The overlooked cohort? – Improving the taught postgraduate student experience in higher education

ABSTRACT

Taught postgraduate students in the UK have a limited timeframe for study, with most full-time courses requiring intense scholarship, typically over a 12-month period. Many of these students face challenges and concerns with the transition from undergraduate to taught postgraduate study as they adapt to a new learning environment with higher academic expectations. In this paper, we discuss the results of a new experience survey, designed to capture a holistic view of taught postgraduate student feedback beyond traditional academic content and to also capture self-reported challenges experienced during their studies. This article also describes the development of a new collaborative support programme in response to student feedback. The programme has been designed to offer a cohesive package of workshop sessions around academic skills, well-being, support and career development. The importance of providing a targeted support framework for this specific and often overlooked cohort within the HE sector is discussed.

Abbreviations: PGT, Postgraduate Taught; HE, Higher Education; VLE, Virtual Learning Environment

KEYWORDS:

• Taught postgraduate
• student experience
• challenges
• support programme

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Notes on contributors

Lisa Coneyworth

Lisa Coneyworth is an Assistant Professor of Nutritional Sciences and Course Director for the MSc Nutritional Sciences programme where she teaches across a number of human nutrition undergraduate and postgraduate modules. Research interests concern micronutrient deficiencies, in particular the impact of restricted diets on micronutrient status. Pedagogical interests include understanding and improving the education and experience of postgraduate taught students.

Rachel Jessop

Rachel Jessop is Director of Internationalisation for the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham. Rachel works with staff across the school to develop and promote internationalisation, including international teaching partnerships; incoming and outgoing student and staff mobility; international student support; working with the School’s Director of Research regarding developing international research collaborations; and disseminating information about international activities.

Pauline Maden

Pauline Maden is the Faculty of Science Careers and Employability Consultant at the University of Nottingham, where she leads a team of careers professionals working in partnership with academic colleagues to deliver expert careers services. Areas of expertise include career decision making, emerging careers in science and technology and the future of work.

Gavin White

Gavin White is an Assistant Professor of Animal Nutrition and also Course Director for the MSc programme in Animal Nutrition where he teaches across a number of modules on livestock, zoo and pet nutrition. His pedagogical research interests include gaining a better understanding of student experiences and challenges specifically with regard to the transition from undergraduate to taught postgraduate study.