Implementing an intervention to assist Certificate IV students to transition successfully to undergraduate study within an AQF contextualisation: A case study

Abstract

In response to the poor performance of students in 2007 who had used a Certificate IV to meet minimum entry requirements, The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle campus, developed a specific intervention. A compulsorily-required ‘primer’ course was developed and taught by a staff member with extensive experience in both vocational education and training (VET) as well as higher education settings. The course attempted, in part, to address the lack of student experience with extended reading and writing tasks and to position students to be successful in their undergraduate studies. In doing so, it highlighted core intra-sector differences in terms of how each interprets learning skills, outcomes and competencies as defined under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). Its link to increased retention within undergraduate courses offers a valuable case study to address such differences through established learning support principles. Though compulsory, the course has been well received by enrolling students and student feedback post-course has been overwhelmingly positive. This paper explores the reasons for the development of the ‘primer’, its structure and the issues which arose relevant to the AQF’s qualification pathways policy. The paper acknowledges the absence of specific policy AQF guidelines to assist any pedagogical (general teaching and learning approaches) (Darder, Baltodano, & Torres, 2009) or andragogical (adult learning approaches) (Knowles, 1980) review of intra-sector differences, however, some theory suggests that combining pedagogy and andragogy will help shape future discussion on gaps in national qualification pathways.