The School of Service Management (SSM) is designing a number of top-up routes into their degree programme. This development has meant changes in the way students are recruited. In the past students required a merit profile which included Research Methods. After discussion SSM has agreed that students with 240 Foundation degree points (without Research Methods) may directly enter at Level 3. However, the skills of research methods are still required and therefore it is necessary to examine alternative ways to address this. Additionally, now that SSM will be taking students into Level 3 with lower grades (pass instead of merit) than previously experienced there is concern over the student experience.

This research is designed to develop the necessary curriculum changes to enable the new proposed admissions criteria to work, and to gain an understanding from students coming directly into Level 3 regarding their learning experiences.

Project Update April 2008

This year (2008/09) the School of Service Management (SSM) recruited 91 Level 3 direct entry students, of which 85 are currently still enrolled on Travel, Tourism and Hospitality route ways. Sixty eight of these students have been recruited from both British and Overseas Partnership Colleges, the remaining students have been recruited from a range of other institutions from around the globe.

Due to the change in the admissions policy to widen participation 13 students were admitted into Level 3 although they did not have previous knowledge of Research Methods from a previous institution. A series of Research Methods workshops in Student Week and access to a dedicated on-line Research Methods Resource Centre were set up. This enabled the students to develop the necessary skills in order to continue with the Final Year Dissertation.

All direct Level 3 students were given a questionnaire in Student Week; this produced only 2 student responses and was disappointing. The semester 1 focus groups have produced some interesting data and the semester 2 focus groups will take place later this month on the theme of the dissertation and the engagement of critical thinking.

Email: amb16@brighton.ac.uk