Background
This case study will use my various roles at Central Saint Martin’s to focus discussion on the effectiveness to which contextual admissions (CA) students are supported through their first year of University. Around half of the hundred or so first years are CA students, yet there is little in the way of extra support for them given demonstrable ongoing difficulties with study. According to the Office for Fair Access, ‘while more disadvantaged youngpeople are in higher education than ever before, the discrepancies between institutions and the numbers of those students leaving before completing their studies continues to grow. (Gilbert, 2019)
Support in studio
An accountability strategy on tutorial days involves creating an informal verbal contract relating to agreed weekly deliverables which the student and myself co construct during tutorials. I have found drawing to be an effective way to dialogue, where comprehension of new exercises are proved through collaborative drawing before the student leaves. This gives us a working document to refer to going forward.
I try to foster a safe and collaborative studio culture by implementing group work and peer led dialogue/feedback where possible. I try to encourage contributions from all students and make sure to positively reinforce their ideas.
Wider strategies
I am also the embedded academic support tutor across the bachelor of arts courses in spatial design and regularly encourage students to attend bookable tutorials via Teams with myself each Friday. Pressures at home lead to unstructured working environments and so strategies often involve schedule creation where best practices are defined, particularly in relation to time constraints. Extra-curricular advice on health and wellbeing are also discussed although this is something I have no formal training in.
Going forward
CA students must be made more visible to staff as many tutors are unaware of their status. A confidential email could encourage tutors to refer students to academic support online (ASO). This needs to be done sensitively so as not to make them feel different from the rest of the year.
ASO could be a much more efficient vehicle for supporting CA students in first year but the larger problem is that uptake for tutorials is at an all-time low. Initially I’d like to implement some of the strategies Judy Willcocks has done to increase participation with the museum and study collection at CSM to make ASO a place students wish to engage. Her strategies included:
- Moving buildings to a more prominent place. Tutorials are online at the moment but I could make a case for creating a destination at CSM, this is entirely possible.
- Pedagogy and learning theories. Continue to develop my learning focussed on themes of enhancing CA student success.
- Delivery of new content. I could partition my hours to deliver more diverse content beyond one to one tutorials. This could include year wide lectures as well as smaller workshops and group work.
- Data gathering. Understand specific challenges students are facing, with a special focus on CA students so as to tailor future content for maximum efficacy. (Willcocks, 2018)
Some evidence would benefit initial enquires where I could map retention rates against CA students and also begin to understand their perspectives and experiences beyond the global student survey and informal conversations. These are as yet unexplored.
References
- Gilbert, J. H., 2019. Precariat insurgency: A means to improve structures of inclusivity in higher education , London: Institute of education press.
- Willcocks, J., 2018. Museum & study collection: Judy Willcocks Copenhagen Presentation [online presentation] (27 June 2018).