Abstract
Student academic success and positive satisfaction in first year health sciences programs is shaped by their transition experience. An introduction to core knowledge, study skills, and engagement with staff and students has historically been overlooked, but this has been newly recognised as a contributor to first year success, especially with mass higher education of students from diverse backgrounds. The University of South Australia ‘Preparing for Health Sciences’ workshop was designed to assist the student transition into health science programs. The workshop improved confidence and enthusiasm in starting university (56% pre- and 95% post-workshop), and 97% considered the workshop effective overall. Introduction to biological principles was widely considered to be beneficial (87%). The attrition rate after the first semester in 2014 was 7.6%, which is appreciably lower than the standard 12% in science-based courses. These findings demonstrate that an introductory workshop does greatly assist in the transition of students into their health science programs.
Highlights
The move from elite to mass higher education has been accompanied by concerns around the globe that many students are not well prepared to cope with the transition to university education, be it on-campus or distance education (Lowe & Cook, 2003; Rosenman, 1996; Wu, 2013)
Students who have not developed study skills and a solid foundation of knowledge in the field, or who have not studied for many years, make up a greater proportion of first year university students than ever before, and these students are at risk of poor educational outcomes
This study has demonstrated the benefits that students gain by undertaking the Preparing for Health Sciences (PHS) bridging workshop as a part of their transition into first year university study of health science programs
Summary
The move from elite to mass higher education has been accompanied by concerns around the globe that many students are not well prepared to cope with the transition to university education, be it on-campus or distance education (Lowe & Cook, 2003; Rosenman, 1996; Wu, 2013). Student attrition has become a larger issue as a result, and costs $1.4bn per year in Australia (Hare, 2010; Mulholland, Anionwu, Atkins, Tappern, & Franks, 2008; Olsen, 2008). Kift (2014) asserts that it is important not to blame students for perceived inadequacies. There is a need to make first year student learning, success and retention the core business of the successful administration of higher education (Kift)
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