Foundation Year Programmes: A Comprehensive Report

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Individual Report
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Identify the importance of the foundation year for students from wide participation
backgrounds and explain why it is important............................................................................4
Explain the key challenges facing foundation year students.....................................................6
Discuss how study skills in higher education can help foundation year students overcome
some of these challenges............................................................................................................7
Draw conclusions based on these key points.............................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
Reference List..........................................................................................................................10
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Introduction
Many students do not get admission into colleges and other higher education institutes. This
is the case because they could not meet the academic qualifications required by the institute.
Most of the cases until now show that these students do not get sufficient marks in their
school exams. Even if these students get admission into colleges, sometimes they face
difficulties adjusting to the higher education environment because of the lack of higher
education study skills required in these institutes. Foreign students also face difficulties
because they are not used to the way colleges in the UK conduct lectures (Shah and
Whannell, 2017). Language barriers are also considered as an obstacle for international
students. In order to help these students, many foundation year programmes are established to
provide necessary knowledge to such students in order to develop their study skills.
This report will explain the importance of foundation year courses for students from
participative backgrounds. The challenges faced by foundation year students will also be
discussed along with how study skills can help students address some of these challenges.
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Identify the importance of the foundation year for students from wide participation
backgrounds and explain why it is important.
Wide participation backgrounds refer to the various different educational backgrounds from
where students come for admission into colleges. These backgrounds are based on the social
classes of the students. They are differentiated based on lower socio-economic groups and
lower-participation schools (Wilkins and Burke, 2015). Foundation year programmes are
aimed towards such students in order to help them overcome the challenges they will face in
colleges and universities.
Foundation year programmes are important for students from wide participation backgrounds
because of many reasons, which are described below.
Understanding tertiary education environment
The study environment in colleges is very different from schools. In schools, the teachers are
more involved in teaching the students with the help of books and audio-visual channels. This
is not the case in universities, where the professors are less involved with the students. The
professors only give lectures and they expect the students to take down important and
necessary notes and then follow up on the topic with independent research. This creates a big
gap in the level of education between schools and universities. Foundation year programmes
are aimed at bridging the gap between schools and colleges so that the transitions from
schools to colleges become smoother (Stewart et al., 2015). University-level education does
not overwhelm or intimidate foundation year students.
Alternative route towards universities
Foundation year programmes provide an alternative method of getting admission into
colleges as higher education institutes will check the marks of students in their foundation
year exams instead of school exam marks. Foundation year students get lower grades in their
school exams, which compels them to undergo through the foundation year course. The
universities will focus on their foundation exam marks instead of their school grades. Thus,
foundation year programmes give the students a second chance for getting admission into a
reputed college.
Developing study skills required for tertiary education
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Students face difficulties in their universities because they lack the necessary study skills
required for higher education. These skills include, but not limited to note taking,
independent research, referencing, academic writing, time management, and many more. The
traditional system of education in schools in the UK does not teach these skills as per their
curriculum (Tovar, 2015). This causes a big gap to be present between schools and
universities. Foundation year courses are focused at developing the student’s academic skills
required for higher education.
Helps students to choose stream of choice
Foundation year programmes usually consist of a course lasting a year. This gives the
students ample amount of time to choose the correct stream he or she wants to pursue in
colleges. The course also provides learning materials to students in various different subjects.
Foundation year courses are also popular among students in the UK because many foundation
year institutes provide courses on subjects that are not taught in schools. In case, the student
wants to go to higher education institutes to study about a subject not taught in schools,
foundation year programmes provide a great deal of knowledge on these subjects (Bosman et
al., 2015).
More knowledge on the subject of choice
The gap between schools and colleges are also present in terms of academic knowledge
required for understanding the lectures of professors. Foundation year programmes aim
towards providing in-depth understanding of the subject by the student so that they can gain a
significant amount of knowledge in his or her subject of choice that they wish to pursue in
universities. This will effectively make it easier for the students to understand properly the
lectures of professors and achieve good grades in universities.
Helps foreign students
Foundation year programmes act as some sort of a boon to foreign students as these courses
provide education on English language. Foreign students face the difficulty of language
barrier when they come to the UK to get admission into colleges. Many foreign students are
not that good in reading, writing, and speaking English. Foundation year courses provide
English education to foreign students so that they get accustomed to the level of English
required for studying in universities (MacLeod et al., 2017).
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Strengthening the thought process of students
Foundation year courses are structured in a way that they provide knowledge on subjects that
may not be related to the student’s subject of choice but is important for them. Subjects like
English, mathematics, and others are also taught in these programmes so that it develops the
student’s thought process. Developing the thinking capabilities of students is necessary
because it allows the students to think freely out of the box. Students in higher education
require this quality because university level study is based around the thinking and
application skills of the students (Klegeris et al., 2017). This is so because universities
provide education that is professional in nature and is job oriented. University level studies
are more practical based, as it requires the students to implement their knowledge they have
learned so far to complete their tasks and projects.
Explain the key challenges facing foundation year students.
Even though students get many benefits from going through foundation year courses, many
students face difficulties and challenges. Some of these challenges are described below.
Monetary problems
Students who take part in foundation year courses often find it difficult to do so because the
fees of these courses are expensive. Many students take loans in order to take these courses,
all in the prospect of being admitted in good colleges (Midgley, 2002). Such students who
come from weaker financial backgrounds are burdened with many loans in their shoulders,
making it difficult for them and their families. Such students also often find it difficult to
concentrate in their studies because of the pressure of mitigating their loans.
Irrelevant Curriculum
Foundation year programmes have received its fair share of criticisms from students when
many of them complained that these courses teach general knowledge on many subjects, not
particularly in one subject that the student has chosen. Students have often complained that
foundation year programmes are bloated with lessons in unnecessary subjects, which are not
even related to their chosen subject for higher education (Schneider and Preckel, 2017). This
led to the conclusion by many students that these courses are a waste of time and money.
Lack of knowledge
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Foundation year programmes are not very popular in the UK because the knowledge of the
existence of such courses is limited. Many students and their parents do not know about
foundation year courses because they have not heard about these courses before. This has
prevented many students from enrolling in foundation year courses (Simm et al., 2011). Even
after the students and their family members get to know about these courses, they will still
hesitate to attend these courses as they will lack the necessary knowledge to understand the
purpose of these programmes.
Social Stigma
Foundation year courses face social stigma because these courses are aimed towards weaker
students. Foundation year courses help weaker students to get better in their studies and get
admission into colleges. It provides the weaker students a second chance to get into colleges.
Due to this reason, the societies in the UK believe that foundation year programmes are only
for weak students. They do not know that foundation year programmes are also aimed
towards good students who take up these courses in order to learn advanced things about their
chosen subject of choice. Many parents do not want their children to go to foundation year
institutes because they believe that their students will be badly influenced by the
academically weaker students in these institutes. This is also the case for students in general,
some of which also believe the same thing (Lucca et al., 2018). This stigma prevents many
students from attending foundation year programmes.
Discuss how study skills in higher education can help foundation year students
overcome some of these challenges.
Study skills required for higher education like academic writing, time management, note
taking, independent research, and many more can help foundation year students in many
ways. Some of these ways are described below.
Practical teaching in schools
The schooling system in the UK is a very traditional system in the sense that it still teaches
general knowledge or formal education about various different subjects. However, the
knowledge imparted to students is still of formal nature. The students do not learn how to
implement these skills in practical situations or professionally. Tertiary education institutes
expect the students to know the implementation of the knowledge they have learned so far
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(Krutowski, 2017). Therefore, if students are taught practical lessons in schools, they will be
able to fare much better in their foundation year courses, university studies, and in their
professional careers. From here, it can be understood that study skills are extremely helpful
for students in order to reach greater academic heights.
Breaking language barriers and culture shock for foreign students
Foreign students face culture shock when they arrive at a new country in order to receive
higher education. When international students come to the UK to be admitted into colleges,
they are bound to face difficulties in understanding English language if they are not very well
versed in it. Schools should teach English language skills along with other foreign language
and second language skills in order to help the students to face fewer difficulties if they want
to go abroad to study or for professional purposes.
Developing advanced thinking process
Study skills will help the students of foundation year courses to develop advanced thinking
processes. Study skills like note taking and independent research will help students become
more serious and focused in their work (McCaig, 2016). Getting a good grasp of these skills
will allow the student to think in ways they normally would not.
Draw conclusions based on these key points.
Foundation year courses are important for weaker students from varied participative
backgrounds. These courses allow the students to get into their desired colleges and
universities from non-conventional means. Foundation year courses provide significant
knowledge on the subject the student desires to study in universities. It also develops their
study skills that are essential for students in their higher education courses and in their
professional life. Foundation year courses suffer from some disadvantages like being
expensive and the detrimental effect of the social stigmas that surrounds it. Foreign students
also find foundation courses helpful because it helps them to overcome language barriers.
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Conclusion
Foundation year courses are a boon for weaker students and foreign students. These courses
allow the student to become better academically and professionally. This can be achieved by
developing the students study skills. These study skills are important as it helps the student to
be better academically in their college life, and better in their professional lives. Foundation
year courses allow students to get admission into colleges through non-traditional means if
they failed to get admission the first time.
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Reference List
Bosman, L., Chelberg, K. and Winn, R., 2017. How does service learning increase and
sustain interest in engineering education for underrepresented pre-engineering college
students?. Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research, 18(2).
Klegeris, A., McKeown, S.B., Hurren, H., Spielman, L.J., Stuart, M. and Bahniwal, M., 2017.
Dynamics of undergraduate student generic problem-solving skills captured by a campus-
wide study. Higher Education, 74(5), pp.877-896.
Krutkowski, S.(2017). A strengths-based approach to widening participation students in
higher education. Reference Services Review, 45(2), pp.227-241.
Lucca, D.O., Nadauld, T. and Shen, K., 2018. Credit supply and the rise in college tuition:
Evidence from the expansion in federal student aid programs. The Review of Financial
Studies, 32(2), pp.423-466.
MacLeod, W.B., Riehl, E., Saavedra, J.E. and Urquiola, M., 2017. The big sort: College
reputation and labor market outcomes. American Economic Journal: Applied
Economics, 9(3), pp.223-61.
McCaig, C., 2016. The retreat from widening participation? The National Scholarship
Programme and new access agreements in English higher education. Studies in Higher
Education, 41(2), pp.215-230.
Midgley, S. (2002) ‘Why a Degree? Reaching those parts’,The Guardian, 8 October 2002, p.
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Schneider, M. and Preckel, F., 2017. Variables associated with achievement in higher
education: A systematic review of meta-analyses. Psychological bulletin, 143(6), p.565.
Shah, M. and Whannell, R., 2017. Open access enabling courses: risking academic standards
or meeting equity aspirations. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 21(2-
3), pp.51-62.
Simm, D., Marvell, A., Winlow, H. and Schaaf, R., 2011. Student experiences of foundation
degrees in further and higher education. Planet, 24(1), pp.2-9.
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Stewart, S., Lim, D.H. and Kim, J., 2015. Factors influencing college persistence for first-
time students. Journal of Developmental Education, pp.12-20.
Tovar, E., 2015. The role of faculty, counselors, and support programs on Latino/a
community college students’ success and intent to persist. Community College Review, 43(1),
pp.46-71.
Wilkins, A. and Burke, P.J., 2015. Widening participation in higher education: the role of
professional and social class identities and commitments. British Journal of Sociology of
Education, 36(3), pp.434-452.
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