1. Understanding the student journey – from pre-arrival to graduation
Deborah Shaw
1st BMS Learning and Teaching Forum

2. Why issue a pre-arrival questionnaire?
Enhanced Personal Tutor meetings
Understanding our students views, expectations and aspirations about
The degree programme
The University
Student life

3. Follow-up questionnaires
Year 1
14 questions based on the answers given in the pre-arrival questionnaire
Additional questions covering:
The ‘First Year Experience’
Satisfaction of academic and pastoral support and which source students have used to obtain support
Which skills students have gained/ feel they still lack
What do students value most in formative/summative feedback
Year 4
12 questions based on the answers given in the pre-arrival questionnaire (excluding first year experience)

4. 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 P-AQ Yr 1 Follow-up Yr 4 Follow-up
2013/ / / /17
P-AQ
Yr 1 Follow-up
Yr 4 Follow-up
P-AQ
Yr 1 Follow-up
P-AQ
Yr1 Follow-up
P-AQ

5. 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 P-AQ Yr 4 Follow-up (DE)
2013/ / / /17
P-AQ
Yr 1 Follow-up
Yr 4 Follow-up (DE)
Yr 4 Follow-up
P-AQ
Yr 1 Follow-up
P-AQ
Yr1 Follow-up
P-AQ

6. Pre-arrival expectations
In depth knowledge
Stimulate interest
Good preparation for future career
Challenging
Enjoyable
Excellent standards of teaching
Strong research element
(flexibility)

7. Pre-arrival concerns Workload/ intensity/ too difficult
Direct entry
Making friends/ fitting in
Moving away from home/ new city
English not first language
(getting good results/ finance)

8. Independent/ self–learning More responsible/ be pro-active Harder
How do you think this degree programme will differ from your previous education experiences, for example teaching and learning, support and assessment?
Independent/ self–learning
More responsible/ be pro-active
Harder
Larger classes
Assessed differently (more exam or ICA)
Need extra reading work
Less support/need to ask

9. I think that it will involve much more self teaching rather than being handed information as well as less support for assessments in regards to help before handing them in for grading. I think support will be given when asked for it rather than it being handed out to everyone as it was at secondary school and 6th form.
I believe it will be more difficult to work in this independent enviornment, as I am used to ing and visiting teachers who I have grown up with, at all hours of the day

10. Med Sci v BMS
Year 1 follow-up survey 2013/14 year 1 follow-up (Med Sci) 2014/15 year 1 follow up (Med Sci) 2015/16 year 1 follow up (Med Sci +BMS)

11. Med Sci v BMS
2013/14 year 1 follow-up (Med Sci) 2014/15 year 1 follow up (Med Sci) 2015/16 year 1 follow up (Med Sci) 2015/16 year 1 follow up (BMS)
Answers were provided on a Likert scale from 1-5.
1= strongly disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Neither agree nor disagree, 4= Agree and 5= strongly agree

12. My first year of studies on my degree programme has met my expectations with respect to my….

13. How to improve ‘the first year experience’?
I don't think there is a way to improve one aspect without worsening another. I was very happy in my first year as far as my studies were concerned, and would not change much about it.
Less lectures at 9 in the morning
First year has been great, the xxx course could be improved by making it more coherent.
As students we were not sure who to contact after being told off for ing the 'wrong' person
Provide more support by providing high school advance higher background knowledge for those who haven't done that level of studies to help understand

14. Yr 1 v Yr 4
Year follow-up survey 2013/14 year 1 follow-up (Year 1 entry) 2013/14 year 1 follow up (Year 2 DE) 2016/17 year 4 follow-up (Year 1 entry) 2015/16 year 4 follow up (DE)

15. Yr 1 v Yr 4
Year follow-up survey 2013/14 year 1 follow-up (Year 1 entry) 2013/14 year 1 follow up (Year 2 DE) 2016/17 year 4 follow-up (Year 1 entry) 2015/16 year 4 follow up (DE)

16. My degree programme has met my expectations with respect to….

17. Skill development Strong Written communication Critical thinking
Teamwork
Independent learning
Presentations
Organisation
Leadership
Endurance
Weak
Lab skills
Critical Thinking
Statistics
Too dependent
Presentations
Organisation
Leadership
Confidence

18. I found my studies challenging

19. Year 1
The first year has been quite challenging, getting used to the different teaching styles and also the number of assignments that were due around the same time, but I feel that this was also a good thing to get used to early on.
Year 4
I didn't find the degree hard per se (even deadline wise: people who complain are just not good at managing their time; However what I found hard is to excel: I am on a solid 2:1 but I still don't know how to achieve higher grades. I do feel like I learnt a lot at an excellent level but this never came through in assessments.

20. Satisfaction with Academic Support

21. Sources of Academic Support

22. Satisfaction with Pastoral Support

23. Sources of Pastoral Support

24. Overall, I enjoyed my time at University

25. Overall, my expectations were met

26. Matching expectations
I really think, in general, I absolutely loved my study here and I learned to be more professional at work day after day.
thought university would be better than this. That I would feel safe, supported, and cared for. I just felt like another student going through the system who had problems and took up professor's times.

27. Thoughts Pre-arrival expectations remain stable….flexibility
Year 1 experience matched to pre-arrival expectations seems stable…BMS lower in all categories but with much larger cohort
Year 4 cohorts follow similar pattern to year 1… except career preparation
In general, students use PT more for pastoral support than academic support

28. Every student is different – how do we cater for a heterogeneous group in a homogeneous system?