The First Year Overview

The focus for the First Year steering committee was 'What do we really want students to gain from their first year in higher education?'

For the purposes of the Theme, the first year was defined as year one entry into a higher education programme, as this is when most students have their initial experience of higher education. However, the committee was mindful of the relevance of aspects of its work to direct entry to later years.

The committee's initial discussions were informed by a scoping paper written by Professor Terry Mayes. The result being to consider how the first year experience can promote student engagement and empowerment, with the overall aim being to make the first year a transformational experience.

Student engagement:
This is seen as a challenging area, its scope including strategies to raise the level of student engagement with the first year, personal development and HE life more generally.

Student empowerment:
This concerns equipping students to take control of their learning and to become autonomous learners. Two key ideas here are the personalisation of taught provision and the development of an extended transition process.

Details of how the First Year Theme developed into a programme of institutional discussions and nine projects can be found here.

Links to the projects can be found on the activities page.