All SLN funded research projects were completed in August 2008. Project outcomes will be made available on this website in the near future

The purpose of this project is to focus on the induction of non-traditional learners onto HE courses. It aims to find out, through analysis of student feedback, observation and documentary evidence, whether learners in this group have any specific needs within induction, and if so how these can best be fulfilled.

Plumpton College currently admits a high proportion of non-traditional learners onto higher education courses, and collation of student feedback from previous induction surveys has shown that there are many examples of good practice within the college. The project aims to answer a number of questions in relation to practice at Plumpton and offer suggestions on how good practice could be transferred to other institutions.

Feedback from induction surveys in 2006 will be examined, and several focus groups involving both staff and students will be organised to address the themes arising from the feedback and to answer the questions described above. The groups will also focus on practical ways in which the induction process can be improved for 2007. These will then be implemented during induction in 2007 and feedback from induction surveys collated and analysed.

This work will be carried out across the range of subject areas that the college offers at Level 4.

Project Title, April 2008

All HE students at the college were surveyed following induction in September 2007. These were then collated by subject and year group. The results of these were then analysed and course teams have suggested ways in which the induction process could be improved, based on the feedback from students. These suggestions will be put to the student representative group in April 2008 for final comment before the project is written up.

Contact: Richard Pemble
Email: r.pemble@brighton.ac.uk