A Framework for Managing the Transition from Second Level to Higher Education in Response to the COVID19 Emergency Restrictions

This Research-to-Practice Full Paper looks at the transition from second level education to higher education and the challenges this presents in terms of students getting to know a new learning environment, identifying supports to assist with their learning and even getting to know new friends. This challenge is even more complicated with the move to an online learning environment in response to the COVID19 emergency restrictions. This research introduces a higher education transition framework (called S³F) that provides support and intervention activities to manage students transition from second level education to higher education, to reduce the impact of the online environment on students learning experience and to help to improve student mental health. The S³F framework uses ongoing student Feedback to inform activities across three pillars: Learning Environment Support, Academic Subject Support and Social Support. The research presented in this paper was conducted over the 2020/2021 academic year when 1
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year undergraduate Computing students from National College of Ireland, School of Computing participated in an innovative induction programme that consisted of a number of activities and support actions for the entire duration of the academic year that were part of the S³F framework. Students were surveyed during each induction session for live feedback to adapt the activities for the following sessions and to inform staff of other interventions required. Students initially have expressed feelings of nervousness at the start of the first semester however this changed to feelings of excitement midway through the induction programme. Results of the case study demonstrates that the activities and innovative actions introduced as part of S³F framework had a positive impact on student’s transition to higher education, especially around mental health, seen in the retention figures for those students. This paper discusses the results only in terms of students mental health This research is of benefit to higher education management and course directors involved in first year orientation that would like to reduce the impact of the online environment on student’s transition from second level to higher education.