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Refmecting on the First Year of Refmecting on the First Year of Implementation of an Institution-wide Implementation of an Institution-wide First- Year Academy Initiative – First- Year Academy Initiative – Highlights and Challenges Highlights and Challenges

Ludolph Botha hlb@sun.ac.za Stellenbosch University South Africa

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Stellenbosch University: Central Campus Stellenbosch University: Central Campus

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Stellenbosch University - Quick Stellenbosch University - Quick Facts Facts

• Research-based University
• 24 378 students (2008)
• Undergraduate: 15 677
• Post-graduate: 8 701
• 2 421 permanent stafg members – academic stafg:

812

• T

en Faculties (Colleges/Schools)

• Four Campuses
• University town
• One third in University housing (residences)
• One third in town (private housing)
• One third commuting

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Overview Overview

• Background and context
• Challenges
• Core of initiative – T

eaching and Learning Coordinating Points (TLCs)

• Important elements
• Framework of continuous monitoring and

evaluation

• Some preliminary results
• Summary and concluding remarks

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Background and Context Background and Context

• Bleak picture for whole higher education system in

South Africa in terms of retention of fjrst-year students:

• 30% attrition end of fjrst year
• 50% attrition end of year three
• First-Year Academy (FYA) ground work started end of

2005:

• report tabled June 2006
• implementation commenced immediately
• 2007 was fjrst full academic year of implementation
• Most important characteristic of FYA initiative:
• institution-wide, systemic-holistic process making buy-in from

everybody essential

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Some Important Challenges Some Important Challenges

• Continuous process to ensure institution-wide buy-

in and involvement: management, faculty stafg, support stafg and students

• FYA is largely virtual – challenging to market, comm

unicate and sell idea

• Integrating existing initiatives impacting on fjrst-

years with new initiatives of FYA, e.g. tutoring and mentoring systems

• Utilizing technology optimally and creatively
• Developing early assessment system and
• rchestrating whole University to participate and

follow-up on results

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Core of FYA Initiative Core of FYA Initiative

• Central questions were:
• how to get faculty, support stafg, management and students

to participate and cooperate in FYA to achieve optimal student success?

• how can the in-class experience and out-of-class experience

both contribute towards academic success?

• Establishment of T

eaching and Learning Coordinating points (TLCs) provided some meaningful answers:

• senior academics convene/chair these forums (many cases

deputy deans)

• academic stafg teaching fjrst-years, and those responsible for

curriculation of fjrst-year programmes are involved

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Core of FYA Initiative (cont) Core of FYA Initiative (cont)

• very important aspect: include support stafg, e.g. student

services, academic support, student housing, as well as students

• regular meetings with reporting channel through faculty

council, to Senate and University Council

• common goal: work together to improve fjrst-years’

academic success

• fjrst time that non-academic variables are very deliberately

taken into consideration as important contributing factors in faculty context - factors such as student housing, sport, recreation, wellness: student as whole person (this corresponds with work of Astin 1997 and McCuskey and Dunckel 2006)

• Schematic representation

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Important Elements in FYA Important Elements in FYA

• First-year monitoring system (Dr Susan van Schalkwyk’s paper) :
• early assessment - objective: early warning and assistance
• mark for every fjrst-year module loaded within fjrst six weeks
• clear message (picture) of who high-risk students are: students,

lecturing stafg, management and parents get information

• technology plays important role
• Early support survey: system with immediate feedback to s

tudents

• Expansion and decentralization of tutor system
• Improvement and expansion of residential mentoring

system

• Much improved training programme for tutors and mentors

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Important Elements in FYA (cont) Important Elements in FYA (cont)

• Profjling of fjrst-year students much improved:
• quantitative data, such as results of grade 11, 12, access tests

and early assessment scores

• qualitative data obtained with Alpha Baseline Questionnaire,

Progress Questionnaire

• prediction model (combine qualitative and quantitative

variables) – provides clearer picture of variables determining academic success at our institution (Dr Alten du Plessis’s paper)

• Tracking system: brings all data on fjrst-years together:
• easier to monitor and identify high-risk students
• can assist more meaningfully and timeously when necessary
• research based, e.g. cohort analyses, impact of non-academic

variables, etc

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Important Elements in FYA (cont) Important Elements in FYA (cont)

• Various mechanisms to share good practice,

market FYA and encourage research:

• Scholarship of T

eaching and Learning (in-house) Conference (SOTL)

• Fund for innovation and research in teaching and learning

(FIRLT)

• Rewarding top papers at SOTL conference
• Publishing best work in in-house media (e.g. T

eaching Matters @ Stellenbosch University – an electronic journal)

• Rewarding top achieving fjrst-years and lecturers of

fjrst-year students at Prestigious Dinner with Vice

• Chancellor as host

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Important Elements in FYA (cont) Important Elements in FYA (cont)

• Imbedding FYA in formal structures of University:
• section in Centre for T

eaching and Learning with senior stafg member as Coordinator of FYA

• FYA Committee (Vice-Rector chairperson) – sub-committee of

the Senate Committee for T eaching and Learning

• annual reporting on FYA – Senate and University Council
• Continuous research on fjrst-year issues and the FYA:
• teaching large classes
• the role of e-learning
• the role of identity and culture
• the role of language of instruction in the multilingual

classroom

• predicting fjrst-year success, etc

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A Process of Continuous Monitoring and A Process of Continuous Monitoring and Evaluation Evaluation

Longitudinal Evaluation: 3+1 year

Quantitative data available since 1999 for first-year students

2007 2008 2009

Compare previous 10 years with data since inception of FYA Qualitative data available since 2002 for first-year students

2007 2008 2009

Compare previous 5 years with data since inception of FYA

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A Process of Continuous Monitoring A Process of Continuous Monitoring and Evaluation (cont) and Evaluation (cont)

Continuous evaluation of elements of the FYA with the view to assess and improve (collecting data remains important)

Marketing & recruitment of prospective students (Access Tests) Functionality of TLCs Welcoming programme for new students Training mentors and tutors – assessing impact of their work Analyzing early assess- ment data – correlating with final marks Monitoring retention and success rates

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Some Preliminary Results Some Preliminary Results

• Institution responds positively and overall impression is

that FYA adds to success, because:

• TLC feedback on structured questionnaire 80% positive
• feedback from mentor and tutor programmes positive
• number of fjrst-years going to Student Counselling for problems

with adaptation – signifjcantly lower that previous years

• greater awareness of teaching and learning issues in faculties

(especially with reference to fjrst-years)

• signifjcantly more teaching and learning research initiatives aimed

at fjrst-years than ever before in institution

• great enthusiasm and excellent participation during in-house

conference on the Scholarship of T eaching and Learning – considerable interest in fjrst regional FYE Conference in Africa from 8 to 10 September 2008

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Retention Rates of First-year Retention Rates of First-year Students Students 1998 - 2007 1998 - 2007

79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

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Percentage Credits Passed by 1 Percentage Credits Passed by 1st

st years:

years: 1998 - 2007 1998 - 2007

70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 1998 2000 2002 2004 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2006

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Weighted Average (%) Achieved: Weighted Average (%) Achieved: First-year Students of 1998 - 2007 First-year Students of 1998 - 2007

48 48.5 49 49.5 50 50.5 51 51.5 52 52.5 53 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

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Summary and Concluding Summary and Concluding Remarks Remarks

Research- based Approach FYA part

• f Institutional

Structure Tracking System Technological Support Rewarding 1st year T&L ResEd Mentoring and Tutoring Early Assessment TLCs Successful First-year Student

Systemic-Holistic Approach Enhances the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

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Summary and Concluding Remarks Summary and Concluding Remarks (cont) (cont)

• Essence of Stellenbosch University’s FYA initiativ

e: It is a systemic-holistic, institution-wide proce ss where all parties (stafg and students) particip ate in re-thinking, re-inventing and re-aligning e verything at our University which impacts on our f irst-years students’ wellness and academic success

• It is a network (web) of people, actions and

mechanisms focusing mainly on improving teaching and learning

• Approach is in line with Organizational Theory which is

part of Systems Theory

• The following quotations illustrate the connection of the

approach adopted with the FYA to the Systems Theory:

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Summary and Concluding Remarks Summary and Concluding Remarks (cont) (cont)

• “A systemic view on organizations is transdisciplinary

and integrative. In other words, it transcends the perspectives of individual disciplines, integrating them … The systems approach gives primacy to the interrelationships, not to the elements of the system. It is from these dynamic interrelationships that the new properties of the system emerge. In recent years systems thinking has been developed to provide techniques for studying systems in holistic ways to supplement traditional reductionistic methods” (Mattessich 1978 and Capra 1996).

• “In simple terms, it was meant to promote the study of

entire systems rather than elements (aspects, parts) of systems” (Jordaan and Jordaan 2003).

22 Any questions? Any questions?

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Implementation: Early Support Implementation: Early Support Questionnaire Questionnaire

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Prestige Dinner for First-years and Favourite Lecturers Julia Wahren Julia Wahren

“You have made a major contribution to my

• success. Not only did you encourage and care

about us students, but you made a winner out of me by showing me that I can reach out beyond my borders. ”

Ms Lindie Korf Ms Lindie Korf

“From a lecturer’s point of view, it was a privilege to have you in my class. I was so impressed by your ability to strike a fjne balance between facts and interpretation and to weave them together so skilfully. It is an art on which historians pride themselves and it is not easily

• mastered. ”

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Prestige Dinner for First-years and Favourite Lecturers Dirk Badenhorst Dirk Badenhorst

“The presentation of his classes was excellent. Basic principles in physics were demonstrated with very interesting practical examples. Almost like magic tricks – his classes were not only brilliant, but also great fun! ”

Dr Gillian Arendse Dr Gillian Arendse

“Somebody who takes responsibility for his own learning; somebody who is aware of his own abilities; somebody who is minimizing the “negative” infmuences in his life and uses the “positive” experiences to push him forward; somebody who serves as a role-model to others (sometimes without being aware of it).”

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Establishment of TLCs in Faculties Establishment of TLCs in Faculties

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Systemic-holistic: Buy-in from Everybody Essential Systemic-holistic: Buy-in from Everybody Essential

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Largely Virtual Largely Virtual