Dr Revati(Rae) Subramaniam Kent Institute Australia Attitudes and Accessibility of International students towards Academic Learning Support and its implications on student performance: An Australian perspective Dr Revati(Rae) Subramaniam Kent Institute Australia

Introducing Kent Institute Established in 1989 Over 25 years of experience in teaching domestic and international students State of the art Sydney and Melbourne campuses boasting modern and innovative facilities. Kent courses are fully accredited and recognized under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Courses are recognized by Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) which is Australia‘s independent national regulator for higher education. Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses are accredited by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).

Kent Students Our students come from diverse cultural backgrounds from different nationalities 85% are enrolled in Business while 15% are enrolled in IT 63% in Higher Ed and 37% VET

Learning Profile of the International students New to the Australian educational system. New to the different teaching styles of local lecturers and lecturers from different ethnic backgrounds. Unable to differentiate between different assessment tasks such as an essay and a report. Meaning of academic concepts such as when to use an Abstract and when to use an Executive summary. Weak in critical thinking and reflective skills

Learning Profile of the International students Structured and rote learning Students are reliant on sequential instructions Come from vernacular schools or are from non-English speaking backgrounds Limited understanding of assessment tools such as rubrics.

Learning Profile of the International students Unable to understand the assessment tasks leading to fear of failing the unit. Do not know how to use the academic support service….it is a last minute cry for help that has a huge impact on their academic performance! As a first year student lack of knowledge in understanding the importance of academic learning support This reflects their poor time management skills. Lack previous employment experience. Vocabulary is limited to assist in their oral and written communication

Presenter’s (Rae) Teaching style in the class room Being a migrant herself Rae adapts a pastoral teaching approach that helped to minimise the tutor and taught relationship. Pastoral style of teaching is integrating and embedding life skills and relating personal examples to the theories taught in class…..a form of story telling! In every class assessment briefs are explained over and over again. Every lecture is related to the assessment task. In summary, Academic Learning Support starts in the class room itself!!

Presenter’s (Rae) Teaching style in the class room Outline is provided for essays and case study apart from Assessment instructions. Drafts of essays and reports are reviewed for content and help is sought from ALS staff to be apart of the learning process. Encouraging students to seek ALS help. Running the tutorial activity in the library and work with the librarian to help students on how to research. Teaching students how to choose books and look for resources related to their assessment task Inviting ALS staff to get involved in the tutorial activity of the class.

Academic Learning Support (ALS) in Kent Academic Learning Support Program is designed to help every student at Kent to: Improve their study skills and understand their assignments In Kent is manned by full time staff. Provide in-class presentations on Referencing, report writing every semester. ALS staff also are responsible to contact at-risk students from time to time. In Kent ALS is a process function assisting students in the process of their learning. Individual and group support is provided Kent uses Moodle as a learning platform for their students

Reason for accessing ALS Essay writing was the most popular reason for students seeking ALS assistance and the most popular folder accessed on the ALS Moodle page. Statistics show students seek first-semester subjects and indicates a significant level of engagement with first year students. 50% of students that came to ALS wanted with their essays and reports Students at risk were encouraged to meet the ALS coordinator on a regular basis throughout the semester and attend ALS workshops.

Reason for accessing ALS The number of consultations increase when assessments are due. Consultations increased when the ALS coordinator moved offices to the library. This made ALS accessible for students and enabled ALS coordinator to have more visible presence and more opportunities to talk to students.

Academic Learning Support- Workshops Attendance in group workshops was quite low and attendance in individual workshops was high during assessment submission times. First year students in their first semester of study did not understand the role of Academic Learning Support hence accessibility to the service was quite low. However, second semester saw an increase in the use of services. This was attributed to the change in attitude towards their learning strategies as many failed their subjects. Anecdotally, many students when questioned their attitude towards attendance in their workshops stated they were busy and hadn’t considered that particular assessment task and would prefer to meet individually.

Methodology For this study participant observation method was used to collect data from students completing their undergraduate degree in Business Discipline Sample was drawn from students completing a course in Business Strategy-a third year core subject. This Unit provides an in-depth understanding to the work environment using Strategic Management framework Intensive Academic Learning support was provided to students in their formative and summative written assessment tasks. Formative assessments included tutorial participation such as quiz and in-class activities such as simulations. Hard core statistical tabulations was not used in this study as it was more an exploratory study to identify factors that enhanced students attitudes and accessibility to ALS support.

Findings It was found that students attitude and accessibility increased when the Academic Learning Support was provided in the class room setting as well as in workshops and one-on-one consultations with ALS staff Easy access to Academic resources motivated students to improve their assessment tasks. Understanding the importance of an academic support function helps students to be self motivated. Encourage students to access ALS as a preventive step rather than a reactive approach.

Conclusions Academic Learning Support is an integral part of student-centered approach to learning While research is growing in understanding the importance of academic support to student learning, little or no strong empirical evidence exists especially in the context of International students While for many private providers this is a legal compliance however from the academic learning process point of view this is a vital function that provides confidence to students in their learning strategies. It enhances their employability skills. This study will further explore the relationship between assessment design and its role in academic learning support.