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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Approaches to Transition Support for First Year Students in Higher Education

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The growing numbers and diversity of the student population challenge the study and learning environments in higher education institutions. In this chapter, students’ transition from secondary to higher education was examined by analyzing practices of support offered to first year students in order to promote retention, smooth progress, and success in their studies. We classified the practices supporting students starting their university education on the basis of the main contents of the programs, using four categories: (1) introduction and orientation, (2) enhancing a sense of belonging, (3) developing academic skills, and (4) pedagogical arrangements. These approaches to support were analyzed from the perspective of several qualitative features relating to guidance and support in higher education studies. We examined who the provider of support was, how proactive or reactive the approaches were, how “individualizing” they were, how they utilized group dynamics, how lasting they were, how holistic they were by nature, and whether they were integrated with the learning content. While the analysis indicated that universities have been resourceful in developing support programs for their first year students, certain aspects – such as the holistic nature of the support practices – needs more evaluation at the university level.