Recruitment and retention in the GEES disciplines - GEES Subject Centre Residential Conference

in association with the RGS-IBG,Geographical Association, Geological Society, the Institution of Environmental Science and the Journal of Geography in Higher Education.

25-26 June 2007- Holiday Inn City Centre, Birmingham

Some Key Ideas from the Conference
Conference Presentations - some now available with more to come

Some Key Ideas from the Conference

On the 25th and 26th June 2007 in Birmingham the GEES Subject Centre held a residential conference on Recruitment and Retention in the GEES disciplines. Listed below are over 60 suggestions (in no particular order) that derive from the conference presentations and workshops from informal conversations in the bar and over dinner and from post-it notes completed by some delegates on departure. We hope that Heads of Department, staff responsible for recruitment etc and indeed all GEES academics will find this set of ideas to be useful. If you have others which you would like to add, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Recruitment

Re-design promotional websites to get into the student “mind set”. The quality and accessibility of websites is obviously now crucial.
Research your own institution for good practice in recruitment and retention. What are other departments/schools doing? Learn from their experience.
Become involved with Student Ambassador Programmes. For example, find out about the RGS-IBG Ambassador Scheme (contact Kate Amis at kate.amis@rgs.org).
Establish and run a subject-based conference for local schools (e.g. providing guidance on how to succeed at ‘A’ level and/or life at university).
Learn more about and prepare for the new 16-19 Diplomas. Adjust your marketing/curriculum accordingly.
Advertise and promote the career benefits of a GEES degree.
Adjust your curriculum to enhance graduate employability and links to the world of work. (We know that about 90% of students enter HE primarily to improve their career prospects.)
Use a survey or focus group of your former graduates to identify ways in which your degree programme(s) could be enhanced, particularly in terms of career relevance and employability.
Read the GEES Subject Centre guide and other GEES resources on how to enhance employability in the GEES disciplines on our Employability in Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences webpage.
Support the Geography Action Plan and other comparable initiatives in related disciplines which could encourage students to take GEES subjects at degree level.
Use your alumni as “recruitment agents” especially those in school teaching.
Ensure your staff have a good understanding of what is taught at GCSE and A level and how the school curriculum is changing.
Get prepared for the new Diplomas and revise your advertising and admissions policies accordingly.
Provide guest lectures/workshops in local schools
Provide CPD activities for school teachers e.g. on climate change, GIS or supporting the new Diplomas.
Explore the Leitch agenda on skills, employer engagement, CPD and learning in the work-place. Might new provision and programmes in this area help to offset the forthcoming demographic decline in the number of 18 year olds?
Devote more staff resource to recruitment. Try to ensure that everyone sees it as their job to bring in “customers”.
Consider a substantial time release for one or two staff who could lead up on recruitment.
Try recruiting overseas for all courses but especially for those at Masters level.
Reward staff who excel in recruitment (promotion, conferences, travel etc)
Develop a “special relationship” with schools that provide (or have the potential to provide) a significant number of your students.
Work not just with 6th forms but also with pupils at key stages 3 and 4 (or even earlier).
Provide a fieldwork experience for local schools/pupils.
Work with your institutional Widening Participation Unit (minorities and disadvantaged groups tend to be under-represented in the GEES disciplines).
Upgrade your fieldwork curriculum so that it is prominent in your advertising and looks attractive.
Enhance your Open/Preview days so that prospective students (and their Mums and Dads) are made to feel really welcome and leave with a very positive impression.
Polish up your promotional literature.
Keep prospective students/applicants “warm” by staying in touch with them (“good luck in your exams”, newsletters, novelty items)
Remember that these days most students work part-time. Ensure that potential applicants are aware of the kinds of part-time job opportunities available locally.
Advertise our disciplines’ generally strong performances in the new National Student Survey (our “customers” are “happy”)
Ensure your department and/or its students appear in the local, regional or even national media (for good reasons, if possible!).
Design your website so that 6th form students visit it to help their A levels.
Think in terms of customer relationship management (CRM) and building a relationship with your prospective students.
Offer more Open/Preview Days and perhaps provide non-attendees packs for those unable to come.
For students who ultimately did not enrol on your degree course, find out why they became “decliners”. What put them off? Why did they go elsewhere?
Set up a marketing and recruitment committee to lead up and co-ordinate work in this area. Prepare a plan or strategy.
Take steps to ensure that your current undergraduates are fully aware of the postgraduate courses and opportunities you offer.
Especially at postgraduate level, market by segments not by subjects.
Develop classroom materials for use by schools
Offer revision courses to local school pupils.
Design a curriculum which matches student needs and interests (not those of the staff). Let’s get modern!
Calculate roughly what proportion of the staff’s time and the department’s budget are devoted to marketing and recruitment. Given the importance of student numbers, is it enough?
Think about the department as a small business. Consider the importance which small businesses typically attach to bringing in customers and ask whether you are giving it a comparable level of priority and resource.
Consider widening your portfolio of courses.
Review the website and promotional literature of other departments and disciplines. Identify examples of good practice.

Retention

Focus on linking the curriculum to the students’ academic background and preparedness.
Adapt your current induction programme to include less talking from Programme Directors and more listening to students and getting them to work together and with Subject Tutors.
Try to give your students a real sense of belonging, engagement and community – through both academic and social activities.
Ensure that students at risk of leaving (or under- achieving) are given appropriate support and encouragement.
Remember that for some students leaving university or changing courses will be the right decision.
Provide good pastoral support and an active personal tutoring system. Ensure every student is known.
Motivate students through active learning and fun. Ensure that they see the purpose, value (and sometimes the career relevance) of their GEES studies.
Bring back some former students early in the course who can act as possible role models: “you could be where I am in three/four years time”.
Use your best teachers in stage one.
Use you alumni as mentors and perhaps as sources of work-based learning placements.
Consider using fieldwork early in the first term to increase social bonding and to help students to fit in (not a guaranteed aid to retention but it might help)
Bring in guest speakers representing different areas of career opportunity (e.g. Environment Agency, petroleum industry etc)
Provide sensitive and constructive feedback on students’ work. Try not to demoralise “weaker” students.
Remember that students may not be happy discussing any academic issues they are having with someone who marks their work (“If they know I’m struggling, they’ll mark down my work”).
See your students as “customers” who (given fees etc) increasingly expect and are entitled to excellent “customer service”.
Remember that although students may be struggling to “settle down” in their first year, it is in their third year when they are most under pressure and likely to “crack”. Just because they have learnt the ropes by now doesn’t mean they aren’t in need of support, especially as this is the time where they have the least face-to-face contact.

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Programme

Monday 25 June

13:45-14:45 Keynote presentation: Anthony McClaran—CEO UCAS ‘Recruitment to Higher Education: patterns and issues’

14:45-15:15 Snapshot of each of the 3 GEES disciplines

Earth Sciences - Helen King
Environmental Sciences - Jennifer Blumhof
Geography - Brian Chalkley

15:45-16:45

Parallel A

Changing school geography (GCSE level)—Eleanor Rawling, University of Oxford
Raising awareness of Geoscience amongst Year 11 & 12 students—Alan Boyle, University of Liverpool

Parallel B

Developing student focused undergraduate recruitment strategies—Andrew Clegg, University of Chichester
Case studies of activities to enhance student recruitment into the GEES disciplines—Jennifer Hill, University of West England

Parallel C

The new Specialised Diplomas—Delyth Chambers, HEAcademy
Changes in A-level geography & their implications for HE—Viv Pointon, Geography Education Consultant, VFT Education

16:45-17:25 Who wants to be a ‘GEESer’? Student perceptions of the GEES disciplines—Helen King & Alison Stokes, University of Plymouth

17:50-18:30 The Geography Action Plan—Rita Gardner, RGS & David Lambert, GA

Tuesday 26 June

09:30-10:15 Keynote presentation: Prof. Geoff Layer, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Learning & Teaching), University of Bradford ‘Supporting today’s learners’

10:15-11:15

Parallel D

Converting pupils to students. What might customer relationship management mean for us?—Tina Huddart, Newcastle University
The application of marketing thinking to student retention—Ifan D H Shepherd, Middlesex University

Parallel E

What should a geography degree for the 21st century be like?—W. Brian Whalley, Queens University Belfast
Postgraduate taught course marketing—Jane Penrose, Postgraduate Directions

Parallel F

Mismatch between curriculum at A-Level & 1st year undergraduate study—Sarah Maguire, University of Ulster & Derry Corey, College of St Mark & St John
Strategies for reducing non-completion rates: A case study from Northumbria University—Jane Entwhistle, Northumbria University

11:40-12:40

Parallel G

Undergraduate ambassador scheme at the University of Southampton — Joy Maloney, Southampton University
Royal Geographical Society Ambassador Scheme—Kate Amis (& 3 students) , RGS

Parallel H

Using an induction fieldtrip to improve retention rates in Geoscience students: Does it work?—Anne-Marie Nuttall, Liverpool John Moores University
Facilitated discussion on the role of fieldwork in recruitment and retention—Helen King, GEES Subject Centre, University of Plymouth

13:40-14:10 Demand for GEES graduates in

the environment sector— Chris Thomas, Head of Geoscience Business, Environment Agency
the petroleum sector— Tony Grindrod, Department of Geography, University of Sussex

14:10-14:40 Three discipline-based discussion groups

Earth Sciences - Helen King
Environmental Sciences - Jennifer Blumhof
Geography - Brian Whalley

14:40-15:00 Panel Discussion: Helen King, Jennifer Blumhof, Brian Whalley

15:00-15:30 Concluding discussions & action planning