Building the foundations for academic success: learning from the experiences of part-time students in their first semester of study

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-161
Author(s):  
Allyson Goodchild ◽  
Cathal Butler
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Early Learning ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Part Time Students ◽  
Part Time

This article examines the findings from a mixed methods research study exploring part- time students' perceptions of their transition into higher education. Drawing on wider research in the field of transition and utilising Gale and Parker's (2014) conceptual framework as a means of viewing the transition process, the article identifies how one group of part-time undergraduates experienced the process of becoming an undergraduate. The results highlight the importance of offering a well-framed early learning experience for students, which enables them to learn the skills needed for early academic success and provides continued support as they progress in their own time towards recognition of themselves as undergraduates. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that transition is not time bound, and individual students will need individual approaches. This will require institutions to consider how the support they offer can be tailored to a student's specific needs.

scholarly journals Alternatives for Pragmatic Responses to Group Work Problems

10.28945/3425 ◽  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill Davey ◽  
Karoly Bozan ◽  
Robert Houghton ◽  
Kevin R. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Group Work ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Collaborative Tools ◽  
Video Tutorials ◽  
Time Work ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Part Time Work

Group work can provide a valuable learning experience, one that is especially relevant for those preparing to enter the information system workforce. While much has been discussed about effective means of delivering the benefits of collaborative learning in groups, there are some problems that arise due to pragmatic environmental factors such as the part time work commitments of students. This study has identified a range of problems and reports on a longitudinal Action Research study in two universities (in Australia and the USA). Over three semesters problems were identified and methods trialled using collaborative tools. Several promising solutions are presented to the identified problems, including the use of video tutorials and commentary using screen recordings as a means of providing feedback to students.

scholarly journals Entering Higher Professional Education: Unveiling First-Year Students’ Key Academic Experiences and Their Occurrence Over Time

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Willems ◽  
Liesje Coertjens ◽  
Vincent Donche
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Academic Experiences ◽  
First Year ◽  
Study Program ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Academic Transition ◽  
First Semester

To date, little understanding exists of how first-year students in professionally oriented higher-education (HE) programs (i.e., those that provide vocational education to prepare students for a particular occupation) experience their academic transition process. In the present study, we first argued how the constructs of academic adjustment and academic integration can provide complementary perspectives on the academic transition of first-year students in (professional) HE. Next, we examined what first-year students in professional HE contexts perceive to be the most important experiences associated with their academic transition process in the first semester of their first year of higher education (FYHE). To this end, we adopted the fundamentals of the critical incident technique and asked 104 students in a Flemish (Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) university college (which offers professional HE programs, such as nursing) to complete “reflective logs” with open questions at the start of the second semester of their FYHE, wherein they reflected on three critical academic experiences during their first semester. An inductive, cross-case content analysis of the collected narratives showed that students reported on nine themes of academic experiences, which relate to five adjustment themes (dealing with the organization of the study program, organizing study work, committing to the study, following class and taking notes, and processing learning content outside class) and four integration themes (feeling competent, feeling stressed, feeling prepared, and feeling supported). Further analyses showed that although some of the nine themes of academic experiences appear to be more important at different times in the first semester, they all seem to be meaningful throughout the whole semester.

scholarly journals Felnőtt tanulók diplomaszerzési törekvései

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ágnes Engler
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Academic Life ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Mature Students ◽  
Part Time Students ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Asking Questions

A tanulmányban a felsőoktatás ritkán vizsgált hallgatói csoportjának, a munka és (vagy) család mellett, részidős képzésben tanuló felnőtt hallgatók tanulmányi beruházásait vizsgáltuk. A részidős képzésben tanulókat érintő tudományos jellegű megkeresések leginkább a diplomaszerzést követően történnek a diplomás utánkövetéses vizsgálatok keretében. Ennek során a felsőoktatásban végzettek szakmai életútját munkaerő-piaci szemszögből kísérik figyelemmel, érdeklődve a diploma megszerzését követő karrierállomásokról, a diploma beválthatóságáról, munkaerő-piaci pozicionálásról, a tanulmányokba történő befektetések megtérüléséről és hozamairól. A felnőttoktatás felől közelítve ugyancsak elmondható, hogy a kutatási kérdések szintén szűk körben keresnek választ a felnőttek tanulási aspirációjára vagy eredményességére. Vizsgálatunkban a tanulási döntéseket, tanulási motivációkat és az eredményességet kísérjük figyelemmel, mégpedig a tanulmányi életút függvényében.***In this peaper we wish to deal with a group of students in higher education who usually receive little attention: the students pursuing their studies while they have a full-time job and a family. Sociological research dealing with people earning a degree as part-time students usually reaches the students after graduation, in the form of follow-up examinations. These projects follow the career of graduates from the aspects of the labour market, asking questions about the stations in the career of the individuals after graduation, the return of the investment made into education, the value of the degree in the labour market. Even the research projects approaching the issue from the aspects of higher education usually do not seek an answer to questions regarding the aspirations of the students for learning, or the success of their learning process. In our examination we research the learning decision, motivation and efficiency of mature students in the light of the academic life.

Academic Accreditation of Work-Based Learning in the Construction Environment

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim McLernon ◽  
David Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Rational Method ◽  
Academic Learning ◽  
Academic Credit ◽  
Essential Component ◽  
Part Time Students ◽  
Institutional Learning ◽  
Part Time ◽  
The Relationship

This paper examines the contribution of work-based learning (WBL) to the education of construction students. The research draws on the experiences of part-time students and students on sandwich courses in a School of the Built Environment. The sandwich courses include a year in industry as the penultimate year of a four-year programme. This WBL component constitutes a valuable link between higher education and industry and provides a mechanism for students to consolidate learning in their final year as well as preparing them to take on responsibility in industry immediately after graduation. The paper also examines the relationship between WBL and institutional learning with a view to determining what academic credit is awarded for and how it is awarded. The authors argue that WBL is an essential component of higher education, and that credit for WBL is desirable in a system that promotes credit accumulation and transfer. There is currently no rational method of awarding credit for work-based learning and this paper proposes that articulations in current frameworks for credit accumulation and transfer schemes for academic learning may provide a substantive and transparent means of attributing academic credit to WBL. They also recommend that such a framework should be developed specifically for work-based learning.

scholarly journals Quantifying the Impact of Student Enrollment Patterns on Academic Success Using a Hidden Markov Model

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 6453
Author(s):  
Shahab Boumi ◽  
Adan Ernesto Vela
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Transfer Students ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Enrollment Patterns ◽  
Part Time Students ◽  
Part Time ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

Simplified classifications have often led to college students being labeled as full-time or part-time students. However, student enrollment patterns can be much more complicated at many universities, as it is common for students to switch between full-time and part-time enrollment each semester based on finances, scheduling, or family needs. While previous studies have identified part-time enrollment as a risk factor to students’ academic success, limited research has examined the impact of enrollment patterns or strategies on academic performance. Unlike traditional methods that use a single-period model to classify students into full-time and part-time categories, in this study, we apply an advanced multi-period dynamic approach using a Hidden Markov Model to distinguish and cluster students’ enrollment strategies into three categories: full-time, part-time, and mixed. We then investigate and compare the academic performance outcomes of each group based on their enrollment strategies while taking into account student type (i.e., first-time-in-college students and transfer students). Analysis of undergraduate student records data collected at the University of Central Florida from 2008 to 2017 shows that the academic performance of first-time-in-college students who apply a mixed enrollment strategy is closer to that of full-time students, as compared to part-time students. Moreover, during their part-time semesters, mixed-enrollment students significantly outperform part-time students. Similarly, analysis of transfer students shows that a mixed-enrollment strategy is correlated with similar graduation rates as the full-time enrollment strategy and more than double the graduation rate associated with part-time enrollment. This finding suggests that part-time students can achieve better overall outcomes by increased engagement through occasional full-time enrollments.

scholarly journals Distance Learning as an Educational Trend in Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 128-141
Author(s):  
N. A. Seliverstova ◽  
M. G. Solnyshkina
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Part Time Students ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Educational Trend ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Future Education

The case study research strategy describes variations in the educational and professional trajectories of part-time students in comparison with their attitude to distance learning, the goal of higher education, and their professional future of the individual. This research strategy makes it possible to present distance learning as a modern educational trend. It has been determined that in the system of continuing education, distance learning is (1) a tool for changing a profession, (2) part of a well-thought-out career strategy, (3) a guarantee of employment, (4) a way to legitimize a professional status, (5) a form that facilitates obtaining a diploma of higher education, (6) “future education”, education for the future. The subjective meanings of distance education in connection with motivation, the purpose of training, the attitude of students to it are revealed. For students receiving higher education, this is “self-education,” for those whose goal is a diploma, it is “formality”, “superficial mastering of disciplines.” The authors conclude that the consideration of correspondence education in the context of continuity allows us to identify trends in individualization, diversification (the diversity and variability of educational programs, creating opportunities for choice), informatization, and individualization. An assessment of the prospects for extramural higher education based on the experience of forced distance learning (March-June 2020) is given.

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