Abstract:

This paper is a work in progress, which focuses on the writing and research modules on two Foundation Year programmes for the Faculty of Business and Law (B&L) and the Faculty of Science and Technology (S&T) based at Middlesex University, London. The Foundation Year was initially created to attract computing and design engineering students who did not have the appropriate subject background or the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) credit to enable entry into the first year of a degree programme at the University. As the Foundation Year significantly expanded over the years, it served more departments in the Faculty of Science and Technology, including psychology, natural sciences and sport science, as well as departments in the Faculty of Business and Law. In 2018, the Foundation programme was divided into two strands, one programme for S&T and one for B&L, which are still currently running.

On both programmes, students are required to enrol on the mandatory academic writing and research module, called ‘Students Mastering Academic Writing and Technology’ (SMART) in S&T and ‘Academic writing and research skills for Business’ in B&L, both designed and delivered by academic writing lecturers in the Learning Enhancement Team (LET) of Middlesex University. ‘Academic writing and research skills for Business’ was developed from the SMART module; therefore, the two modules are similar in structure but contain materials designed for those subject areas. These two modules aim to help students develop the academic literacies required to study and succeed in a UK Higher Education institution. This aim is particularly relevant to the Middlesex University community which every year attracts a high number of non-traditional university students often from working-class, minority ethnic and/or mature backgrounds. In the academic year 2022-2023, the S&T and B&L Foundation programmes enrolled 369 students in total, with the average age of 22; 67.75% of the students identified themselves as being from an ethnic group (Middlesex University Statistics, 2023).

The module leaders of the academic writing modules, both part of the LET, are interested in exploring the effectiveness of these modules and whether they are beneficial to students’ development of academic literacies. The purpose of the study is to investigate students’ experiences, lecturers’ and module leaders’ perspectives and the views of the Head of the Learning Enhancement Team who is responsible for staffing these modules. Questionnaires, interviews and focus groups are being used to gather information from these participants. Results of these conversations will inform a set of recommendations and possible changes to implement on the two modules in future academic years.

Keywords:

Higher Education, Foundation Year, academic literacies, academic writing, widening participation.