Campus Review Volume 28 - Issue 10 | October 2018 | Seite 13

policy & reform
campusreview.com.au
Making gems from pebbles
How to reduce student
attrition in STEM programs.
By Nanthi Bolan
U
ndergraduate student attrition levels
are relatively high in STEM programs.
This recalls the famous unwritten
quote: “The real challenge for a learning
centre is making a gem out of a pebble, not
necessarily making a jewel out of a gem.”
Not so long ago, university education
was only accessible to elites, whereas
today, it is increasingly accessible to anyone
who has the passion to improve his or
her knowledge and practical skills. This
has resulted in a hugely diverse student
population. It may not be a great challenge
to teach a homogenous student population,
whereas it is indeed a real challenge to
teach a diverse student population. High-
level attrition, especially in STEM programs,
is a critical issue in most universities in
Australia. If we can achieve a high retention
rate in first-year level programs, we will be
able to reduce the overall attrition rate.
When I was at Massey University, the
vice-chancellor, Professor Judith Kinnear,
acknowledged the atrocious level of
attrition, especially in STEM programs,
and introduced some novel and bold
approaches to tackle it. Following
are some suggestions, based on my
experience at Massey.
1. Sense of belonging: Soon after their
arrival at universities, students should
feel that they are part of them. That
means there should be an excellent,
week-long orientation program. But the
moment semester starts, they need to
realise that the university is a learning
centre – not a theme park.
2. Orient to everything: The orientation
program should cover a range of
aspects, including on-campus living,
student support services, and university
research. On the first day of the
orientation program, students should
be welcomed by senior staff (including
VCs), so that the students can feel pride
in their institutions of choice. They
should be given university-branded
paraphernalia.
3. Time management: During the
orientation week, the university
could organise a seminar on time
management, explaining the time input
and commitment required to succeed
in the given program.
4. First-year experience: Universities
should encourage experienced,
senior STAR (Science Teaching Active
Researchers) teachers to teach at first-
year levels. They will be able to manage
the diverse group. Also, students will
realise that the university takes first-year
teaching seriously. Professor Kinnear
was very particular about this and
promoted teaching by senior scientists.
She used to comment, “First-year
students should feel proud that they
are rubbing shoulders with senior
scientists.” For example, the president
of the New Zealand Royal Society, who
was a Massey professor at the time,
used to teach first year students.
5. Enhance auto-enrolment: Automated
or ‘one stop’ enrolment is the reality
of the future. Although this approach
aims to streamline the enrolment
process, it doesn’t seem to provide the
opportunity for staff to be involved in
giving academic advice to students.
So, during the orientation week, there
could be a program called ‘Meet the
Staff’, in which students can do just that.
6. Talk to schools: Some students may
not be aware of the basic knowledge
or skills required for their chosen
degree. For example, I used to teach
chemistry to first year BApplSc students.
A common comment at the end of the
first lecture was, “I thought that I didn’t
need to learn chemistry in BApplSc;
that’s why I enrolled in this degree.”
The only way to overcome this obstacle
is to establish greater interaction with
local secondary schools, so that we
can explain the expectations for various
degree programs, and the ways to
achieve them.  ■
Nanthi Bolan is a professor of
environmental chemistry at the
University of Newcastle.
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