How can we foster a sense of belonging among postgraduate students?

Whilst mainstream media frequently discusses the challenges for students transitioning from further to higher education, transition to postgraduate education is a topic that is often overlooked.

There is an assumption that because students have already successfully navigated undergraduate study, they are fully prepared and equipped for Master's level education. Although academic research on the subject is sparse, it does challenge this assumption: students moving to postgraduate study do require support.

This year’s Learning and Teaching Conference at the University of Portsmouth provided me with the opportunity to tell colleagues about one way in which we provide support to our postgraduate students in the Faculty of Business and Law (BAL).

Study Community

Study Community is a module delivered to students on our two largest Master's courses, MSc Business and Management and MSc International Business and Management – over 95% of whom are international. On top of social and academic challenges facing all students moving into postgraduate education, international students face the additional cultural challenges associated with living and learning in the UK.

Study Community is a module I devised to respond to three specific problems:

1. Our international student community was reporting feelings of isolation. 
2. Qualitative module feedback highlighted gaps in the students’ expectations in terms of assessment and learning. 
3. The number of academic offences was growing at an unsustainable rate. In 2021 we had almost 1,600 referrals for academic misconduct in the Faculty; 75% of them concerning students on these two courses.

Having read about the links between both lack of belonging and academic misconduct, and lack of belonging and poor motivation, I hoped that the three concerns could be addressed simultaneously. By tackling belonging, instances of academic misconduct could be reduced.

My brief for the module was simple: to create a community to foster a sense of belonging, and enable students to develop the confidence to be effective Master's students. Through regular timetabled sessions, students would have the opportunity to get to know each other, to understand the skills required for academic success, and to be able to develop and practise these skills. And so, Study Community was conceived.

Academic Skills Tutors

To develop the content for the module, I called upon the expertise of BAL’s Academic Skills Tutors, who do an excellent job developing students’ academic skills and preparing them for assessments. I wanted the Academic Skills Tutors not only to develop the module content, but to deliver the module as well. This was a deliberate decision – unlike other academics, Academic Skills Tutors are not involved in marking any student work and therefore students feel able to be more open in talking to them. If Study Community was going to stimulate belonging, honest communication was important.

The module was intentionally designed to feel friendly and informal, with initial sessions devoted to ensuring students were settling into life in Portsmouth and offering a dedicated space for students to ask all sorts of questions, many of which were non-academic. Having spent time building a rapport and sense of trust with the group, the sessions moved on to explicitly consider academic skills. This was done in a structured way using the context of the students’ assignment briefs, so as to develop students’ confidence along with their knowledge.

Enhancing digital and academic skills in Study Community classes

Class discussions looked at three elements for each assignment:

•  what does a successful submission would look like and how will marks be awarded?
•  where will you get your information from? 
•  what skills will you need to successfully complete the assignment?

This final element was a broad discussion that considered practical as well as academic skills.

That is important. Having the necessary practical skills to undertake an assignment turned out of be one of the key learning points from Study Community. For digital natives, the students had a surprising lack of confidence in the digital skills required of them. It is difficult to create a coursework brief that doesn’t require some level of digital competence, even if that is only uploading a document to Moodle.

Beyond this, many students were unfamiliar with tasks such as searching for articles using the library website, or using Powerpoint, or recording a presentation with Panopto. Reflecting the module’s objective to build trust and belonging, Study Community sessions offered space for students to develop their practical, digital skills by providing structured time for students to practise. Lesson time was spent searching the library catalogue and checking work using Turntin. We even created a dummy submission box so students could practise uploading to Moodle.

These activities were key for reassuring students, helping to grow their confidence around the various digital platforms in use. They also provided an opportunity for tutors to lead discussions and support students’ development of key academic skills, such as source credibility, referencing, and paraphrasing. In supporting students to grow their confidence, they were being supported to improve their academic skills.

Is Study Community achieving what it set out to achieve?

Yes – so far, so good. The number of assessment offences has reduced to under 600, and average marks have increased on many modules. More importantly, module feedback shows Study Community has facilitated a sense of belonging. This has developed through self-efficacy – students’ confidence in their ability to complete assignments – and as a result of feeling valued.

Having realised they have shared anxieties, students feel valued by each other. Students feel valued by tutors who have been patient, listened and offered practical assistance. And students also feel valued by the institution because in providing the module, students feel the University has recognised their concerns and taken steps to resolve them.

Study Community is really a very simple premise. It is a regular, timetabled session, where students have the time and space to talk through concerns, practise using unfamiliar software and platforms, and be guided on how to do well in assignments. Yet it has had a substantial impact on the student experience. Through boosting self-confidence and self-esteem, students are better equipped to develop the skills required to be effective Master’s student.

Author: Dr Emma Winter is Head of Faculty Marketing in the Faculty of Business and Law at the University of Portsmouth.