UniPASS Report Semester 1 2012 - Unilife - Curtin University

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Program Achievements to Date • Outstanding Senior Facilitator Award UniPASS Semester 1 2012 Report One of our Senior Peer Learning Facilitators won a national award this year. The award for outstanding senior leader is from the Australasian PASS Centre (University of Wollongong) and the International Supplemental Training Centre (University of Missouri – Kansas City). Receiving such an award acknowledges the high standard of training and facilitation within Curtin University’s UniPASS program. • Program Expansion The results in this report show that the expansion from the pilot of three units to 14 units was successful. This was a considerable undertaking with 34 new facilitators being trained and supervised, faculty support developed with 51 staff (Teaching and Learning Deans, Unit Coordinators, Lecturers and administrative staff), rooms and timetabling for 81 sessions per week. • National Accreditation The training of the Peer Learning Supervisor and Peer Support Project Coordinator at the Australasian PASS Training Centre enabled the program to maintain its national accreditation. • Administrative Improvements Development of a customised Student One report; Development of BI Tool reports; Streamlining the room booking process; Moving to online Qualtrics surveys; Improvement of the UniPASS website; Creation of a UniPASS Blackboard unit; Creation of The Transit Lounge - a dedicated facilitator space in building 102. • Facilitator Development Establishing a two day initial training program to replace the one day program; Conducting two facilitator development sessions during the semester; Conducting formal observations and feedback of facilitator performance; Providing open coordinator availability to PLFs during the semester; Providing opportunities for team social gatherings. • Senior Facilitators We promoted and trained a Senior Peer Learning Facilitator (SPLF) in semester one to support the program administratively and structurally embed the peer learning philosophy of UniPASS. The SPLF coordinated and mentored eight other facilitators and subsequently won a national award as an Outstanding Senior Leader. It was so successful that three more were promoted and trained in semester two. Raphael Pereira September 2012 UniLife – START – UniPASS 23
Conclusions and Recommendations UniPASS Semester 1 2012 Report The strong academic outcomes of UniPASS are clear, with an 11.7% average increase in the grades of regular attendees and a reduction of the fail rate by about two thirds. UniPASS is attracting a sound proportion of students from non-traditional backgrounds with approximately 20% coming from HEPPP target groups. UniPASS develops and extends the graduate attributes of its facilitators and is proving to be a pathway into academia. The program has proven that it is not burdensome for academic staff. Overall, the expansion of such a new and different program has been highly successful. The main challenge for the program is to build up attendance levels. Given the importance of faculty support and lecturer promotion any effort to improve attendance needs to be integrated. Attendance will continue to develop as the program matures and the peer learning culture becomes more established throughout Curtin. The dual influences of the Bradley Review with its focus on widening participation and the emergence of TEQSA as the national regulator gives increased value to UniPASS. By offering an evidenced and nationally accredited academic support program Curtin is strategically aiming to meet the diverse learning needs of its students. However, such a strategic approach requires committed fiscal resources as UniPASS has HEPPP funding only until the end of 2013. It takes time for the benefits of a program like UniPASS to become widespread. By committing to the learning needs of an increasingly diverse student population with UniPASS, Curtin University will demonstrate its ability to improve academic outcomes, enhance the student experience and meet equity and regulatory obligations. In the meantime, operational recommended improvements include: • Establishing UniPASS at the Kalgoorlie Campus to provide an equitable student experience and improve learning outcomes for students transitioning to the Kalgoorlie campus. • Examination of the upcoming AIME program to determine if a need still exists for UniPASS as a peer learning program for CAS. • Continued development of a UniPASS unit profile which would list criteria that units would ideally possess to be successful candidates for UniPASS. Such a profile would be most accurate after analysis of results and data from 2013. • Improving recruiting procedures by formally identifying the characteristics of our most successful facilitators. Enhancing the promotion of recruitment to get a large pool of applicants. A commitment to recruit from UniPASS regular attendees to build on the culture of constructivist peer learning already established in the classroom. • Build links with similar programs within WA to develop a professional body of practice specific to the local context. • Conduct research into attendance of voluntary support programs at Curtin University. • Examine the prospect of formal university recognition for UniPASS PLFs as the program develops desired graduate attributes. Raphael Pereira September 2012 UniLife – START – UniPASS 24
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Page 3 and 4: Acknowledgements UniPASS Semester 1
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Page 7 and 8: UniPASS Results Overview UniPASS Se
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Page 13 and 14: Feedback from Non-Attendees UniPASS
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Page 21 and 22: HEPPP Targets (continued) UniPASS S
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UniPASS Report Semester 1 2012 - Unilife - Curtin University

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