projects

Improving levels of literacy in science undergraduates, Harriet Jones at the University of East Anglia, is running a pilot teaching programme to assess undergraduates in their ability to write, and use small-group teaching in order to give them intensive practise in writing at the beginning of their course.

An analysis of student absenteeism in first year biology students, Janet Pearce at the University of Plymouth, indicated that most students agree that attendance at lectures and practical sessions affects their overall academic performance.

Combining ‘Peer’ and ‘Online’ assessment methods for large-class laboratory practicals to enhance the effective feedback to and learning experience for students, Ruth Grady at the University of Manchester, examines the development of an assessment method to enhance student learning.

What other transition resources are available?

We have collected additional transition resources from across the Higher Education Academy, Subject Centres and other external organizations which might be of interest to you.

We hope the material included in these web pages is of use and we are open to suggestions of new material for transition.