Transitions: From High School to University

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TransitionsFrom High School to University

• Presentation to Guidance Counsellors of Ontario

Shannon Payne, Learning Skills Counsellor
Counselling and Development Centre
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Goals for this presentation

• To reacquaint guidance counsellors with aspects
  of the transition to university
• To encourage high-school staff to begin to
  address the issues with students when and where
  they can
• To underscore target outcomes of transition
  programming

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Contents

• Changes that students face
• Beginnings transitions from high school
• Continuations transitions to university
• What to include in transition programming
• Target outcomes for transition programs
• Resources

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Changes that students face

• Students undergoing the transition to university
  face changes in many life areas
• Academic
• Personal
• Social
• Cultural

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Changes that students face

• Academic
• larger classes, with potentially less contact
  with instructors
• change to lecture format
• reading load and volume of learning increase
• responsibility nobodys going to take
  attendance
• time outside class increases time inside
  classes shrinks

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Changes that students face

• Academic (contd)
• need to structure own time and study
• need to balance work, school and social life
• essay writing issues (e.g., academic honesty,
  citations, the writing process, argument versus
  exposition etc.)
• understanding how ideas of the course go together
  and how they will be examined
• learning how to study effectively

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Changes that students face

• Academic (contd)
• learning how to read and listen actively
• need to develop critical and analytical thinking
  skills
• changes in ways of knowing and with it a change
  in the meaning of learning and education
• consequent change in perception of their own
  roles, the roles of teachers, and the level of
  difficulty of school work

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Changes that students face

• Personal/Social/Cultural
• entering new phase of adulthood relationships
  with parents and peers change towards
  interdependence
• being/studying away from home
• life, career, and academic goal setting
• freedom issues drinking, social activities,
  time, etc.

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Changes that students face

• Personal/Social/Cultural (contd)
• developing awareness of the new environment
• fitting in and making new friends
• navigating the help sources available on campus
• becoming comfortable with size and diversity of
  campus

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Changes that students face

• Personal/Social/Cultural (contd)
• new institutional processes (e.g., services
  offered in the GUIDANCE office now divided into
  Counselling, Advising, Student Affairs, Career
  Services, etc. )
• changes in the way learning is institutionally
  organized
• potential lack of connectedness on the larger
  campus feeling like a number

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Changes that students face

• Personal/Social/Cultural (contd)
• understanding the culture of post-secondary
  education
• encountering new ideas in an environment that
  challenges students beliefs
• reflecting on values and lifestyles and
  connection of education to career paths
• deciding on a belief system that is personally
  valid
• developing social responsibility
• beginning as the first-year student again after
  being the high school senior

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Beginnings transitions from high school
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Beginnings transitions from high school

• Students report being concerned about
• Eligibility for post-secondary study
• Choosing the right program and the right school
• Finances tuition fees, scholarships, bursaries
• Relationship of academic study to career
  aspirations
• Influences from others regarding what/where to
  study
• Knowing what to expect

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Continuationstransitions to university
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Continuationstransitions to university

• Students report being concerned about
• Finding their way around, fitting in, making
  friends
• Being successful, meeting the expectations of the
  university
• Understanding course requirements and degree
  regulations
• Balancing school, work, and social time
• Locating and using supports on campus
• Relating to their professors and instructors
• Are they taking the right program

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What to include in transition programming
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What to include in transition programming

• Transition programming typically involves some
  of the following
• Academic skills
• Skills for living
• Knowledge about purpose of higher education

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What to include in transition programming

• Academic Skills
• Note-taking
• Preparing for exams test-taking
• Effective reading
• Research and library skills
• Time management and planning skills
• Self-regulatory skills (emotional, academic,
  motivational)
• Writing skills

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What to include in transition programming

• Academic Skills (contd)
• Public speaking skills
• Critical thinking
• Understanding learning styles
• Computing skills
• Connecting with faculty

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What to include in transition programming

• Skills For Living
• Career exploration
• Learning in diverse community
• Health and wellness
• Self knowledge and personal awareness
• Relationship and interpersonal skills
• Stress and anxiety management

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What to include in transition programming

• Skills For Living (contd)
• Values clarification/decisions
• Goal setting
• Listening skills
• Volunteerism and community service
• Awareness of current societal issues
• Conflict resolution
• Money management

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What to include in transition programming

• Knowledge About Higher Education
• Purpose of higher education and institution
• Value of liberal arts and pure and applied
  sciences
• Concept of disciplines and inter-disciplinary
  studies
• Value of community involvement

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What to include in transition programming

• Knowledge about About Higher Education (contd)
• Location of campus resources and facilities
• Policies, procedures, regulations (e.g., dropping
  courses)
• History of the university/college
• Institutional traditions

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Target outcomes for transition programs
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Target outcomes for transition programs

• Any transition model should aim to provide
  students with as many of the following outcomes
  as possible...

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Target outcomes for transition programs

• an eagerness to attend, take part, and get
  involved on campus
• a sense of belonging and connectedness to the
  university
• an ability to identify those skills that will
  lead to success and a commitment to use them
• an awareness of success-supporting resources on
  campus and how to access them
• an openness to change and exploration

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Target outcomes for transition programs

• an acceptance that they are not alone, that
  others are experiencing the same kinds of changes
• the confidence that they can be successful
• the knowledge that success doesnt just happen,
  but that success largely depends on them taking
  responsibility for their learning
• an inkling of some of the differences between
  high school and university
• an understanding that the transition isnt a
  singular event in time, but that it takes place
  over time

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Transition Program Models
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Transition Program Models

• Facilitating students transitions to university
  
• Person to person models
• One-day and Extended campus visits
• Visits to Graduating Classes
• Orientations
• Early Start Programs
• Prep Courses
• 1st-Year Experience Programs
• Web-based resources

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Transition Program Models

• Person to person models
• Guidance staff, Admissions and Liaison staff
  sharing their understanding of the transition to
  university
• Informing students about the various support
  services their institution has to offer

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Transition Program Models

• One-day campus visits
• Students and their families visit prospect
  campuses during March Break to tour facilities,
  and ask questions about the programs available
• School visits to tour facilities
• The impression they develop from the visit
  fosters thinking and discussion about the pros
  and cons of the various schools
• They get a sense of the differences between high
  schools and universities

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Transition Program Models

• Extended campus visits
• Some high schools arrange with a college or
  university to permit students an extended visit
  (e.g., one week) on campus
• Typically, such visits occur during May after the
  conclusion of the regular Fall/Winter academic
  term
• Students stay in residence, visit classes or
  attend specially designed programs that give them
  a snapshot of what it is like to live the student
  experience

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Transition Program Models

• Visits to Graduating Classes
• Westview Project - an initiative put together by
  a team of people at York University to reach out
  to students at feeder schools under-represented
  in the first-year cohort
• In the spring of each year, a number of academic
  skills and post-secondary school awareness
  sessions presented for students in the graduating
  class as part of their ongoing final-year courses

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Transition Program Models

• Orientations Dont Crash Courses
• One- or two-day series of workshops on academic
  skills and orientation to the university
  environment
• Work with students transferring from community
  college programs or from high schools
• Emphasis on their expectation for differences,
  and equipping them with resources and knowledge
  about how to succeed in the university
  environment

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Transition Program Models

• First Year Orientation
• In its ideal form, orientation
• Combines both the academic and social components
  of university life
• Equips students with knowledge of important
  resources
• Helps students to feel at home on the large
  campus

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Transition Program Models

• Early Start Programs
• Senior students enroll in one course for credit
  at York University while completing their final
  year at high-school
• Gives students first-hand experience of learning
  at university and blends directed support for
  learning with immersion experience
• Extensive support for students exists at the high
  school, including campus orientation, advising
  and course selection assistance, study skills
  training and time management training

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Transition Program Models

• Steps/University Prep Programs
• These kinds of programs offer admission to
  students whose grades would not typically earn
  them entrance to a university, and offers
  additional advising and supports
• Usually, students in these programs take a
  reduced course load (usually 60) and among that
  load is a first-year course focused on developing
  the basic and critical skills needed at
  university
• Some programs admit students only upon successful
  completion of the prep course

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Transition Program Models

• 1st-Yr. experience courses Yorks Foundations
  model
• Especially popular in the USA, first-year
  experience courses are offered for credit to
  incoming students
• In some cases the course is mandatory
• The curriculum of the course focuses on the kinds
  of study skills, critical thinking and writing
  skills, and life skills essential for success at
  university

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Transition Program Models

• Computer/web-based transition resources
• Canadian university web sites host various web
  pages set up to enable students to find the
  information they need
• Included among these materials are academic
  skills information, tips on making a smooth
  transition, links to help sources on campus,
  organizations, and so on

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Resources

• Downing, Skip. On Course Strategies for
  Creating Success in College and in Life -- A
  Guided Journal Approach. Boston Houghton
  Mifflin Co., 1996.
• Ellis, David. Becoming a Master Student. Canadian
  Second Edition. Boston Houghton Mifflin Co.,
  1997.
• Fleet, Joan, Fiona Goodchild, and Richard
  Zajchowski. Learning For Success Skills and
  Strategies for Canadian Students. Toronto
  Harcourt Brace and Company, 1994.

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Resources

• Fraser, Lisa. Making your mark. 5th Edition. Port
  Perry LDF Publishing, 1996.
• Gardner, John N., Jewler, Jerome A., and Robb,
  Andrew. Your First-Year Experience Success
  Strategies for Canadian Students. Toronto
  International Thomson Publishing, 1995.
• Kolb, David. Learning Style Inventory. Boston
  Hay McBer Company. 1985.
• Holkeboer, Robert. Right from the start Managing
  your college career. 2nd Edition. Belmont
  Wadsworth Publishing, 1996.

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Resources

• Nemiroff, Greta Hofmann. Transitions Succeeding
  in College and University. Toronto Harcourt
  Brace and Company, 1994.
• Pauk, Walter. How To Study In College 5th
  Edition. Boston Houghton Mifflin Co., 1993.
• Rehner, Jan. Practical Strategies for Critical
  Thinking. Boston Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1994.
• Ruggerio, Vincent R. Becoming a Critical
  Thinker. 2nd ed. Boston Houghton-Mifflin Co.,
  1996