SOLSTICE & CLT Conference 2013 An early insight into HE study: the Head Start pre-induction project Nadine Sunderland, Sarah Ruston and James Fraser University of Cumbria 5th & 6th June 2013

Today’s workshop Background and history of Head Start Walk through Test drive Head Start - practical Evaluating Head Start Group discussion: What methods are we using to help students with the transition into HE?

What is Head Start? Offered to all undergraduate who have been offered a place in September on one of the University’s courses, Head Start is a short programme designed to bridge the gap into Higher Education. It aims to help students gain an early insight into the use of the university’s virtual learning environment It offers an opportunity to prepare for HE study by exploring the following: Effective learning approaches for undergraduate study Accessing and evaluating information Academic writing Referencing

The History of Head Start A ten credit module had been running for a number of years using a blended teaching model and was primarily used by some of the university’s partner colleges. Library skills online tutorials constituted a significant portion of content. Last year a team was tasked with creating a completely online version using our VLE that would be made available to students who will be joining the university for 2012/13. This team included faculty staff, library and student services and learning technologists. Over 400 students completed the module. New online resources created. This year we aim to see over 1000 students complete. New Online tutorials and quizzes were created.

Enrolment and completion Head Start in numbers 405 enrolled in summer 2012 and 372 completed (92%) 357 students enrolled so far - 1000 places available Good distribution across faculties and programmes Enrolment and completion 46% Low Participation Neighbourhood 1 & 2 25% household income of under £25,000 67% under 21 years old 80:20 female/male ratio Student profile

Support The site had to be intuitive as we would not meet the students prior to them starting Head Start. Three Head Start Blackboard sites were created with identical content – Education, Health and Arts, Business and Science (ABS). Students were registered by Admissions onto the relevant Bb site – academic staff to keep in contact with students over the summer to give the students a feeling of ‘belonging’. A welcome video was recorded - shows participants around the site and how to navigate through the units and complete the tasks. A dedicated email address for each faculty has been sent up and is the main mode of communication for support, encouragement and success messages.

Walkthrough All assessments are self-marking quizzes Scores feed into Grade Centre in Bb We can see when a student has passed, when they last logged on, etc.

Evaluation findings Survey July 2012 Survey February 2013 41% A levels and 59% other pre-entry qualifications 96% found course structure and layout easy to follow 98% would recommend the course to others 96% reported it helped them feel more confident about HE study Survey February 2013 89% said that Head Start had helped them feel more confident about HE study 81% stated it had helped them cope with programme coursework and assessment 76% stated that Head Start had given them an advantage 86% said that referencing had been the most useful section – 47% academic writing 87% would recommend Head Start to others

What students said “I would certainly recommend this course to other students as it gives an insight into differences between research at A level and working at University level.” “It is a useful confidence builder, particularly for those who have been out of education for a few years.” “Thanks to the course I am also excited about my future studies, especially the library facilities at university, in particular the academic journals mentioned in the course.” “I found all content to be useful and relevant. I think it was just right the way it was.” “Those who didn’t complete this course struggled with referencing in the first assignments.”

What Learning Advisers said “A significant proportion of students we taught had engaged with Head Start. In particular we found Head Start students to be notably more confident and appropriately vocal in sessions.”

What methods are we using to help students with the transition into HE?