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Parallel Session 7

Friday 31st (11:15-12:15)

7.1 Show-and-tell session, room W2.05

Supporting the coaching skills of our Community of Guidance

Lieselot Buyle, Sien Pieters, Wouter Vindevoghel & Els Van Waes, Artevelde University of Applied Sciences, Belgium

The Offices of Study and Career Guidance and Student Services create a Community of Guidance together with the coordinators of guidance within the expertise networks. This Community meets regularly throughout the academic year to share expertise and to make policy on guidance. Through this Community we are committed to supporting and connecting our coaches. In this show & tell we will show you an example of how we support our coaches in guiding their students.

Understanding the experiences of Access students in their transition to Undergraduate study

Rachael King, University of Edinburgh, Scotland

An examination of the role the University of Edinburgh’s Access Programme plays in supporting transition to first year undergraduate study.
The focus of this show and tell session will be the findings of some research undertaken at the University of Edinburgh. The research examines the experiences of students who transition to undergraduate study at the University of Edinburgh (UoE), having previously successfully completed the UoE Access Programme. The Access Programme is a part-time, eight-month programme, providing a route to undergraduate study for students who have been away from formal education for three years or more, and/or do not have the necessary qualifications to entry to UG study. We examine the role the Access Programme plays in supporting transition to UG study and the experiences of Access students’ first year, and some of the challenges faced by students who have taken a non-traditional route.

Introducing the new students to the academic society through a program with a welcomming “WE spirit”. INNStart as a platform for co-operation as the better learning strategy for succsess

Iben Kardel, Inland University of Applied Sciences, Norway

Inland University College welcomes its new students with half a week with an academic overwiew of what they actually have signed up for, to give the new students a good taste and feeling of what the study programme has to offer. We do this because creating a feeling of belonging trough working with their fellow students and getting to know the academic staff is the far most important “WE feeling” the students needs to succeed.

7.2 Presentation session, room W3.11

Growing Together: Building Learning Communities through a Bespoke, Co-curricular First Year Experience Program

Emma Sylvester, William Kay, Vurain Tabvuma, Amy McEvoy, Katelynn Carter-Rogers, Steven Smith & Tom Brophy, Saint Mary’s University, Canada

Join us to learn how collaborative social learning approaches have helped the Saint Mary’s University community build a supportive co-curricular program for first year students. We share the story of our program, involving intentional opportunities for connection and recursive development as well as program evaluation and student impact, demonstrating how we and others can continue to build programs and opportunities to unite learning and teaching communities across a shared purpose.

Building Welcoming FYE for International Degree Students at Tampere University

Tiina Nilsson, Tampere University, Finland

The presentation outlines Tampere University’s international degree students’ onboarding process from acceptance to the end of the first year of studies. We cover things like offer holder infos, peer tutoring, Welcome Week, and an introductory course that addresses topics from teamwork to cultural understanding and to study skills. Process evaluation and feedback methods are also discussed. Attendees will get ideas on creating a welcoming FYE that makes starting studies easier for new international students.

7.3 Presentation session, room W2.11

Determining factors that impact the wellbeing of Postgraduate Taught students

Paula Miles, University of St Andrews, Scotland

Student wellbeing matters: it impacts engagement, retention, and achievement. Literature suggests that Postgraduate Taught students have the poorest wellbeing of all student cohorts. Our study aims to better understand factors impacting PGT wellbeing so we can develop support interventions. Results show worryingly poor levels of wellbeing, in both pandemic and non-pandemic years. Poor wellbeing was related to loneliness, communications and issues of equality, diversity and inclusion, while pastoral support, extracurricular activities and routine helped wellbeing.

Are we doing belonging TO our students? – findings from an action research PhD on student belonging and agency with new undergraduates

David Gilani, Middlesex University, United Kingdom

This session explores a newly-designed belonging needs workshop, which saw attendees report higher levels of belonging and significantly higher continuation rates compared to quasi-experimental control groups. The presentation will utilise qualitative aspects of the study to critique belonging through the lens of structure and agency; how we balance empowering students whilst ensuring we provide enablers and remove barriers to belonging. To end, practical recommendations for how to talk about belonging with students will be discussed.

7.4 Workshop session, room W2.10

Design Your Own Community

Klaas Jan Huizing, NHL Stenden University Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

Communities should be carefully designed before you can implement them in your universities and academies. In the workshop Design Your Own Community, Klaas Jan Huizing introduces four dimensions to design the perfect community. After a concise explanation (15 minutes), Huizing lets you design your future community suitable for your specific course (25 minutes). An interactive discussion (15 minutes) will develop and share knowledge. Finally, a short roundup (5 minutes) emphasizes the learnings of the participants.

7.5 Workshop session, room W2.06

How can we help new students experience success using peer learning schemes?

Joakim Malm, Lise-Lotte Mörner & Linda Dahlberg, Lund University, Sweden

The workshop will focus on sharing thoughts on how peer learning schemes can help new students in their studies. A peer learning scheme is a model where learners learn from and with each other and providing a sense of community. We will also examine one specific peer learning model – Supplemental Instruction/Peer Assisted Study Scheme (SI-PASS). We hope that the outcomes from this session will be a better insight into the potential of peer learning schemes.