Abstract
Pre-university (foundation or Level 3) study attracts significant student numbers annually, but approximately 10% of successful Level 3 students do not progress into their university degrees. This project aimed to identify the experiences of current and previous Level 3 students, using questionnaires and focus groups to explore differences by gender, ethnicity and intention to study. One hundred and two current and 56 previous level 3 students participated. Those who felt part of the university were significantly more likely to agree that the foundation course met their expectations. Personal support from academic staff, was highly ranked by students in all year groups, peaking in the final year. Despite considerable student diversity, the foundation year met expectations. However this was significantly lower for Black students compared with other ethnicities, which needs further exploration. Fostering ‘belonging’ to university is important for foundation year students to improve retention rates into their degree courses.
Highlights
The Extended degree, in which students take an additional foundation year (Level 3) at Kingston College, is an important part of the recruitment effort at Kingston University
It is recognised that starting at university is a time of transition (Jindal-Snape, 2010), and how students adjust to this impacts upon the rest of their university experience (Strayhorn, 2012; Ramsay et al, 2005) as well as future achievements (Hultberg et al, 2008)
In this study most participants had entered the foundation year via traditional A levels, many were first in their families to attend higher education (32%), mature (39%) or Black and minority ethnic (BME) students (54%), to other studies (Gill, 2019)
Summary
The Extended degree, in which students take an additional foundation year (Level 3) at Kingston College, is an important part of the recruitment effort at Kingston University It attracts large numbers of mature and Black and minority ethnic (BME) applicants annually. Adjusting to higher education may be more difficult for nontraditional students (Reay, 2008; Crossan et al, 2003; O’Donnell & Tobbell, 2007; Reay et al, 2010) including students who are first generation to higher education (Waite, 2013; Wainwright & Marandet, 2010; O’Shea, 2015, 2016), mature students (Reay, 2008) and those who commute (Southall et al, 2016) It follows that supporting them through this transition is important.
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