Abstract:

The Institute of Sport and Exercise Science (ISES), at University of Worcester is currently evaluating the introduction of an interview process, introduced for all its undergraduate courses in 2010/11. Interview prior to being offered a place at university is not new, for example, the universities of Oxford (2011) and Cambridge (2011) routinely undertaking these as part of their admissions process. A decision had been taken at the beginning of the previous academic year to increase the UCAS entry tariff; alongside this all students who satisfied this criterion were asked to attend an interview.

This formed part of an enhanced recruitment and retention drive, which addresses two points which Cook (2009) raises in relation to these aspects: better preparation in terms of expectations; and improving the match of student to course. The recruitment and retention of students has been a priority for Higher Education Institutes (HEI) for some time owing to government targets (Douglas, McClelland and Davies 2008) and it has been claimed that there is a clear link between “recruitment, student satisfaction and retention” (ibid: p.20).

The interviews were organised in such a way that prospective students were exposed to an introductory HE learning experience which would hopefully provide potential students with a greater insight into course structure and content whilst also raising awareness of expectations in HE. This is reflected in the Browne report (2010), which included within its second principle a concern that many prospective students lack adequate guidance or information to help them choose a suitable university course.

The interview process was also seen as being particularly important for the high number of students recruited to joint programmes, to ensure that they had selected the appropriate course in relation to career aspirations. Bowen-Jones, Barber and Breeze (2011) have already highlighted the importance staff/student partnerships play in boosting progression and achievement rates; therefore establishing a pre-induction relationship was viewed as being pivotal in any initiatives designed to improve retention.

The evaluation of the efficacy of the Institute’s investment in this interview process will be completed by February 2012 and includes evidence from the following sources: questionnaire data from first year ISES students; findings from focus group interviews; retention statistics and the percentage of students wishing to change course in the first semester.

Keywords:

Recruitment, retention, progression and achievement.