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Realising the potential for commencing students to succeed at university depends on designing a pedagogy that not only engages students in learning but also encourages their reflection on that learning. This guiding philosophy provided the impetus for a course that also needed to accommodate challenges emanating from a very diverse student cohort, a program decision to switch from an on-campus to an online teaching mode, an inter-disciplinary and collaborative program emphasis and the complexities stemming from change forces currently impacting on the Australian higher education sector. These forces included changes in pedagogy, curriculum, assessment, academic identity, technology, research-informed learning and student and stakeholder expectations. This paper documents the design, development, delivery and evaluation of a first-semester first-year undergraduate nursing course conducted in the Nursing Program at the University of Southern Queensland. The course integrates an engaging learning philosophy while simultaneously embracing new directions in higher education to empower commencing students. [Author abstract]

Cooperative education and principles associated with learning ecosystems appear throughout the literature. However, the application of cooperative education and learning ecosystems to work-integrated learning has not been fully examined. Furthermore, the applicability of learning ecosystems within work-integrated learning to specific professional practice domains has similarly not previously been examined. The development of domain specific work-integrated learning ecosystems and an explanation of how they might apply to cooperative education in higher education, the purpose of this paper, are explored from three sequentially related conceptual levels: Level 1), a proto-theoretical model of cooperative education > Level 2), a functional model of a work integrated learning ecosystem > Level 3), an example of an applied model of a work-integrated learning ecosystem. Specifically, the paper explores how policing, presented here as a working example of a socially important practice domain, has been developed into a work-integrated learning ecosystem within the Australian higher education context. [Author abstract]

This paper is an empirical analysis of the first stage of an ongoing effort to introduce technology to enhance student learning in introductory corporate finance within a multi-campus and multi-mode regional Australian University. The engagement and performance of low socio-economic status (SES) students is of particular interest because approximately one-quarter of the university's enrolled students are classified low SES. A Tablet PC is used to facilitate a cooperative 'building' of each week's lecture in class and the recording of this process for delivery online. The analysis of the academic achievement of two cohorts of students in two different semesters-with the technology and without-forms the basis of the formal evaluation of the efficacy of the approach to date. The results indicate that there is a significant difference in retention (drop-out statistics) and academic achievement (examination performance, final grade and course progression statistics) between the 'Tablet PC' and 'control' semesters. The largest improvement was exhibited by the low SES students.

The findings of this paper are based on a 3-year study of students registered with disability services at an Australian, regional university between 2008 and 2010. The concept of self-management, in its various dimensions, was a key theme emerging from the study. We argue that participants in our study employ 'layers of self-management' in the pursuit of success in their studies at university. The first layer is a 'negotiation of self ' in which students manage their sense of self-efficacy and their identity as students, and as individuals in a social setting. The second layer is their 'management of self,' which involves the way they appear to others, as well as the impact of impairments, work, and families. The third and final layer is their 'management of others,' which involves managing the perceptions of others, as well as interacting with others as part of managing institutional processes and procedures. As part of our analysis, we examine the relationship of these layers of self-management with concepts such as Lifelong Learning, which enable us to position participants on a traits and capacity continuum with other student groups.

Research indicates that concern is often expressed about the language and discourse skills that new students bring with them when they first enrol at university, which leads to assumptions being made about their academic abilities. In this paper, an argument is developed, through detailed analysis of student writing, that many new first-year students have nascent higher order thinking skills and the potential to be successful in their studies. The work of Robert Marzano and his associates is applied to student writing. [Author abstract]

Students attending university for the first time come with a range of expectations, experiences and skills. For many these prior experiences are less than optimal for achieving academic success. This paper evaluates the academic outcomes across three cohorts of a five day enabling program offered to commencing students in the week prior to their formal university orientation program. The demographics of this sample are such that over 50 percent come from low socio-economic backgrounds, about 50 percent are first in family to attend university, 50 percent are mature age students and over 50 percent have university entrance scores in the lower ranges of academic ability. Those who entered university with an Overall Position score of 15 or less and completed the program were less likely to fail and achieved higher grade point averages at the end of their first semester of studies than those who did not complete the enabling program. [Author abstract, ed]

The negative trend of enrolment of Indigenous students into tertiary study indicates gaps between their current achievement and knowledge levels and university requirements for admission. This study was designed to determine the perceived needs, attitudes and knowledge of Indigenous secondary school students when considering admission to university; investigate remedial strategies in order to make university a more attractive choice for Indigenous students; and ascertain the types of assistance and support the Indigenous students would like to receive in order to meet the enrolment requirements as well as completion of study at university. Focus groups were conducted with 50 Indigenous students in Years 10 to 12 within the Toowoomba District and surveys conducted with 30 first year Indigenous undergraduate and Indigenous Higher Education Pathways Program (IHEPP) students at the University of Southern Queensland. The findings of the research illustrated that the school students were not aware of the IHEPP and university programs. Scholarships and bursaries need to be developed and publicised. Tutorial assistance and learning support (e.g., assignment preparation, multicultural activities, childcare facilities, group accommodation) needs to be promoted. Furthermore, there is a need for the university to establish and maintain relationships with local Indigenous communities and understand the “cultural dimension” impacting on Indigenous students and their families.

This paper outlines and discusses the instructional design architecture of a graduate study program in Open and Distance Learning that is fully and only accessible via the Internet. The paper also presents the results of an initial evaluation by staff and students of the first offer of the program in 1996. This study program was mounted with funds from the Commonwealth Government (Cathie Committee), a global learning initiative of the American Telegraph and Telecommunications Company (AT&T) and the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE). The program aims to meet the needs of those who are seeking skills in the design and development of open and distance learning systems. The experiences of the first student intake suggest that the program is meeting an identified need very successfully. The program developers describe this program as challenging and clearly trail-blazing the push for increasing flexible learning opportunities among institutions of higher learning.

Analyzes the effects that English proficiency has on the performance of international students in comparison with Australian students at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), concentrating particularly on overseas students studying externally and admitted under the alternative English entrance requirements. (Author/LRW)

This paper argues that the transition to first year in a diverse, multi-campus, multimodal university provides significant difficulty and disorientation for school leavers and mature age and international students. Consequently, curriculum design for first year students requires an awareness of the need to provide commencing students with a framework for meeting the requirements of the academic environment. This paper illustrates how the successful practice of teaching first year students addresses the learning issues and needs of first year university students through the use of scaffolding and developmental assessment. The case study is from a first year Faculty of Business core course at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. It provides a range of examples of successful pedagogical practices, including examples of scaffolding and developmental assessment embedded within the course materials to support and meet student needs. The strategies to embed these support mechanisms included spreading the assessment across the semester using two assignments and a final examination. In the second assignment of the course we utilise an incremental research and assignment process that includes an exercise to deconstruct the assignment question, a short annotated bibliography, the concept mapping of the assignment argument and the assessment of a supplied essay before the writing and submission of the student's final essay. As a result of these curriculum changes, we argue that preliminary indications are an improvement in both student assignment performance and student retention.