Widening access to higher education for underrepresented groups and closing the opportunity gap is o

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Bridging the Subcultural Divide Progression and
Retention through the GOALS Top-Up Programme
Widening access to higher education for
under-represented groups and closing the
opportunity gap is one of our key policy
priorities, and the Minister expects to see real
improvement in the proportions of students from
the most economically disadvantaged groups
benefiting from higher education.
SHEFC, Main grants in support of teaching and
research for 2005-06

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Partners and Funders

• 7 Higher Education Institutions in the West of
  Scotland

• 11 Local Authorities in the West of Scotland
• 43 secondary schools and 255 partner primary
  schools in the West of Scotland
• Local Authorities select the schools

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Aims of the Top-Up Programme

• Raise aspirations and awareness of
• WP school students towards HE options
• Raise progression of WP school
• students from school to HE
• Ease transition from school to HE by equipping
  school students with the
• generic skills needed to succeed in HE
• Help WP students succeed, once
• they progress to HE, raising retention
• and completion levels

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How does it work

• postgraduate tutors

• sessions in school

• sessions on campus

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Part 1 Smooth Transitions from schools to
higher education
Barriers 1) cultural 2) academic 3)
institutional
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1. Cultural Barriers
Part 1
Our students are extremely insular. Students
from one local area NEVER cross the sub-cultural
divide. So we really need to expose our students
more to the outside world. (GOALS school
contact teacher, April 2004) I went to a
rubbish school where hardly anyone goes to
uni. (ex-GOALS pupil, April 2005) I
suppose I thought they universities were for
clever people. I suppose I thought they
students were Hooray Henries basically- posh
clever kids. (Marks et al, 2003)
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Part 1
Qualitative Evaluation 2000-2004
PUPILS 90 of pupils rated the tutors good/very
good Great advice from tutors! good to hear
from those just finished University themselves
who are up to date on what its like to be a
student More time with Karin, I loved the
course William D was da coolest tutor
TEACHERS 79-97 rated helpfulness of tutors
ability to facilitate the TUP good/very
good Even the students I knew were not very
highly academic continued to attend. Some of
these students were problematic elsewhere. Well
done for motivating them Again, I cannot rate
our tutors highly enough. They had an excellent
rapport with the group   POSTGRADUATE
TUTORS The importance of a teacher in motivating
students and bringing a subject to life is
paramount. I feel this project allowed me to
further develop this skill It pleased me most
that I could get a sound rapport with a range of
students.
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Part 1
2. Academic Barriers

• Lectures

• Seminars and Tutorials

• Library/I.T. Student Life Workshops

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Part 1
Progression and Admissions
As you know many of our students go on to FE but
they have gone there on a strong foundation from
Top-Up. Over the last 5 years St XXXXXX has gone
from 4-13 entry to HE I believe the Top-Up
Programme is a vital factor in achieving
this (GOALS school contact teacher, April 2004)
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Part 2 Student Completion and Retention
Aims of the Top-Up Programme

• Raise aspirations and awareness of
• WP school students towards HE options
• Raise progression of WP school
• students from school to HE
• Ease transition from school to HE by equipping
• school students with the generic skills needed to
  
• succeed in HE
• Help WP students succeed, once
• they progress to HE, raising retention
• and completion levels

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Part 2
3. Institutional Barriers

• Academic (differences from school)
• Different methods of teaching learning
• Larger class sizes gt lack of individual
  attention support
• gt less verbal feedback on performance
• Social
• Need to form new networks of friendships
• Harder for students living in parental home off
  campus
• Organisational
• Lack of information on courses, timetables,
  infrastructure
• Lack of information on student support available
  

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Part 2
Methodology

• Qualitative
• a) Questionnaires sent to 3 groups of first-year
  students studying at Glasgow University
• Top-Up Programme (TUP) students
• GOALS schools non-TUP students
• Comparative school students
• b) Focus Group interviews with Student Network
  mentors TUP non-TUP
• Quantitative Exam and withdrawal data collated
  through the Glasgow University Student Records
  system

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Part 2
First Year Exam Performance and Withdrawal Data
First-Year students exam performance (pass rates)
Likelihood of students withdrawing during their
1st Year
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Part 2
Comparative Progression of TUP non-GOALS
Students
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List the three most important learning skills
that you use in your first year studies in order
Part 2

• TUP non-GOALS students selected
• Note-taking skills
• Essay-planning and writing skills
• Time-management skills

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Part 2
Advantages enjoyed by non-GOALS Students

• Less TUP students in accommodation suitable for
  study
• TUP students working more hours in part-time
  employment
• Non-GOALS students can spend more time on
  academic study

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Part 2
Why are TUP Students Performing Better?
Source of 1st Year students learning skills

• Differences
• Skills learned before beginning university
• Had to learn skills at university

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Part 2

• non-GOALS students
• What sort of support do you think first-year
  students should be offered and when?
• In school/college and through to orientation to
  help ease feelings of isolation in an unknown
  environment
• Support to learn how to acquire skills such as
  note-taking, essay writing etc should be offered
  in school or college
• Talks about learning skills, e.g. note-taking or
  meeting of mock tutorials to give an idea of what
  is expected of you
• TUP students
• What kind of help, if any, did the Top-Up
  Programme provide?
• It helped provide the vital skills needed at
  university and it also provided information which
  eased us into university life
• A taste of university. Help with note-taking,
  lectures, tutorials
• Help with showing you how to use the library was
  good
• Helped me to speak up in tutorials
• Essay-writing skills

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Part 2
How TUP is Helping to Overcome Institutional
Barriers

• Academic (differences from school)
• Different methods of teaching learning
• Larger class sizes gt lack of individual
  attention support
• gt less verbal feedback on performance
• Social
• Need to form new networks of friendships
• Harder for students living in parental home off
  campus
• Organisational
• Lack of information on courses, timetables,
  infrastructure
• Lack of information on student support available

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For further information contact
Dickon Copsey Neil Croll Widening Participation
Service University of Glasgow d.copsey_at_admin.gla.
ac.uk n.croll_at_admin.gla.ac.uk