Christine Daley

The paper explores the impact of embedding a student centred approach to teaching and learning on a post-graduate professional module with a mixed cohort in terms of previous academic experience and cultural background. It was the first module on the programme and student performance was assessed by summative examination. The student-centred approach was characterised by interactive discussion based delivery, group work and formative assessment and feedback on a weekly basis. In addition students were invited to undertake a mock exam as independent study and formative audio feedback was provided. Student views on the process were surveyed and responses were highly positive. As assessment data suggests that students who engage with the formative process do better at summative assessment, the next step for the tutors will be to explore ways of engaging the students who do not currently participate.

This research aims to address the question of how the absence of an undergraduate degree affects the lived experience of undertaking a postgraduate, professionally accredited, part-time course. It explores the experiences of ten part-time nongraduate students who enrolled on postgraduate professionally accredited courses in human resource management at Leeds Business School, without first completing an undergraduate degree. The research participants were all experienced HR practitioners admitted to their course through recognition of prior experiential learning (RPEL). All were first-generation, non-traditional students in that they were the first in their family to attend university, and they had accessed higher education through a non-traditional route. A bespoke methodological approach was employed for the research drawn mainly from Heidegger’s (1962) hermeneutic phenomenology. The concept of bracketing out was temporarily borrowed from Husserl’s (1931) original transcendental phenomenology, in order for the researcher to remain as objective as possible during the data collection stages of the research. Van Manen’s (1990) framework for hermeneutic phenomenological research was followed for execution of the research. Hermeneutic data interpretation and researcher reflexivity was enabled through Gee’s (2000) Identity theory as an analytical lens for education research. The findings reveal that the participants faced many of the challenges of other part-time mature students including the demands of full-time work, personal commitments, and accessing a higher education system designed around full-time study. However, their difficulties were further exacerbated by their lack of first-degree learning, their vocational background, and some academics’ lack of understanding of their experiences, motives, and struggles. Most participants were extrinsically motivated to join their course, seeking professional accreditation and enhanced employability rather than any intrinsic reward. Although some discovered a lifelong love of learning, the majority retained their perspective that the course’s value was economic rather than educational and cultural. Some participants had vocational qualifications and had assumed some level of preparedness for their course. All had significant experience in HR practice and tutors sought to utilise this experience through a student-centred approach to teaching and learning. However, although the participants’ experiential learning added variety and interest to the classroom experience, neither their vocational qualifications nor their work experience facilitated their attainment. This research draws attention to an unrecognised cohort. Further research is recommended at both local and national level into students admitted to postgraduate courses through recognition of prior experiential learning and the processes of RPEL in higher education institutions. This research posits that students such as the research participants are disadvantaged within a higher education system designed for full-time undergraduate students, and that their nongraduate, non-traditional, and first-generation status warrants their inclusion on the widening participation agenda. This research makes two main contributions. First, the research highlights an issue rarely featured in the literature, that is the experience of undertaking a postgraduate course without an undergraduate degree. Second, there is the bespoke methodological research approach which emerged, partly due to the lack of published literature on the research subject. Its application aimed to ensure that the real essence of the participants’ experiences was captured.

Purpose – This paper reports research into motives and concerns of non-graduate students accessing a two-year, part-time, professional, post-graduate programme via recognition of prior learning, and tutor efforts to engage them and support learning and achievement. Design/methodology/approach – Five secondary sources provided data on 72 students. Research instruments were; a background questionnaire, student performance profiles, mock exam participation data, an online survey on the student-centred approach to delivery, and a generic module evaluation survey. Findings - Regardless of prior academic exposure, most students were driven by extrinsic career related motives, most worried about work and family pressures as potential barriers to academic achievement, but few worried about individual ability to meet academic standards. Graduates out performed non-graduates and were more likely to engage in formative assessment. Efforts of tutors to implement student-centred learning were well received and engagement in formative assessment and feedback activity impacted positively on performance. Research limitations – Research relied on secondary data and was limited to students on two cohorts. Therefore there are limits to what might be extrapolated from the data. Practical implications - Tutors should recognise the gap between graduate and non-graduate performance and whilst making active interventions to close the gap, be more explicit with non-graduates about the demands of post-graduate study. Originality/value – Relatively little research is available on the experiences and achievement of non-graduates accessing post-graduate study via RPL. Keywords - Non-graduates; post-graduate study; recognition of prior learning (RPL); student-centred learning (SCL); barriers and enablers to learning. Paper type – working paper.

As an experienced teacher and former course leader on a large undergraduate business programme the author was aware of students’ reluctance to engage in group assessment, especially on modules where the outcome would have an impact on final degree classification. However the same students were seeking employment in graduate positions in the corporate environment, where “In the list of the highly ranked skills, team working skills (67%) are followed by sector-specific skills and communication skills.” (Europa 2010). Accepting that group assessed assignments should continue to be a feature of assessment in the business school as a means of enhancing graduate employability, the author sought to explore ways of improving perceptions of group work via the peer assessment process. The focus of the study was a module in the subject area of Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour. As it was ‘elective’ in that students had chosen to study it as part of their degree programme, it was reasonable to assume a degree of willingness to engage in group work, as students opposed to the concept would have chosen an alternative module with different assessment methods. The assessment component of the module that was subject to peer assessment was a training programme, which comprised 40% of the marks for the module. The remaining marks were allocated to individual assessment elements. Participants were drawn from a range of business, accounting, marketing and HR related courses in the business school and the author aimed to survey their views on collaborative assessment with a view to incorporating improvements in the peer assessment model for the module, disseminating findings amongst academics involved in peer assessment at the business school and thus instigating discussion on a common model of peer assessment. A literature review and issues arising from the author’s own experience on the module informed the nature of the primary research which comprised a questionnaire survey and follow up interviews. Findings were that most students viewed peer assessment positively for its impact on motivation and learning and perceived it to be a fairer process than tutor allocated group marks alone, but that a significant minority of mainly non-native English speaking students were wary of peer assessment in terms of their competence in implementing it and their treatment by native English speaking students. Also students were willing to provide additional feedback to supplement the current ratings but were not interested in devising their own assessment criteria and not enthusiastic about implementing a common system of peer assessment throughout the business school.

Purpose – This paper reports research into motives and concerns of non-graduate students accessing a two-year, part-time, professional, post-graduate programme via recognition of prior learning, and tutor efforts to engage them and support learning and achievement. Design/methodology/approach – Five secondary sources provided data on 72 students. Research instruments were; a background questionnaire, student performance profiles, mock exam participation data, an online survey on the student-centred approach to delivery, and a generic module evaluation survey. Findings - Regardless of prior academic exposure, most students were driven by extrinsic career related motives, most worried about work and family pressures as potential barriers to academic achievement, but few worried about individual ability to meet academic standards. Graduates out performed non-graduates and were more likely to engage in formative assessment. Efforts of tutors to implement student-centred learning were well received and engagement in formative assessment and feedback activity impacted positively on performance. Research limitations – Research relied on secondary data and was limited to students on two cohorts. Therefore there are limits to what might be extrapolated from the data. Practical implications - Tutors should recognise the gap between graduate and non-graduate performance and whilst making active interventions to close the gap, be more explicit with non-graduates about the demands of post-graduate study. Originality/value – Relatively little research is available on the experiences and achievement of non-graduates accessing post-graduate study via RPL. Keywords - Non-graduates; post-graduate study; recognition of prior learning (RPL); student-centred learning (SCL); barriers and enablers to learning. Paper type – working paper.

Formative assessment is used by proponents of student centred learning to facilitate summative attainment. This study uses a phenomenological approach to explore the experiences of a number of students who were admitted to a post-graduate professional programme through recognition of prior learning (RPL) and who have not engaged with the formative process. Informal conversations were used to capture the essence of their experiences and findings were discussed against a framework provided by Cross’s (1981) dispositional, institutional and situational barriers to learning. Implications for future research include exploring interventions to help RPL students overcome barriers and ease transition into higher education at post-graduate level

The application was made on behalf of the undergraduate courses team who sought to enhance the first year experience by engaging students in the practice of business. The intention was to develop and signpost enterprising qualities and characteristics in first year learners and develop confidence as well as competence. The undergraduate review for FBL commenced in September 2009. This offered an opportunity to innovate and build good practice in enterprise learning as a pilot to inform the undergraduate review. The team sought to provide a coherent and relevant set of learning experiences that could be achieved outside structured curriculum that would enable learning through live projects.