From the FE frying pan into the HE fire: HND direct entry to level 2 of the BA (Hons) Business and Law

Susan Barber and David Bailey, Southampton Institute

Students entering level 2 of the BA (Hons) Business and Law degree at Southampton Institute’s Law Faculty have historically underachieved, with consistently low grades or dropping out of the programme before completion. However, of the 1998/99 direct entry intake of 17 students 13 are progressing to level 3, 11 having scored 120 CATS points at their first attempt, and only one has dropped out. How was this achieved?

In previous years direct entry students have generally found the transition from HND to level 2 of the degree programme very difficult to make. In the academic year 1997/98 only one student remained and progressed to level 3 from one seminar intake. The reasons given for withdrawal ranged from social reasons of not settling on the course to academic reasons of being unable to pass assessments. This wastage gave cause for concern, not only because of the loss of an unacceptably large group of students, but also from the perspective of the student experience and concern for what would happen to those HND students who had dropped out. For the 1998 direct entry intake it was decided that a proactive approach should be adopted.

In 1998 the direct entry students (17 in all) were invited to come into the Institute for induction week a week earlier than the other level two students for an intensive week’s session. It was felt important that they were given an opportunity to meet each other and get to know each other before having to cope with the rest of the continuing students. This would give these students an opportunity to form study groups and be able to support each other through at least the early part of the semester.

It is arguable that the students joining the degree from an HND background have been used to a more student-centred approach to their learning. We have sought to retain that approach in the week’s programme through debate and discussion, and have also sought to encourage discovery learning.

The programme for the week covered the higher education experience; that is to say, the students were advised what we expected from them, with an introduction to the library and a debate on a recent high profile topic of law. The students then undertook a self assessment test, which was very wide ranging and designed to pick out the areas where their knowledge was deficient. They were given two days to complete the test and could work in groups or individually as they felt most comfortable. In fact they worked as a large group, with different individuals sharing their knowledge and expertise with the group. After the test they attended a plenary session, where we went through the test together highlighting why certain areas of law are important. At the end of the week the new students joined the continuing level two students’ induction schedule.

It has always been Law Faculty policy to spread the direct entry students around the existing seminar groups, with a view to full integration into the level 2 cohort. However, at the end of the induction week we received a deputation from the direct entry students requesting that they should be permitted to remain as a discrete seminar group. With certain reservations about integration this was agreed by the course leader.

During the early weeks of semester 1 meetings were held with the direct entry students to discuss any difficulties they were encountering. Following one discussion the course leader was asked how the course teaching team might take into account the fact that the students came from a different background from the continuing students. The pros and cons of singling out a group of students were debated at length, and eventually it was agreed that the teaching team should bear in mind the fact that these students had not come from level 1 of the degree and be aware that their perceptions of certain areas of law might be different from the continuing students. Once this was taken into account it became easy to see where the students were coming from in their questions and understanding of the subjects. It is interesting to note that no further problems were encountered by this group on teaching methods; in fact they thrived, as their results have shown.

As new members of the degree level 2 cohort they did not have to become immediately socialised into the level’s culture, as they were not put as individuals into a group of 70 other students who had already been studying on the degree for one year. They were able to remain as a different subculture. The systematic world they have constructed is a tight, small community where they feel safe. They were encouraged to speak in front of and to each other right at the outset of their degree experience. They were thus able to adjust their behaviour to a group, all of whom were adjusting their behaviour and finding their feet. In other words, the adjustment was not as extreme as it would have been coming into a large group of students. They could then go into the existing cohort as a group and take ideas from the existing cohort into their own group to test them out and see which were acceptable and which they could safely reject.

They have formed a social group, and there is internal organisation. The members relate to one another according to a particular pattern of statuses and roles, there is interaction among the members and self-recognition of their common group membership.

Finally, the success: of the 17 starters 11 achieved 120 CATS points straight away, some with very high marks, and two achieved 100 CATS points. This means that 13 from the original 17 progressed to level 3 in September. Two students achieved 80 CATS points, but they both have acceptable mitigation and have deferred. Looking at their other results, there is no reason to suppose they will not clear those deferrals in September. After the September resits, 15 of the group have progressed to level 3. One student achieved 60 CATS points and withdrew and only one student withdrew prior to the exams.

Last Modified: 12 July 2010