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Student learning

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Academic skills for students

The Academic Skills Community is a valuable resource within myBU for all BU students which includes materials on topics ranging from academic writing to research skills; and from intellectual property to plagiarism. These resources are presented in a variety of ways to meet the needs of different styles of learning.

LearnHigherExternal Link is an external initiative committed to improving student learning by providing resources to support students' learning development, and through practice-led research into the effective use of those resources.

The Centre for Excellence in Media Practice (CEMP) provides resources on developing academic assertiveness and critical thinking.

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Student peer support

Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) is a scheme that fosters cross-year support between students on the same programme. PAL encourages students to support each other and to learn co-operatively under the guidance of trained students, called PAL Leaders, from the year above.

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Student retention

Higher Education Retention and Engagement (Here!) project
The Higher Education Retention and Engagement (Here!) project is one of seven projects receiving three years funding totaling£1 million, from HEFCE and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, looking at What Works: Student Retention and Success.  The seven projects are investigating factors that focus on why students remain in HE rather than on their reasons for withdrawal.  

The Here! project is looking at two main strands.  Firstly, it is looking at the triggers that encourage a student to remain at university who may have had doubts about doing so, with the objective of reducing the factors that make students doubt.  Secondly, it is looking at the characteristics of programmes/courses that perform better than their peers in their retention rates with the objective of increasing the factors that help students decide to stay. 

Emerging findings from our research with students suggest that doubting is mostly connected with course related factors, relationships and communication with staff, and life outside of their programme/course of study.  However, what influences them to stay is support from friends and family and their future employability goals.

We are finding that student/student and student/tutor relationships are central to student well being.  The provision of a range of opportunities within the formal and informal curriculum for social and academic engagement are very important and students report wanting to feel valued by staff. 

The support and co-ordination team for the overall funding programme is led by the Higher Education Academy and Action on Access.  Full details of Here! and the other funded projects, including a funding overview, updates, and project information can be found at http://www.actiononaccess.org/index.php?p=11_3

For more information about the Here! project contact ckeenan@bournemouth.ac.uk

Stepping Stones 2HE
“Stepping Stones is a novel approach to transition and induction and has been a focus for developing a fully integrated approach to the first-year experience at BU University for five years. It is designed to provide an introduction to university life that is accessible, meaningful and relevant to all students, whatever their background.”
>> Students getting down to work before they start a university: a model for improving retention

Stepping Stones is an online initiative that allows first year students to engage in course specific academic activities, learn about Study Skills, PDP and employability as well as gaining a feel of the University, all prior to the start of their course.  Stepping Stones also provides that opportunity for students to reflect on their journey through education so far and any anxieties they may feel which can then, if appropriate be addressed by BU staff as a part of the support process.

Ongoing progression of the Stepping Stones project will involve development of multimedia materials to support the process and development of ‘community' amongst new students through the deployment of communication tools and peer based initiatives.

First Year Experience - Special Interest Group (FYE SIG)       
The Bournemouth University First Year Experience SIG was established with the intention of providing a forum for all BU staff who have an interest in the broad experience of first year students. Our belief is, that a successful student experience begins with strong transition support that is closely integrated with a productive, relevant and contextualised induction experience, with ongoing phased induction throughout the first year made more meaningful by being timed to have more relevance, thus providing a firm basis to build on in subsequent years. The FYE SIG members have a wide range of interests around the first year experience, for example, e-learning and the first year experience, critical thinking and the first year experience, widening participation amongst many others.  We invite external speakers to share their learning development experiences with us on a regular basis. For more information about the BU FYE SIG contact ckeenan@bournemouth.ac.uk .

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