1. Inclusive Study Skills Development Provision
Abstract:
Study Skills Plus is Anglia Ruskin’s new one-stop-shop for student study skills development alongside their courses. Under the direction of the Study Skills Working Group, this truly collaborative effort has brought together opportunities for all of our students to enhance their skills in academic writing, information literacy, organisational skills and academic English language development. There is also new and growing provision for supporting maths and numeracy skills, IT literacy and study skills peer mentoring.
This presentation will: outline how the institution-wide study skills development provision opportunities have been brought together; provide a review of student engagement and feedback from the first year of Study Skills Plus; and summarise how this will be informing the further development of cohort-tailored activities and resources to further ensure an inclusive provision.
Dr Lisa Alberici, Study Skills Plus Manager
Kay Norman, Study Coach

2. Beginning Creating a one-stop-shop Online resources
Face-to-face activities
Evaluation and monitoring
Faculty liaison and staff engagement
(INTRO SLIDE): list 5 sections

3. Background Section 1: collaboration and SSP umbrella
SSWG – faculties, SU, student services, library, ALT.
Collaboration to create seamless one-stop-shop
One function; many specialists: students can see everything and get to specialist whichever department they’re in.
Aspirational; who are we for:
Inclusive:
Online and face-to-face
Resubmitting to 2.1s and firsts: ‘improving’ oughtn’t presuppose student doing badly.
Universal (including NHS, UG/PG, international students)
Study Support is a separate department but we do liaise closely and they do input some activities for SSP; no DSA
Also, SSP drop-in triage to… Point to resources and booking forms wherever they are on ARU website.

4. Middle: online resources
12/13
13/14
14/15*
+/- (%)
Website home page (page-views)
N/A
47,004
Clicks on Study Skills Plus button on ARU mobile app
5,493
Views for ‘Academic Writing’ and ‘Organisational Skills’ resources
23,446
24,871
30,882 24
Views for ‘Maths and Numeracy’ resources (created Nov. 2013)
592
5,267
790
Logins to skills4studycampus online modules
517
975
1,199 23
Point to resources and booking forms wherever they are on ARU website.
*2014/15 figures to 31 May 2015

5. Middle: face-to-face activities
12/13
13/14
14/15*
+/- (%)
Total number of interventions from the Study Skills Plus team in Student Services
372
1,358
4,410
225
Number of one-to-one coaching sessions
N/A
431
719 67
Attendees at Student Services-led study skills workshops (academic writing, organisational skills, maths, numeracy and IT skills)
432
996
131
Workshops home page on website (page-views)
10,146
Attendees at small group sessions
211
Coaching, surgeries
Difference between them: coaching, ongoing engagement; development and not just prior to submission.
Workshops
Benefits of working in groups
Group work
Can be pre-emptive (including work around transitions); course groups (introduction, taster sessions); study groups (including peer mentor-led)
*2014/15 figures to 31 May 2015

6. Middle: evaluation and monitoring
Workshop feedback
97% students would recommend a workshop to a friend (956 respondents)
74% students felt the session helped improve their skills (943 respondents)
69% students felt the session helped improve their confidence (943 respondents)
Measure of success: interventions (are students using resources and activities); quality (are students finding interventions useful – what else are they telling us they need); r&p and attainment (less likely to leave, more likely to proceed, less likely to fail, more likely to get 2.1s and firsts)
Page-views and encounter data
Student feedback re satisfaction

7. Middle: evaluation and monitoring
Workshop feedback (free-text comments)
Excellent – has improved my confidence.
More students could benefit from this.
It was great and very helpful to my upcoming modules and dissertation.
So inspiring, thank you!
Student feedback re satisfaction
Retention, progression and attainment (working with new R&P team to be able to use our encounter data to measure impact here but in the meantime)… impact pilots. Ran 5 in (1 in LAIBS, 2 in ALSS and 2 in FHSCE – or was one of them FMS?)

8. End No proofreading; no ‘fixing’ Students with resits/resubmissions
Borderline marks, especially 2.1s and firsts
Proofreading: we don’t do it – needs to be a confident and unified message
Institution-wide priority for creating parity in the way we support students resubmitting could we help? E.g. workshops and/or study groups (not just one-to-one)
Especially for aspiration to 2.1s and firsts: identifying students getting 2.2s and 2.1s who might be getting 2.1s and firsts; just below degree boundary – could we help?
Ask for questions (and what will you take away from today?)