At the University of Kent, we have been involved in several initiatives aimed at improving the student experience, particularly focusing on the transition into higher education and the development of numeracy skills.

Our involvement began in March 2020, right as the COVID-19 lockdown began. This abrupt shift to online learning prompted us to consider how to build a sense of community among students, especially during those initial transition periods. As the advising lead for the School of Biosciences, Dr Alexandra Moores saw firsthand the importance of academic advising groups in providing support and fostering a sense of belonging.

This experience led to the development of a Pre-Arrival Hub, with resources and support materials for incoming students. We recognised the challenges students face when transitioning from college or school to university, including navigating a new education system, and we wanted to provide support before they even arrived on campus.

To deliver this pre-arrival support, we initially explored various platforms, but we encountered limitations with external Moodle and other external platforms. It wasn't until LearnSci introduced us to their Direct platform that we found a solution that met our needs. The Direct platform's similarity to Moodle was a key advantage, as it meant students wouldn't have to learn an entirely new system. It also allowed us to integrate LearnSci tools, such as the numeracy Smart Worksheets we were developing, and LabSims to give students a preview of their lab experiences.

The Pre-Arrival Hub became a central repository of information for new students in the Division of Natural Sciences, providing resources ranging from learning support to general guidance. The Hub's success was recognised with a Teaching Innovation Award in 2022.

The impact of the Pre-Arrival Hub has been significant. It facilitates a smoother transition to university life by familiarising students with the learning platform and providing essential resources upfront. The Hub also enables early identification of students who may need additional support, allowing for timely intervention. The success of the Hub within the Division of Natural Sciences has led to its adoption across the entire institution. The Hubs are now tailored to each of the University's divisions, ensuring that the information and support provided are relevant and bespoke.

Additionally, we developed a resource to assess students' maths skills gaps. Our biosciences program only requires a C in maths at GCSE, so first-year students often struggle with maths and numeracy skills. To tackle this, we worked with LearnSci to produce a numeracy Smart Worksheet that could help us identify students who were struggling, and see overall gaps in an incoming cohort’s knowledge.

The data collected from the Smart Worksheet informs targeted workshops and curriculum adjustments to improve numeracy support. The worksheet has had encouraging results; student feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and areas of difficulty identified are now being addressed as part of a numeracy skills pilot programme in the School of Biosciences. 

This programme, funded by the Student Success Project, has focused on enhancing students’ mathematical and analytical skills through workshops and assessments. Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with participants citing improved confidence in applying mathematical skills to data analysis within their coursework. Building on this success, further funding has been secured to extend the programme into 2024/25, ensuring continued impact on student success in numeracy.

Looking to the future, we’re now working with local schools and colleges to co-create solutions to ease the transition to university, particularly for underrepresented learners. We’re also renewing a focus on transition support for foundation year students, introducing bespoke content as well as peer mentoring from fellow students. Our goal across the student journey in biosciences is to integrate transition support year-on-year, ensuring continuous development and a sense of belonging from entry to graduation. This includes skills support, especially in numeracy, using the numeracy Smart Worksheet to support skills development and inform maths workshop content.