Transition support matters more than ever in college-based HE

The world of higher education has been changing rapidly. More students are now choosing to stay in their family homes throughout the course of their studies and to study locally.

There are many different reasons for this. After all, higher education is no longer the exclusive preserve of 18 year olds looking to move away from home.

Many students may not be able to afford the cost of campus accommodation. The cost-of-living crisis hasn’t made this any easier. They may be supporting family members as parents or carers. They may want to stay in their hometowns to sustain family relationships, friendships and social connections. They may find that staying and studying close to home supports their own wellbeing.

They may want to continue working in jobs close to home. Their studies may be connected to those jobs, through apprenticeships, internships and work-based and lifelong learning. Each will make that choice based on their own reasons, responsibilities, expectations, ambitions and needs.

Many universities have adapted their timetables and modes of delivery to support local students who continue to live at home. This is also a space in which FE colleges have shown particular aptitudes and strengths – and this has resulted in the growth in recent years of high-quality college-based HE.

Even for those students who move into HE at the same college at which they’ve just completed their A Levels, T Levels, BTECs or NVQs – and more so for those older students who are returning to learning – the transition into HE can be challenging. Approaches to self-directed study assessment can, for example, make students feel like they’ve been thrown in at the deep end of higher education.

This is why we’ve been working with a group of five FE colleges on a collaborative enhancement project funded by the Quality Assurance Agency to research effective approaches to these transitions. In partnership with colleagues and students from Bishop Burton College and University Centre, Derby College Group, Nottingham College, Solihull College and University Centre, and Walsall College, we’ve explored how flexible pathways and effective transitions in college-based higher education can be enhanced through a structured approach to student-staff collaboration.

Our project involved staff and students in an approach designed to support dialogue and engagement between students and staff, through a cyclical structure of observation, reflection and discussion.

Our pilot study demonstrated remarkably positive results. Students found that participation enabled them to develop a stronger sense of ownership over their learning, alongside enhanced reflective and critical thinking skills. Meanwhile, staff found that their participation supported the development of more student-centred and facilitative pedagogical approaches, reinforcing the value of student voice in shaping their teaching practice.

The study involved 18 members of staff and 45 students. Over 80 per cent of the students across all five of the colleges reported increased confidence, improved understanding of assessment expectations and greater engagement with feedback processes. Some even reported concrete impacts on attainment levels: for example, some of the students observed that, when they’d started, they were achieving marks between 45 and 50 per cent, but that by the end of their engagement in the project they were averaging marks in the mid-to-high 60s.

What was particularly striking was the uplift that students experienced in what are often called “soft skills”. When it comes to students making the transition into higher education – especially in the cases of “non-traditional” students – confidence, self-esteem and belonging are key to their success. Students involved in the project noted significant improvements in these qualities, and in their abilities to communicate with their tutors and with each other, as well as major boosts in their beliefs in their own abilities.

Our study highlighted the importance of collaborative relationships in supporting these crucial transitions, and highlighted the value of embedding transition support within curricula. It has shown that educators and institutions should work to promote opportunities for reflective learning and dialogue, and prioritise the development of pedagogical relationships in inclusive and supportive learning environments. They also need to recognise the importance of staff development and the allocation of appropriate resourcing.

The focus, contexts and scale of college-based HE raise unique sets of challenges for students and educators – as well as extraordinary opportunities to add value to communities and to transform people’s lives. We have found that a collaborative approach to these transitions, by mirroring the best aspects of that provision itself, can enhance both the learning experience and the learners’ prospects of success.