induction report to council
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Induction and Transition – Report to Academic Council January 2010 ‐ Educational Development
Introduction
In April 2009 the new Policy framework for the Student Experience of Arrival, Induction and
Orientation was approved by Academic Council, which coincided with the discontinuation of the
Enhanced Induction
project.
This
paper
will
report
on
the
impact
of
the
Policy
framework
so
far
and
on the embedding of enhanced induction practices in Schools and Offices. As a direct result of the
Policy, of the Enhanced induction project, and of Educational Development work, considerable
progress has been made in establishing a number of concrete initiatives which are continuing and
being shared between Schools and disseminated across the University. However, a textual analysis
of student comments from this year’s induction survey provides evidence of particular areas
requiring further work, including better and timelier communication with students, and increasing
opportunities for socialisation with students and tutors.
In addition to specifically commenting on these, this report will offer a number of concrete
recommendations for future work.
Developments in 2009/10:
1. Policy The Central Enhanced Induction Steering group has acted as a key coordinating group as specified in
the Policy overseeing the planning cycle, monitoring activities and evaluation, and facilitating
collaboration and problem‐solving across sectors and campuses. The group met 3 times in 2009 in
May, July and November with a membership including OSA, School representatives, ILS,
SUUG/UMSA and Educational Development
Collaboration between Schools, Offices and SUUG/UMSA has continued to grow. The Campus
Induction group in Greenwich is an example of a model of good practice which grew out of the
Enhanced Induction project development and which continues to be a base for collaborative
planning and delivery of induction by OSA, Schools, ILS and SUUG on the Greenwich campus.
Some Schools had designated Induction Coordinators in place but as a result of the Policy
Framework, others have appointed new co‐ordinators. Induction programmes in Schools vary
considerably in their organisation and planning and, whereas some Schools have an established
induction planning group (as per the Policy), some induction programmes are planned and delivered
on a programme rather than a School basis. The role of the Induction Coordinator thus varies in
content and workload, and the absence of a tariff or specific resourcing are a cause of concern to
many coordinators.
Educational Development has convened an Induction Network group which brings together all
Induction Coordinators and others with key responsibility for induction, including OSA, ILS, SUUG,
UMSA, UGflex and Marketing. The group has met twice so far this session and reports to the Central
Steering group. Its role is to support discussion of induction principles and the development of
practice in relation to the Policy and to existing and emerging practice in the sector; sharing and
developing new ideas; building collaborative relationships; identifying problems and key areas where
change or further work is needed. A number of the recommendations in this report have emerged
from discussions within this group.
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Induction and Transition – Report to Academic Council January 2010 ‐ Educational Development
2. Activities Evaluation
The University Induction Survey (appendix A) was revised in consultation with the Induction Network
Group and
advertised
via
personal
to
all
new
students,
on
the
portal
and,
through
by
SUUG/UMSA. Student response was lower than in 2008‐9 which may be related to the fact that
some Schools and/or Programmes are now conducting their own evaluation at an earlier stage.
Educational Development and the Induction Network Group will be looking at improving
coordination of evaluation for autumn 2010.
A text analysis of the free text fields in the Induction Survey (appendix B) repeats and reinforces
feedback from previous surveys, particularly in relation to new students’ desire to spend time with
tutors and other students. There is more positive response to transition activities and staff contact
but students are clearly indicating that they want more of both. Some negative responses relate to
this issue, and many express the need for more information. A number of the recommendations at
the end
of
this
paper
address
issues
of
information
(see
appendix
C for
use
of
the
New
Arrivals
webpage). It is notable that registration procedures did not attract significant negative comment as
they have in previous years – this is consonant with feedback from staff about the success of online
registration.
There was some brief preliminary discussion of the survey results at the Induction Network Group
and responses broken down by School/Office/SUUG/UMSA were sent to key staff responsible. It is
not clear at this point how each School makes use of its survey results.
A student focus group on induction will meet in February on the Greenwich campus. In addition to
providing a forum for students to share general views, student responses will be sought on specific
areas of
current
planning
such
as
transitional
materials.
Extending transition
Despite the variation in induction and transition activities offered across the University one common
factor is the trend towards extending these into the autumn term to reduce overload in the first
week, and to recognise and support transition as an ongoing process. In some Schools or
Programmes there is a designated ‘Review’ or ‘Skills’ week mid‐term where opportunities for
consolidation and catch‐up are provided, and some programmes build transition activities into
assessed coursework.
A Fresher’s Refresher week was piloted on the Greenwich campus in October by Educational
Development working
with
the
Campus
Head
of
OSA,
SUUG,
continuing
students
and
some
School
staff. Workshops were poorly attended but provided a useful ‘shop‐window’ for student services
with minimal resourcing costs. There was positive student response to a fresher’s check‐up
conducted by continuing students, which also provided a snap‐shot of new students’ transitional
progress (see appendix D).
These emerging developments reflect trends in the sector towards understanding transition as an
on‐going process lasting throughout the first term or even year.
SUUG/UMSA There was a greatly improved range of activities for students on all campuses, and
hopefully this will be continued and lead to the development of healthy, active Student Societies.
The SU
reps
come
to
meetings
regularly
and
contribute
with
ideas
for
future
developments.
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Induction and Transition – Report to Academic Council January 2010 ‐ Educational Development Educational Development Workshops
Workshops on Induction for Academic tutors took place in July and in September, on all 3 campuses
and provided a valuable opportunity for longstanding and new tutors to discuss and share
experience and ideas. In April 2009 a conference jointly organised by Educational Development and
OSA entitled “Planning for a Better Induction” (see: http://web‐dev‐
csc.gre.ac.uk/conference/conf52/index.php) was
held
on
the
Greenwich
campus.
This
provided
opportunities to reflect on outcomes from the Enhanced Induction project, an introduction to the
proposed policy framework, and involved external and internal speakers. A key part of the
conference was an introduction to current developments in pre‐arrival engagement and transition
provision from a leading figure in the sector who returned in June to run a 2 day workshop with
academic and academic support staff. This workshop focussed particularly on the role of pre‐entry/
entry discipline‐based activities that provided a smooth transition into the Higher Education
academic world and community
3. Pre‐arrival Development
of
school
websites
There is a growing awareness in Schools of the need for School web‐based transition materials and
information, and some Schools have web material already in use or in development. Educational
Development is working with Marketing and with the Business School on a pilot reusable School‐
based model.
Medway Orientation website
An integrated orientation website has been developed at Medway as a campus‐based point of
access to University and local information and evaluation of the project will be available during
2010.
Joining Instructions
Revised Joining Instructions sent by post no longer include details of first arrival which will now
appear only online (see information above regarding Medway Orientation website). The Joining
Instructions currently in use have been revised in consultation with the Induction Network Group to
include a paragraph about the start of term, emphasising the importance of attendance at
induction/transition activities.
Development of VIP
The VIP facility in the Customer Relations Management (CRM) system has been piloted as part of the
International Students orientation at Medway, and VIP on‐line chat for students pre‐arrival has been
piloted with the Science School. It is hoped that these pilots, if successful, will be extended in 2010.
4. Transitional Material Publications i. Educational Development’s ‘Guidelines on Induction for Tutors’ was revised and circulated
online for September induction. The guidelines will be further revised in consultation with
the Induction Network Group.
ii. a ‘Useful Information for New Students’ booklet was produced by Marketing (with the
Business School) and will be amended and revised by Marketing and Educational
Development for use in September 2010.
iii. a ‘Rough guide to the First Year’ which developed out of the Fresher’s Refreshers week at
Greenwich, comprises top tips for induction from new and continuing students, a fresher’s
checklist and
a new
glossary
of
terms
for
students.
Available
online
in
2009
‐2010,
this
will
be
revised and printed as a leaflet for autumn 2010.
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Induction and Transition – Report to Academic Council January 2010 ‐ Educational Development
iv. The Law Department commissioned a University of Greenwich Planner on sale at the
University bookshop. Law, Educational Development and the student Focus Group will be
evaluating the future potential of this.
5. Recommendations There are a number of recommendations stemming from this year’s work that we would like Council
to endorse to enable us to take forward these initiatives
1. There is widespread agreement across the University that the term ‘induction’ is not clear or
helpful for students and that it creates an impression that it is not mandatory. It even appears to
discourage some students from attending. We recommend further discussion about the most
appropriate terminology. Communications with new undergraduate students could more
usefully be conducted in terms of “the beginning of term” without use of the word induction, as
in the
currently
revised
Joining
Instructions.
We
further
recommend
that
discussions
within
the
University and between staff could be framed around “transition” rather than induction,
transition to include the assumption that students’ point of entry is the beginning of term and is
week 1 rather than being seen as ‘week 0’ and optional; also to indicate, in terms of planning,
that this is an ongoing process which starts before arrival and lasts throughout the first term at
least
2. Educational Development to work with staff across the University to develop and improve pre‐
arrival communications and information including:
i. consultation across the university to examine and evaluate communications with
students between final acceptance and arrival, working towards a more systematic and
integrated approach
between
Admissions,
Schools,
Marketing,
OSA
and
SUUG/UMSA
ii. further development of School and/or campus‐based induction websites.
iii. evaluation and extension of the potential of VIP and CRM to enhance ‘beginning of term’
transition
3. Continued development of the range of transitional activities on offer including:
i. Schools’ development of transitional pedagogical designs to combine academic
orientation and socialisation, and increasing opportunities for students to engage with
their tutors
ii. OSA , including accommodation , and working with SUUG/UMSA, to develop integrated
orientation campus‐based activities.
iii. January starters
to
be
included
in
these
developments
iv. Central Induction Steering Group to oversee development of guidelines on transition
activities considered essential to establish a common core of minimum student
entitlement, e.g. time with personal tutor; role of personal/academic tutors, skills audit,
as recommended in Employment Strategy. Consideration to be given to how these
developments might be applied to returning students with an increased awareness of
their continuing transitional needs
4. Schools to report to Central Induction Steering group at the appropriate time, with subsequent
reporting to DVCs responsible for different Schools on:
i. the resourcing allocated to induction coordinators to carry out agreed responsibilities
ii. induction/ transitional
plans
and
processes
including
evaluation
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Induction and Transition – Report to Academic Council January 2010 ‐ Educational Development 5. Development of a university online survey tool to enable continuation of a single on‐line survey
to incorporate school specific questions and facilitate Schools’ ability to interrogate results at
programme level; to include evaluation of January inductions.
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Appendix A - University of Greenw ich Induction Survey 2009
1. To thank you for your time, you are invited to enter into a three prize draw for Marks & Spencer or Amazon
vouchers worth £25 each. Prize winners will be notified by email soon after the survey closes on 9th
November 2009. If you wish to be entered, please enter your email address into the box below, so we can
contact you to make an arrangement for your prize to be collected.
Response
Count
675
answered question 675
skipped question 89
2. Your school is:
Response
Percent
Response
Count
Architecture & Construction 4.9% 37
The Business School 26.2% 199
Computing & Mathematical
Sciences13.8% 105
Education and Training 13.0% 99
Engineering 9.7% 74
Greenwich Maritime Institute 1.6% 12
Health & Social Care 11.9% 90
Humanities & Social Sciences 8.4% 64
Medway School of Pharmacy 2.0% 15
Natural Resources Institute 0.9% 7
Science 7.5% 57
answered question 759
skipped question 5
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3. Your campus is:
Response
Percent
Response
Count
Greenwich Maritime 52.3% 394
Avery Hill 27.9% 210
Medway 20.3% 153
Folkestone 0.1% 1
Partner College 0.4% 3
If you are studying at a Partner College, please tell us which one. 8
answered question 754
skipped question 10
4. Are you planning to attend any 'Freshers Refresher' activites at the Greenwich Campus between Oct 26th -
30th?
Response
Percent
Response
Count
Yes 18.0% 135
No 49.7% 372
Maybe 32.3% 242
answered question 749
skipped question 15
5. Please state the programme you are studying, i.e. BA Accounting and Financial Systems. If you are unsure,write "unsure".
Response
Count
696
answered question 696
skipped question 68
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6. What level of study are you?
Response
Percent
Response
Count
First year undergraduate 38.6% 290
Second year undergraduate (directentry)
5.9% 44
Third year undergraduate (direct
entry)10.1% 76
Postgraduate 36.8% 277
Short course 1.9% 14
Foundation course 2.9% 22
Continuing student 2.0% 15
Other 1.9% 14
Other (please specify) 31
answered question 752
skipped question 12
7. How would you classify yourself?
Response
Percent
Response
Count
UK student (Full-Time) 44.3% 335
UK Student (Part-Time) 11.1% 84
EU student (Full-Time) 8.9% 67
EU student (Part-Time) 0.8% 6
International student (Full-Time) 33.2% 251
International student (Part-Time) 1.7% 13
answered question 756
skipped question 8
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8. How would you describe yourself?
Response
Percent
Response
Count
Male 46.8% 353
Female 52.7% 398
Black or ethnic minority (BME) 8.5% 64
White 29.9% 226
I would prefer to describe myself as: 74
answered question 755
skipped question 9
9. How old are you?
Response
Percent
Response
Count
Under 21 23.6% 179
21-30 50.5% 383
31-40 13.8% 105
41-50 8.8% 67
51-65 3.3% 25
over 65 0.0% 0
answered question 759
skipped question 5
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10. Where do you live during term-time?
Response
Percent
Response
Count
locally, at home 42.9% 316
locally, in halls of residence 14.4% 106
locally, in rented accommodation 35.3% 260
other 7.3% 54
Other (please specify) 73
answered question 736
skipped question 28
11. I received the information I needed about the Induction/Freshers week before arrival.
Response
Percent
Response
Count
Agree strongly 23.6% 178
Agree 40.3% 304
Neither agree nor disagree 11.4% 86
Disagree 14.3% 108
Disagree Strongly 10.3% 78
How did you f ind out about induction, i .e letter, website, email, facebook, etc 443
answered question 754
skipped question 10
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12. Please say how many of the planned Induction/Freshers events you attended?
Response
Percent
Response
Count
All of them 16.2% 122
Some of them 53.4% 403
None of them 30.4% 229
Please say why you didn't attend events, if appropriate 229
answered question 754
skipped question 10
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13. Please rate the following (but only if you experienced it!
By the end of Induction/ Freshers week:
Strongly
agreeAgree
Neither
agree
nor
disagree
Strongly
disagreeDisagree N/A
Rating
Average
Res
Co
I felt valued19.0%
(129)
42.5%
(289)
22.2%
(151)
3.4%
(23)5.1% (35)
7.8%
(53)2.28
I could use the library35.3%
(245)
43.7%
(303)
7.2%
(50)
3.7%
(26)5.5% (38)
4.6%
(32)1.96
I knew online learning resources
were available
34.8%
(241)
45.8%
(317)
8.8%
(61)
2.6%
(18)4.3% (30)
3.6%
(25)1.92
I had met my tutor(s)
37.8%
(264)
40.3%
(281)
7.9%
(55)
4.6%
(32) 4.9% (34)
4.6%
(32) 1.94
I could find my way around the
campus
33.8%
(234)
44.0%
(305)
10.5%
(73)
3.5%
(24)4.3% (30)
3.9%
(27)1.97
I could find my way around the
local area
22.6%
(155)
38.6%
(265)
20.6%
(141)
5.7%
(39)6.9% (47)
5.7%
(39)2.32
I knew what help was available in
the Student Centre
26.9%
(185)
37.3%
(256)
16.0%
(110)
6.3%
(43)9.0% (62)
4.5%
(31)2.30
I had had the opportunity to meet
other students and staff at a social
event
21.3%
(147)
37.0%
(255)
16.7%
(115)
7.4%
(51)8.1% (56)
9.4%
(65)2.38
I had met students from other
years
14.8%
(101)
30.5%
(208)
15.4%
(105)
14.5%
(99)
15.3%
(104)
9.4%
(64)2.83
I learned something related to my
subject
27.2%
(186)
44.9%
(307)
12.1%
(83)
4.8%
(33)5.0% (34)
6.0%
(41)2.10
I had registered sucessfully47.2%
(326)
32.9%
(227)
4.6%
(32)
6.7%
(46) 5.1% (35)
3.5%
(24) 1.85
I had built positive relationships
with teaching staff
21.0%
(144)
38.7%
(265)
27.6%
(189)
3.4%
(23)4.8% (33)
4.5%
(31)2.29
I had built positive relationships
with other students
31.8%
(219)
45.3%
(312)
13.2%
(91)
2.8%
(19)2.2% (15)
4.8%
(33)1.93
I had built positive relationships
with support staff, eg school
office, student centre, library
17.6%
(120)
33.1%
(226)
29.2%
(199)
5.4%
(37)7.5% (51)
7.2%
(49)2.48
Please comment on other positive or negative experiences.
answered question
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skipped question
14. This question relates to the Students' Union Activities and services, provided at Greenwich and Avery Hill
(SUUG). If you use Medway Campus for these services, please go to question 15.
Please rate the following (but only if you've received/attended/purchased/visited!):
Very
goodGood Average Poor
Very
poorN/A
Rating
Average
Response
Count
Freshers Guide17.4%
(90)
34.4%
(178)
15.7%
(81)
2.1%
(11)
3.1%
(16)
27.3%
(141)2.16 517
Freshers Fair (Avery Hill Campus)6.7%
(30)
14.7%
(66)
9.6%
(43)
3.3%
(15)
2.7%
(12)
63.1%
(284)2.48 450
Freshers Fair (Greenwich Campus)12.0%
(60)
21.6%
(108)
13.0%
(65)
3.4%
(17)
3.8%
(19)
46.3%
(232)2.36 501
Sports Day3.7%
(18)
11.2%
(54)
11.0%
(53)
2.5%
(12)
2.3%
(11)
69.2%
(333)2.62 481
Neon Party6.3%
(30)
12.5%
(60)
9.8%
(47)
2.5%
(12)
2.7%
(13)
66.3%
(318)2.49 480
Freshers Ball9.4%
(46)
14.4%
(70)
8.4%
(41)
2.5%
(12)
2.3%
(11)
63.0%
(307)2.29 487
Freshers Wristband
5.9%
(29)
11.7%
(57)
10.0%
(49)
6.1%
(30)
5.5%
(27)
60.7%
(296) 2.84 488
Students' Union reception (Cooper
Building, Greenwich)
11.5%
(58)
23.6%
(119)
12.9%
(65)
2.8%
(14)
3.0%
(15)
46.3%
(234)2.30 505
Students Union reception
(Southwood site, Avery Hill)
8.5%
(40)
18.8%
(88)
8.1%
(38)
1.1%
(5)
2.3%
(11)
61.2%
(287)2.23 469
Students' Union shop (Cooper
Building, Greenwich)
11.6%
(58)
24.2%
(121)
12.6%
(63)
2.8%
(14)
2.4%
(12)
46.4%
(232)2.26 500
Village Shop (Southwood site,
Avery Hill)
9.4%
(44)
20.0%
(94)
14.3%
(67)
1.3%
(6)
1.9%
(9)
53.1%
(249)2.28 469
Bar Latitude (Cooper Building,
Greenwich)
13.1%
(65)
19.2%
(95)
12.7%
(63)
3.8%
(19)
3.4%
(17)
47.8%
(237)2.34 496
Le Cafe (Library building,
Greenwich)
12.4%
(62)
22.6%
(113)
13.6%
(68)
3.2%
(16)
2.6%
(13)
45.5%
(227)2.28 499
Engine Room Cafe (Mansion site,
Avery Hill)
5.9%
(28)
18.3%
(86)
11.7%
(55)
2.5%
(12)
1.9%
(9)
59.7%
(281)
2.41 471
Sparrows Farm (Southwood site,
Avery Hill)
7.3%
(34)
14.7%
(68)
10.4%
(48)
2.4%
(11)
2.8%
(13)
62.4%
(289)2.43 463
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Please comment on other positive or negative experiences. 94
answered question 568
skipped question 196
15. This question relates to the Students Union Activities and services, provided by the Universities of Medway
Student Association (UMSA)on the Medway Campus.
Please rate the following (but only if you've received/attended/purchased/visited!):
Very
goodGood Average Poor
Very
poorN/A
Rating
Average
Response
Count
Freshers Ball9.3%
(32)
17.7%
(61)
4.7%
(16)
1.2%
(4)
1.7%
(6)
65.4%
(225)2.08 344
Freshers' Handbook18.5%
(65)
18.2%
(64)
7.1%
(25)
0.9%
(3)
2.0%
(7)
53.3%
(187)1.92 351
Societies Fayre9.9%
(34)
13.7%
(47)
9.9%
(34)
2.0%
(7)
1.7%
(6)
62.7%
(215)2.25 343
Sports Fayre7.7%
(26)
11.2%
(38)
9.2%
(31)
2.7%
(9)
1.8%
(6)
67.5%
(228)2.37 338
Advice Centre (Pilkington Building)15.4%
(53)
16.0%
(55)
6.7%
(23)
1.2%
(4)
1.2%
(4)
59.6%
(205)1.93 344
Pilkington Reception 14.7%(52)
20.3%(72)
5.4%(19)
0.8%(3)
1.1%(4)
57.6%(204)
1.90 354
Essentials Shop13.4%
(47)
18.2%
(64)
11.4%
(40)
2.8%
(10)
1.4%
(5)
52.8%
(186)2.17 352
Super Coopers Freshers' Ball8.0%
(27)
12.7%
(43)
8.0%
(27)
1.2%
(4)
1.5%
(5)
68.7%
(233)2.22 339
Freshers' wristband6.8%
(23)
11.5%
(39)
7.4%
(25)
2.4%
(8)
3.2%
(11)
68.8%
(234)2.48 340
Coopers12.7%
(44)
15.3%
(53)
6.9%
(24)
2.0%
(7)
1.7%
(6)
61.4%
(213)2.09 347
Purple10.1%
(34)
13.3%
(45)
5.9%
(20)
3.0%
(10)
1.5%
(5)
66.3%
(224)2.18 338
Please comment on other positive or negative experiences. 52
answered question 367
skipped question 397
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16. What were your expectations of Induction/Freshers Week?
Response
Count
491
answered question 491
skipped question 273
17. My expectations of Induction/Freshers Week were met
Response
Percent
Response
Count
Agree strongly 16.2% 111
Agree 37.7% 258
Neither agree nor disagree 30.8% 211
Disagree 8.3% 57
Disagree Strongly 6.9% 47
answered question 684
skipped question 80
18. Should anything have been left out or included in the Induction/Freshers week?
Response
Count
362
answered question 362
skipped question 402
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19. At this stage, would you recommend the University of Greenwich to your friends?
Response
Percent
Response
Count
Yes 89.9% 653
No 10.1% 73
Please comment on your answer 398
answered question 726
skipped question 38
20. Do you have any other comments or suggestions for improvement? These may relate to any aspects of
Induction/Freshers Week.
Response
Count
310
answered question 310
skipped question 454
21. Thank-you for completing this questionnaire. Your comments will help us think about ways to improve the
induction process. If you would be happy to take part in future focus group meetings with other students on
this or other aspects of your learning experience, please add your email address below.
Dr Sally Alsford, Induction Coordinator, Educational Development, University of Greenwich.
Response
Percent
Response
Count
first name 99.3% 585
preferred email 98.6% 581
telephone 78.8% 464
answered question 589
skipped question 175
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Induction and Transition – Report to Academic Council January 2010 ‐ Educational Development Appendix B ‐ Text Analysis of Student Induction Survey Questionnaire
Introduction
This analysis
is
concerned
with
the
free
text
fields
of
the
Student
Induction
Survey
questionnaire.
The main purpose is to find recurrent patterns in the free text fields and to extract opinions and
attitudes expressed by the students.
There are nine such free text fields in the survey. One of them simply asks the students to state
which programme they are studying and is not very useful for the analysis. The remaining eight fields
have been included in the analysis, although some contain very few replies and, thus, yield few clear
patterns.
The method used has been to extract high frequency words from the texts and further examine
collocations with those words in order to establish common patterns that may express commonly
held opinions.
Each of these fields will be analysed, separately, and commented on, along with some comments
about the overall impression. There were in total 750 responses, when duplicates had been
removed.
Analysis
Question: 'What were your expectations of Induction/Fresher’s Week?'
A total of 479 responses yielded 6842 word tokens. One of the most common words was 'meet' (77
times) and when collocates were analysed it seemed to express that students were happy to meet
other students and also staff and tutors. If 'meet' was used in a negative context it was when
students complained about not getting to meet tutors and other students as much as they had
hoped.
The word 'expected' was fairly frequent (55 times) and was used to express a degree of
dissatisfaction. They expected or hoped for more of a variety of things, such as information and time
with the tutors. The word was also used to express a surprise that the induction exceeded their
expectations. Some examples from the replies may illustrate this. Some comments were negative,
such as 'expected it to be more informative and less boring' or 'I expected to meet more students
and have a better relationship with teachers. Also expected a really good freshers fayre. Couldn't
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Induction and Transition – Report to Academic Council January 2010 ‐ Educational Development believe that there wasn’t (?) even 1 bank attending'. But there are also a number of comments
which seem to indicate that they expected less and were pleasantly surprised, 'expected it to be as
rubbish as the previous two years...i was pleasantly surprised' and 'I believe that it was not what I
expected. I expected to not fit and be lonely but actually we were all "in the same boat" and so I
made friends very quickly and had a great laugh! I want to do it all again next year!'
Words like 'not' (49 times) and 'good' (42 times) may be expected to express the students’ attitudes.
'Not' was often used expressing that there was not enough information, or that they were not
attending. Otherwise it was quite often used to state that it was not what they had expected, and
we have seen above that this meant both exceeding expectations and not living up to them. 'Good'
was almost only used in very short replies, such as, 'good' or 'very good'. Notably, there were no
simple 'not good' replies.
The word 'friends' was used 24 times and was often used to express a hope to meet new friends.
There are less clear patterns when it comes to expressing the outcome. At least this seems to
indicate the importance of induction for the students, as a means of making them fit in and find
friends.
Tutors (20 times) and staff (18 times) seem to be sought after. If comments were positive it was
because they got to meet them and if negative indicates that they felt that there was too little
contact.
The overall impression of the replies in this field is that the students see induction as an opportunity
to meet new friends and be acquainted with staff and tutors and that to some extent their
expectations were met or exceeded but there is a small amount of dissatisfaction expressed, mainly
about too little contact with staff and tutors and too little information.
Question: 'Should anything have been left out or included in the Induction/Fresher’s week?'
352 replies yielded a total of 3260 word tokens.
Generally there is a demand for more 'information', 'activities', 'fun' and more 'time'. There seems to
be a demand for more of the induction activities, opportunity to socialise and, of course, information
along with more time with the tutors.
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Induction and Transition – Report to Academic Council January 2010 ‐ Educational Development The word 'no' was used 88 times making it one of the most frequent words but it was most often
used as a simple 'no', presumably indicating that there was nothing to complain about. A third of the
replies were short statements, such as, 'no', 'n/a' or 'nope'.
'Not' was
used
32
times
and
most
often
indicated
that
they
were
not
attending
or
did
not
partake
fully. There were some complains about not enough information.
Words, such as 'events', 'time' and 'information' are interesting and were used 21, 20 and 19 times
respectively. They all collocate with 'more' and seem to indicate that the students want more time,
more social events and more information. There were some, and quite diverse, specific requests
about information about such things as 'library', 'e‐ journal' or 'induction sessions'.
'Activities' was used 13 times and seem to be used when students asked for more social activities.
The impression of the replies in this field is that the students are happy with what there is but want
more of the good things, such as information and social events.
Question: 'Please comment on other positive or negative experiences.'
(after answering questions about Super Coopers Fresher's Ball, Fresher’s wristband, Coopers, and
Purple).
This field yielded only a small number of replies, in total there were only 50 students who answered
this question. There were only 643 word tokens. This means that there were very few, if no
recurrent patterns. There were some comments stating that the library was good and a couple who
were happy with the Student Union. Otherwise no clear patterns were visible in this field.
Question: 'Do you have any other comments or suggestions for improvement? These may relate to
any aspects
of
Induction/Fresher’s
Week
This question yielded 299 responses and 4197 word tokens.
Around a third of those responses were either 'no', 'n/a' or 'none' or something similar.
There are very few clear patterns to be found here. Words like 'events’ (20 times) and 'information'
(19 times) both collocate with 'more' which may be interpreted as requests for more information
and more events.
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Induction and Transition – Report to Academic Council January 2010 ‐ Educational Development When the students comment about things they want to improve, the responses are quite diverse
and differ a lot. For example, 'filter coffee' in the Coopers Bar, the café should have different dishes,
or 'much larger fresher’s fair'.
Q uestion: 'Please say how many of the planned Induction/Freshers event’s you attended?
Please say why you didn't attend events, if appropriate'226 responses yielded 1871 word tokens.
The word 'not' was used 45 times and collocated with 'aware', 'attend', 'have', 'know' and
'interested'. There seems to be not enough information (given or received) or they didn't have time,
a few were simply not interested.
The expression 'didn't' was used 24 times and collocates with 'have' as in 'didn't have much time'
and 'know' as in 'didn't know about them'.
'Because' may point to explanations to why students didn't attend. It was used 22 times and
collocate with 'tiredness', 'being busy', 'no information', 'other commitments' or 'late admission'.
The overall impression is that students not attending prioritised other things, were busy or not
interested, when they didn't claim a lack of information as the main reason.
Question: 'Please comment on other positive or negative experiences.'
(after answering the question 'Please rate the following (but only if you experienced it!) By the
end of Induction/ Fresher’s week: 'I felt valued', 'I could use the library', ...)
There were only 168 replies to this question, still there were 5544 word tokens. This would suggest
longer replies
in
general.
There were 76 'not' found in this field and this word collocates with 'informed' and 'information',
again, pointing to a lack of information. 'Not' also collocates with 'helpful' and 'organised', which
may point to a negative experience. Both those words do, however, collocate, more strongly, with
'very' (without 'no') and 'well' and are thus used more commonly in a positive context.
'About' was used 26 times and collocates with 'information' and 'informed' and then, most often, in
a negative context, such as 'too little information about' or 'no information about'.
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Induction and Transition – Report to Academic Council January 2010 ‐ Educational Development The word 'staff' (26 times) is used in both positive and negative contexts, teaching staff are generally
good, but sometimes 'staff' are said to be not so helpful, sometimes staff are good but the university
is disorganised. Some staff are 'fantastic' while others are 'grumpy'. A variety of responses here.
Surprisingly few
clear
patterns
emerge,
given
the
relative
size
of
the
text
in
this
field
but
maybe
the
responses are too diverse to yield common patterns. Only when 'information' was used (14 times), a
consistent pattern is visible, it was mostly 'wrong', 'too little' or 'none at all'.
Question: 'Please comment on other positive or negative experiences'
(after answering questions about Students' Union Activities)
Only 89 responses in this field and a total of 1695 word tokens.
This text yields very few, if any, patterns. 'Expensive' collocates with 'food', and 'Sparrows' seemed
to be either hard to find or dangerous.
Question: 'At this stage, would you recommend the University of Greenwich to your friends?'
There were
387
responses
and
a total
of
7151
word
tokens
in
this
field.
The word 'good' was used 99 times and in one fifth of those examples it was modified with 'very'.
What was good tended to be 'experience', 'place', 'lectures', 'school' and 'teaching' although the
most common collocate was 'university'.
A word like 'very' (81 times) is interesting, since it may yield not only positive comments but also
more critical voices. In this text 'very' seemed to collocate with friendly', 'good', 'helpful',
'supportive' and
a couple
of
'nice'
and
'positive',
the
majority
of
these
being
positive.
There
were,
however, some negative collocates, such as, 'disappointed', 'hard', 'expensive', 'inefficient' and
'negative', although they tended to be fewer in number.
The word 'not' was quite frequent (65 times) but no clear patterns were visible. The strongest
collocate was 'sure'. The overall impression is that the things people are dissatisfied with are quite
diverse, such as night‐life, they don't feel at home, or the lectures are not interesting. There is no
clear negative pattern.
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Induction and Transition – Report to Academic Council January 2010 ‐ Educational Development 'Staff' and 'tutors' (44 and 24 times) are generally considered 'friendly', 'helpful' and 'nice' and even
'lovely'.
The word 'helpful' was used 26 times and only one reply was negative. 'Experience' was used 23
times and
was
mostly
used
in
a positive
context.
Generally those who have commented on this question are positive and specify the experience as a
good one, tutors and staff, for example, being good. There are however, the odd scathing
comments, such as, 'I had the worst experience of my life there' or '...I would not subject a friend to
this horrific experience'.
General Comments
and
Conclusions
The amount of data is relatively small and very clear patterns are hard to find. Some recurrent
opinions and attitudes are, however, possible to discern. The students who have provided
comments seem to be quite content with induction and see it as an opportunity to make friends,
meet staff, try to fit in and feel welcome. The majority of replies seem to indicate that this works for
most of the commentators. When negative opinions are expressed, most comments are about too
little of that which is good, such as social events and contact with tutors and other staff. Meeting the
staff is
mostly
a positive
experience
although
some
find
them
unhelpful
and
grumpy.
Here,
again,
there is a desire for more contact, especially with the tutors. Generally there is a pattern of
inadequate, or too little, information. Some students didn't attend certain events because they
didn't know about them. The general impression is that students appreciate the induction and want
more of it, in order to feel welcome at the university.
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Induction and Transition – Report to Academic Council January 2010 ‐ Educational Development
Appendix C – Web hits for New Arrivals web site 01/09/09 – 31/10/09
The site
comprised
431
pages
which
were
viewed
collectively
a total
of
186,701
times
40,471 visits were made to the new arrivals home page ‐ www.gre.ac.uk/new ‐ during this period.
From this initial landing page:
16,770 went on to visit the Inductions pages at www.gre.ac.uk/new/inductions
10,732 went on to visit the Joining Instructions web pages at www.gre.ac.uk/join
5,213 went on to visit the registration pages at www.gre.ac.uk/new/join/reg
4,699 went on to read the Useful Information pages at www.gre.ac.uk/new/useful
Peak viewing over the period was:
21st September – 9,778 visits
2nd
September – 7,435 visits
14th
September – 7,136 visits
( Annette Devine December 2009, source Google Analytics)
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Induction and Transition – Report to Academic Council January 2010 ‐ Educational Development Appendix D ‐ Freshers Refreshers Week Report: Oct 26‐30
th, 2009
1. Drop‐in Sessions & workshops
Nil attendance
for
13/23
sessions.
Sessions which were attended:
Studying – top tips 3
Erasmus 1 (& contact with another)
Electronic resources 2
Portal intro 1
Money 5
SMART (Fri) 4
Immigration 1
English language 3 (notably all from CMS, where
there was tutorial encouragement to attend)
Ghostly tour – 5 student volunteers, 25 students
2. Student volunteers & freshers’ check lists
o 10 continuing students participated (5 each from CMS and HSS) and their
contribution was one of the most successful elements of the week.
o 291 new students were “checklisted” and volunteers reported a lot of positive
reaction to
the
Refreshers
week
3. Web stats.
940 views of the Freshers Refreshers page, 155 did the interactive quiz.
4. Rough Guide to the First Year Publication (contents)
‐ Student glossary
‐ Checklist and further info.
‐ Students’ “top tips”
Available as a pdf on the University New Arrivals page at:
http://www.gre.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/398621/Rough‐Guide
‐to
‐the
‐First
‐
Year.pdf
The checklist is also available as an online quiz at:
http://www.gre.ac.uk/students/news/greenwich/freshers‐checklist
Sally Alsford, Educational Development