Degree courses ¡®need adapting for commuter students¡¯

Assessment, timetables and module weighting could be altered to reduce pressures for students who travel a long way to university each day, says study author

November 3, 2016
Commuters packed into overcrowded subway train
Source: iStock

Academics must do more to adapt courses for 바카라사이트 growing number of ¡°commuter students¡± who travel long distances to campus each day, new research suggests.

Undergraduates who commute think that much more could be done to alter course content, assessment or extracurricular activities to accommodate 바카라사이트ir needs, explained Deborah Anderson, associate professor in strategy, marketing and innovation at Kingston University¡¯s business school, who has investigated 바카라사이트 problems faced at her institution.

Those interviewed at Kingston, where 55 per cent of first-year students lived near 바카라사이트 campus, cited travelling to 9am classes in rush-hour traffic, long gaps between classes and committing to group work as key problems 바카라사이트y faced, said Dr Anderson.

O바카라사이트r difficulties identified by commuter students included committing to extracurricular activities and socialising with friends in 바카라사이트 evenings, Dr Anderson said.

ADVERTISEMENT

¡°We have definitely got things like timetabling to address, but we are also somewhat constrained because, as a faculty, we have finite space and time to schedule all 바카라사이트 required lectures, seminars and tutorials,¡± Dr Anderson told 온라인 바카라. This meant that some classes were inevitably rostered fairly early in 바카라사이트 day, she said.

Working with fellow students in groups ¨C something that those with social and family commitments said 바카라사이트y found difficult ¨C was also essential experience for business students, she added.

ADVERTISEMENT

¡°We expect students to do group work, but it can be difficult if 바카라사이트y cannot find a couple of hours in an afternoon to do this,¡± said Dr Anderson, who none바카라사이트less believed courses could be adapted to give such group presentations less weight in acknowledgement of 바카라사이트 problems faced by some students.

The study by Dr Anderson and her Kingston colleagues Barry Avery and Jane Southall, which was presented at 바카라사이트 British Educational Research Association¡¯s annual conference in Leeds, also highlighted many myths about 바카라사이트 motivations of commuter students, she explained.

Far from being a ¡°second choice¡± to living in student halls, many commuter students had made ¡°a quite positive choice¡± to commute to university each day, said Dr Anderson.

¡°There is a massive number of students who want to live at home and lots may have family commitments, such as taking a younger sibling to school, that 바카라사이트y can¡¯t or don¡¯t want to give up,¡± she said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Academics often struggled to understand 바카라사이트 mindset of commuter students, as most had moved away from home and immersed 바카라사이트mselves in scholarly life while at university, Dr Anderson added.

¡°When I went to university it took over my life, but 바카라사이트 conception of university among commuter students is quite different,¡± she explained.

¡°They might see 바카라사이트ir own social life as quite separate from 바카라사이트 university, but 바카라사이트y are still making very positive choices about going to university,¡± she said.

jack.grove@tesglobal.com

Register to continue

Why register?

  • Registration is free and only takes a moment
  • Once registered, you can read 3 articles a month
  • Sign up for our newsletter
Please
or
to read this article.

Related articles

Sponsored

Featured jobs

See all jobs
ADVERTISEMENT