Examining predictors of retention with implications for TESTA@Greenwich

Authors

  • Simon Walker Head of Educational Development, University of Greenwich
  • Duncan McKenna University of Greenwich
  • Abdillahi Abdillahi University of Greenwich
  • Catherine Molesworth

Abstract

Student attrition is a pressing issue that universities across the world are attempting to solve. More recently, there has been a focus on retaining students from so-called ‘hard to reach’ groups. This paper proposes a methodology that investigates potential predictors of retention within the context of a particular institution, with the aim of defining who our ‘hard to reach’ students might be. It includes TESTA, a feedback and assessment enhancement process, as an independent variable to determine whether this particular enhancement initiative had any positive effects on retention. The authors use a statistical technique that permits a comparison of retention within the same programmes, pre- versus post-TESTA, relative to background changes in retention in programmes without TESTA over the same timescale.  The results of our analysis revealed that of the 10 predictors selected, the following were statistically significant: age group; gender; ethnicity; highest qualification on entry; academic session. These form the basis of our definition of who are ‘hard to reach’ students at our university. Whilst TESTA had no statistically significant impact on retention, several important implications for making specific interventions through TESTA in relation to assessment design and delivery to increase retention are discussed.

Author Biographies

Simon Walker, Head of Educational Development, University of Greenwich

Simon Walker, a Higher Education Academy National Teaching Fellow, is the Head of Educational Development at the University of Greenwich. He is responsible for developing university policy and strategy on learning and teaching, and professional development for academic staff. He co-led the development of the Students as Change Agents UK Network, setting up support and national accreditation for students undertaking deep student engagement work in the curriculum, and support for student engagement research through the new Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change. Previously he was director of a number of national JISC and BECTA funded technology-enhanced learning projects including the Digital Literacy in Higher Education project, and International Baccalaureate e-Learning Laboratory. He was a founding member of the CAMEL project management model, which continues to be used in implementing many innovative projects. For 9 years he was programme leader for the highly successful Professional Development in Technology Enhanced Learning certificated framework. Simon’s research and publication lies mainly in the development and evaluation of learning design - he is a co-author of the Larnaca Declaration on Learning Design . In 2012 he led a University of Greenwich team as part of a university consortium, coordinated by the Open University to develop the first MOOC on Learning Design. He is a co-director of the eCentre for Learning and Innovation Research  which convenes the annual Academic Practice and Technology (APT) international conference, now in its 13th year. In 2009, he established Compass: the Journal of Learning & Teaching as a means to raise the profile of teaching and learning, and e-learning. The journal is now in its 12th issue and available online. A keen cyclist, he leads the university’s Bicycle Users Group.

Duncan McKenna, University of Greenwich

Duncan McKenna worked as sabbatical Education Officer at the LSE before joining the University of Greenwich. He initially worked as project officer on student graduate attributes partnership, and now leads the TESTA project, working with academic programme teams to enhance programme level feedback and assessment.

Abdillahi Abdillahi, University of Greenwich

Abdillahi Abdillahi is a Data Analyst intern where he works on TESTA@Greenwich. He read Economics at the University of Greenwich where he further developed a deep interest in public policy and international affairs. His future aspirations are to work in the international arena, using his passion and knowledge to help tackle the prevalent social, economic and environmental ills our world faces.

Catherine Molesworth

Cathy Molesworth researched learning in children with autism before coming to the Directorate of Planning and Statistics at the University of Greenwich.   Here she advises on statistical analyses and is excited to be working on a HEFCE-funded project that aims to use learning analytics to enhance student success.

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Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change cover

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Published

10/02/2017

How to Cite

Walker, S., McKenna, D., Abdillahi, A., & Molesworth, C. (2017). Examining predictors of retention with implications for TESTA@Greenwich. The Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change, 3(1), 122–134. Retrieved from https://journals.studentengagement.org.uk/index.php/studentchangeagents/article/view/607

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2017)

Section

Retention and Attainment

License

Copyright is held by the journal. The author has full permission to publish to their institutional repository. Articles are published under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence.