Supporting students’ transition from college to university: Staff perspectives on developing a coherent tertiary system in Scotland

Authors

  • Derek Robertson City of Glasgow College
  • Tom Cunningham Glasgow Caledonian University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56433/jpaap.v12i2.608

Keywords:

transitions, further education, higher education, tertiary, widening participation

Abstract

Scottish policy, funding, and quality systems have been tasked to provide “a more coherent and streamlined tertiary education system from the student perspective that delivers the best learning experience for students” (Scottish Funding Council, n.d.). This paper helps to inform this process, by presenting the findings from the second stage of Quality Assurance Agency Enhancement Theme project: Mind the Gap? College Students’ Experience of University. This stage investigated the perspectives of staff who support students making the transition from college to university.

While there is a relatively broad literature covering the student perspective of this transition, the staff perspective is less well understood. This paper uses the themes developed from the first stage of the project – a qualitative research synthesis on the lived experiences of students (Robertson & Cunningham, 2023) – to investigate staff perceptions of this transition. These themes considered are: (1) the responsibility for enabling effective transition; (2) the extent to which alignment between colleges and universities is achievable or, indeed, desirable; and (3) the extent to which college to university transitions genuinely widen participation.

This paper reports the findings from a series of focus groups with university academic staff, university student support staff, and college academic staff from three institutions (two universities and one college). Using theoretical thematic analysis, the paper considers how sectoral, academic, identity and social, and logistical factors affect, or are identified in, the practice of the participants and what this means for the development of policy and practice around a ‘coherent tertiary model’.

References

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–10. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. Sage.

Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2021). One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis? Qualitative Research in Psychology, 18(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238

Briggs, A.R.J., Clark, J., & Hall, I. (2012). Building bridges: Understanding student transition to university. Quality in Higher Education, 18(1), 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538322.2011.614468

Cage, E., Jones, E., Ryan, G., Hughes, G., & Spanner, L. (2021). Student mental health and transitions into, through and out of university: Student and staff perspectives. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 45(8), 1076-1089. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2021.1875203

Colleges Scotland (2023). Colleges in Scotland. https://collegesscotland.ac.uk/our-members/colleges-in-scotland

Greenhorn, S., Wilson, R. (2023). A qualitative analysis of the transition from college to university. QAA Scotland. https://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/docs/ethemes/resilient-learning-communities/qualitative-analysis-of-the-transition-from-college-to-university.pdf

Mayne, W., Andrew, N., Drury, C., Egan, I., Leitch, A., & Malone, M. (2015). ‘There’s more unites us than divides us!’: a further and higher education community of practice in nursing. Journal of Further & Higher Education, 39(2), 163–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2013.817000

Morgan, J. (2015). Foundation degree to honours degree: The transition experiences of students on an early years programme. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 39(1), 108-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2013.817005

Robertson, D. J., & Cunningham, T. (2023). The lived experiences of transition from college to university in Scotland: A qualitative research synthesis. International Journal of Educational and Life Transitions, 2(1):9, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.5334/ijelt.52

Scottish Funding Council (SFC). (no date). Scotland’s Tertiary Quality Enhancement Framework. https://www.sfc.ac.uk/assurance-accountability/learning-quality/scotlands-tertiary-quality-enhancement-framework/

Scottish Funding Council (SFC). (2020). Articulation from Scottish colleges to Scottish universities 2014-15 to 2018-19 (Experimental statistics). https://www.sfc.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/uploadedFiles/SFCST082020_Articulation_from_Scottish_Colleges_to_Scottish_Universities_2014-15_-_2018-19.pdf

Scottish Funding Council (SFC). (2021). Coherence and sustainability: a review of tertiary education and research. https://www.sfc.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/uploadedFiles/coherence-and-sustainability.pdf

Scottish Funding Council (SFC). (2024a). Financial sustainability of colleges in Scotland 2020-21 to 2025-26. https://www.sfc.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/202312_FinancialSustainbability_College.pdf

Scottish Funding Council (SFC). (2024b). Financial sustainability of universities in Scotland 2020-21 to 2024-25. https://www.sfc.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/202312_FinancialSustainbability_Universities.pdf

Scottish Funding Council (SFC). (2024c). The future of learning and teaching: Defining and delivering an effective and inclusive digital/blended offering. Summary Report. https://www.sfc.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/The-Future-of-Learning-and-Teaching-Summary-Report.pdf

Scottish Government (2016) A blueprint for fairness: The final report of the Commission on Widening Access. https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/progress-report/2016/03/blueprint-fairness-final-report-commission-widening-access/documents/00496619-pdf/00496619-pdf/govscot%3Adocument/00496619.pdf

Scottish Government. (2024). Higher education - renewing the alliance for fair access: Annual report 2024. https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/independent-report/2024/01/renewing-alliance-fair-access-annual-report-2024/documents/renewing-alliance-fair-access-annual-report-2024/renewing-alliance-fair-access-annual-report-2024/govscot%3Adocument/renewing-alliance-fair-access-annual-report-2024.pdf

Universities Scotland. (2023). Member universities. https://www.universities-scotland.ac.uk/member-universities/

Wollscheid, S., Lødding, B., & Aamodt, P. O. (2021). Prepared for higher education? Staff and student perceptions of academic literacy dimensions across disciplines. Quality in Higher Education, 27(1), 20-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538322.2021.1830534

Wong, B., & Chiu, Y-L. T. (2020). University lecturers’ construction of the ‘ideal’ undergraduate student. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 44(1), 54-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2018.1504010

Downloads

Published

2024-11-01