Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to describe the strategies used in the First Year Experience (FYE) Project at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) to engage and support academics to address student transition and diversity. The UTS FYE framework has provided a mechanism for third generation transition pedagogy which has been realised through a range of strategies including the establishment of a UTS FYE Coordinator overseeing the design and implementation of FYE Forums, the FYE small grant scheme, and supporting the First Year Transition Experience (FYTE) coordinators in faculties. These strategies have resulted in an evolving learning community in which staff have a sense of belonging and identity and their learning is situated and negotiated. The impact of this project on academics is demonstrated through the increasing participation in forums, increasing sophistication of grant applications and the leadership of the FYTE coordinators.
Highlights
The purpose of this paper is to describe the strategies used in the First Year Experience (FYE) Project at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) to engage and support academics to address student transition and diversity within the context of the Widening Participation Strategy (WPS)
The top‐down component is enacted through a UTS FYE Coordinator and Faculty First Year Transition Experience (FYTE) Coordinators whilst the bottom‐up structure is driven by the buy‐in of academic and professional staff through a small grants scheme and facilitated learning community (Egea & McKenzie, 2012; Egea, McKenzie & Griffiths, 2013)
This paper suggests that UTS staff perceptions of transition and transition pedagogies have evolved as part of growing conversations on transition at the university, as has the UTS FYE Coordinator’s approach to supporting that evolution
Summary
The purpose of this paper is to describe the strategies used in the First Year Experience (FYE) Project at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) to engage and support academics to address student transition and diversity within the context of the Widening Participation Strategy (WPS). The UTS FYE Framework draws on Kift et al.’s definition of curriculum as encompassing “all of the academic, social, and support aspects of the student experience” (p.8) This framework places the students at the centre (belonging and sense of identity) within the dimensions of the broader curriculum, academic practice and university infrastructure. It has evolved as a series of diverse but aligned approaches, which have grown since their inception in 2011 (Egea & McKenzie, 2012)
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