Parallel Session 1 - Wednesday
Wednesday 29th (15:45-16:45)
1.1 Show-and-tell session, room W2.05
TUS Second Shot: A team-based approach to increasing student participation and success in the autumn repeat examinations
Dr. Owen Ross, Technological University of the Shannon, Ireland
TUS Second Shot is a project aimed at students who failed subjects during the academic year. This show and tell describes a whole-of-university team-based approach to increase participation and success rates in the autumn examinations. A combination of motivational techniques, better communication between the university and the students, besides increased supports, aimed to give the students greater focus during the summer. Evidence from the first iteration is encouraging at the university level, with strong localised improvements.
Beyond the filter: Instagram as a tool for student counsellors to support students and to encourage student engagement and community building
Viënna Vanden Brugghen & Ester De Boeck, Ghent University, Belgium
Join us as we delve into the potential of Instagram for student counsellors. Discover practical strategies for constructing an inclusive online community where students feel secure, engaged, and connected. Our aim is to offer you insights on how we use Instagram for student counselling (incorporating student feedback) and to give you concrete ideas to start using Instagram for student support. This concise session is a gateway to transforming your student counselling approach in a digital era.
Community building through influencer marketing strategies
Erika Koncz & Lotti Scherer, University of Szeged, Hungary
Today, with so much information available to students, one of the biggest challenges for universities is to communicate properly. Tweets, instagram, facebook, study systems, emails? Student influencers can be a good solution to this. The session will give an example of how this can work.
From consumers to contributors – fostering student communities through shared interests
Ellen-Margrethe Dahl-Gren, Studenterhuset in collaboration with University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Embark on an immersive journey with Studenterhuset as we strategically nurture first-year student communities through shared interests – the “common third”. Join our dynamic Show and Tell session, spotlighting the engaging OpenInnovation case challenge. This tailored activity unites students across disciplines and nationalities, emphasizing common interests in innovation and sustainability. Discover how we empower students as active contributors, shaping a future rich in collaboration, sustainability, and dynamic participation, and creating communities that last way past the first year of studying.
1.2 Show-and-tell session, room W2.06
Enhancing University Transition: Insights from an online orientation programme
Laura Cordes Felby & Pernille Risør Elving, Centre for Educational Development, Aarhus University, Denmark
In this show-and-tell we will introduce to a study on an online orientation programme called Study@AU. The programme aims to support students’ academic and social integration in transition. In the show-and-tell, we will present our findings based on survey data from 829 students, and during the discussion, the participants can see and engage with the online orientation platform. The key takeaway is that online orientation programmes can enhance student integration and community building.
‘Tús maith leath na hoibre’ (A good start is half the work)
Kaye Morrissey, University of Limerick, Ireland
Join us as we explore how the University of Limerick (UL) proactively builds a thriving and engaged student community from the earliest stages of, and continuously throughout the student academic lifecycle. Our unique and nurturing approach to community building makes our new students feel like they ‘belong to the pack’ (our inclusive network of clubs, societies and communities championed by our university mascot ‘Wolfie’), before they even set foot within our vibrant, state-of-the-art campus community.
How can we support a sustainable peer-to-peer-culture and normalize challenges in student life?
Andrea Hvid Hagn-Meincke & Marie Grønlund Pedersen, University College Copenhagen, Denmark
In the Study and Career Guidance service at University College Copenhagen, we aim to create an FY-community where students can experience 1) that the institution supports them in the process of becoming a student and 2) a normalization of the challenges they might face as FY-students. Come join us when we present our FY-journey. We will focus on two specific initiatives: a training program for tutors and workshops about study skills.
From Isolation to Collaboration: Empowering Staff Communities to Support Student Transitions into University
Carly Emsley-Jones, Cardiff University, Wales
Are you in need of collaboration and support from various teams and colleagues to enhance the success of your work? We have recently developed a staff network for our Student Mentor Scheme which is designed to foster open communication across all academic schools. Learn how this network, comprising academic and professional service roles, collaborates to exchange best practices and address challenges, ensuring our scheme remains contemporary and continues to support the first-year experience.
1.3 Presentation session, room W3.09
Blockers and Barriers to Successful First-Year Communities: Insights from Scottish University Students
Sammy Anderson, University of Abertay Dundee, Scotland
What factors impact a student’s ability to become an effective member of a first year community? This new research delves into issues caused by recent socioeconomic shifts as well as challenges which have plagued the first-year experience for decades. Join us to uncover key insights which spotlight the critical need to understand modern-day challenges for today’s students in order to navigate towards building successful first year communities.
International Pathway to Success – Thriving, not just surviving for first year international students
Loes Diricks, KU Leuven, Belgium
We looked into the needs and hurdles of international students through extensive interviews with a wide variety of students. How can we help them before arrival and once they are on campus? What difficulties do they face? Why are networks and communities so important to first-year international students and how can we help lead them on the road to (study) success? How can we help them thrive, not just survive?
1.4 Presentation session, room W3.10
Reframing Student Transitions in Higher Education: How Relationship, Risk, and Reflection can Help Educators and Students Move from Me to We in Our Academic Communities
Dallin George Young, University of Georgia & Bryce Bunting, Brigham Young University USA
Our session will build on new theoretical understandings for student transitions in higher education outlined in our recently published book. We have combined perspectives on transitions as becoming with situated learning to describe how students grow and learn as they participate in academic communities of practice. We posit that when educators focus on relationships, risk, and reflection, they create more focused learning opportunities that support students in transitions by attending to community, participation, and becoming.
How do we create smooth transitions in the first year of student life?
Henriette Lorenzen, Ronja Windfeld, Helle Marcussen, Sickan Løk Olsen, Jesper Bahrenscheer, Joakim Anders Oldenskov, Claes Johan Peter Weise Schiermer Mørkeberg & Marianne Ellegaard, University College Copenhagen, Denmark
Students at three undergraduate programs were asked to describe what works well and what is difficult in student life. We identified most commonly, study relationships to be supportive and student workload to be challenging in the transition to and during the first year of higher education. The presentation will describe how we used the data to inform faculty discussions and decisions about educational revisions and teaching interventions to support students´ transition into the first year.
1.5 Presentation session, room W2.11
MySuccess Modules: The impact of Microcredentials in the 1st Year
Jack Hogan, Abertay University, Scotland
Abertay University has a suite of 5 credit, mandatory microcredentials across the first-year curriculum known as the MySuccess Modules. Designed collaboratively across university departments and the student association, these aim to enhance student engagement, and provide foundational skills for university life. This presentation shares the evaluated impact on student progression and learning for the university over three years. Through analysis, we will uncover the tangible outcomes and benefits for both students and the university.
Fostering Belonging: Co-creating Onboarding Programs for First-Year Students
Joyce Koeman, Veerle Foulon, Jan Bollansee, Anneleen Claassen, Katleen Craenen & Kurt Dewit, KU Leuven, Belgium
Discover a framework/guide to the organization of more inclusive onboarding activities. Learn how both the co-creative process and Freshers’ Days have impacted first-year students as well as their welcoming teams. Discuss opportunities for monitoring and policies and practices that foster social cohesion and community among first-year students in higher education.
1.6 Workshop session, room W3.11
How do we build communities that works?
Harald Åge Sæthre, University of Bergen – Emeritus, Norway
This workshop is based on measures where students are welcomed in small communities which are led by older students. The purpose is to give the students a social network, general tools for being a student and make them reflect on their own attitudes towards their studies.
In this specific workshop we will discuss how we should compose groups, and which role we should give the student leading the group.
1.7 Workshop session, room W2.10
Key drivers that motivate students to engage and cultivate a sense of belonging within their academic communities
June Borge Doornich & Karoline Wik, Norwegian Competency Network for Student Success in Higher Education/ Nord University, Norway
The Norwegian Competence Network for Student Success seeks to invite our fellow colleges and students within the EFYE network to identify the key drivers that motivate students to engage and cultivate a sense of belonging within their academic communities. Furthermore, we strive to enhance awareness regarding the diverse needs of our students at different stages of their academic journey.