STEP UP to University: Continuity and Belonging for Articulation Students

Authors

  • Rachel Horrocks-Birss University of Dundee

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56433/jpaap.v12i2.606

Keywords:

Tertiary, student support, transitions, articulation, Belonging

Abstract

Articulation plays a key role in widening access to HE, but tailored support is necessary for a smooth transition. Articulating students often see themselves as lacking key skills and express concern at the significant differences between college and university. This case study explores how the academic skills team at the University of Dundee supports articulation through STEP UP: a credit-bearing module designed for students enrolled on a Social Sciences HNC at Dundee and Angus College who hold a direct entry place for second year Humanities at the university. A key strength of the STEP UP approach is its emphasis on continuity between college and university, welcoming students to the University during their college year. Students journal about their college experiences, create an artefact reflecting on their articulation year, and present a group project on "Becoming, Being, and Belonging" as a university student. They also implement feedback on their college writing to complete their first university essay, providing them with a clear link between their college and university assignments. Rather than emphasising the "gap" between college and university, STEP UP empowers students to recognise the skills they have developed during their HNC and identify how to employ these skills at university. By fostering reflexivity and feedback literacy, the module helps students understand what they bring to university and how they can grow within it. As Scottish institutions adjust to the new tertiary landscape, STEP UP demonstrates how emphasising continuity rather than difference can help articulation students develop their sense of belonging at university.

References

Adeel, Z., Mladjenovic, S. M., Smith, S. J., Sahi, P., Dhand, A., Williams-Habibi, S., Brown, K., & Moisse, K. (2023). Student engagement tracks with success in-person and online in a hybrid-flexible course. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotlrcacea.2023.2.14482

Bassot, B. (2020). The Reflective Journal. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Breeze, M., Johnson, K. & Uytman, C. (2020). What (and who) works in widening participation? Supporting direct entrant student transitions to higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 25(1), 18–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2018.1536042

Christie, H., Barron, P. & D’Annunzio-Green, N. (2013). Direct entrants in transition: becoming independent learners. Studies in Higher Education (Dorchester-on-Thames), 38(4), 623–637. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2011.588326

Christie, H., Cree, V. E., Hounsell, J., McCune, V., & Tett, L. (2006). From college to university: looking backwards, looking forwards. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 11(3), 351–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/13596740600916591

Cree, V., Hounsell, J., Christie, H., McCune, V., & Tett, L. (2009). From further education to higher education: social work students’ experiences of transition to an ancient, research-led university. Social Work Education, 28(8), 887–901. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615470902736741

Christie, H., Tett, L., Cree, V. E., Hounsell, J., McCune, V. (2008). ‘A real rollercoaster of confidence and emotions’: learning to be a university student. Studies in Higher Education (Dorchester-on-Thames), 33(5), 567–581. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070802373040

Dweck, C. (2016). What Having a "Growth Mindset" Actually Means. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/01/what-having-a-growth-mindset-actually-means

Elbow, P. (1997). High stakes and low stakes in assigning and responding to writing. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 1997(69), 5–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.6901

Fokkens-Bruinsma, M., Vermue, C., Deinum, J., & van Rooija, E.. (2021). First-year academic achievement: the role of academic self-efficacy, self-regulated learning and beyond classroom engagement. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 46(7), 1115–1126. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1845606

Gallacher, J. (2014). Higher education in Scotland: differentiation and diversion?: The impact of college-university progression links. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 33(1), 96–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2013.873215

Itua, I., Coffey, M., Merryweather, D., Norton, L., & Foxcroft, A. (2014). Exploring barriers and solutions to academic writing: perspectives from students, higher education and further education tutors. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 38(3), 305–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2012.726966

Janschitz, G. & Penker, M. (2022). How digital are ‘digital natives’ actually? Developing an instrument to measure the degree of digitalisation of university students – the DDS-Index. Bulletin de Méthodologie Sociologique, 153(1), 127–159. https://doi.org/10.1177/07591063211061760

Jessen, A. & Elander, J. (2009). Development and evaluation of an intervention to improve further education students’ understanding of higher education assessment criteria: three studies. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 33(4), 359–380. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098770903272461

Kendall, A., Kempson, M. & French, A. (2018). ‘How will i know when i’m ready?’ re-imagining FE/HE ‘transitions’ as collaborative identity work. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 23(1), 41–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2018.1420729

Knox, H. (2005). Making the transition from further to higher education: the impact of a preparatory module on retention, progression and performance. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 29(2), 103–110. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098770500103135

Kuh, G. D., Cruce, T. M., Shoup, R., & Kinzie, J. (2008). Unmasking the effects of student engagement on first-year college grade and persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 79(5), 540–563. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.0.0019

Lalley, C. & Adetutu, M.O. (2022). Higher education widening access initiatives—An estimation of wage returns from Scottish Articulation. Higher Education Quarterly, 76(4), 847–860. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12353

Meer, N. & Chapman, A. (2015). Co-creation of Marking Criteria: Students as Partners in the Assessment Process. Business and Management Education in HE, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.11120/bmhe.2014.00008

Moon, J. A. (2004). A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning: Theory and Practice. Routledge.

Morgan, S. (2019). Graduates’ and Employers’ Views of Graduate Skills Development. QAA Scotland. https://www.qaa.ac.uk/scotland/focus-on/graduate-skills

Nicol, D.J. & Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006). Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education (Dorchester-on-Thames), 31(2), 199–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070600572090

Pennington, C. R., Bates, E.A., Kaye, L. K., & Bolam, L.T. (2017). Transitioning in higher education: An exploration of psychological and contextual factors affecting student satisfaction. Journal of Further and Higher Education (42)5. 596-607. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2017.1302563

Perkins, J. (2022). The ‘Diamond Nine’: encouraging student engagement with graduate attributes. https://openpress.sussex.ac.uk/ideasforactivelearning/chapter/the-diamond-nine-encouraging-student-engagement-with-graduate-attributes/

Polat, E., Hopcan, S. & Arslantaş, T.K. (2022). The association between flipped learning readiness, engagement, social anxiety, and achievement in online flipped classrooms: a structural equational modeling. Education and Information Technologies, 27(8), 11781–11806. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11083-8

QAA Scotland. (2017). Evaluation of Year 3, and the full three-years of the Student Transitions Enhancement Theme Evaluation Report. https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/explore-the-enhancement-themes/student-transitions

QAA Scotland. (2023). Transition Models and How Students Experience Change. https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk//en/explore-the-enhancement-themes/student-transitions/transition-skills-and-strategies

Scottish Funding Council. (2013). Additional articulation places scheme for partnership between colleges and universities. https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/id/eprint/19178

Scottish Government. (2017). Laying the foundations for fair access: annual report 2017 from the Commissioner for Fair Access. https://www.gov.scot/publications/laying-foundations-fair-access-annual-report-2017-commissioner-fair-access/pages/8/

Tait, H. & Godfrey, H. (2001). Enhancing the student experience for direct Entrants to the penultimate year of undergraduate degree programmes. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 25(2), 259–265. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098770120050918

Tett, L., Cree, V.E. & Christie, H. (2017). From further to higher education: transition as an on-going process. Higher Education, 73(3), 389–406. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0101-1

Thomas, L. (2012). Building student engagement and belonging in Higher Education at a time of change: final report from the What Works? Student Retention & Success programme. Advance HE. https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/building-student-engagement-and-belonging-higher-education-time-change-final-report

Thompson, S., & Thompson, N. (2018). The Critically Reflective Practitioner. Bloomsbury.

University of Dundee. (2021). Assessment Scales. https://www.dundee.ac.uk/corporate-information/assessment-scales

University of Dundee. (2024). Humanities (with Dundee & Angus College) MA (Hons). https://www.dundee.ac.uk/undergraduate/humanities-dundee-angus-college

Vogel, N. & Wood, E. (2023). Collaborative group work: university students’ perceptions and experiences before and during COVID-19. SN Social Sciences, 3(6), 86–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-023-00670-2

Walton, G. M., & Brady, S. T. (2017). The Many Questions of Belonging. In A. J. Elliot, C. S. Dweck, & D. S. Yeager (Eds.), Handbook of Competence and Motivation: Theory and Practice (pp. 386–420). New York: Guilford Press.

Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2020). What can be learned from growth mindset controversies? American Psychologist, 75(9), 1269–1284. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000794

Downloads

Published

2024-11-01