Managing the transition into higher education

Abstract

In helping students manage the transition into higher education, there must be (i) an understanding of the needs and expectations of the students, and (ii) a process that inducts the students into the needs and expectations of higher education. This premise underpins the on-line Spiral Induction Programme (onSIP) developed at Southampton Institute. onSIP consists of various on-line activities designed to help students take responsibility for their own learning; feedback from these activities enables both staff and students to identify if and what additional support is required. The intention was to provide a real-time analysis and indication of those students who may be ‘at risk’, allowing for the appropriate targeting of timely support. Initial results indicate a positive reaction by the students to onSIP. In addition, the predictive feedback from onSIP demonstrates a good correlation with the end-of-year outcomes for a cohort of technology students at Southampton Institute.