Improving the Postgraduate Coursework Student Experience: Barriers and the Role of the Institution

Abstract

Issues surrounding the Postgraduate Course Work (PCW) student experience are under-represented in the literature and in institutions. Research to date has tended to focus on the responsibilities of Faculties and the short term, issues associated with transition. The paper aims to address broader issue of the PCW experience using student survey data in order to make recommendations for institutions. Barriers to best practice are recognized as relating to identity/status, representation and administrative issues. Recommendations are made relating to clear marketing, Orientation events, provision of a geographical and institutional home and the communication of university goals to staff. 1.0 Introduction Postgraduate Coursework (PCW) students are a significant component of University communities but typically are difficult to define as a distinct cohort. They are therefore less visible and, due to the variations in enrolment, times of semesters and the size of individual course cohorts, their interests can appear secondary to postgraduate research students and undergraduate students. The paucity of studies of PCW students attests to their lower profile generally within student populations. PCW students can fall through the gap of service provision, orientation, representation and networking. In contrast, there is increasing emphasis placed on improving PCW student numbers, along with a growing focus within institutions on student feedback and student satisfaction surveys (Coulthard 2000; Swarbrick 2003). This paper aims to look at the broad picture of PCW student experience, recognising that if institutions want to increase the size of their PCW cohorts then it is essential to build our understanding of how these students can be best served. This will be achieved here using student survey, interview and institutional data. Best Practice guidelines developed in an AUTC-commissioned report (Reid, Rennie & Shortland-Jones 2005) will also be used to examine the role of the institution beyond individual course coordinators. Recommendations developed here aspire to improve practice in managing PCW cohorts generally, as current practice suggests that the PCW experience is an area that merits further attention in most Australian universities. 1.1 Characteristics of the cohort Descriptions of PCW students are typically drawn from institutional statistics, identifying trends such as PCW students are much more likely to be mature-aged with some break from study (or possible no degree experience). They are more likely to be working partor full-time and attending campus during evening and/or weekend sessions if at all. However, potentially the most important characteristics of the PCW student population are identified by the students themselves. PCW students enrol in postgraduate courses for reasons more directly related to career path, professional networking and professional development than postgraduate research students. As such, their expectations of service delivery (often closely linked to their payment of fees), of standards of teaching and resources available and of the university experience are considerably higher than undergraduates or postgraduate research students. This is particularly the case in the ‘professional’ courses and can be linked to the relatively short duration of their courses and competition in providing professional training programs; students want their time at university to be efficient, high quality and value for money. 1.2 Background/Literature review Literature is generally sparse on the topic of the PCW student experience in Australia. Previous studies focus on one aspect of the student experience such as Faculty teaching and course development (Reid et al. 2005) or transition (Symons 2001; Lang 2002). Commissioned reports recognise the importance of the PCW issue and constitute two important contributions to the topic of PCW studies. Firstly, the DEST report (Coulthard 2000) found that the lowest levels of satisfaction for PCW students are their interactions with staff, other students and the academic community. Secondly, the AUTC report (Reid et al. 2005) makes considerable progress in understanding the principles and mechanics behind ‘professional’ PCW degrees. The report focuses only on courses delivered in business, education and health, perhaps unknowingly creating a distinction between these programs where students learn as part of a discrete and distinct cohort and other courses where students may be more integrated into the undergraduate population. The AUTC survey (Reid et al. 2005) interviewed Deans and students which, although yielding interesting useful results, limited the study to interactions between Faculties and PCW students. However, a list of 25 best practice guidelines were developed which are comprehensive and focus on tangibles such as resources and timetabling. Student expectations are an emerging theme in the literature. Symons (2001) suggests that while PCW are unsure of what is expected of them, they have high expectations of the institution and their future experiences. This is echoed by Guilfoyle (2006) who notes that students may have a high expectation of teaching standards, resources available and support services (this may be linked to the payment of fees) and can feel particularly let down if their expectations are not met. 2.0 Methods On-line surveys were undertaken at the end of 2004 and 2005 to gather demographic data and to gauge student opinion on a range of issues related to their PCW experience at UWA. Topics covered included transition, orientation and the best and worst aspects of being a PCW student. There was a total of 30 questions with 20 of these answered using ’radio-button’ choices and 10 open ended questions for students to provide additional comments. A range of other stakeholders were then also either surveyed (on-line) or interviewed in person. A series of broad questions on the provision of orientation services and the requirements of students were sent to all PCW course coordinators. Interviews were conducted with the current and past presidents of the UWA Postgraduate Students Association (PSA). Broader requirements for demographic data were met using the UNISTATS facility where appropriate and surveys were made of other Institutional websites to gather organisational information.