Student Progression in Higher Education

• First-year students
• New entrants
• All students
• Early intervention initiative
• Transition focus
• Targeted initiative (specific student cohort/faculty)

• Student wellbeing, experience, & success
• Assessment & Examination
• First-year experience

The Academic Learning Centre (ALC) Summer Programme supports students preparing for the August assessment sitting by bringing subject tutoring, academic mentoring, study strategies, and exam preparation under one cohesive, “one-door access” service. Following earlier subject-specific summer supports, MTU integrated ALC with Academic Success Coaching and the Navigate Learning Development Programme in 2023 to provide a clearer pathway for students, especially for those facing non-cognitive barriers (e.g., maths anxiety, low confidence).

The first combined programme ran in July–August 2023. In summer 2024, students engaged with the programme through:

• 206 Academic Mentoring appointments
• 346 attendances at subject supports (Mathematics & Statistics, Chemistry, Mechanics, Programming, Accounting, Economics, Physics)
• 87 writing-support appointments,
• 82 one-to-one Academic Success Coaching appointments.

Communication centred on timely, reassuring messaging via Instagram (4573 views) and a dedicated webpage (1600 hits).

The programme’s next step is to expand subject coverage (e.g., IT Skills and Excel), enhancement of the promotion of the programme via social media and refinement of the programme to ensure students access the right support at what is a critical point in their progression journey.

Aim:
Provide a comprehensive and integrated support system for students who are preparing for the August assessment sitting to enhance their success and support their progression.

Objective 1: Subject Support
Provide expert, subject-specific support to students preparing for the August assessment sitting.

Objective 2: One-Door Access Service
Reduce confusion among students by offering all ALC supports via a single-entry point and unified branding.

Objective 3: Collaboration & Data Sharing
Strengthen support staff collaboration and information-sharing across AnSEO – The Student Engagement Office and Teaching & Learning Unit to ensure more coordinated and targeted student support.

The ALC Summer Programme is monitored through student feedback surveys, analysis of engagement data (appointments, workshop attendance, digital reach), and regular team review meetings to iterate delivery. Annually, MTU submits a detailed report to the HEA on activity supported by the Information Technology Investment Fund; this report is shared with relevant University Executive members. For 2024/25, we are enhancing monitoring by linking ALC engagement with August sitting outcomes to evidence impact on pass and progression rates and to inform targeted improvements.

In 2024, satisfaction with Summer Programme supports averaged 4.45/5 (1 = not at all worthwhile, 5 = extremely worthwhile), and 30% of surveyed students reported the supports influenced their decision to progress rather than withdraw. Engagement was significant, with 206 mentoring appointments and 346 subject-support attendances. Qualitative student feedback included “ALC […] enabled me to progress to year 2. […] Without their help […]  I would have crashed or given up.”  Going forward, to clearly demonstrate impact we plan to report on the proportion of students who engaged with the Summer Programme and subsequently progressed to the next year of study or graduated.