Supporting Teachers who Support Student Transition

"<< Background >>Student dropout & lack of timely completion caused by difficulties experienced in their transition to higher education (HE) is a well-known problem, but higher education institutions (HEIs) have not been able to resolve it so far. Students (SS) who access HE but do not receive the necessary support from Academics (AA) who teach 1st-year courses are, so to speak, let down by the system. This has serious societal & financial costs. AA, in turn, have no access to professional development resources to help them learn how to support ALL students in transition to HE.START addressed the following interconnected needs:- need for HE that will no longer let diverse SS down, effectively excluding them through lack of support;- need for those who teach 1st-year SS to be aware of how & why transition to HE might be difficult & to learn how to promote student retention & set ALL SS for success;- need of Academics working with 1st-year SS for professional development resources & activities that allow to learn to promote student retention & set ALL SS for success;- need of HEIs to easily access professional development tools & materials designed for AA teaching 1st-year SS;- need for better communication with actors of pre-HE sector<< Objectives >>START had 4 objectives:Objective 1: Make those teaching 1st-year courses aware of the difficulties students face when entering HE, on the one hand, & of the special role those teaching 1st-year students have in making HE inclusive, accessible & engaging, on the other.Objective 2: Introduce HE academics to tools & activities they can use in order to set ALL students for success through (1) helping students learn how to learn in HE & (2) revising assessment, learning & teaching activities to help students successfully adapt to learning in this new environment.Objective 3: Agree on indicators of excellence and create tools that can guide professional development efforts & recognition for those who teach 1st-year students and are keen to promote inclusive excellence (student retention & success) through core curriculum activities.Objective 4: Facilitate dialogue with key actors of pre-university education sector, so as to increase the number of diverse students who access HE better PREPARED to learn & succeed in HE environment<< Implementation >>START had 3 key types of activities:(1) work on the project Results - 4 in total;(2) international learning & teaching activities (LTTAs) – 5 in total;(3) Multiplier Events (MEs) – 20 in total (26 sessions)LTTAs were held in each of the project HEIs - one per partner HEI - with a double aim. Firstly, to offer Professional Development activities to Academics working with 1st-year students and to local faculty developers who can later reach more local Academics. Secondly, to pilot project Results, obtain feedback on the materials to be included and collect more elements that can be included into the final versions of the results.The 5 LTTAs were as follows:1. What does student transition to Higher Education imply and why does it matter? (Groningen, Oct. 2022)2. Becoming aware of the students YOU have: what do you need to know about your students and how can you get to know this? (Madrid, Jan. 2023)3. Setting students up for success: Making your expectations clear (Ljubljana, Oct. 2023)4. Ensuring students can succeed: Helping students become the learners YOU want to have & THEY need to be (Poitiers, Mar. 2024)5. Becoming a Higher Education Teacher who can support student transition (Dublin, Oct. 2024)<< Results >>START produced 4 concrete results (all availabe freely via the project website):(1) “Addressing the Why: Why do those teaching first-year students have a special role to play?” Toolkit for promoting awareness of the special role of those teaching first-year students in making Higher Education inclusive and accessible [avaialbe in English, Spanish, French & Slovenian];(2) “How can I help my first-year students engage, persist & succeed?” Handbook [available in English and French](3) “How good am I at supporting student transition?” self-assessment tool [avaialbe in English, Spanish, French & Slovenian](4) “Bridging the inter-sectoral communication gap"" messages for higher education and pre-HE sector actors who need to work togther in order to help more diverse students successfully transition to higher education [available in English]"