Case Study 1

WP Practitioner: Di Stone, University of the West of England

Case Study: Reaching Parents.

 

Issue

Parents with little or no family history of higher education themselves are often afraid to encourage their child(ren) to consider going to university. This is partly due to lack of awareness of the current position, the anticipated costs and related debt, and partly due to fear of the unknown. They are often misinformed of the costs of going to university and cannot recognise the benefits that gaining a higher education qualification can provide. Parental support is, however, crucial if young people are to progress to HE.

Aiming higher taster events reach the young people themselves, with a tremendous amount of success, but without parental support the barriers to accessing higher education remain insurmountable.

 

What did you do?

The purpose of this activity was to dispel myths and allay fears by giving parents the opportunity to find out about the nature of HE in 21st Century and to give realistic and easily accessible information about the costs of gaining a degree.

Forty five Year 9 students from a local secondary school in an Excellence Challenge area spent the afternoon and evening at the University's Frenchay Campus to find out, first hand, what it is like to be a student in higher education. They explored the costs, how students manage, and the value of gaining a degree.

Parents/carers were invited to join the group for drinks and nibbles from 5.00pm onwards, after which they were taken on a guided tour of the campus. This was followed by a series of presentations given by the school students about the work they had undertaken during the afternoon. The school students had been working in small groups with UWE Student Ambassadors,to develop materials relating to university life. These included:

• An HE Leaflet: designed to encourage participants to examine some of the key issues relating HE and to consider how their findings can be best conveyed to their peers.

• An alternative Prospectus: designed to raise awareness of the diverse nature of higher education academically and socially.

• Why go to University?: designed to identify reasons why people go to university and highlight the benefits of gaining a degree.

• In the News: the writing of a 200 – 300 word article for the school Newsletter based on research carried out during the visit.

• Student Union Campaigns: designed to encourage consideration of issues that impact on student lives and to raise awareness of the campaigning role of the Union and how students participate.

• Plan a Student Night: designed to raise awareness of the social events students might enjoy and that students can plan and organise their own events.

 

What were the strengths of this approach?

The strength of this approach was the active and enthusiastic engagement of parents/carers:

• For some the visit was the first time they had seen the inside of a university, for others it enabled them to see the changes that have taken place over recent years, making HE more accessible for a diverse range of people.

• Presentations made by the school students, in an easily accessible format, allayed fears about the costs and benefits of gaining a higher education.

• Parents/carers watched the presentations with pride - for many it was the first time they had seen their child(ren) in this light.

Evaluation showed that all parents/carers found the event excellent or very good. The most informative parts of the event were:

• The presentation given by the school students. Many commented on the quality of the presentations and the relevance of the information given.

• The Campus tour.

• The summary of costs given by the school students and endorsed by staff.

• Raised awareness of the diversity of subjects available.

 

Quotes are from parents attending the event

"Excellent opportunity – I enjoyed the visit"

"Many thanks for giving me the opportunity to share this experience with my son"

"This was a great opportunity for the children. I was pleased I could attend and share this with my daughter"

"We both enjoyed the visit. Many thanks to everyone involved"

"An excellent idea – well done!"

 

Quote from a member of School Staff

"An outstanding event. I don't think anything could have gone better"

Aletter of thanks was received signed by all participating school students:

"We would like to thank you for the fantastic day we had at UWE. The experience got us all thinking about going to university at a later stage.

The Student Ambassadors were very friendly and helpful, making it easy for us to talk about our ideas and views. It meant we could do some excellent presentations to our parents and teachers.

We have brought back some excellent work which will go on display at our parents evening in March. An account of the day will go into our school newsletter.

 

What were the drawbacks to this approach?

This approach has the potential to be very resource heavy - costs for materials and Student Ambassadors is relatively high. The main drawbacks are:

• time required by the school to organise the visit

• high costs of transport for both school students and parents/carers

• costs of meals for school students, and drinks/nibbles for parents/carers

• time constraints of working parents

• school staff availability and willingness to attend

• time constraints of university services and accommodation

 

What lessons have you learned that will enable you to improve your practice?

It is vital to liaise fully with schools to organise event:

• Information packs given to parents should include full details of the exact location of the event, particularly to those intending to arrive on their own.

• Ratio of Student Ambassadors to School Students should be no less than 2:10 with an additional 2 or 3 Ambassadors on hand to accompany participants to IT facilities or to research information.

• Ensure services such as library and other key areas are staffed during parents' tour.

• Lecture Theatre, for presentations, should impressive but comfortable.