Don’t Panic: Common Sense and the Student Voice in a Transitional Guide

Hope Christie,Karl Johnson

doi:10.14297/jpaap.v5i2.271

Abstract

The Scottish Enhancement Theme of Transitions has largely been explored by institutions in terms of pre/post undergraduate degree, with a tangential focus on employability. Less considered are transitions between and through undergraduate levels, despite the impact they have on successful student engagement and retention (Whittle, 2015). To ensure positive transition through their degree, students must be engaged in dialogue with staff and have the opportunity to influence curriculum adaptation and development (Bovill, Cook-Sather, & Felten, 2011). Having experienced the Honours year from both a student and tutor perspective, the authors developed Don’t Panic: The Psych/Soc Student’s Guide to Fourth Year. A practical response to student concerns, the guide was designed to reflect the final year ‘life cycle’ with the simple aim of offering honest advice and encouragement to psychology and sociology students at Queen Margaret University (QMU), as an informal companion to the dissertation handbook. Development is ongoing, and following dissemination activities the guide has attracted interest from students and faculty across the United Kingdom and beyond. It is apparent that several institutions lack such a form of support for final year students – and while Don’t Panic is not presented as the solution to all transitional problems, it can serve as an example of innovation to empower the student voice. Don’t Panic has led to the author’s increasing involvement in, and understanding of, issues relating to learning and teaching, access and retention. They reflect on these matters in academic and professional literature, through the prism of their own student-to-staff transitional experience.

Highlights

Higher Education institutions have an “[...]obligation to take reasonable steps to enable [their students] to be successful” (Thomas, 2012, p. 7).At the outset, we had no idea about ‘Enhancement Themes’, ‘Student Transitions’, ‘Retention’, ‘Enhancing Learning and Teaching’ and the like; we were just concerned for our fellow students and did what was reasonable and made good common sense
It was a happy coincidence that the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, Scotland, (QAAS) was focusing on the Enhancement Theme of Student Transitions – and that this work was being overseen by Professor Roni Bamber, from our own alma mater Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh (QMU)
In talking to our peers, that the end of the UG career can result in mixed emotions; pride in one’s achievements, loss of purpose, excitement/anxiety about entering the world of work or whatever else awaits in post-degree life

Summary

Introduction

We had no idea about ‘Enhancement Themes’, ‘Student Transitions’, ‘Retention’, ‘Enhancing Learning and Teaching’ and the like; we were just concerned for our fellow students and did what was reasonable and made good common sense. It was a happy coincidence that the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, Scotland, (QAAS) was focusing on the Enhancement Theme of Student Transitions – and that this work was being overseen by Professor Roni Bamber, from our own alma mater Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh (QMU). The success of students at any institution relies on their engagement and support, and in recent years QMU has worked to increase and improve efforts in this regard. Within QMU’s School of Arts, Social Sciences and Management (ASSaM) these efforts are reflected in inter-related attentions to student retention, and enhancing the learning and teaching experience – for staff and students alike. The progression of students through higher education (HE) impacts upon their sense of identity and belonging within their institution, and for working-class students in particular, the acquisition and/or challenging of their cultural capital (Lehmann, 2014; Reay, Crozier, & Clayton, 2009)

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion