How useful was this survey in terms of getting you to think about your .... âA lot of people now have an undergraduate degree, and having a master's just give you ...
The Postgraduate Experience Project Learning and teaching expectations and experiences of STEM postgraduate taught students Michelle Morgan and Inês Direito | Kingston University, London Inspire to succeed: Transforming teaching and learning in STEM | 29 January 2016
Project Partners
The Postgraduate Experience Project Aims and objectives for the different key stakeholders Applicants and students
Business and Industry
Universities and community
• Explore applicants and student perceptions, motivations, expectations of PGT study • Explore the barriers of applicants and students to PGT study • Explore the experiences of students undertaking PGT study • Explore which variables impact on attitudes, expectations, the retention of PGT students (e.g. PT, FT, domiciled and generational status, age, gender, social class, ethnicity, discipline and route into study such as from work or university)
• Understand the employers expectations of the skills PGT graduates should possess • Identify the employer outcome expectations of recruiting a PGT graduate • Look at their perception of the value of PGT study • Explore experiences of employers on university industrial advisory group in terms of influencing curriculum changes • Identify employer needs locally and nationally • Explore experiences of PGT graduate employers in general and of members and employment specialists on the Project Steering Group
• Explore university attitudes, planning and development approaches to PGT study • Look at university respondents to PEP findings • Explore approaches to PGT supporting the local economy
Entry to Study Survey This survey was a critical part of the research and had been designed to not only collect important data for the project to analyse student expectations and to improve their actual experience, but importantly to act as a reflective tool for new students to think about how they: – Studied before – Expect to study at Master’s level – Think about what support they need and skills they need to develop to persist on the course and succeed – Expected outcomes – Future career path.
Entry to Study Survey • Completion during orientation period (Sep/Oct 2014) • 92 questions, 8 sections: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
previous study qualifications previous study experience your current study information motivations and challenges of postgraduate study, fees and funding postgraduate study expectations your current learning expectations attitudes towards postgraduate study biographical details
• Incentives to completion – 9E partners: 80 x £30 Amazon vouchers – Edinburgh and South Wales: no vouchers, but good completion rates
• Self-help sheet – Within 6 weeks of the orientation/induction period, each university published a self-help sheet for their new students that contained some of their basic findings of the survey, along with advice and guidance in the areas students had highlighted as potential problems.
Entry to Study Survey • •
Global data N=1698 Valid data N=1226 – Issues about the legitimate sample • Partially completed surveys • Duplicates • Not eligible
•
Aggregate data analysed by the Principal Research hub (Kingston) and on an institutional basis by Institutional Researchers
•
Non-completion survey
Why didn’t you complete the Entry to Study Survey?
– Global data N=224 – Valid data N=202
Please select one that most reflects your reason:
I was too busy
40.1%
I was unaware of it
20.8%
The was survey too long
10.4%
I don't believe that the survey results will benefit me during my studies
7.4%
I was not interested
5.4%
IT issues
3.0%
Other
12.9%
Entry to Study Survey How useful was this survey in terms of getting you to think about your current studies? 5.6% Extremely useful
20.3%
20.4% Useful Slightly useful 53.8% Not useful at all
Do you think it would be a useful survey for all new postgraduate students to complete? HEA taken the survey into its portfolio
14% No
86% Yes
Demographic data and previous study qualifications
Demographic data Scholarship status
17% PT
25% scholarship
Mode of study
75% Nonscholarship
83% FT
HESA code
N
%
HESA national discipline enrolments %
Biological sciences
C
250
20.4
36.8
Physical Sciences
F
311
25.4
9.9
Mathematical Sciences
G
29
2.4
3.8
H+J
428
34.9
34.3
I
208
17.0
15.2
Total
1226
100.0
100.0
Discipline
Engineering (387) and Technology (41) Computer Science
