UniPASS Report Semester 1 2012 - Unilife - Curtin University

UniPASS Semester 1 2012 Report
Benefits to the Student Experience and Curtin’s Reputation
UniPASS has many benefits for the student experience and Curtin brand. The program has transition and social
integration benefits that help by providing students with a peer network. A network of peers is an important
element of support and socialisation for students transitioning to university and having such a group of friends can
assist in reducing attrition. In this regard, UniPASS complements Curtin’s Mentor program and provides another
avenue for building relationships between students. Such strong student support can be expected to encourage
positive word of mouth promotion amongst students and their prospective student peers.
The unique type of support that UniPASS offers clearly helps students succeed. This support can only add to Curtin’s
reputation as a leading university. Parents and prospective students are placing increasing value on the level of
support offered by universities. A comprehensive support program like UniPASS provides extra competitive
incentive which marketing staff can utilise when engaged in recruiting new students, especially international
students.
Attendance
The biggest challenge for UniPASS is gaining sufficient attendance. The University of Wollongong averages
attendance rates of around 40% (PASS Accredited Supervisor Manual 2012), whereas the Curtin average for regular
attendees is 7% (Figure 1.). This means that 7% of students enrolled in UniPASS supported units attend five sessions
or more - although is worth noting that UniPASS has attendance rates of up to 21% in some units (Figure 1).
There are many factors that contribute to the attendance rate, some we can influence but many we cannot. The
factors we can influence to some extent include: session times and timetabling; room location; awareness of the
program and its benefits; and the method of student registration. All these factors have been addressed to maximise
the attendance. For example, we choose the closest rooms available to tutorials and lectures; session times are
planned around lecture and tutorial times; extra sessions are provided at the beginning of the semester to give
students opportunity to attend; an extensive promotional strategy has been implemented to ensure student
awareness, with 84% of students in supported units having heard of UniPASS (figure 3); registration is no longer
required as it was an obstacle to students, instead students come on a ‘first in’ basis.
The main factor beyond our control is probably that UniPASS is voluntary. The voluntary aspect of UniPASS is
unlikely to change as it is an essential element of PASS accreditation (PASS Guidelines for Best Practice, 2012) and
the student numbers involved in a compulsory program would make the cost prohibitive. Other factors include:
student culture; date of the first assessment; campus culture; cost of living in Perth – resulting in high hours of parttime
work; unit contact hours; and in the future we anticipate that hourly paid parking will have a measureable
negative effect on UniPASS attendance. One recommendation is that UniPASS develop a more comprehensive list of
selection criteria for selecting units based on analysis of the results and data.
Collaborative Peer learning is not yet a wide spread teaching style at Curtin and the program is still building up its
reputation with students and staff. We anticipate that as the benefits of UniPASS become more widely known and a
culture of peer learning starts to establish, the attendance rate will improve. Anecdotal evidence suggests that
student word of mouth promotion of UniPASS is helping to build attendance over multiple semesters. Also, we have
been contacted by several unit coordinators requesting UniPASS support for their unit.
Raphael Pereira September 2012 UniLife – START – UniPASS 8