"When I was in my home country, I was used to being an A-level student. After arrival in Delft, after two weeks I felt like a complete idiot".
This rather shocking quote from a student (who will remain anonymous) is taken from a series of focus group interviews we had with international Master's students in our programme Civil Engineering. The target of these focus group meetings was to identify the possible challenges students face when coming to Delft to start our 2-year MSc degree. Although our main interest was to identify gaps in prerequisite knowledge, these type of quotes were an interesting by-catch. At the end of this article, I will return to the student behind this strong quote. First a bit more on the project in which it came by.
PRE-for-CEM
The ongoing project PRE-for-CEM (PRErequistes for Civil Engineering Master), of which the focus groups are a part, is sponsored by a grant from the Dean and TU Delft Library. The grant is intended to stimulate the development of Open Educational Resources. In our awarded proposal, we want to develop a clear overview of prerequisite knowledge on various subjects and general academic skills needed for a successful start of the MSc degree Civil Engineering. We want to make this overview accessible for prospect students before their arrival in Delft, and even before application. During our admission stage, running from October until April/May, we always experience that it is challenging for staff members to accurately assess the fitness of applicants. Like many other universities, we base our assessment on motivation letters, letters of recommendation, GPA-score and diploma transcripts. Applicants, understandably, show themselves from their best sides, and, as a university, we have an clear interest in accepting students to our programme. We want to go to great length, though, to prevent students finding themselves after arrival in the difficult situation that the degree appears to be overly challenging. An timely and detailed overview of prerequisite knowledge can help applicants to assess themselves whether they can expect to face problems due to knowledge gaps. Making the overview of prerequisite knowledge explicit and available allows prospect students to prepare better and possibly repair minor knowledge gaps before arrival in Delft, or, in some cases, even decide not to apply at all.
This rather shocking quote from a student (who will remain anonymous) is taken from a series of focus group interviews we had with international Master's students in our programme Civil Engineering. The target of these focus group meetings was to identify the possible challenges students face when coming to Delft to start our 2-year MSc degree. Although our main interest was to identify gaps in prerequisite knowledge, these type of quotes were an interesting by-catch. At the end of this article, I will return to the student behind this strong quote. First a bit more on the project in which it came by.
PRE-for-CEM
The ongoing project PRE-for-CEM (PRErequistes for Civil Engineering Master), of which the focus groups are a part, is sponsored by a grant from the Dean and TU Delft Library. The grant is intended to stimulate the development of Open Educational Resources. In our awarded proposal, we want to develop a clear overview of prerequisite knowledge on various subjects and general academic skills needed for a successful start of the MSc degree Civil Engineering. We want to make this overview accessible for prospect students before their arrival in Delft, and even before application. During our admission stage, running from October until April/May, we always experience that it is challenging for staff members to accurately assess the fitness of applicants. Like many other universities, we base our assessment on motivation letters, letters of recommendation, GPA-score and diploma transcripts. Applicants, understandably, show themselves from their best sides, and, as a university, we have an clear interest in accepting students to our programme. We want to go to great length, though, to prevent students finding themselves after arrival in the difficult situation that the degree appears to be overly challenging. An timely and detailed overview of prerequisite knowledge can help applicants to assess themselves whether they can expect to face problems due to knowledge gaps. Making the overview of prerequisite knowledge explicit and available allows prospect students to prepare better and possibly repair minor knowledge gaps before arrival in Delft, or, in some cases, even decide not to apply at all.
The graph above shows the envisioned way of admission, including a shared responsibility for the university and the applicants themselves. This last step is not intended to have a legal status, but is merely meant as a service for students to bridge possible gaps between their undergraduate knowledge and skills and our MSc programme.
Diplomas do not tell everything
Diplomas are valuable, as are grade lists and GPA-scores, but despite a careful admission procedure, we still experience that some students struggle during their MSc degree, leading to study delay or sometimes even financial or mental health challenges. This is a situation that is undesirable for students and university alike. The project PRE-for-CEM proposes an approach in which the university makes very clear what is needed to successfully start and complete our MSc programme, and in which we offer Open Educational Material at BSc-level that can help students to repair knowledge gaps. The responsibility of the student is to go through the list of prerequisite knowledge, check on general academic skills, and a) decide whether it is sensible to apply for our MSc degree and b) where possible repair gaps.
Jupyter Books or Wikis
We are investigating which platform might be most helpful for sharing prerequisite knowledge with prospect students. Interesting vehicles are Jupyter Books (mind: not Notebooks) or Wikis. Jupyter Books are online books that can be edited and added to by multiple staff members, and that can be used by prospect students to study specific topics that are in the list of prerequisite knowledge. They may include self-tests or assignments that can help them establish a clear picture of what is needed for a successful start in our degree. A Wiki is a familiar concept that is user-friendly, but has slightly limited options for layout compared to Jupyter Books.
By-catch
Returning to the quote of the student at the start of the article: the focus groups lead to various interesting and very relevant by-catch. Just to give two examples:
sense of belonging - a mismatch between prior knowledge and the level of the degree can have a big impact on the student's sense of belonging. This sense of belonging from educational research is known to be a strong indicator of academic success and mental wellbeing.
other challenges - also other things than prior knowledge are important: arranging a bank account, finding a home in or near Delft, learning how to study in an effective way, knowing what is expected in written exams or assignments. Many international students need at least a few months to adapt to studying abroad. During the first months, however, study pressure is already quite high. Sometimes this leaves students with a delay even before they know it.
Finally
I hope the project PRE-for-CEM can help us to smoothen the transition from undergraduate to master programme, especially for international students. We already learned that it is not only about content, but also about soft factors and non-academic challenges. Over the coming months, we will report on the findings and conclusions or our project. By the way, the student mentioned above definitely isn't a complete idiot: he is doing very well, is currently starting his MSc-thesis and no doubt will have a bright future!
Diplomas do not tell everything
Diplomas are valuable, as are grade lists and GPA-scores, but despite a careful admission procedure, we still experience that some students struggle during their MSc degree, leading to study delay or sometimes even financial or mental health challenges. This is a situation that is undesirable for students and university alike. The project PRE-for-CEM proposes an approach in which the university makes very clear what is needed to successfully start and complete our MSc programme, and in which we offer Open Educational Material at BSc-level that can help students to repair knowledge gaps. The responsibility of the student is to go through the list of prerequisite knowledge, check on general academic skills, and a) decide whether it is sensible to apply for our MSc degree and b) where possible repair gaps.
Jupyter Books or Wikis
We are investigating which platform might be most helpful for sharing prerequisite knowledge with prospect students. Interesting vehicles are Jupyter Books (mind: not Notebooks) or Wikis. Jupyter Books are online books that can be edited and added to by multiple staff members, and that can be used by prospect students to study specific topics that are in the list of prerequisite knowledge. They may include self-tests or assignments that can help them establish a clear picture of what is needed for a successful start in our degree. A Wiki is a familiar concept that is user-friendly, but has slightly limited options for layout compared to Jupyter Books.
By-catch
Returning to the quote of the student at the start of the article: the focus groups lead to various interesting and very relevant by-catch. Just to give two examples:
sense of belonging - a mismatch between prior knowledge and the level of the degree can have a big impact on the student's sense of belonging. This sense of belonging from educational research is known to be a strong indicator of academic success and mental wellbeing.
other challenges - also other things than prior knowledge are important: arranging a bank account, finding a home in or near Delft, learning how to study in an effective way, knowing what is expected in written exams or assignments. Many international students need at least a few months to adapt to studying abroad. During the first months, however, study pressure is already quite high. Sometimes this leaves students with a delay even before they know it.
Finally
I hope the project PRE-for-CEM can help us to smoothen the transition from undergraduate to master programme, especially for international students. We already learned that it is not only about content, but also about soft factors and non-academic challenges. Over the coming months, we will report on the findings and conclusions or our project. By the way, the student mentioned above definitely isn't a complete idiot: he is doing very well, is currently starting his MSc-thesis and no doubt will have a bright future!