Level Up Programme, Birmingham City University, RAISE Network Annual Conference, Sept 2013. Dr Kerry Gough and Charlee Greenhalgh

1. Level Up Programme
Birmingham City University
Kerry Gough and the Level Up Venture Mentors
Working In Harmony Since 2012

2. The story so far…
• Birmingham City University is…
– Committed to enhancing the student experience
for our students
– Supportive in the development of working
relationships through peer mentoring
– Keen to ensure that our students feel like they
belong to a learning community

3. A long time ago
in a Faculty not so far away… at BCU
Professor Philip Thickett
had a dream

4. Building Upon What Works (2012)
• Recommendations for enhancing retention:
– Enhancing the student experience to ‘maximise the
success of all students’
– Achievement of belonging through:
• Supportive peer relations
• Meaningful interaction between staff and students
• Developing knowledge, confidence and identity as
successful HE learners
• The ‘academic sphere is the most important site for
nurturing participation... which engenders a sense of
belonging’ (Thomas, 2012: 6)

5. The Recurrent Issue of Transition
• Focus on first year retention as a unanimous issue
• Recurring theme of pre-sessional activity to
‘bridge the gap’ between FE and HE
• Extending transitional activity across first year
• Enhance student experience across duration
through to exit velocity
• Why bother?
• ‘Every student lost is money lost, every student
saved is money gained.’
(Patricia Broadfoot, Chair of the What Works? Advisory Group, March ‘12)

6. Level Up Venture:
Aims and Ambitions
Introduction to University Life
• Practical
• What to expect
• Self-Help DIY
• Social life as a student
• Stand alone website
• Focus upon:
– What Birmingham City
University has to offer
– Pooling available resources
(Accommodation, Student
Services, Students’ Union)
– Meet the Level Up team
(both staff and students)
Introduction to Studying Media
• Social opportunity
• Academic Skills
• Mentored have-a-go
supported activities
• Moodle E-Learning
• Focus upon:
– Getting to know each other
through online chat
– Awareness of the media
products that we consume
– How to analyse a media text
– How to read academic texts
– Social media netiquette
– Peer mentoring support

7. To achieve this mission…
• A Dream Team of super mentors landed…

8. Level Up:
Stand Alone Website
• Introduction to the School
• The Level Up Venture Mentors, degree specialism, personal tutoring, industry
placements, library, accommodation, students’ union, student services, virtual
tours
http://bcumedia.com/welcome/

9. Level Up:
Moodle E-Learning
• Introduction to studying Media
• Media analysis activities to give a flavour of what they will do on their course
• Opportunities to chat to the LUVMs (Level Up Venture Mentors)
http://tinyurl.com/luvbcu2013

10. Level Up:
Facebook
• Social Opportunity
• Meet one another, grill the living daylights out of the LUVMs, fast resolution of
problems, messages out quickly and efficiently

11. Level Up:
…and of course Twitter
• Social Opportunity
• Dynamic ability to switch activity onto platforms that the students are using.
• Snap Chat that on the (grape) Vine!

12. What we learnt from the 2012 pilot
Problem
Log ons were a huge barrier:
students lost ids & old email accounts, forced
to move activity across to Facebook and
Twitter
Integrated activities worked best:
where activities were an embedded part of
the university activity, this is where the best
responses occurred i.e. Induction Week
Social activity development:
we missed a trick on the social scene. Our
LUVMs enjoyed engaging with the newbies
Resolution
Looking to use public Moodle:
able to use a version of Moodle that doesn’t
need university log ons = Xoodle
Working on closer integration:
developing Level Up across Year 1 as well as
embedding through Year 1. Planning to
attach activities to either year 1 theory and
Professional Media Practice taught modules
Links with Our Students’ Union:
Look to develop some social activities for
the School with help of the Students’ Union
Formation of School Societies

13. Level Up Venture Mentors
…you gotta LUVM!
“The academic and social sides of university
have to be carefully balanced, however the Level
Up scheme if it truly wishes to reach as many
students as possible must address both aspects
of University life.”
Jon Bridgewater, 2013

14. Level Up 2.0:
New Building, New Rules for 2013
• Exploring the possibilities, across faculty collaboration
• Working alongside our Students’ Union
Next Level Integration and Investment:
• Employment of Student Success Advisers
• Expansion into academic calendar of academic mentors
• Development of School Societies and social events within
the academic environment
• Extending to embed Level Up and integrate across three
years, generating exit velocity and exiting alumni
relationships
Students are for life nor just Induction Week

15. Personal Tutoring Upgrade
• Realigned personal tutoring – staff buy in, student health check
• Team of super mentors working alongside personal tutors,
integrated action
• Work in tandem with Students’ Union & Student Services

16. Cross Faculty Collaboration:
The Final Frontier
These are the voyages of the BCU School of Media
Enterprise. Its mission: to explore strange new faculties
and services, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to
boldly go where no man (or woman) has gone before.

17. A Stanger is Amongst Us
• Started student partnership working in 2008
• Fears of territory invasion before we started
• But in actuality rewarding and reciprocal relationships emerged

18. To Infinity and Beyond

19. Monster Family for 2013
• Partnership working for Induction as the norm

20. …you gotta LUVM!